@kiddie I read The Names a few months ago - really liked it!
I’m a tough critic when I rate my books on Goodreads but I’ve read some really good ones recently including When the Cranes Fly South by Lisa Ridven (translated from Swedish), Buckeye by Patrick Ryan, The Correspondent by Virginia Evans and The Elements by John Boyne. This one was a very difficult read as the subject matter involves sex abuse told in four parts from the perspective of enabler, accomplice, perpetrator and finally, victim.
I just started Heart the Lover by Lily King, an author I’ve read before and really liked. I’m also halfway through listening to Freedom is a Feast by Alejandro Puyana (no idea where I heard about this one, but enjoying it so far).
I used to teach hybrid environmental issues/writing/literature classes, and this would be just the kind of thing I would look for. Definitely going on my list.
I read the first two books of The Elements as individual books when they came out and now I have the The Elements on hold so I can read that last two “books” (or I guess chapters in this book that collects all four stories). Looking forward to it. Love his writing!
Just finished The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny. I loved the first 2/3 but then it felt like a big of a slog for me after that.
Just picked up Running with Sherman and I’m LOVING it! I needed a break from the literary fiction that I usually read. It’s a memoir from the author who wrote Born to Run. In this one, he saves a donkey from a hoarding situation and sets out to train him for a burro race in Colorado. Sooo good. The cast of characters ranges from cancer survivors to a teenager just getting out of his depression to a set of conservative old ladies who win the author over with their kindness just when he needed it most. And the photos of Sherman? So cute!
While home sick, I enjoyed reading “Pumpkins and Promises” (by Trish Laubacker; there is another book by same title with different author). It is short (a novella), Hallmark-y… a small town midwest story that reminded me a bit of VIrgin River tv show. It could be a nice easy read for a plane ride. 99 cents on Amazon. (Author is a friend of a friend.) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FTJZ84MT
I loved When Women Were Dragons. I know the author has written children’s books, so I was checking to see if there were any more adult titles. Sadly, after writing Dragons, she had a fall resulting in a TBI.
The Hollow Places, T Kingfisher. Not for the faint of heart, but tis the season for horror novels! I loved all the characters, which is rare for me. Especially Beauregard the cat! It definitely had a new (for me, at least) and interesting storyline.
She is a great author. I loved Hemlock and Silver and A Wizard’s Guide To Defensive Baking. These two are not horror (she writes a bunch of different types of books including some illustrated novels for kids under a different name.)
One of the authors touting her book recommended “I who have never known men” by Jacqueline Harpman. It was described by someone as remarkable, and that’s accurate. It seems it was recently re-translated and re-released.
It’s the story of 40 women who are prisoners in an underground bunker in some post apocalyptic world, told by the youngest of them. It’s not terribly long, and is not so much a tale of what they do but an exploration of humanity. This is a genre I typically avoid, yet I found this book strangely moving and thought-provoking.
Definitely recommend.
My book group read Typewriter Beach by Meg Waite Clayton this month. It’s historical fiction and jumps between the 1950s and 2018. The 1950s part of the novel revolves around the friendship between a young actress who hopes to be a star in a new Alfred Hitchcock movie and a screenwriter who has been black listed. It gives readers a real-life view of the Hollywood “star system” as well as what it means to be a blacklisted screen writer and how the machinations of the HUAC affected people (not in a good way).
I just finished Buckeye which was recommended to me by someone in my Library Friends group, but a search finds it recommended a couple of times here too. It took a little to get into but I really enjoyed it / found it thought provoking by the end.
We read The Tainted Cup in my book group. We’re not fantasy folks, but embedding a mystery in a fantasy was universally appreciated. We liked it so much that each of us read the sequel, A Drop of Corruption, was even better. I took a while to get into The Tainted Cup as the author has to build up the elements of the fantasy world. The second book seems much deeper. And it is part of a trilogy. The next book will come out pretty soon.
I’ve been reading another great Barbara Kingsolver book Flight Behavior. I read the first chapter a year ago and just came back to it a week ago. I am halfway through and can confirm that like all her books, it’s wonderful. Yet another three-dimensional setting created and populated with complicated people.
I have read a few really great books lately: “The Mailman” by Stephen Starring Grant. This is a memoir of a man who took a job as a rural mail carrier for a year in his hometown. It’s fascinating (I learned a lot about how the post office jobs actually work) and well written.
“When Women Were Dragons” by Kelly Regan Barnhill - this one has been around a few years and it’s not my genre but I gave it a try and liked it. It’s sort of science fiction-ish but in a relatable way. It tells the story of women and girls becoming dragons in order to escape the constraints of life for women in the 1950’s and early ‘60’s. Would be a great book club choice.
I’m currently reading “The Measure” by Nikki Erlick. It is likely my favorite book i have read this year (and I read a lot). In this story, every person in the world receives a box containing a string telling them how long their life will be. As you can imagine, there are many consequences. The book is written from multiple points of view and the characters lives are all intertwined. I do not want it to end. This is a book I would not have chosen, but it’s my book club’s selection and I am so looking forward to discussing.
