Oh, I really enjoyed Fever. I thought the author really captured all the complexities of society dealing with a disease they didn't fully understand. I didn't really know anything about typhoid; I was only familiar with Typhoid Mary as an expression used to describe someone likely very contagious.

I am reading The Children by Ann Leary, so far enjoying it very much. I have liked all her books-she wrote a memoir first about dealing with a premature birth while in GB with her husband (comedian Dennis Leary). Then 2 novels, one about a failing marriage that seemed to be a roman a clef, and another about a realtor in New England. She's got a breezy authorial voice and her books are nice summer reads, definitely recommend checking them out.

The World to Come by Dara Horn is what I'm reading now. It is a wonderful book and is keeping me up into the early hours of the morning. I can't even begin to classify it but it is so well written and I haven't spotted any editing skips. It is a truly lovely, well written book.

Missymoo12, I reread GWTW too last summer, last read when I was 14 (47 years ago!). I'd forgotten that there were so many characters besides the principals, so richly portrayed too. Fabulous book. Isn't it funny how books, movies, or music that moved us when young can still do so in our "old" age? Our tastes develop at an early age, I think.

I ordered 1000 White Women thanks to Ida, sheila and furby. Looking forward to it. I'm currently reading another book recommended on an earlier book thread: The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri. Although it's mostly third person narrative, that creates a certain tone that is making me not want to put the book down - anticipating what's next.

awn03 It is a fabulous book! I am not sure about the books, movies, or music that intrigued me as a young teen... I remember reading The Exorcist when I was in geometry class...;) Shortly after (the next summer) I developed a real interest in history and read history books for fun and started collecting old books.

A real turning point book for me was Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand.

So glad to see so many great books mentioned. I too read GWTW way back in the day and loved it. One of those where you say to yourself- no wonder it's so popular - classic! duh.

H-K I too don't know how to classify The World to Come but i am surprised it is not well known ( at least in my circles) . Such a beautiful layered story.

I am now about halfway through Deep South, really liked the first part, where it was just glimpses of places. Now it's taken a turn with preachiness and I am less enjoying it but I will keep at it because I do think it will prove to be a worthwhile read.

My latest reads...This is Where I Leave You, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Ice by Kevin Tinto, Not Alone by Craig A. Falconer, Sanctuary and Nomad by Matthew Mather. All were good. I just started The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, thought I had already read this a million years ago but had not. I'm really enjoying it.

I mentioned reading The Guest Room, beagles. I'll be curious to hear what you thought of the book.

4boys, I really liked Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. Granted, I often find that I enjoy Young Adult fiction. The 2nd book in the series was good as well. I am still waiting on the final book (I am hold #14 now).

I decided to read The Devil Wears Prada. I never saw the movie and am not sure that I am even going to finish the book.

I did recently finish reading A Buzz in the Meadow by Dave Goulson. It is the natural history of a French Farm. The author is a scientist but the writing is wonderful and I learned quite a bit. I will be assigning it to my older 2 kids to read. I need to see if my library has his other work on bees called A Sting in the Tale. Up next for me will likely be The Pearl by Steinbeck and The 100 Foot Journey by Richard Morais.

Finished The Guest Room.

Very compelling read. Kept me avidly reading and I wanted to see what happened next. Thought the character development was good. Hated the ending. I would definitely recommend it.

I just finished Deep South. Although I found it somewhat repetitive and could have done without the Bill Clinton rant, I thought it was a worthwhile read.

I just finished Ready Player One. It was my second sci-fi book and it confirmed I really, really, don't like sci-fi.

Nothing so far. But, I read You Before Me (I know! I finished a book!!!) a few weeks back and I want to read the sequel which comes out in a few days. After You.

beagles, I stayed up late the night I finished the book because I had to see how it ended and I totally agree with you. I liked the book but did not like the ending of The Guest Room.

I am reading Avenue of Mysteries by John Irving. I like it, but I am a HUGE Irving fan. If you have never read Irving, I wouldn't start with this one. For those of you who have read him, it is a typical Irving book with his interesting style which I find highly amusing. But this is certainly no Garp or Owen Meany...probably on the level of Cider House. Good, but not his best.

i'm taking a break and reading cookbooks or food books what ever you like to call them dh just got put on the mediterranean diet so i'm reading french, italian, greek and spain food books some are quite interesting reading actually

beagles, you are right. After You has been out awhile. My book club read both Me Before You and After You. Many of us were not that crazy about After You. We talked about seeing the movie (Me Before You) when it was first released, but then decided to wait until it's available on pay per view or DVD, so we can all watch it together AND discuss it at the same time.

I am reading Blue Orchard by Jackson Taylor. It's especially fun for me because it's set in Harrisburg, a town very near to where I grew up and now live. A sweeping summary: it's about a young girl who against many odds survived poverty, taught herself to read and eventually becomes a nurse who is arrested for assisting a black doctor who was performing abortions. I am about 1/3 way through and much of it is a flashback/reflection of her life from age 12 to the point of being arrested (and presumably through the trial-- but I didnt get that far!).

It isn't my usual read but find it well written and interesting-- mostly because of the setting and because it's based on the story of the author's grandmother. The early years are not so different from any of a number of other stories we've all read but again, it's especially interesting to me because I know the streets (and in some cases, the houses), the locations and the ground she covers.

My hairdresser recommended it to me a number of years ago-- I added it to my kindle then but never read it. She mentioned it again this weekend as one of her favorite books .. I needed something new to read so I started it that evening.

I know I already mentioned this in the beginning of this thread and it's an older book (2002) that maybe many already read, but I cannot stop thinking about what a wonderful read Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides is. His writing is SO brilliant, the book is filled with history and family and genetics and the most vivid, stunning imagery. It is the second time I've read it and it took me a long time because I had to savor every sentence. I just had to plug it again. He won a Pulitzer for it; no wonder!

Well, I finally gave up on Guns, Germs and Steel. Hated to do that, because I always finish books, but around pg. 260 I realized that I hated the author's writing style and didn't care for his droning repetition, either. Left it on a table with a bookmark, perhaps will return to it.

Am now reading (happily, lol) My Father, His Daughter, by Yael Dayan, whose father was Moshe Dayan, the famed Israeli general and politician with the black eye patch. In this memoir Yael D. does not mince words, about herself or Moshe. And she's a good writer, nicely evoking places and people without being overly sentimental.

After this book comes Bare Blass, by Bill Blass, which I ordered used from Amazon after our discussion about B.B. here. When Chijim posted that picture of his living room which contained a very tall odd object that I thought was a Scandinavian stove, but that someone finally proved, after some back-and-forthing, was a highly polished wood cocktail butler. Anyway, peeked at a few paragraphs already; Blass has a lovely easy style, gently humorous.

Olychick- what good timing- I have not yet read Middlesex, but it;s 2 months away for my book club so I will be looking forward. (it's a bit bigger than my usual so I am going to start it a bit sooner than I normally would).

I finished Deep South yesterday and did really enjoy it. It was very engaging and while there are parts of it that didn't draw me in, since there were so many "snapshots" it was fine to not read each one diligently. It definitely got my interest up because I went to the library and got Tobacco Road and Sound and the Fury (Faulkner) , I am going to give them a whirl but don't know how far I will get. Theroux's mentioning them over and over made me think I should at least try them. My other comment about Deep South is that it was wonderful to read it on the kindle because his vocabulary frequently had me utilizing the dictionary feature - I am sure if I read it in a regular book form I would have been to lazy to bother:)

I am pretty sure I read Guns, Steel etc a few years ago and didn't think it was all I expected it to be.

Sable - thanks for mentioning the Dayan book; I will put it on my list.

ETA- regarding The World to Come (Dara Horn)- HollyKay and any one else- I too thought it was very special. At my book club, it seemed almost evenly split with people loving it, and not being able to finish it.

Sheila, will be interested to hear what you think. It took me forever to read it because I was savoring every sentence (almost), I guess. I couldn't quite figure out why it was taking me so long, but that must be it. I started The Sound of Gravel two days ago and am nearly done, so I don't think my speed has slowed down, just slowed by the desire to immerse myself in his words and concepts. Sigh....

I finished Summer by Edith Wharton on Friday. It was interesting but not great. Started The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner yesterday. Whoa. I. Will. Finish. It.

I just finished a delightful fun and funny book by Robert Thier called Storm and Silence. I picked this book because it was described as a Victorian era book on women's suffrage in the UK. At first I was horribly disgusted to find the mention of the tall dark handsome man right out of the block. I thought, oh, here we go with a cheap smutty predictable book. Well, this isn't the usual and I'm so glad I kept reading. It's really funny, full of action and adventure and an overall great weekend read. Seriously, I could not put it down. I highly recommend for those that want a light humorous change of pace and a whole lot of excitement . And, the good news is that it is a series with the 2nd book coming out in August.

Even if this isn't your usual type of read, you will, perhaps against your will, really really enjoy it.

Based on recommendations here, I just finished the Sound of Gravel. It was difficult to read about the conditions that these children were subjected to, but was very informative from the perspective of a child raised in a polygamous cult. Disturbing to say the least, but a tale of courage and hope. Not great literature, but compelling reading.

I just finished Before the Fall which was just recently published. Sort of a thriller/suspense. I'm not sure where I heard about it. It was decent - a good beach read, even though I read it from the comfort of my own home! My other nightstand choices were a little "heavier" than I was in the mood for so that one fit the bill. I just started reading The Girls by Emma Cline. Another new book that is on several lists. Hard to know yet if I will like it yet. The other two books I have on my nightstand are The Association of Small Bombs by Karan Mahajan and The Fisherman by Chigozie Obioma. Neither are not "light" reading so I'm waiting to be in the right frame of mind to pick them up. Given recent events, I'm not sure I want to read Mahajan's book right now.

Olychick, my book club read Middlesex many years ago. I too really liked it. In fact, I think everyone in my book club did as well.

Mine seems completely "out there" but if you are interested in farming and farm life and culture and history and plants and the environment, "Epitaph for a Peach" is what I am reading now and it is very good. I can relate to a lot of what the author is talking about. It is a memoir of sorts, he writes about farming his family farm in CA. Plus peaches are my almost favorite fruit.

I just finished "The Silent Wife" for my book club's pick this month. Don't bother, it's pretty much a waste of your time. Luckily, I "read" it in just 1.5 days because it was so filled with non essential (to the story or characters) drivel, that I skipped page after page and was done in no time.

Linelle, have you read Larson's "Devil in the White City"? It was such a fascinating story!

awm03 -- did you see that the Met Breuer is having a Diane Arbus exhibition with about 100 photos, most never seen before? I think her daughters gave the photos to the met and they've been in archives up until now. They are some of her early photos. I'm going back and forth between A Little Life, which I had to put down for a while, and The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. Has anyone else here read this, and done the marathon tidying up? The thought of putting all of my clothes in a big pile on the floor in order to go through them and decide what to keep is a little intimidating.

My friend did that whole "tidying" scheme before she sold her house and moved. She posted quite a few pictures on Facebook of the process. Right now I am going through my late mom's things and my things from a cross-country move and just trying to cull and collate between the two households. The next step, if I ever get to it, will be a big time narrowing down to just the best and most essential things. I have no one to leave my household to like mom did, so I want to dispose of as much extraneous stuff as possible now, while I still have the energy to do it. I haven't gotten that book yet, probably just another "thing" that I don't need, but a friend gave me a copy of "Boomer Burden" which is about clearing out your folks house, which is pretty much what I am doing. Dad is still alive and he is a borderline hoarder, so about the time I get finished with all mom's stuff, dad will need to go into a nursing home or something. Seems like "tidying up" is my middle name!

The anglophile that I am, is starting This Book today, and I can't wait!

I've just finished rereading Frances Mayes' "Under The Tuscan Sun" , and have started rereading her sequel, "Bella Tuscany". For a good Summer read, the combination of cooking, renovating, decorating, gardening and travel is perfect for me. BTW, although I love both books, I was so disappointed in the movie, "Under The Tuscan Sun", which was almost nothing like the book. Ugh!

Funkyard, I just finished your recommendation above , The Blue Orchard by Jackson Taylor. History, race, abortion and politics...very good read!

Nonfiction alert - No god but God: The Origins, Evolution , and Future of Islam by Reza Aslan. Easy reading with timeline and (short) list of definitions.

Read The Sound of Gravel based on this thread. Very good read, informative and interesting.

Reading Viet Thanh Nguyen's The Sympathizer; brilliant, dark, funny, tragic. It's the author's first novel, too. It's set around the time of the fall of Saigon, and is written as the narrator's confession.

Finished The Sound and the Fury on Saturday. The first half was quite a slog but the second half was great. Next up is Straight From the Heart by Ann Richards.

I have added books to my "to read" list from this thread so want to thank everyone for posting!

Justterrilynn, I also loved it. It became much more as I continued to read.. especially on the topics of race and abortion... local history and politics (and city development) Glad you enjoyed it!

lovemrmewey, Yes!! It's my second favorite Erik Larson book. Also very good is In the Garden of Beasts. I wasn't as crazy about Thunderstruck, but I didn't think Marconi was a very compelling character. I much preferred the parallel murder story.

I could read Erik Larson all day.

I'm about to start a crime drama, Norwegian by Night by Derek B. Miller. Crime dramas are not normally my thing but this one sounds interesting because so many of the reviewers said the book made them laugh and cry. So, I'm thinking that it should be good if it causes that much emotion.

Norwegian by Night was a wonderful read despite, not because of, the crime aspect. I galloped through it a couple of years ago.

Rosesstink -- I am about 50 pages from finishing Sound and the Fury and I am struggling with it. I would like to read something else by Faulkner- I guess I feel it's like a badge of accomplishment. I am impressed that you got through it. ( I think I am going to check it out on wikipedia so I can figure out what I read)

I finished Avenue of Mysteries, and it remained mediocre (for Irving!) throughout. Sigh. I plan to re-read Garp to remind myself of his greatness, after I finish my current book, The Three Martini Lunch. Love this one, it is a story from the prospective of three young people trying to make it in publishing in the late 50's. Great characters, and intriguing stories of life in that "mad men" era. 2/3 of the way through, but recommend already.

sheilaaus122 - While I was struggling with the first chapter of The Sound and the Fury I did look online to find out just what the hell I was reading. That definitely helped. It was still a challenge but once I understood who the characters were it all made much more sense. I suppose a "real reader" would just plow through and try to figure it out themselves. I didn't mind my cheat and I think it also explains, in part at least, why the book was not well received when published but praised later. Finish the book. You are so close. I have no plans to read anything else by Faulkner. ;-)

BTW - When I showed DH what I was reading his reaction was: "The only good thing I can say about Faulkner is that it's not Dickens." haha He's right. Sort of. I'd certainly pick up another Faulkner before anything by Dickens.

I just started Dave Eggers' Heroes of the Frontier. I am enjoying it very much so far.

My brain needs to settle after reading Norwegian by Night. Very good read that still has me thinking. I have to say the flashbacks got a bit tedious at times though. However, in fairness I don't do well with even mild suspense.

I 'm starting The Early Short Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Funky, thanks for the prompt about Dave Eggers...I hadn't heard of this book, but have it reserved at the library now. I loved his first couple of books but then some fails for me. This one looks very interesting. Please report back when you're finished.