Salon, read The Grapes of Wrath!! It's magnificent.

We had to read it in high school and I fake-read it via a book of great lit synopses we had at home. I even gave an oral book report and was not busted. I read it for real a couple of years ago and was blown away.

Does Grapes have a nursing mother saving the life of a stranger? Or, is that another novel about the bleak poverty of the times?

Fourteen Days, put together by Margaret Atwood and (Douglas ?) Robinson, was a brave attempt. It was a great idea -- weaving together stories from several famous writers -- created to benefit members of the publishing industry taking a financial hit during Covid. It may have been impossible to limit the contributors, but 'less' would have been 'more'. Good wrap-up! 2.5 Stars.

Yes, Grapes has the nursing mother scene. I'd forgotten about that.

hmmm I don't remember that at all, but I am thinking that I may have fake read it ( and DH as well). I definitely intend to read it for REAL now. I had never read East of Eden and read that recently. I kept thinking, " no wonder Steinbeck is such a big deal!".

I just finished Bright lights big Christmas b May Kay Andrews, it was good.

Finished 1619 Project. I learned a lot. It was very emotional. But I was not pleased with the ending.

I've picked up a Stephanie Plum/Janet Evanovich as a fun break after that one. I'm intermixing with A Billion Years which is really eye opening about life inside Scientology.

Murder mystery The Final Curtain by Keigo Higashino ; translated by Giles Murray. This book is set in Japan and I was a bit daunted at first at keeping all the names straight although it is helpful that there is a list of characters at the beginning. This is one of the better murder mysteries for twists and turns that I have read, and I would give it 4.5 out of 5 stars.

I have seen the movie On the Beach a couple of times and when I came upon the book (by Nevil Shute), I picked it up. I found that the movie basically followed the book pretty closely and it was an enjoyable, albeit chilling, read.

I'm not able to visit the library since I am isolating with Covid, so I asked DH to choose some books for me from their new books section. He brought home three, and an adventure awaits as to whether they are "winners" or not!

Do graphic novels count? I just read Over Easy by Mimi Pond. It takes place in California in the 1970s; the story of her dropping out of art school and becoming a waitress. I love her drawing style and the book is full of nostalgia, since I was about the same age at that time. I found out recently that she wrote a sequel called The Customer is Always Wrong, which I plan to read next.

I’m about 2/3 of the way through North Woods. Yowza!

4 Stars for Help Wanted, Adele Waldman. Learn about how the people in the 'back room' labor to bring you the goods you pick from the shelves of a thinly disguised Target. (My guess, anyway.) Read this while you cut Merchandising/Psychology/Sociology. Then think if there isn't a better way to treat our struggling poor. You might want to count the children affected by such an economy.

Just finished Tom Lake by Ann Patchett which was a 4+. I wish I had read the book instead of listening to it, but the narrator was wonderful Meryl Streep. I was in and out with listening so had a hard time keeping the daughters straight which is why reading would have been preferred.

chisue, thanks for the Help Wanted post. I'm waiting for my library copy and have only read published reviews.

I remember reading that some school district somewhere has banned Grapes of Wrath precisely because of that nursing scene. I am halfway through, having had to put it down due to my trip. Hoping here that my poor brain can pick it up mid-stream. One chapter that knocked me out was the one in which the used car salesman gives his spiel. For some crazy reason, the words and the cadence reminded me of the opening scene in The Music Man, where the salesmen are all talking on the train.

Letting you know that DD1 did find a copy of A Room With a View in Italian. Camera Con Vista, in case you were wondering. Not in Florence, but at the bookstore in the Rome train station. Not a copy to be found in Florence, which seemed like a shame.

I unfroze my holds at the library, only to refreeze some since I was number one on the list!

I loved North Woods by Daniel Mason. 5 stars. I'm not in a book club, but it would probably be food for much discussion.

I thought it would be a story about a house and all the people who lived there. Sorta, but that doesn't even come close to what this book entails. It's a strange book, but oh so good. I found it a little scary when I read it at night, with a pinch of Poe and Stephen King.

At about the 2/3 point I recalled faftris saying that she finished it and immediately started rereading it. I understood, even though I was still in the midst of it. One of the things I prefer about ebooks over paper is the easy ability to search on stuff you've just read. I don't think I've ever done that so much in a single book as this one. The threads of interconnectedness are really something.

Also, for a book under 400 pages, it felt longer. Not that it was slow or dragged or was hard to read, but for the breadth and depth of characters and stories it contains. It's a medium sized book that feels big.

Big thanks to faftris, barncatz, and dedtired for their recommendations.

I'm in love with Daniel Mason and Sebastian Barry!

I ageree with Bunny about the way some novels 'feel' longer. I think it's because the really great ones require more contemplation. Also, good writing is such a pleasure that we may linger over it.

And then there's the feeling that you don't want it to end because you are loving it so much. That's what happens when the story is not plot-driven. I've experienced those books, but they are few and far between.

chisue, same here. I just had the extreme pleasure of reading Days Without End and North Woods back to back.

I'm halfway through Barry's A Thousand Moons -- Winona's story about life in Tennessee as the 'butternuts' continue their lost insurgency by harassing Union whites -- and especially Blacks and Indians. Timely...and I hope not prophetic. This is another winner, but not the same marvel of Days Without End.

I just downloaded The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty.

I finished A Billion Years and what I learned is not what I'd hoped...about ways of getting someone out of a cult. Instead what I learned was how deeply indoctrinated cult members are and the things they will go through and put others through. They have completely sacrificed any of their personal identity or morality for the 'cause' or the 'leader' or whatever it is they are devoted to. It is so all consuming that anyone getting out, once they've bought in, is almost impossible. And the price they make those who leave pay is very high. It's part of what keeps them in the cult in the first place. Really scary stuff.

I also finished Hardcore Twenty-Four...another Stephanie Plum book. They always have me lol and a nice break from the other emotionally heavy books I've been reading. Every time I finish one, it makes me want to read another as they're just so much fun.

Bunny -- And now I've listened to Barry read the first chapter of McNulty, your note having sent me to look for the book and finding the reading. Barry says it's the first of his long *unplanned* series. I'll have to get back to all this another day. I've too many holds popping up to be read first.

The Grapes of Wrath just rocked! It proves that reading something when you are in high school isn't the same as when you are an (ahem) mature person. I have tickets for an opera of it in a few weeks, and am interested to see what the composer (Ricky Ian Gordon) does with it. I teared up at his Garden of the Finzi-Continis and may do the same there. Days Without End is waiting on my Libby, and just picked up Cahokia Jazz at the library. DD1 bailed on it, but I will make my own judgement.

The Grapes of Wrath just rocked! It proves that reading something when you are in high school isn't the same as when you are an (ahem) mature person.

faftris, how right you are.

Just finished The Cocktail Waitress by James M. Cain. He wrote "The Postman Always Rings Twice" and "Double Indemnity". Apparently he'd written the book before he died but it wasn't discovered until after his death. The editor had to assemble it as Cain had written multiple versions of various scenes including different endings. The book was terrific, edge of your seat stuff. 4 stars, maybe for book group if they like that kind of stuff with lots of twists.

Next up is another Evanovich Takedown Twenty. They always have me LOL. Nice palette cleansers.

I read Days Without End thanks to the mentions here. I loved it for the first half or 2/3 but then it just somehow didn't maintain. I did finish it and thought it was very interesting, and so different. I don't know why I felt the difference, but I definitely did. Hard t rate, but I guess it would have been 5 stars had it continued that level for me, but I think it ended up being a 3/75 or 4 stars...

Then I just read Go as a River, which kept coming across my radar. This was a really good read. It is one where you kind of have to suspend some reality checks but go along for the ride. I was really drawn into it, and each time I finished a chapter, I would feel compelled to read another one or two or three or....It was beautifully written and I thoroughly appreciated it. I think it would be outstanding for a book club. I rate it 5 stars.

This is not something that I have read, but DD1 did and thought it was fascinating. She had finished Rachel Maddow's book and thought it was brilliant, but disturbing in light of what's happening today. She needed something to recover. She came across Pockets, an Intimate history of how we keep things close, by Hannah Carlson. It is, quite simply, a history of the development of pockets. Carlson is a professor of fashion at RISD. Her theory is that not having pockets all these centuries was a suppression of women's rights. Sound crazy, no? But DD1 recommended it, and I am passing it along. I've put a hold on it, since she rarely steers me wrong.

@salonva I read Go As a River last month and agree with your review. Definitely had to suspend disbelief at times, but beautifully written. I wish the male characters had had better character development.

i just finished My Friends by Hisham Matar. It was a rare five star read for me. It wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea, and at times it moved a little slowly. However, I liked the exploration of friendship, loyalty, family and rebuilding of one's life after a life changing moment forces the main character to remain in a somewhat self-imposed exile (for political reasons) from his family. The writing is beautiful.

Finished Game On: Tempting 28 in the Stephanie Plum series. They're a lot of fun to read. Next up is Collateral Damage by Lynette Eason which I believe was recommended here.

Finished Collateral Damage by Lynette Eason and I'd give it 3+ stars, not for book group. It was a usual "thriller" with a mystery, a heroine who gets involved with a guy who protects her from the evil that is going on, etc. etc. What makes this one unique is the setting includes connections to Afghanistan and the war veterans from there. This is the kickoff for a series, but not one I'm likely to pursue. But if you are looking for that genre that is easy to read, this one is a good one...make a good summer read.

Next up: Going Rogue: Rise and Shine 29, the next in the Stephanie Plum series. I also see I've not kept up with the Longmire series and have a couple more of them to read now too.

On a totally different road, I finished The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music by Dave Grohl.

It was recommended numerous times, and it has quite high ratings on goodreads.

It was a very easy read, interesting and all. I was never a fan of the groups he was in though I for sure recognize the talent and appeal. It was a bit too disjointed, but I did enjoy it and came away being very impressed with him.

Still, I was not wowed by the book, and I would rate it 3 stars. It was a good palate cleanser.

This Time Next Year We'll Be Laughing, A Memoir, by Jacueline Winspear. For my bookclub. It looks like a quick read...and I'm not liking it. The age of the persons in the book are the same age as me and my family. We didn't live in a tent, drive around and pick hops. They mention early on you can have secondary PTSD just by hearing about other peoples stories of hardship. I really want to read "fun" books....so this isn't hitting the sweet spot with me. 1 star

I read Remarkably Bright Creatures, my book club is talking about it Thursday....I felt duped. THAT is NOT how an octupus thinks, I've interacted with many...and it felt like the author was pandering to an audience...dumbing it down...making it cute to hold your attention. They needed a correlation of sameness and it needed to be done in another manner. It was a quick read. 3 stars because it held my attention, it was a good story line, it was fun if you don't over analyze. I still felt let down, having had high expectations.

I read The Women and was moved by it. It's the story of a young debutante that enlists to go to Vietnam as a RN. It tells of her time there and her difficult return to society after.

I was in high school during the war and had an older brother with a draft number so this novel hit close to home.

Tommy Orange has written two books

There There

and Wandering Stars.

He's being lauded as a brilliant Native American writer.

No argument there.

I read most of both books and enjoyed the parts about the three brothers Orville, Loother, and Lony.

I did not appreciate was the summary on the fly leafs had very little to do with the actual books. What was promoted as major plot lines took place in part of one chapter or even one paragraph.

I read There There a while ago, after it was mentioned on this forum thread ( who knows what month/year). I remember feeling that somehow I was not quite getting what others were praising.

I just checked my rating on goodreads, and I gave it 3 stars.

Our book club just finished and discussed A Shadow in Moscow by Katherine Reay. It’s not fine literature by any measure but pleasant enough and a good female centric spy story.

Our April book is Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon, to be followed in May by Untamed by Will Harlan, the non-fiction story of Cumberland Island (off the Georgia coast) and the legal battles for its protection and public use. In June we will read The Berlin Letters, Katharine Reay’s newest novel (she’s a fan favorite here bc she does book promo stops in our little town!). After that I’m on my own for two months until our meetings resume in September.

**i posted this in error on the Feb thread, deleted and reported here.

I'm in the middle of Daphne du Maurier's My Cousin Rachel. While not as compelling as Rebecca, the woman can write, and it's a story where the suspense slowly builds. I hope it's not a let-down of an ending.

I've finished re-reading "Bunny" by Mona Awad(hilarious, dark, superinventive and twisted, yet something was on my way, thus re-reading...no, it didn't disapper..trying to figure out what I am missing)...I'm nearing the end of Kafka (Complete Works), competely and utterly under the spell, goes into my top whateever the number is for all my life...also reading Agia Viva (ClariceLispector...the translation is Portuguese)...very unusual format takes complete immersion so reading it when I can..hal-way through it. Feels like a side of me unfiltered and usually rejected, just spilt on the page. Very strange.

I've also started reading something not-published yet, it's called "beta-reading", very cool, first time I'm ever a part of something like this, and the book is quite interesting.

I should really put here honorable mentions (very honorable) of books I read before but didn't write about, but this comment is getting too long.

I see that my list is growing though day by day, this thread contibutes, and as I love paper books and it's hard to read from the screen, the house is literally covered with books, I swear to myself I'll take some to our library etc yet somehow never can.

That was me, April. great, thank you, Houzz.

I admired There There. Saying that I 'enjoyed" it would be a terrible thing to say. It was that kind of book--the kind that is disturbing, yet so well-written that you can't put it down. I was not as much of a fan of Wandering Stars. Maybe I was not in the mood. We've had two unexpected deaths in the family in the last 3 weeks. But I just couldn't read about one more drug addiction or overdose. Maybe I will come back to it another time.

so sorry, faftris

Hugs to you, faftris.

Thanks to all.

faftris - Very sorry for your familys' losses.

So, so sorry faftris. You need a warm, comforting read.

Sending my sympathies faftris. Hard thing to go through for sure.

I just finished The Root of His Evil by James M. Cain. So good. I like how he has the women in his novels as clever and strong, even though it was written back in 1951. 4 stars, but probably not for book group unless they are into this genre.

Very sorry for your family's losses, faftris.

I've come to the conclusion that if I fill up my life with misery, the stories consumed through novels, then..... THAT IS MY LIFE. faftris...I'm so sorry for your losses. I understand that good writing and making the reader feel emotions for the characters misery is NOT the course I would wish to set my life on either. I also do not care to hear about drug addiction, murder, racism... or a multitude of other attrocities.

Thank you all for being such a kind, supportive group. People who read are the best!

Link to April 2024 Edition

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/6437411/what-are-you-reading-april-2024-edition