Annie, I read it for book group a few months ago. It was a very interesting story, but I was not alone in wondering why this book is getting such acclaim? I'll be curious to see what you think and what your book group thinks. I don't mean to say it was awful because it was a good read, but there are lots of good reads. This book seemed to have a ton of buzz about it.

I read, “THE AMISH WIFE,” (sorry, I have an old iPad can’t find how to do bold text). It is the true story of a woman and child who go missing from an Ohio Amish community in 1977. Gregg Olsen investigates and tells the story masterfully as he goes along, never accepting the “story” that they were killed in a fire. It’s a good read and may lend itself well to a book club. There’s a great deal of information about the Amish that’s interesting to discuss as well as a story with twists and turns.

debra

I finished The Art Thief. 4 stars. Not sure how much discussion but there is some meat there. I'll miss book group though as it conflicts with a play I'm attending.

I read the first 26 pages of “The Art Theif” and was captivated immediately. I will buy the book.

debra

I finished Saplings, by Noel Streatfield, of Ballet Shoes fame. It was about a family during the London Blitz. The kids are sent to live with out-of-town relatives and to boarding schools to protect them. Not a happy time.

I finished The House of Doors and really liked it. It was so beautifully written and a very fascinating story. I know nothing about the time period , and also only know that the 2 big names in the story (Sun Yat Sen and Someset Maugham) existed. What an interesting story.

I think this would be a great book for a book club. I give it 4 stars.

I am going to start The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store for a book club read.

About to read Lessons in Chemistry.

Really enjoyed Frozen River, which I think I'd give 4 stars out of 5. Some characters are toss-away and she can be a bit heavy handed with symbolism. Some say it's too modern day forward, but I think it reads well. We "argued" a bit in book club that the main character didn't exist/have a voice in that time. I think they did exist, but were written out of history or had their voice squashed ;)

I just finished Close to Death by Anthony Horowitz. 3 stars. It's a murder mystery set a few years back in London, in an exclusive neighborhood where all the neighbors have a motive for killing an obnoxious neighbor. It's told from several perspectives: straight third-person narrative at the time of the action, first-person from the author's fictionalized version of himself, later on, while writing a book about the murder, then a mashup where the author enters the scene and interacts with the characters. It sounds weird and confusing, but it worked. It was just a different kind of spin.

I had great hopes for the book because the story was told well and intelligently. The problem was the denouement which needed so much detailed explanation that it kind of eliminated any surprise or shock factor. It got a little squirrelly. Too bad, because it was fun to read, but the ending just didn't deliver enough for a higher rating.

I am reading a book of interconnected stories by Patrick Modiano, called Such Fine Boys. A graduate of a French private school writes a chapter about each of his classmates, from the viewpoint of the time in school and afterwards. Very beautifully translated from the French original. I had never heard of this author, but the book cover describes him as a Nobel Prizewinner.

I am going to start James. DD1 recommended I do some prep by reading a synopsis of Huck Finn. Wikipedia, here I come!

Faftris, I finished James this past weekend and thought it was very good. It is clever and very well written. I agree with your DD1's recommendation. It isnt required, but I really wish I had reread The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn first-- or at least reviewed a synopsis.

I 'liked' The Art Thief for the incredible true story of the deranged thief himself, and for the self-deception at work not only in him, but with his mother and his girlfriend. If only it was 'just a story'!

Self-discovery is the theme of Ruth Reichel's entertaining The Paris Novel. The story is engrossing, but the food is a central 'character'. 3.5 Stars.

Chisue, I just started The Paris Novel ... I have enjoyed Ruth's other books but my favorites are her early autobiographical books (Comfort me with Apples and Tender at the Bone).

I just finished a non-fiction When the Sea Came Alive An Oral History of D-Day by Garrett Graff that I rate a 5. My dad was 2nd wave on Omaha Beach, so I'm familiar with a lot of the days events, but this is, as the title says, snippets of first person accounts that were fascinating. I was amazed at how funny many of the accounts were and was blown away by the level of cool courage off handedly shared. The chapters about the preparation for the D-Day invasion, that included basically an invasion of the United Kingdom, contained a lot that was new to me. I could see an interesting book club discussion.

I was very disappointed in James. I was expecting the author to take the story and expand it to the level of Demon Copperhead, but it just didn't do it for me. Maybe my expectations were too high.

I finished one of my "woman writers no one never heard of" books, called The Far Cry, by Emma Smith. She spent a great deal of her life working in India, and she wrote this book about a young English girl, brought to India by her father. I loved the descriptions of the topography, the sights and energy of India. It was almost mystical, in the sense how the girl is caught up in and is grabbed by her new surroundings.

I finished The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store and really enjoyed it. In the very beginning, I was having trouble following and sticking with it, but I went with the flow and quickly got into it. I thought the story ( and history) was well done.

It was a very strong 4 stars for me. I think it will make for a good book club discussion. I'll update next week after we meet.

I know the author, James McBride, has written several other popular books but didn't realize he wrote The Good Lord Bird which I read a few years ago and liked. It was historical fiction about John Brown but at the time I knew very little about him. A while later, on a road trip, we visited Harper's Ferry and it had a lot more meaning and interest for me.

Editing to add, I started The Grapes of Wrath. I was pretty sure we had to read it in high school, and thought maybe I skimmed it too lightly at the time, but now I'd say this is most definitely my first time reading it.

And wow, he's a good writer!lol

Side story about the name John Brown: years ago, there was a local political candidate named John Brown. He rang my doorbell, and when I answered the door, he said I’m John Brown…like the song. Ooookay. I had no idea what he was talking about. I mentioned the interaction to others and everyone else new the song. I must have been absent that day in elementary school.

Second side story about John Brown: that day when I answered my door, John Brown did a big, exaggerated step back away from my door. I guess to demostrate he wasn’t a threat? The entire, brief experience had me wondering what in the world was that? But I still remember his name, although I couldn’t pick him out of a line-up. 😆

I'm not sure that I ever read The Good Lord Bird, although our visit to Harper's Ferry, quite awhile ago, was interesting and the scenery was so breathtaking. I've read that the town itself has been revitalized since our visit. Anyway, I'm gonna request The Good Lord Bird, and this reminded me of how much I liked Tony Horwitz' biography of John Brown. Midnight Rising.

ETA: slight spoiler alert.

I just finished Lessons in Chemistry and really enjoyed it. Solid 4 stars. It's one I'd recommend to my girlfriends, but not my daughter who is more highbrow and doesn't believe in anything resembling a happy ending.

I've started Birnam Wood but haven't got far enough to decide if I like it or not.

Hello, been mia on this thread for awhile. We read Erasure by percival Everett which hecwrote before James. Didnt love it, didnt hate it. Book club had a good discussion. I still have to see the movie, American Fiction.

I started Sandwich by Catherine Newman. Didnt finish it, so that tells you how i felt

Next for book club is Long Island by Colm Toibin, a follow up to his book Brooklyn. Ive only just started it but Im getting drawn in and enjoying it very much.

I loved Lessons in Chemistry and The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store was just short of love.

It has been several (5 or 6) months since I have posted , so I have a list of books that I read that were wonderful. . . It was a good summer!!!

5 Stars in order from most favorite to least favorite:

The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post

Dodge & Twist

The Midnight Library

The Life She Was Given

I Found You

Before and After

The 100 year old man who climbed out the window and disappeared

The Housemaid

The Last Flight

4 Star - not in any specific order:

Daughters of the Samurai

How to defend a Demon King in 10 easy steps

The Golden Orchard

Call The Midwife

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store

If you find me

Matchmaking for Beginners

Interview with the Robot

The Joy Luck Club

The Man on Mountaintop

Just started: The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek

djacob , I downloaded The Amish Wife today and only had time to read 15 pages. I'm already hooked.

ETA: before I posted I've been looking at Harmony, MN on google maps. :)

I just finished The Grapes of Wrath and it really is all that. 5 stars. As I mentioned, I was always pretty sure I'd read it in high school but I am now like 99% sure I never did.

I somehow thought it would be more "Work" to get into it but it had me right away and all through it. I did read it somewhat slowly but only for more enjoyment.

In the past few years, I have read a few books that were really quite good and dealt with similar time period. I think that gave me a bit more context. Two of the books that come to mind, if anyone is interested in recommendations------

Mary Coin

Whose Names Are Unknown

I read The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl earlier this month and it was really just what I needed. I have loved Ruth Reichl's non fiction in the past (Comfort Me with Apples, Tender at the Bone, etc)-- I have also read all of her fiction but this is the first I have loved. As Salonva noted in her post a few weeks ago, there is a lot of food in the story but I don't think you have to be a foodie to appreciate it. There are appearances by real life people and the Shakespeare & Company bookstore in Paris ... there is a little bit of a mystery and a lot of discovery.

The story is a little simple but I loved how it unfolded. I thought it was delightful and just the escape I needed in a stressful month. I gave it a rare (for me) 5 stars.

A reviewer says this book has a plot like a Swiss watch. We've been well entertained by all of Joseph Kannon's earlier WWII thrillers, and now Shanghei as well. (I read. DH uses audiobook.) 4 Stars.

I have Slow Horses, Mick Herron, on the shelf. Thought I'd look it over to see if I want to watch the resulting British espionage eries on TV. I know it's been popular.

I've also been dipping in and out of Mary Gaitskill's collection of essays, Somebody With a Little Hammer. 4 Stars.

Funkyart -- I knew you'd enjoy The Paris Novel! You're exactly right about it being a delightful escape. I really thought it could have been more than a single story; there was so much in there.

Just finished Liz Moore's The God of the Woods. A very good mystery story that takes place at a camp/compound in the Adirondacks in 1975, with earlier flashbacks. The characters are well-drawn, and it was an enjoyable read, but IMO not as good as her two previous books which I really loved: Long Bright River and The Unseen World, which was my favorite.

Did any Jeopardy fans notice that Bonnie Garmus’ husband was a contestant? He did quite well. She wrote Lessons in Chemistry. Amazing that was her first novel!

My sister and I share books and both have excel workbooks with the books we read and our wish list of books we want to read. (Neither of us will live long enough to read them all).

We were sending e-mails back and forth and narrowing our purchase list.

Loved my sister's final e-mail

"So if someone writes a book about orphans who run the library car on a circus train we will both love it 100%!"

I am in a hiatus, having frozen all my library holds in anticipation of DD2's wedding (yesterday and it was wonderful, although the airline "lost" my suitcase sending me into panic mode. They found it, sent it on the next plane and expedited it to the hotel. I had to wear jeans and sneakers to the rehearsal dinner, but luckily, not to the wedding itself) plus I am taking an upcoming vacation in two weeks. But , not to worry; I've been knitting. Those baby sweaters aren't going to knit themselves. At the wedding, a number of young moms sought me out to say thanks and to show me pictures of their babies wearing my creations.

I loved how the Jeopardy guy said that his wife worried that no one would publish Lessons in Chemistry, but it wound up on the bestseller list for 99 weeks. I loved The God of the Woods as well. I read The Long Bright River, and now I know about The Unseen World. Thank you Bookwoman.

Congratulations on the wedding, faftris! But I'm sorry you had such stress until your suitcase showed up. Phew!

When our daughter got married, I put my dress in a garment bag and had that as my carry-on, as I was too afraid of it getting lost. I also had an underseat tote with a change of clothes, toiletries, etc. Thankfully all our luggage made it. Since the wedding was in San Diego I figured I could always buy anything else I needed, if necessary.

Finally gave up on The Bookseller's Secret. I tried for months to get through it and finally gave up yesterday. I'm now reading The Law of Innocence by Michael Connelly. It's 1000 times better than the other book.

Link to October 2024