I too had a regent scholarship PLUS my mom was in the UFT and they gave scholarship just for going to college. I had friends that were not happy that I was making money by "just" going to school. I think the UFT one was $250 per year.

Arcy, it is interesting that one of the books you recommended, Original Sin, will not be released for another six weeks or so. How were you able to read it?

I really liked A Calamity of Noble Houses. Making a copy of the family tree helped, since there were a lot of similar-sounding names. Learn from my stupidity: there were a lot of foreign words, and I spent a great deal of time looking them up on my phone as I was reading. Who would think there would be a whole glossary in the back of the book? I didn't see it until I got tp the end! DUH!

chinacatpeekin, on this thread and others, it seems arcy feels no need to abide by the norms or the guidelines. I doubt she read the other one either. In fact, I don't recall her ever posting here about any books she's read, but I guess she didn't want to miss the opportunity to try to turn things political as is her wont.

I finished What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty. Really enjoyed it. 4 star. Good for book group.

Next up The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn, based on a true story of a woman sniper for russia during the war.

faftris, in case you haven't seen it, there's a very good essay by Vivian Gornick on where (I'm assuming) you went to college in the latest NY Review of Books: https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2025/04/24/the-176-year-argument-vivian-gornick/. They don't let you do gift links, but if you want to message me I'd be happy email it to you.

That's exactly the right place. I didn't have the "college experience". It was more like 13th, 14th and 15th grade, subwaying as I did. But it was what we could afford. That $54 seems like a paltry sum, but it was a week's take home salary for my factory-worker dad at the time .I went to one of those NYC specialized high schools, and while the valedictorian went to Harvard, the vast majority of us went to the city universities. CCNY was good enough for Jonas Salk, so it was just fine for me. I loved it there. I couldn't read the article, but thank you. I am sure DD1 can access it for me through her work.

Annie -- I'll be interested in your review of Quinn's book. I think I gave it a 3. Either too much imagined or too little. I wasn't interested enough to read the sniper's own book, but she was indeed a remarkable person.

I just finished Roman Year, by Andre Aciman, of Call Me By Your Name fame. I have to give it a meh. Spoiler alert: I am not much of a memoir reader. Aciman, of Jewish heritage, was forced to leave Egypt with his family, and was a refugee in Italy for a time, until he came to New York, where, I believe, he still lives and writes. I felt that the first half was interesting, but the second half was whiny and repetitive.

I was taking a break but just got Eddie Winston is Looking for Love by Mariann Cronin. She wrote The 100 Years of Lenni and Margot which I loved.

Just finished Emma Donoghue's Paris Express, for my book club. Meh. It's a neat idea, based on the true story of a train that crashed at the Gare Montparnasse in 1895, with some characters based on actual passengers and others invented by the author. But she seemed more interested in showing off her research than in crafting an interesting story. I adored Room. This ain't it.

I just finished “The Giver Of Stars” by Jojo Moyes. I absolutely loved it. It’s set in Kentucky in depression era America. A team of women deliver books as part of a traveling library, much to the chagrin of the town’s men.

Salonva, the two titles you mentioned by Mariann Cronin sounded interesting. Apparently those are the only books she has written. This morning I checked out the audio of “The 100 Years of Lenni and Margot” and put a hold on the Eddie Winston audio.

Just finished The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn. 4 stars and would be great for book group provided they aren't OTT on WWII historical fiction...though unlike so many others we've read, this is from the Russian POV. Based on a true story about a woman sniper in the Russian army with an astonishing record.

Next up, I'll give Beowulf a try.

I believe Seamus Heaney's is considered one of the best modern translations.

Bookwoman, that is the one I have to read.

One of our dachshunds was named Hrothgar!

I just started Camino Island, on the recommendation of DS1 who just finished the trilogy. So far it’s engaging. I haven’t read anything by John Grisham in years and forgot how fast paced his novels are.

Just finished Beowulf (Seamus Heaney translation) and I really enjoyed it. Now I read it superficially. Reading his introduction, there's clearly so much more underneath in terms of the poetry, but I wasn't paying attention to the stresses, the meter or the alliteration. I just read it as a story, and his translation is very readable. Stunning to think that 1,000 years later this story is still as engaging as it was. I did find the names awkward especially when he was discussing the battles of who fought who but it is what it is. But the main plot line of Beowulf's heroism came through loud and clear. If only we were fighting fire-breathing dragons again...

kswl, I'd never read anything by Grisham before I read Camino Island.

I'll look forward to reading your reaction to it.

I opened this thread and had a chuckle at the opening image. There's a related sentiment that applies to a book I started at the beginning of the week. It's Tombland, the seventh and last book in the Matthew Shardlake historical fiction series written by CJ Sansom.

I'd been putting off reading it because I didn't want to NOT have another book in the series to look forward to reading "sometime".

There had been rumors a few years ago that he was working on an 8th book for the series. That was never confirmed or denied. It was announced sometime after the rumor started circulating that he'd become more seriously ill with a progressive disease he'd had, and that made it difficult for him to write. Not much more was said. Sadly, his death was announced in April of last year.

Unless he had a partially completed manuscript that his estate could choose to hire a writer to finish, or unless he had put down thoughts for story plots a new writer can start fresh with, the series is over and there will only be seven books.

I had been putting off reading the last book, and was invigorated to continue to do so after I learned of his death. Then I couldn't hold back any longer. After getting about one-third in, I find it's as engrossing if not more so as I found the first six to be. The good news is like many of the others, it's a long book - 880 pages in printed form, nearly 38 hours in the audiobook format I prefer.

Too bad it isn't longer because I don't want to finish it. When I do, I will have no remaining unread Shardlake books to look forward to. But, that's how it is. I can wait a few years and start rereading them.

Elmer -- I had not known there was another Shardlake. I've put this on my list.

I'm in the middle of West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge. It's been in my kindle library for some time. Now that I've started reading I can't put it down. Great story told through the eyes of a 105 year old man who was a dustbowl survivor in 1938 and found himself escorting two giraffes across the US to the San Diego zoo. A fictional account based on some historical accuracy. Truth meets fiction done seamlessly.

chisue (and others), I thought his illness and ultimate death at 71 were a real tragedy. The impeccable historical research (he had a PhD in history) that formed part of his writing preparation gave the setting of his stories believable details and made them come alive.

His obits from last year in the NY Times and Wash Post are behind their paywall (I have subscriptions) but here's the beginning of what the Times said. The article continues with more detail and praise. I recommend it to others having access.

“Oh, goody! An 800-page novel about the peasant uprisings of 1549!” Marilyn Stasio, the longtime mystery and crime reviewer for The New York Times Book Review, began a column in 2019.

It was an assessment of “Tombland,” the seventh work of historical fiction by C.J. Sansom to feature Matthew Shardlake, a hunchbacked lawyer-turned-detective whose exploits solving chilling murders in Tudor England come steeped in suspense and granular historical detail. Readers are made privy to the court intrigues of Thomas Cromwell and King Henry VIII, eavesdrop on women arguing in a market stall, and inhale the stench of London streets.

Ms. Stasio’s enthusiasm was real, not snarky. “Sansom describes 16th-century events in the crisply realistic style of someone watching them transpire right outside his window,” she wrote.

Mr. Sansom, who earned a Ph.D. in history and a law degree before turning to writing in his late 40s, quickly becoming one of Britain’s most popular historical novelists, died of cancer in hospice care on April 27. He was 71."

I finished Closer to the Light by Melvin Morse, MD. From 1990, I still remember my friend mentioning the book to me so I finally got around to reading it. It's about what children have said about their Near Death Experiences (NDEs). He tries to approach a difficult subject on the cusp between science and spirituality and finds some common factors behind all NDEs that seems to undermine that it's from drugs or oxygen deprivation, etc. For example, to have an NDE you must be near death. Others on eg drugs, don't have that same experience. He also suggests that Drs are not trained well to deal with death even though it's so much a part of their experience with patients and their families. Loved ones can derive comfort and strength from the knowledge of such experiences so should be shared rather than viewed as something that represents a delusional symptom and needs treatment or dismissed as drug-induced.

His research also shows that those children who experienced NDEs are much less likely to use drugs or alcohol or get into trouble, but rather lead productive lives. Many report having had experienced a connection with the universe and a need to live with "purpose". Doesn't mean they need to win a nobel prize, but that their time on earth which is very precious should be done in a way that has meaning to them and others.

He also had a surprising tidbit that I will be sure to use in the future: "If an anesthesiologist whispers 'You will get well soon' in the ear of a patient during surgery, that patient will leave the hospital an average of 2 days sooner than a control group...."

I found it interesting enough to want to follow up with what they've learned in the 35 years since the book was written.

If your book group has an interest in discussing such things, this would be a good book to read. 4 stars for it's thoughtfulness.

Fascinating topic, Annie. You might enjoy reading “In My Time of Dying” by Sebastian Junger (author of The Perfect Storm”)- absolutely fascinating and extremely well written; after coming very close to dying of a medical catastrophe, Junger grapples with the idea of an afterlife, exploring both the scientific (particularly physics) and philosophical aspects. I highly recommend this book to anyone.

Gabriele, by Anne Berest and her sister, Claire. It's a "biography" of their great grandmother, reconstructed and imagined from whatever materials they were able to find. She was quite ahead of her time, a prime participant in the development of modern art in Paris at the turn of the century.

Anne Berest wrote The Postcard, also a story based on her family's experiences during WWII. I loved that book. So far, I am enjoying Gabriele.

Finished That's Not My Name by Megan Lally. 3.5 stars, not for book group. It's a young adult/teen thing about a teenage girl who has disappeared and the search to find her. Shades of a common theme (The Blob, Rebel Without a Cause) where the kids know better and can't get the adults to listen. It did have a twist which was hinted at but I failed to put together the pieces.

Next up Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak.

thanks for reminding me about The Postcard. My daughter keeps recommending it and I promised to read it.

I thought I'd update since today I had book club re Mary Coin.

I started by going to each person and asking them to rate it on a scale of 1 to 5, and they had any recollection of the photograph, Migrant Mother by Dorothea Lange. To my shock, less than half knew of the photo Ibefore reading the book. Of the 12 women there, 6 gave it 4 or 5 stars, 3 gave it 2 stars, and the remaining 3 gave it 3 stars. I still recommend the book and think it's worth reading..... That's what makes the world go around I guess?

I finished Gabriele, and liked it, not loved it. I wish I knew more about art history, especially modern art history, because I would have understood more of what was going on and recognized more of the names of the artists that she knew. Next college degree will have to include some art history classes! LOL I picked up The Eights, by Joanna Miller. Shoutout to Bookwoman--it's about the first group of women to matriculate at Oxford.

Ooh, sounds right up my alley!

I finished CJ Sansom's Tombland, the last Shardlake novel because of the author's untimely death last year. After the story ends, there is included an essay in with the author fills in elements of the still incomplete historical record of the civil unrest in Norwich in 1549. The so-called Kett's Rebellion.

I couldn't have enjoyed the book more than I did. I loved the prior six stories in the series and this last one, perhaps the most. I recommend all of them, perhaps best read in order, to anyone who likes compelling and engrossing stories set in colorful and interesting factual historical settings during the Tudor period in England.

Finished Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak. Loved it. 4 star, not for book group. It's a murder mystery ghost story and it had some nice twists that kept me guessing, and it wrapped up all the loose ends at the end which I like. If you like that kind of thing, this is a good one.

Elmer - I note that you used the audiobook format for the latest (and last) Shardlake book. I wonder if you also used this format for the other books in the series. I love audiobooks and took a look at Audible.com for the titles, noting that many of them are narrated by multiple readers. Are these the items that you downloaded? I have never listened to a book with several narrators, so don't know what the experience would be like.

I finished Eddie Winston is Looking for Love. I did like it and think it's a quirky-different book ( 4 stars) I think her other book, The 100 Years of Lenni and Margot was a mind blower (as in 5 stars and more) and this one, was very good, but not a mind blower. Still I enjoyed it and am glad I read it.

Elmer -- What do youthink of Hilary Mantel's historical novels? We've just signed up for Masterpiece again to start watching the dramatization of "Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light". Mantel died (recently), ending my hopes for more doorstop-size novels with characters roaming the Tower and Hampton Court Palace.

stacey_mb, I "read" exclusively via audiobooks and have done so for a long time. For free.

As I recall you are/were a librarian, you may be familiar with the company Overdrive. It's a provider of digital content (ebooks and audiobooks) to libraries, to make available to its patrons. Some people call it "Libby", which is a misnomer. That's the name of Overdrive's app for portable devices - smartphones, tablets, etc.

Overdrive has an overwhelmingly large portfolio of titles to offer, more than any one library system would want or could afford to pay for. I believe libraries pay based on the number of titles it "subscribes" to (unique titles it makes available in its system for its own patrons), plus the number of "copies" (simultaneous users) it chooses to provide and the activity perhaps too.

In what I've seen, no one library has even as much as 25% of what Overdrive has available. Each library chooses its own subset of Overdrive's offerings to make available and so by looking at multiple libraries, I'm usually able to find titles I'm looking for (and also able to find the shortest wait-lists available to me for popular or new titles). If one library doesn't have a particular title or doesn't have it in audiobook form, another one likely will. Libraries in more populated areas have larger Overdrive "collections", as is true with physical books, compared to smaller ones.

In my state, local library systems that opt to receive supplemental funding from the state (most do) are required to provide a quid pro quo for the money - they have to make cards available to any and all in-state residents, without regard to whether they are or aren't located in that particular library's geographic area. Some libraries require a physical visit to a branch to get a card. Others allow online signups. I wander around the state a fair bit and so have accumulated a number of cards. Between my in-state cards and a few out of state ones "shared" with me by people I know, I have about a dozen.

There is another source, a smaller competitor to Overdrive which some library systems use, I forget its name.

A very few authors withhold their works from Overdrive or they become unavailable with the passage of time. I remember having a problem getting one of the two "Winds of War" volumes. I got it from Audible.

I know many people have expectations for narrations that are sometimes as important to them as their expectations for a book. And may stop listening to a book should they find the voice or the style of the narrator unsatisfactory. I'm the opposite, I'm completely indifferent concerning the performance of the narration as long as I can understand what's said. Male or female, accent or no, undramatic, dramatic, or overly dramatic. one voice or multiple ones, I pay no attention.

Good luck.

chisue, I'm not familiar with Hillary Mantel. Please say some more about her and her work.

Thanks.

Thank you, Elmer, for this information and yes, although retired I am a librarian (once a librarian, always a librarian!) Our PL does have Overdrive as well as Hoopla for audiobooks, but being a smaller market, only Hoopla has any works by C.J. Sansom, volumes 1 and 5 of the Shardlake series. These have a single narrator.

I had my "librarian hat" on today while volunteering at our giant semi-annual used book sale fundraiser. I worked in the children's literature section and it was very gratifying to see the large number of people loading up with books, some with shopping carts and wagons filled with volumes.

Hoopla, that's one of the ones I forgot. In the past I found it a bit less convenient to use but Overdrive (Libby) now operates more like Hoopla does than it used to.

stacey, time to look through your contact book for friends, relatives and others you know who live in other locations, preferably to include a few living in "larger markets", to get access to offerings of more libraries.

I have a few like that gained from a few people I know and also a few that my kids know who live near or in large Eastern cities.

I had high hopes for The Eights, but I have to give it a meh-plus. It was nice to read about Oxford after WWI, and and all that, but the storyline was a little too predictable. Each woman in the group had a secret that she was hiding. You get the picture.

Im not chisue, but oh, Elmer!!! The Wolf Hall books are wonderful. Two of them won the Booker prize. Historical( Tudor times) literary page turners.

Thank you, I'll give them a try.

Hopefully they're plot driven rather than character/psychological/purported insights on life driven.

Wolf Hall is one of my favorite books ever. I devoured the Shardlake books. I'm so sorry both Hilary Mantel and C.J. Sansom have died. They both certainly had a gift. I could read about Tudor England all day long.

Bunny....I also love Wolfhall. Im kind of puzzled why the PBS series hasn't included much of the bits of humor present in the books. Seems to me that the directors of such intense material would seize upon any humor they could find. IMHO.

I liked the first two Mantel books, but I thought the third was a little boring. And as far as the PBS series---Mark Rylance--be still my heart! My favorite actor, and I've been lucky enough to see him perform live a number of times.

faftris, did you see him in Farinelli and the King? That was a magical evening of theater.

I agree about The Mirror and the Light, but on TV it's been excellent. His face is a marvel of expression.

Last night I watched Conclave for the second time and it was better than the first. It all made a lot more sense to me.

Anyway, following that I needed something on a par with it, and watched the final episode of The Mirror and the Light on PBS. It was sad for me because I liked Cromwell as he was portrayed by Mantel. His 3rd degrees with Norfolk, Gardiner, Rich, and Call-Me were brilliant. He was so much smarter than all of them put together. It was truly gallows humor.

Bookwoman, yes. Also, I saw him at The Globe when he was artistic director (1999!), and he was Cleopatra. Then, as Olivia in Twelfth Night and again as Richard II on Broadway. And at St. Ann's Warehouse, in a show called Nice Fish, which was a performance of the prose poems of Louis Jenkins. Those prose poems are just wonderful reading, probably hard to find, but so worth it. Recommend them!

Link to May 2025 Edition