I finished Colum McCann's Twist, which has some beautiful passages and is very meditative, but I felt it was a bit disjointed. Still worthwhile to read though, as are all his books.

I've started Headshot by Rita Bullwinkel. It was longlisted for last year's Booker Prize, and is about young women boxers. So far I'm really enjoying it, despite the subject matter not being of interest to me. I like her style of writing, which is done in short, punchy (you should excuse the expression) sentences.

I finished The Women by Kristen Hannah. 4 star and looking forward to book group discussion.

Annie, our book club read The Women, which I thought was very badly written with stock characters thinly developed. Later we read my suggestion for a really fine novel of women in war time, Thomas Keneally's Daughters of Mars, two Australian nurses, sisters too, in WW I. A magnificent, powerful, beautifully written novel. There is simply no comparison.

I had high hopes for The Emperor of Gladness, but it may be a DNF. All over the place.

I looked up The Emperor of Gladness ( the title intrigued me) and saw the author Ocean Vuong sounded familiar. Sure enough I guess I like the titles of his books. I read his other book, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous several years ago and it was as you described. All over the place but I did finish it but had no idea what I'd read or why. His books seem to garner a lot of praise. I am clueless.

On a different note, I read The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife by Anna Johnston, which was a very nice, sweet, cute, humorous but touching story. I decided to go along for the ride, and it was a very nice ride.

I'd give it 4 plus stars.

Don't really recall it, but goodreads says I read On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, I have some vague memories of it, and rated it 4 star, so clearly it worked for me.

I finished reading Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America by Nancy MacLean. 4 star. Only for book group of like-minded people. Highly recommend. I learned so much reading it.

I'm reminded of the famous Keynes quote: “Practical men who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist. Madmen in authority, who hear voices in the air, are distilling their frenzy from some academic scribbler of a few years back” Only there is no question which economists today's madmen are listening to.

The book really pulls together so much of what I've found so confusing ... like why are they cutting so many healthcare services? FEMA? So many more life-saving services... I knew the efforts to bring this economic system to the fore were long and deep, but I didn't realize the connections that went back to John C. Calhoun. I vaguely remember Milton Friedman's involvement in Chile with Pinochet, but I didn't realize how deeply these efforts went, using Chile as a 'proving ground' if you will for learning the best ways of impIementing their objectives. I knew the Koch brothers were involved in the creation of the modern gop, but didn't realize how the intellectual underpinnings pre-dated them, and how their involvement today has changed from its origins leaving even the tea partiers behind. It is also a fascinating look at the strategies and tactics (dating back to Lenin) deployed to get what is clearly a minority view into such a powerful position. My take, it makes clear how completely under water the dems are. They are only waking up to some parts of the battle they're in, not realizing the war has been waged and lost by them for decades. Chile has never recovered from the changes implemented...the author's take is, neither will America.

Fascinating reading for anyone with interest in any of these aspects of economics meeting politics and how we got where we are today.

Frederick Fife was cute, but predictable. DD2 recommended it, and that's the kind of book she likes.

Twist was the rare DNF for me. Alcoholics are so tedious.

I finally got around to A Thousand Splendid Suns, Hosseni, 2007. Now I'm exhausted, and Afganistan is in even worse shape today. 4 Stars.

Another 4 Stars for Stephanie Dray's Becoming Madam Secretary. I had no idea how much she accomplished, nor any thought about how flashy socialite 'Frank' Roosevelt morphed into President Franklin Roosevelt. Did you know Perkins faced down a mob of workers with dynamite in Rome, NY by getting the governor to call off the militia? I'll be looking up Dray's other biographies.

I loved Twist. I felt that the main character was almost Ahab-esque in his single-mindedness. And the language! Let the Great World Spin is on my list of best books I ever read, and I felt that Twist was not all that far below it.

I reserved Twist. I remember really liking Let The Great World Spin.

I'm just starting Marilla of Green Gables.

Richard Osman's books have been mentioned here several times and a fifth The Impossible Fortune will be out in September.

They're above average light reads and the characters grow on you.

The Thursday Murder Club will be on Netflix in August with an interesting cast: Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, Jonathan Price, David Tennant and the 'retirement' home is rather luxe.

https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/thursday-murder-club-cast-release-date-plot

Maybe it's me, regarding Twist. I loved Spin.

Stayed up too late last night finishing Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. I give it 4 stars. Great writing? Character development? No. But the plot was interesting, it went down easily and I was curious how it was going to end. Not my usual genre as it's Sci Fi... explores the multi-verse. Probably not for book group unless they like this sort of thing.

Next up The Quantum and the Lotus: A Journey to the Frontiers Where Science and Buddhism Meet by Matthieu Ricard and Trinh Xuan Thuan. Ricard was a molecular biologist who became a buddhist monk...Thuan is a buddhist born in Vietnam who became an astrophysicist. Together they explore the big questions and the common threads between science and buddhism.

I finished The Names and I was impressed. It's an If/Then, where a single choice leads to completely different outcomes, and Knapp explores them all. Spoiler alert--disturbing domestic violence, which turned me off initially, but I kept going and was glad I did.

I finished THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY, by Eric Larson. (Sorry my IPad doesn’t allow me to bold type.) This is the

nonfiction account of the development, planning and building of the 1893 Chicago World Fair and all of the

challenges it faced. There were many! It is also the story of a serial killer who specifically moves to Chicago to prey

On the many young, vulnerable women who would be coming to Chicago for work and to experience the fair.

He cunningly sets up a hotel where he can offer these women rooms for rent. Many of them disappear never to
Be seen again. It also is the search for the killer once it’s finally realized by the police what has been happening.

Excellent writing. I give this book 5 stars. I have read other Eric Larson books, all nonfiction, and enjoyed them all. He

brings a of depth of knowledge about his subject matter that I find compelling. I think this would be a good book
for a book club. It has so many interesting characters and the fair itself lends itself to good discussion.

debra

debra, if you've read other books written by Larson, you may have recognized that White City is like several others in that it follows this approach - "Here's something you may have heard about. Allow me to tell you many more interesting things about it that you likely haven't heard before. In addition, there's something else that was going on there and then that I'm sure you've NEVER heard anything about. I'm going to tell you a lot about that too".

It's a shame he hasn't seemed to be able to find more happenings or situations conducive to that approach for the structure for a book. Personally, I think those using this formula - White City, Thunderstruck, Isaac's Storm, In the Garden of Beasts, were his books I enjoyed the most. The others I haven't found to be as interesting.

KW -- Yes! I just finished How To Read A Book and am in mourning because it's over! This is a 5 Star for me. IDK that it's some 'masterpiece' in the literary world, but it's been a long time since I was this satisfied. Every sentence felt perfect. As I cursed the cheap paper I wondered if more 'important' publishers had missed heir chance here. Maybe they didn't like the title? (Only flaw, IMO.)

@chisue - yes, that feeling of being in mourning because the last page has been turned is such a let down! True mark of a good story to be sure. I felt the same at the end of The one-in-a-million Boy. If you read that one too I’d be interested in your reaction to it. It’s a different kind of story.

Finished The Shadow of the Wind. For a good portion of the book I would have given it two out of 5 stars. With the ending it has, 4.5 out of 5. The loss of the half star is because of the long (maybe necessary?) exposition. It is totally worth it. I cried of reading the last couple of chapters. So good.

Is it good for a book club? Yes. There's much symbolism. In AP English, I was taught to compare/contrast novels. As I was out cutting the grass I realized what I could compare this to... The Inferno. There's so much similar, and yet, so much to contrast.

Elmer, recently read Isaac’s Storm before White City, loved that too!

debra

rob, I loved The Shadow of the Wind also. I never like magical realism, but that book was wonderful. I tried some of his other novels, but they were not as good.

I've also enjoyed those books of Larson's, but was bored to tears by The Demon of Unrest and didn't finish it. The Civil War is not my favorite subject, but I was willing to give it a go since he had made other subjects so interesting. Alas....

I'm currently reading Hum by Helen Phillips, about a near-future time when AI robots ('hums') are ubiquitous. It's a quick read with some interesting ideas, and I'm enjoying it.

I didn't get to the halfway point, bookwoman.

I think his last several books have been below his normal standard. Dead Wake and especially Splendid and Vile were disappointing to me.

It's not true for all but many people in creative endeavors often peak and produce their best work early or at least before the midpoint of their active career years. And then fall off from there. Unless he has a blockbuster coming in a future book, it seems to be true for Larson.

I enjoyed Marilla of Green Gables by Sarah Mc Coy. For background, I first read Anne of Green Gables a few years ago and thought it was totally delightful and wonderful. I was curious how this "prequel" would work. I must say the writing was really so well done, that if you didn't know this was a newer book, I think you would never guess the books had differerent writers.

I really enjoyed it, but after about the halfway mark I felt it dragging somewhat. I think the story line was very creative . Overall, I think it was a 4 plus star. I just wish the middle didn't drag as much.

KW, I read The One in a Million Boy several years ago and thought it was wonderful.

As for Erik Larson books, the first I ever read was Dead Wake and I loved it at the time (except for the claustrophobia and dreadfulness of the U-boats). Recently I reread it and it wasn't as good for me. My favorites of his are In the Garden of Beasts and The Devil in the White City. I dare not reread them lest they suffer the same fate as DW.

Soon after The Splendid and the Vile came out I borrowed it from my local library. Then Covid hit and no books could be returned. It sat on my kitchen table for many long months.

This past year I've been in a reading slump/drought. I'd pick up a book, read a chapter or two, and it was meh. Life's too short to read something you don't like, unless you're on a desert island or in prison.

Last week I picked up The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont from a Little Free Library. Because this book broke the fever and I'm an easy grader anyway, I'm giving it a 4, despite a few flaws. It's a highly fictionalized story built around Agatha Christie's real 10+ day disappearance in 1926, which she never explained or accounted for. It's told in the first person by a woman having an affair with her husband but the story goes on where the woman couldn't have been privy to events. It's contrived, has twists, some lethal poisonings. And yet, I did love the writing and there's a certain love story that resonated deeply with me. Goodreads gave it a sub-4. Oh well.

" My favorites of his are In the Garden of Beasts and The Devil in the White City. I dare not reread them "

Your experience may be different than you expect if you change your mind. I've read each a second time and I was not disappointed. Splendid and Vile , I would not reread, and I regret not stopping at its mid-point. I've read enough other books about Churchill and that particular period. I didn't find it that interesting or fresh. I think there was something mentioned that new archival material had been released that Larson felt would enrich the otherwise known things about the period and merited a revisit. If new material was available to him, fine, it didn't noticeably shine a light beam or unearth anything I found significantly enhanced what I already knew.

Meant to add loved shadow of the wind and I too read one in a million boy several years ago and really liked it.

Bunny, I read The Christie Affair a couple years ago. Thoroughly enjoyed it! I’ve ordered Monica Wood’s book When We Were The Kennedy’s….. It should be very different since it’s a memoir & about her family & what happened to them when their father died close to the time JFK was assassinated.

I'm going to write obliquely so that the comment isn't captured.

I read the recently released book written by the well-known cable channel newsman concerning the last man in the big house before now and the delay in his ultimately abandoning a run for another four years. And the predicament that put his party in. Ultimately the effect was to open the door wide enough to provide the other side an easy victory.That's why things are where they are today.

The officeholder's significant cognitive decline and mental infirmity had been seen and known for many years. There were comments from named party leaders and major contributors. Others he interacted with from the other party saw it. Journalists saw it. Even foreign leaders he met with saw it and were puzzled about why he was still there. Actual events and meetings were cited (with attribution of comments) over and over.

There was a conspiracy of silence while his inner circle continued to manage and limit his exposure. He stopped meeting with cabinet members. When he did need to have a meeting, even a small one, a script would be prepared for him to read on a teleprompter that would be set up in the meeting room. He'd be told to say nothing more.

All of this went on for years.

The book contains attributed quotes - the names of who said what. The names of people describing meetings they were in and the gaffes and disorientations the subject displayed. Reviews on sites like Goodreads have far too many hit pieces from amateur spinners attacking the messenger and ignoring the message.

The veracity of the recounting of incidents and statements of inner circle people is beyond challenge. People may not like the story but that's not an excuse to try to discredit it. Those who think rulers in place today have a loose and adjustable relationship with truth and reality will learn, after reading this book, that that is an affliction people from both sides suffer from.

I recommend this book to be read. It's an eye opener.

Elmer, Appreciate your take on that book. I don’t read books about living known people as a practice but I was curious about this one because I generally enjoy that newsman’s reporting. As he seems vague about his affiliation I wondered if the book would be fact based with little bias. I also wondered if comparisons are made about the four years of 46 to 40‘s four years.

I'm uninterested in his latest, but I do hope he'll do a companion piece about 45/47.

The book seemed exceedingly balanced and without apparent bias to me.

When it's an investigation about whether someone does or doesn't demonstrate normal cognitive and dementia-free behavior, the dozens and dozens of comments from named interviewees who could cite events, dates, and conversation topics where the subject person faltered or seemed lost is pretty hard to report with bias. What could one of his supporters say - "No, that didn't happen"? When the person named was a cabinet member, or a Congressional leader, or other person of high rank and known access?

I won't guess about Bunny but there are still far too many people in this fellow's party who remain in denial about the indisputable facts about what happened and why.

One comment that was made was that his staff were often stymied about the hypocrisy of creating various fictional excuses about why their boss may have demonstrated problems here and there, when at the same time accusing the other side of blatantly lying. You can't accuse and also perpetrate the same evil at the same time. This was a comment from a staff member.

Elmer -- I suspect that party's people believed that even a thin curtain was better protection than nothing against 47. I wonder why said opposition didn't focus on the actual impairment rather than sling mud about a son.

Must every prominent politician have at least one incredibly life-challenged close relative? How about a book profiling all of those!

I received mfk Fisher’s “The Art of Eating “ today (anonymously) from A. Will be my summer read.