I haven't thought about Tarkington in years! The Magnificent Ambersons is a wonderful book. I remember Penrod and Alice Adams too. Guess what I am going to look for on my next library trip?

Nutsaboutplants, I took out Mueenuddin's earlier book today. It's called In Other Rooms, Other Wonders. It looks like short stories, but not interconnected.

Tom Lake by Anne Patchett, narrated by Meryl Streep - I'm enchanted which is just the breather I need.

A Deadly Episode by Anthony Horowitz I’ve loved all Horowitz books - and enjoyed those that have been made into TV series on PBS. This book had a surprise ending for the whodunit. We learn just a tiny bit more about the annoying former detective whose cases he writes about but what’s revealed only adds to Hawthorne’s mysterious past.

Maybe it's my failure, but I am finding Cool Machine completely unreadable. I keep picking it up and putting it down after a few pages.

Faftris, good toknow. I finished Crook but almost bailed on it a few times and returned Cool Machine because I was tiring of the bent-but-earnest furniture salesman and his misadventures. Glad toknow I’m not missing much.

Currently reading Douglas Stuart’s John of John now. Painfully exquisite. “Enjoying“ Is too frivolous a word for the experience. Will save the rest of the comments until I finish it.

Douglas Stuart's books are all incredibly good and incredibly sad. I suspect that they have some autobiographical basis, but I know that he does have a happy life now. Thank goodness.

Yes, I like his books and but this one is brilliant — the sadness and misery don’t overpower the literary merits. Just my two cents. I couldn’t take Shuggie Bain and had to struggle to finish it, but am already looking forward to re-reading John of John.

Oh Shuggie was so dismal. I did read it but thought it was like 98% bleak.

Dismal, but compelling.

On the flipside of Shuggie, which I agree was dismal, but compelling, I just finished The Road to Tenderhearts by Annie Harnett. What a romp! So fun!

Speaking of dismal. but compelling: A Little Life

Finished See How They Fall by Rachel Paris. Perfect summer read...murder mystery thriller...wealthy family, huge mansion, police detectives, and an ending I didn't expect. 4 stars, not for book group.

Finished John of John and am halfway through a second reading of it. I think Stuart has finally sublimated misery into the wondrous literature his work has hinted at before. At least some of the characters are capable of the desire for happiness and help others glimpse an opportunity for deliverance from internal struggles and the chokehold of religion and society. John of John is exquisite. It is personal and universal all at once. I could nitpick a little about the sudden prominence some minor characters and events take on toward the end, but I think those elements do intrinsically fit into the theme of the struggle for happiness and don't feel like an artificial plot injection.

Faftris, yes, A Little Life was intensely sad and beautiful.

A little background to my current reading. In May, we lost one of the two cats we adopted 10 years ago and have all been in a funk since her passing. 10 days ago, we brought home a new kitten, about 4 months old. She's a tiny, scrappy, clever little thing. Don't know why, but she brought Dickens's Pip to mind.

So, I'm re-reading Great Expectations after a few decades. Taking in the great master of fiction and the countless ways his work still astounds the reader. I am a compulsive re-reader of works I like. (That is, like enough to go back to glean more or enjoy again.) And Dickens is unfailingly amazing.

Unfailingly amazing is exactly my feeling too. I am so sorry for your loss. I cried more for my dogs than for anybody. Here's hoping for many happy years with your new baby.

I just finished Mad Mabel and thought it was good fun - reading the Calamity Club now and while I like it fine - it’s not my favorite. A few weeks ago i read The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny and that one was a bit too strange for me - happy when I finished it and could put it down..

The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny was a DNF for me despite repeated attempts. IIRC, it was the same for a couple of others on this forum. Lalagirl, you must have really persevered!

Finished James by Percival Everett for book group. I'm sure we'll get some good discussion going. I'll give it 4 stars. I recently read Huckleberry Finn and while that helped, it was not necessary to the story for someone who hadn't read it.

Next up, Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng.

About to start for my book group so no personal feedback yet - Women of a Promiscuous Nature by Donna Everhart. Set in 1940s North Carolina, it follows Ruth Foster, a young woman unjustly incarcerated at a state farm colony under the guise of policing "promiscuity".

We have some brutal history in this country.

I absolutely enjoyed The Magnificent Ambersons and highly recommend it. A bonus with it was the historical references particulaly with modern convenieces such as automobiles, elecircity and such. This is a 5 star read. It would be a fresh and different read for a book club, even though it is over 100 years old.

Also thanks for mentioning the other books by the author. I got 2 of them for free on amazon kindle.

I am now almost finished wtih Everything is Tuberculosis. I really didn't know what to expect, and found it very engrossing , more so in the beginning.

Finished re-reading GreatExpectations. Still reeling from the sheer magnificence of it all. What mastery of the craft of fiction-writing! After 150+ years, the writing is still so fresh; the treatment of societal themes and the law still so current; and the exposition of the human mind still so sophisticated and modern. And the humor! Oh, the humor!

Reading the old masters always make me wonder about my own perspectives. Do I/we judge older work by old masters by different (more lenient) standards than we apply to newly published work? For instance, will I judge the heightened drama and pathos in his work to be melodrama in a current work? And judge the plot twists to be cheap? Or does time help weed out the chaff and we don’t read the mediocre work of yester years as we do with current work? Don’t know, but I do wonder. (FWIW, I don’t think I am more lenient with old classics because I don’t like all old classics equally. Some are just brilliant amd others not so much. Not that different from current work.)

Nutsabout, I recommend Bleak House if you've never read it, or for a re-read if you have. It's on my short list of all-time faves.

Glad to know, faftris. It’s one of those books that I can’t recall if I have read or not, so definitely worth reading now.

Finished Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng. Good book, 4 stars, good for book group discussion. Daughter's mysterious death and the difficult family interactions both before and after she's passed.

Not an uplifting read so I have Naughty Neighbor by Janet Evanovich I found at a little free library up next as a palate cleanser.

Thank you to the person who recommended Buckeye. I was ready for something easy to read yet good quality. Now back to All the Shah’s Men.

Glad you liked Buckeye. I thought it was very well done.

I am a lover of Edith Wharton's work. Everyone my age read Ethan Frome in high school, but it's nothing at all like most of her work which focuses on the old aristocracy of New York. She simply skewers it. I just reread The Age of Innocence.

I love Edith Wharton.

I just finished listening to The Calamity Club. While I enjoyed it, it was too long. Also, I think it benefited as an audiobook, as he narration was excellent.

House of Mirth is on my list of best books ever.

Edith Wharton books are such fun.

Theo of Golden by Allen Levi published 2023. Wonderful story. I picked this up because it’s a first book & I like reading author’s first books. This story is a saga - it’s a long book. But the story weaves through the stories of so many characters that it’s very easy to become engrossed in it. Loved it. Would be a good book club selection.

Finished Naughty Neighbor by Janet Evanovich and it was the perfect palate cleanser...short, uncomplicated romance with a crime twist thrown in. Very quick read. Definitely not for book group as it's far from sophisticated or thoughtful...just some fun.

Next up is another, The Chase by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg. Also found at a little free library.

A heads up. Barabara Kingsolver has a new book coming out in a few weeks. It's titled Partita. So does Bonnie Garmus, of Lessons in Chemistry fame, has a new one too. It's called Peck and Peck. My wonderful library lets me put holds on books that are on order. I love them!

Yes, I too placed a hold on Kingsolver a few days ago, but even then, was 21st in queue. Not a die hard fan of hers, but like her well enough to read whatever she puts out. Didn't know about Garmus's new book. Will look for it.

I am a sucker for any article about books coming soon.

The Calamity Club - Kathryn Stockett Wow! I’ve just now finished it. Every bit as good as her book The Help. Excellent book for book club discussion. Especially interesting to read the ’Author’s Note at the end. If I knew about this part of women’s history I’d forgotten & this was a scary reminder of just how backwards and terrifying things used to be in the arena of productive rights of women. It is a reminder of the reality of the risks we’re facing today.

An earlier comment by another says the audio book is too long. The book does look like a doorstop sized book but it is a very fast read.

The Things We Never Say - Elizabeth Strout Great read & I think great for a book club discussion. Strout is a Pulitzer Prize winner. Though this is an easy read it also raises weighty topics and is thought provoking. I loved that the story made me feel that I am definitely not the only one with an alter ego living in my subconscious.

Just finished The Chase by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg. It was a fun read, not for book group. Apparently it's part of a series. A cross between 'mission impossible' and 'it takes a thief' if you remember the old tv shows. Kate is an FBI agent. Nick is an exceptionally talented thief who's gone to the good side. They run clandestine ops for the FBI using his talents and her moxy. This one involved stolen art. Just like the movies and tv shows, this isn't meant to be serious and analyzed, but taken on an amusement ride, and it is very entertaining if you like that sort of thing. But if you're looking for deep character development or artful, poetic language, you won't find it here.

I am not much of an Elizabeth Strout fan, but I did enjoy The Things We Never Say. I am between books right now--ten on hold at the library--so it's been a knitting break. I am exercising a different part of my brain.

I have stayed away from Strout because I haven't enjoyed any of her books, but maybe I'll give The Things a try.

@nutsaboutplants If you do read The Things We Never Say I’d be interested in your reaction to the book. Thinking about it, my thought is the story about Artie Dam, the main character, illustrates the human condition. He’s a likeable character which makes this an easy read.

An earlier comment by another says the audio book is too long. The book does look like a doorstop sized book but it is a very fast read.

My comment on The Calamity Club being too long had more to do with that for me, there was a long stretch of story that could have been cut. (i.e., I was bored). But obviously that's me.

@sas95 Thanks for clarification on your ’too long’ Calamity Club. I do agree that some parts had maybe too much detail but I tend to skim over parts of books that seem to me to be a drag on any story. That’s harder to do IMO with an audio book.

Someone in an earlier thread mentioned the fantasy novel The Secret Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab and it sounded intriguing so I picked it up. It has an interesting plot but the book is overlong and repetitive and I found myself skimming over paragraphs. Addie is a young woman living in a rural village in France in 1714 and in desperation to avoid an arranged marriage she makes a Faustian bargain with the devil. The deal is she lives forever but no one remembers her. Until the day she meets a young man who does remember her. The book flits back and forth over 300 years with descriptions of the various places Addie lives and historical events such as The French Revolution and WWII. However these events are barely fleshed out and come across as somewhat inconsequential.

But the oddest thing about the book is the frequent use of the word 'palimpsest.' I counted 6 times and perhaps there were others that I missed. It's not a word we come across very often and when I do I tend to take note. In this novel it refers to the fact that since no one remembers Addie her life is constantly being erased and re-written. Apparently it's been opted for a film and I think that might lend itself well to that medium. I'd give it a 3.5.

Next is Mad Mabel.

I spent a glorious three weeks in Dickens’s world of Pip and then David, feeling the childhood pleasure of being told a good story, while the adult brain analyzed and admired the master’s literary gifts.

Then I finished Like, Follow, Subscribe by Fortesa Latifi, a slim (non-fiction) analysis of the befuddling phenomenon of “momfluencers” and ”family vlogging.” It’s a slim book (took half a day to finish), seems like a balanced treatment of these parents who monetize their children’s childhood.

I was not familiar with this world of family vlogging and women with a GED making millions from sponsorships. Every other word in the book was new to me, but apparently part of today’s vocabulary, and the words were coined to signify a phenonmeon, also new to me. Momfluencer? tradwives? sponcon? Oh, the Mormon church encourages and monetarily supports women to do family vlogging?!

I knew of influencers, though only second-hand. Even the plain old influencers baffle me, like, who are these people?! and who are the people who view these things? and you get paid to do this ”content creation”?

But I knew nothing of this whole family vlogging-thing. The book, to someone like me, felt like an anthropologist’s account of an unknown tribe and its culture.

Anyway, glad I read it. It’s a light read, well-researched (even if ’research’ seems like too serious a word for this silliness) and reasonaly well done.

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride. It's fascinating, getting to know the residents of Chicken Hill.

@sushipup2 I loved that book!

Ditto on McBride’s The Heaven…

LOVE James McBride. I was turned on by President Obama, who put Deacon King Kong on his reading lisrt. I had read The Color of Water years ago, but didn't connect the two. I hope against hope that he is writing something soon. My DD1 met him at the NYPL Library Lion event and thought he was so friendly and kind.

Link to September 2026 Edition