I finished Girls in the Garden by Lisa Jewell and would only give it a 3. I found it hard to get into and very unsatisfied with the ending that left the whodunit with a big "?". I was thinking of quitting it part way in and probably should've.

Rereading Donna Tartt's The Secret History. I needed a long book with a very good story that didn't ask a lot of me.

Colson Whitehead’s The Nickel Boys was imoressive in how well-rounded and finely etched it was, for a short book. It’s an accurate and well-researched fictional account of the types of systemic abuse, racism and the long-standing cover up by the authorities in”reform” schools. Whitehead’s characteristic writing — sizzling, crisp, often humorous — is a plus, as is the well-developed characters.

Re-read his Harlem Shuffle and now on to Crook Manifesto, both previously read but revisited now in preparation for his most recent Cool Machine, the last in the Harlem series. These are enjoyable, not as amazing as The Nickel Boys, but still quality thrillers elevated by good writing and characterization.

Cool Machine is in transit to me and I am looking forward to it.Those Harlem books have been fun reads and not amazing, as you said.

I am reading This is Where the Serpent Lives, by Daniyal Mueenuddin. It's four novellas with many interlocking characters. I am not sure where I heard of it. It's quite good. It is a story of a family in Pakistan, and I have had to have the phone handy to look up some of the names of foods and clothing items.

Did anybody see the Booker longlist last week?

Just started The Souls of Animals by Gary Kowalski. It was first copyrighted in 1991, so not new, nor is it fiction. I have just barely begun it, but I know it will be right up my alley. I really do not read much fiction now.

Just finished Bride by Ali Hazelwood & Fake Mate by Lana Ferguson. I'm not recommending them...but they were quick Rom-Con fantasy reads, nothing earth shattering...something to fall asleep by. I'm now reading Bitten by Kelley Armstrong...all of these books were recommend by AI when I mentioned I liked Twilight. While working in a computer room, in my youth, I read all 21 Anne McCaffrey Dragons of Pern books. She was once a Jeopardy question. I doubt my recent choices will ever be in the same class. :0)

I’d posted here on Where the Serpent Lives a few months ago. Thought it was an excellent and incisive portrayal of a modern Pakistan, progressive in patches, yet feudal overall. Was very impressed with his debut novel. (“Just finished This is Where the Serpent Lives by Danial Mueenuddin and thought it was very good. Set in rural, feudal Pakistan in different (post-colonial) time periods. Expert handling of the subtleties of the class, rank, and wealth faultlines. Brisk, sharp writing. Reminded me of The White Tiger a little due to the subject matter, but not in any direct way such as the handling of it.)

So, I re-read Harlem Shuffle. Was as good as I remembered it -- tight, enjoyable, quality thriller. Now I'm re-reading Crook's Manifesto, and understand why I don't remember this one much because it has too many side stories, each decked with its own set of characters and plot elements. Not tight. Trying to get through it so I can start Cool Machine, which has now been delivered via Libby. Not enjoying Crook much, at least half way through the book. Hopefully, the last in the series Cool Machine delivers like Harlem and not fizzle out like Crook.

I finished Comfort Me with Apples. It's as good as I remember. I love the way Ruth Reichel writes. And much fodder for discussion. I'd give it a 5.

While waiting on the book club to talk about it tonight, I'm reading Hampton Sides' The Wide Wide Sea, about Captain James Cook. So far it's showing the sailor to be pretty smart, and not brutal. He may have paved the way to the South Pacific Island treasures, but he wasn't that way. Sure, there were men on his boats that were like that, but for the most part, the British Navy acted in that manner. He, on the other hand, is methodical, scientific, and only fact gathering. He didn't create the way to figure out longitude, but he's the one who tested it. And it required precision. One could never forget to wind the clock that was keeping the time, and it needed to be protected from buffeting on the sea. His men do that. He's also aware of how to avoid scurvy, and makes sure to keep the decks cleaned. His men, unlike other ships, survive without suffering the malady.... and I'm only in chapter 3. I can't wait to see if he'll have the more stories after setting the stage, much like he did in the In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette, which I'd give a 10! I hope Wide Wide Sea is the same.

I found the perfect book for after Lonesome Dove. It was mentioned here maybe a year ago, pretty sure it was by Elmer. Anyway it's an old one that I got on my kindle- The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington. I wasn't sure if I would like it, but after just a few pages it has me. It's a delightful and humorous read so far. I'm at about 20%. First published in 1918.

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.