Doriann,
Thank you for letting me know about The Outcast. If it is depressing, I don't think I'll read it, I have already have a few along those lines.

Woodnymph,
As Smallcoffee says, you are reading a book by Carol Goodman: The Lake of Dead Languages.

Smallcoffee,
I read that book by C. Goodman that you liked. It is The Seduction of Water. I liked it also.

smallcoffee and reader, you are both so right! I am only one half way through it, but I am thoroughly caught up in the mystery. It definitely reminds me of Donna Tartt's "The Secret History", with all the classical references.

I've just finished Goodman's "The Sonnet Lover", set in Italy, about a college professor, and recommend it highly.

I'm bouncing back and forth between present-day Manila and all over during WWII while working on either the www or the Enigma Codes.

Okay, this is a tough one:
I am in Santa Theresa, driving my "new" used Mustang instead of my usual V-W bug.

PAM

I'm in the middle of a journal written by a physician who is now a patient with a stubborn perforated bowel and all the infections that go with that. It's now something like day 86 in hospital. Yuck for him but interesting for me.

I'm 60 and just left my life in which I was a successful business woman to join a cloistered Benedictine community. Pretty obvious huh?? wig

Oh wig-I envy you!

I am in Maine, trying to figure out who is giving deadly nightshade berries to little children.

I have just stepped ashore onto the island called Albion for the start of what will be a very long journey tracing the future steps of my 'family' the Atrebates.
All will be made clear in about 400 years.

wig, oh do tell! You are not reading anything by Kathleen Norris are you? (Such as The Cloister Walk).

no, I don't think she's reading Kathleen Norris. She's reading one of my all time top three favorite books!
And as soon as I finish my pending trip to China, I might join her! I need a serene reread!

Oh, then, cece, it must be "In this House of Brede" by one of my favorite authors, Rumer Godden!

That's what I'm betting...wig?

Yup. It is House of Brede, based on recommendations from this forum. I meant to come back and correct the age as she was in her early 40's not 60 when she entered. I had to really concentrate last night to try to make an association with all the 'dames' and 'sisters' - lots of characters, but it is coming together. I'm enjoying it so far so thanks for the recommendation. wig

Struggling to assert my unsought authority at Tyndal Priory in 1270.

I am in somewhere like NYC and with a group of women, in their forties, all wondering what to do now that their kids are older and don't need so much care any more. Should they (the mums) all go back to work? How do they fill in that ten-year gap of experience?All very interesting.

Lemonhead, that's The Ten Year Nap, isn't it? Please let us know what you think of it, I wondered if it was worth a read.

Sheri - yes, it's the "Ten Year Nap". It's good so far and I think I am someething like halfway through it. It's nothing mind-shattering, but if you're after a good story along the lines of typical women's fiction, then this is a treat. I wonder if her other books are as good.

Small Coffee, please give me the name and author of the book about the Orphan Train. Some months ago I actually found this book online and started reading it, but when I tried to return to it later I couldn't find it. So I guess I'd better try to locate the print version if you can give me the data. Thanks very much.

rule34-the book I was reading was Sarah's Patchwork by Stephanie Grace Whitson. I don't know if that's the one you were looking at. Actually I gave up on it about halfway thru finding it a bit facile. Do you belong to Paperbackswap? I plan on posting it there.

I just left Three Pines after my second visit-I can go one more time...could be on my way right now-but I am reluctant to turn the car around, since I know that it will be my last visit, at least for a while. I hope she's typing her fingers to the bone as we speak! I hate it when I get in on the ground floor of a series! Too long between books.

I am wandering in Cornwall. I've walked for over 40 days, slept where I've fallen only to wake up and walk again. I must stop now, reluctantly, for I've discovered a body near the base of a cliff. Now the police are involved. I know I must do the right thing. I've no identification on me and if they only knew who I am ...

PAM

Pam, I know! I know! I enjoyed that book a lot, much more than the last few.

Oh PAM, DO TELL. I am really into anything set in Cornwall, as is a close friend here.

Okay! I'll spill the beans!
It is Careless in Red by Elizabeth George. I got a bit confused in the beginning as all of the characters were flitting in and out, but now I've got them straight. And so far, so very good. It is very hard to put the book down and accomplish anything in the house.
PAM

I'm in Ballybucklebo

I'm in the Montana mountains. I am a detective on a fishing trip/vacation with my wife and my partner, and murder has reared its ugly head.

ooo, carolyn, you've got me hooked. I'm always on the lookout for a good mystery. Tell us, tell us.
PAM

Ooooooooooo this is fun! I can't believe I didn't notice this thread sooner. I've only recognized two books so far, but it's been fun trying.

Mine is super easy, especially since I've posted about it on the July reads thread;-):

I'm outside Moscow, in the early 1800s. Napoleon's army has just invaded Moscow, and we're unsure what stragedy the army is going to use to get them out.

I am in Weimar Germany and my father, a German sympathizer, has just discovered that I was hiding a Jewish man in the house and released him to authorities. I am four months pregnant with his child. wig

I will be on my way to China later today. Must be back by Monday.

Pam, it is Swan Peak by James Lee Burke. I just love Burke's lyrical writing (one of the best living writers IMO), but he has always had a lot of violence and I think he is getting darker as he progresses. This is the brand new Dave Robicheaux book.

I am in the middle of an evening shift in a seafood restaurant in somewhere north in USA. Somewhere like North Dakota or similar as they are having a blizzard and we are debating whether to open up for dinner. It's the last night before the restaurant closes and so things are winding up and coming to a head, personnel-wise.

The snow makes it lovely to read when it's 90's outside. :-)

I am headed either to the Hebrides or Templeton. Haven't decided which plane to jump on. Or boat.

Lemonhead, I'm betting it's Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O'Nan. I haven't read it, but the description sounds dead on for that book.

Well, the postman came with a parcel via Bookmooch, so I am in the Berkshires-is the woman in the faded purple dress and face-hiding sunbonnet real, or is she a ghost? Shades of Turn of the Screw!

I'm in New York City and I was told there'd be cake.

Kren - You're right. It's "Last Night at the Lobster" by Stewart O'Nan. It's pretty good so far.

And Sheri - are you reading Sloan Crossley (or similar) who wrote "I was told there'd be cake"? My fav story was the one about the ponies.... Which was yours?

Lemonhead, yes, it's I Was Told There'd Be Cake. She's a good writer, and my favorite essay was the one about summer camp.

Would you recommend Last Night at the Lobster? I've been thinking about getting that from the library, too.

I'm living in Wisconsin, near a tiny little town called Popcorn Corners. My family raises dogs for a living.

I'm a rich lady and am back in Cranford.

Sheri - I am enjoying "Last Night at the Lobster" and am about halfway through it so, yes I recommend it if you just want a nice little read about contemporary USA.

It also helps that I worked as a waitress during my college years in a restaurant so I can recognize some of the situations they get into.

I'd order it from the library - you have nothing to lose!

I'm living in the backwoods of Tennessee (think "hillbilly;-). Unknown to me, my father has been murdered by a local man who used to be a bootlegger. My Mother and I scrape by, and we live in an old abandoned log cabin.

Oxford and environs, solving another murder for Henry II.

I'm in early twentieth century Barcelona, where I'm a writer, living in a house--unbeknownst to me--with a tragic past. A mysterious editor offers me a fortune to write a book "like no book that has ever been written", but as the project progresses, my suspicions multiply.

(Some of you may want to follow my steps to old Barcelona, but I'm afraid you will have to wait for the English translation).

I am in Mille Lacs Minnesota helping my impoverished elderly aunt run a bed and breakfast in the mansion built by my great-great grandfather, a lumber baron who got rich by exploiting the native Ojibwe.

My soon-to-be ex-husband said that I had to be out of our inn by the beginning of the tourist season - July 4. For me, this would be not only our nation's day of independence, but a celebration of my own independence, too. I bought 20 acres of my very own. It is not accessible by car since there are no roads. But I have a canoe. With the help of some friends, I built my own cabin. Shut off, alone except for my dog Pitka, I am exactly where I want to be. Some people think my book is like Walden but written by a woman. I say that I simply love these Adirondack Mountains and am simply writing about my life.

PAM

I am living Paris in 1880, near Montmartre. Among my aquaintences are artist Degas and the sister of author Louisa May Alcott. My sister will one day become a famous artist, long after my untimely death....

Woodnymph,

Are you reading Lydia Cassatt Reading the Morning Paper?

Woodnymph,

Never mind. Reading the "August Reads" thread, I realize you reading the book mentioned above. Isn't it a great little book?

reader, have not finished it yet, as I am savoring every word. It is a poignant story, elegantly written, IMO. Somehow, the character of Lydia is reminding me of poet Emily Dickinson, who also died young of Bright's Disease. I was an art history major, so am really enjoying the description of Degas, et al.

Hope you see this -- perhaps I should have posted it on the other thread.