I just started Wolf Winter by Cecilia Ekback. So far I like it a lot--set in Scandinavia in the 18th century, there is a murder mystery and perhaps more than that going on.

I'm reading The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. I loved her Half Broke Horses and this is every bit as good.

Eta: I forgot to post that I recently finished Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. I'd had it on my list for a while, but kept avoiding it because I think I am put off by too cutesy titles. But I was pleasantly surprised and just love the method the author used to come up with the stories about the characters. I suspected as much, then at the end he told about the pictures and confirmed my theory.

I didn't like toward the end where it felt like it was being set up for a sequel, however, but I enjoyed the first one so much I imagine I'll read whatever comes next.

Don't think I'll see the film, however.

Flight Behavior is a great book, no matter how long it takes you to read it!

I loved The Glass Castle! I just started reading Hillbilly Elegy.

Compulsion by Jonathan Kellerman, very good.

Glass Castle was quite good, as was Miss Peregrine ( not a movie goer but I hear it was just made into a movie)...not my usual type of book but it really was quite creative and different.

Good news- I finished Flight Behavior. I did enjoy it but did not love it. Definitely a very interesting book (and for sure I learned or at least was exposed to lots.).

I just started SISI which is a historical fiction about Princess Elizabeth . Any of you who have been to Vienna/Budapest would know who it is . I really did "JUST " start it, and it seems like it will hold my interest which is an accomplishment.

Of course since I have one book that interests me I just got notice from the liberry that Aviator;s Wife is now ready for my kindle. The author wrote Swans of Fifth Avenue which I devoured so very much looking forward.

Lisa Scottoline's Damaged. Mystery/Drama about the life of a child in the foster care system, court system, etc. As a retired teacher, I sure identified with much of this book. Author knows what she is talking about.

Finished Sula by Toni Morrison earlier this week. Wonderful. I've read other Toni Morrison books and don't know why I missed this one.

Finished The Sellout by Paul Beatty yesterday. It's on the 2016 shortlist for The Man Booker Prize. I like this bit from the NPR review of this satire: "The Sellout is a comic masterpiece, but it's much more than just that — it's one of the smartest and most honest reflections on race and identity in America in a very long time, written by an author who truly understands what it means to talk about the history of the country."

I have The Martian next up but I'm wondering whether a semi-claustrophobic can enjoy this book. I'll try it and will send it back to the library if nightmares ensue.

I've been reading The Bridge to Home by A.F. Jordan. It is a story of strong women meeting adversity head-on with a little quirkiness thrown in - a type that I'm always drawn to. I read Jordan's first book, a memoir We End in Joy. I was so taken with her way with words that I could not wait for this one to come out. It has not disappointed.

I'm about 3/4s of the way through Commonwealth by Ann Patchett. It is very good. although I think it took her too long to get into the meat of the story. Too much backstory and not enough about consequences. Still, I would recommend it. I can judge a book by how quickly I read it and I am zipping through this one at a good pace.

Glass Castle is one of my favorite books. It has a similarity to Commonwealth in that it tells the story of the impact on the children of growing up in a dysfunctional family, although one is non-fiction and the other fiction.

I also adored Flight Behavior.

I just finished All Things Ugly and Wonderful. Several of my friends absolutely loved it. I liked the first half, but could not stomach the second half. I finished it but it would not be a book I would recommend. I had a huge issue with the subject matter and how it seemed a bit too glorified for something that was horrifying to me. I won't say more in case it appeals to someone as I don't want to give anything away. Reviews on Goodreads seemed to be either you loved it or hated it. I didn't hate it but wish I hadn't bothered since there are so many other books I want to read!

Yesterday I started Homegoing by Ya'a Gyasi, a multigenerational story about two African half-sisters. So far, I'm enjoying it. It was just published this year.

We discussed Dead Wake during our October book club meeting. It's a fascinating nonfiction book about the sinking of the Lusitania. I also highly recommend the author's book In the Garden of Beasts which was about the US ambassador to Germany just prior to WWII.

Getting ready to start Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult

I loved her books, the last few I didn't think were good, but still going to give this one a try.

4kids, do you mean All the Ugly and Wonderful Things?

I'm reading Lily and the Octopus. It's an odd book in a lot of ways, but as someone who is madly in love with my dog, I can relate to it!

Beagles, yes! I meant to type that and didn't even notice I bungled the title. Have you read it? If so, what did you think? I had such mixed feelings. Like I said, I didn't hate it, but did not like the direction it went in for the second half. Hit me especially hard as a mom of 11 y/o and 17 y/o girls and I kept thinking of them.

I haven't read it yet. I have it downloaded b/c I saw a review of it somewhere and the reviewer said it was a great book, so I wasn't sure if it was the same book as the one you were talking about.

Beagles, at least three of my friends read it and loved it. I'm probably in the minority as it has a 4star rating so far on goodreads. I'd love to hear what you think if/when you read it.

I'm not one to see movies these days so I never saw the film, but I just picked up Gone Girl. I'm less than 100 pages in and I'm intrigued. I reread Stephen King's Firestarter and a few days before that I'd finished up an Odd Thomas novel by Dean Koontz. I seldom have time to get in to very serious books, so I plow through some fiction (some way out there fiction at times!) pretty quickly.

I'm behind with 'current fiction' and I just finished Big Little Lies. Thoroughly enjoyed it. I didn't like The Husband's Secret at all, so I guess I was dragging my feet with reading another of her books. This one was stellar IMO. Am about a quarter of the way into Light Between Oceans. I guess I've heard/read so much about it and the plot, and know it will be sad I'm not getting into it as much as I thought I would.

I tried Swans of Fifth Avenue but couldn't get into it.

I really enjoy Lisa Scottoline's books; not sure if I've read Damaged. I'll have to check it out.

I enjoyed Dead Wake (if you can enjoy a book about a ship sinking) - I learned a lot about the Lusitania, and I liked the way he told personal stories on both sides.

I'm currently reading The Last Mile by David Baldacci. I'm enjoying it a lot - the plot has many twists and I'm anxious to see what the final answers to the mysteries are.

Donna

LOL!

I'm about 1/2 way through the The Martian and liking it. No nightmares so far. You have to push through the first 50 or so pages. Even for me (an almost engineer) that part was a bit too dry/techie. After that it gets really interesting!

4kids, I'll probably pick it up after I finish the Picoult. I'll post back if i do :)

Donna, I am a big Baldacci fan, and The Last Mile was one of my favorites. I love that character, Amos.

OutsidePlaying, My hubby took that book with him on our trip to Michigan last week. He's also a huge Baldacci fan and loved the book. He finished it, with a big smile on his face, during our flight home Sunday.

I only have a few pages left in The Last Mile (couldn't stay awake long enough to finish last night!). It is certainly not ending up where I expected at the beginning! It's the first I've read with the Amos Decker character. I'll have to look for more of them.

Donna

Donna, Memory Man was the first with Amos as the central character.

I will be finishing A Gentleman in Moscow later today. I've loved it, it's delightful. I wish I knew a gentleman just like the Count. I plan to read the author's earlier book since I enjoyed this one.

I have a ways to go before I complete A Gentleman in Moscow. I haven't been reading the last week.. but I so agree on all points.

Not the same kind of story, but have you read A Baron in the Trees by Italo Calvino?

Completed The Martian yesterday. Enjoyed it very much even if some the technical explanations did seem a bit much.

Starting Mary Coin by Marisa Silver. A friend gave it 5 stars so I'm looking forward to it.

Oh, I also finished a book of poetry this week: The Trouble With Poetry by Billy Collins. I always enjoy his work.

Just finished Look At You Now by Liz Pryor. The memoir of a then 17-year-old girl growing up in a wealthy Chicago suburb (only about 15 miles from me) who, halfway thru her senior year, discovers she is pregnant. Her pregnancy was kept a secret for 36 years until she decided it was time to write this memoir.

Another very quick read I recently finished is Our Souls At Night by Kent Haruf. Netflix is in the process of making this into a movie with Jane Fonda and Robert Redford.

Olychick~ I just finish Miss Peregrine as well .You were set-up for a continuation . The 2nd book in the 3 book series is Hollow City.

I'm taking a break to read The Girl On The Train and will get back to Hollow City later.

Thanks 4boys2 - I didn't think to look to see if there were more already published.

Well a whole week gone by and no comments... I did finish Sisi: Empress on Her Own, which was a wonderful read. (since this was apparently the second in a series, I will soon be reading The Accidental Empress which is the early part of her life. ) Sisi was great historical fiction for anyone so inclined.

I was slow to start with the Aviator's Wife but am now soon to finish it- and wow what a book. I am so sorry I didn't read it earlier as I would have loved to discuss this with my father in law who passed recently (at 96) -- I am sure his recolections of Lindbergh and all would have really something. This is the second book I have read by Melanie Benjamin and I have really loved both.

Finished Magician's Lie for our book club. It was an easy read, compelling enough to keep my interest but it was only okay. Not something I'd tell someone they have to read.

I recently finished English Passengers by Matthew Kneale it was interesting but looong in bits. I actually enjoyed the Epilogue at the end the most where I learned of another book from 1850 called The Races of Men and its affect around 1850 and on in England. From the epilogue I also enjoyed the section on the Anglo-Manx dialect.

Just started Papillon by Henri Charriere and I think I'm going to enjoy it. Someone in the book reviews section mentioned if you liked Shawshank Redemption you would like this. Loved Shawshank.

I've started reading The Swans of Fifth Avenue. I was excited about
it because I found Truman Capote quite intriguing, but it is just so
poorly written, I can't continue. I do get some amusement from the self
importance of east coast "high society" but not enough to keep going.

I recently finished pieces of my mother by melissa cistaro. No caps in the title. A memoir that I enjoyed quite a bit.

I
also finished The Girls, which I enjoyed reading and thought the author
did a great job portraying the inner workings of teen girls' minds,
peer pressure, family dynamics, etc. Her writing was very poetic, maybe overly so, but I
liked it.

Thoroughly enjoyed Mary Coin. I also read Fun Home by Alison Bechdel and was impressed. I'd never read a graphic novel (in this case an autobiography) before so this was a real treat. Currently reading The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin and loving it.