Deliilah66 -the Color of Water is one of my favorite books.

I recently finished China Dolls (Lisa See) which was really quite good and fleshed out a lot about the time period (WW2) for me.

I love these threads. I read and adored Saints for All Occasions a few months ago and am glad others are enjoying it . At the time I think there were some less than adoring reviews on here but that is what makes the world go round.

Next up will be Maus. (Graphic novel which will be rather quick). Then I just picked up The Cooking Gene by Michael Twitty so that will be after ... and I also just got The Ministry of Utmost Happiness on kindle from the library so I am pretty committed for the next few reads.

I still have not read Gentleman in Moscow and most definitely have that one on my to read list....hopefully I get back to reading the way I like to.( no real excuses just lazing on the internet)

I finished The Dry today. It was a great read - I couldn't put it down. Thanks to those here who suggested it. Highly recommend!

Thank you runninginplace for recommending the Andy Carpenter series. They're quick enjoyable reads. I'm on my fourth book this week.

I finished Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon at the end of September but don't think I added it to the Sept. thread. The book was highly recommended by a friend and I thanked her after reading it. It's sci-fi but not shoot 'em up or high tech sci-fi. Very interesting story of an older woman on an alien planet.

Yesterday I read the last story in Island: The Complete Stories by Alistair MacLeod. The island is Cape Breton. Wonderful stories. I think, however, they would have been even better if read one every six months or so. I can imagine picking up a literary magazine and thinking "Oh! A new Alistair MacLeod story!" Yay!". If you enjoy short stories be sure to check out his work if you haven't already.

Next up is The Sound of Gravel by Ruth Wariner. The memoir of the thirty-ninth child. I don't read a huge number of memoirs because I find them often self-pitying, self-aggrandizing, or overly sentimental. This one looks interesting.

I read The Sound of Gravel a while ago. It was very compelling.

I just finished One in a Million Boy. Oh, how I loved this book! It started off a bit slow and took me a while to get into it, but it turned into one of my favorite reads so far this year. I could not for the life of me remember how I'd heard of the book - none of my friends have read it. I searched for the title on this board, and saw that Hhireno posted the title in a previous What Are You Reading thread here so I'm guessing I must have written it down at the time. Thank you, Hhireno! I actually had tears in my eyes when I finished. It was a very touching story, tempered with a bit of humor.

Bestyears, I don't know that Reynolds Price book and couldn't find it on Amazon. Maybe I overlooked it?

Sorry, I had the name wrong! Yes, it's part of a trilogy, but it easily stands alone.

The Promise of Rest

Just started reading 'Into the Water' by Paula Hawkins(Girl on the Train). I am not hooked yet... too many characters and each chapter is written 1st person by a different character with flashbacks to boot. I have to keep backtracking to remember who is who and the varied relationships between them. Hoping it improves soon.

Thank you, Bestyears!

Finished Eleanor Oliphant. I recommend it. The author manages to make a book about a sad subject very entertaining at parts. I think it was recommended here, as I mentioned up thread, so thanks to the recommender (whoever you were)

Finished Small Great Things and it was very good...looking forward to the discussion...should be lively.

Not sure what's up next. I'm thinking A Deadly Wandering by Matt Richtel.

I tried reading My Absolute Darling and just couldn't stomach it at all. It's a very, very, VERY dark book about a girl and her abusive (in every way) father. It got rave reviews, I suppose because the author's writing style is evocative. However what he writes is so awful it was unbearable to read. Graphic violence and sexual/incestuous abuse-yuck.

I just finished reading "the Alice Network". It is fiction incorporating the lives of real women who were spies for Britain & France during WWI. It alternates with an event after WWII that one of the characters is also part of. Recommend it!

I finished Commonwealth by Ann Patchett and thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks to those who recommended it on one of these threads. I had a bit of trepidation, as I really disliked State of Wonder (apparently am the only one who did), so wasn't sure I could trust others' opinions about her work. I did like Patron Saint of Liars, though. I keep hearing about Bel Canto as highly recommended, so maybe I'll give it a try in the future.

Will start Lilac Girls tonight; looking forward to it.

I just finished Y is for Yesterday, the penultimate book in the alphabet series (starting with A each book goes sequentially by letter) by Sue Grafton. If you like the mystery/suspense/PI genre and particularly the female PI sub-genre and haven't yet discovered these, get to it :).

Kinsey Milhone is a single, tough as nails investigator in California, and the author has done an elegant writing trick--the first book A is for Alibi was published in 1982 and then Ms. Grafton wrote the next 20+ books staying in that decade.

So Kinsey solves her mysteries in the 80s using only what was available then. As decades have passed it's sorta kinda fascinating to see the heroine using note cards, having to find pay phones etc :). I

For me, a good book series feels like I"m checking in with friends each time a new one comes out because the author weaves in personality traits, secondary characters, sub plots, even pets that are there from one book to the next. I've so enjoyed Kinsey's journey and will sure miss her after the next and final book in the series.

Running, I too finished the latest Kinsey Milhone mystery and feel the same way. I think I started reading the series in the early 90’s and admire how Sue Grafton stayed true to the decade as she moved through the alphabet. I keep hoping the series will continue somehow.

I finally plowed through The Billion Dollar Spy and am reading another in the FBI series by Catherine Coulter. Thanks bothell for recommending The Alice Network. It sounds like a book I will enjoy.

I recently read Memory Man and then the sequel The Last Mile, by David Baldacci. Loved them both. Crime and mystery and not grisly. Hard to put down.

I love historical fiction so I'm about to start The Secret Wife: A captivating story of romance, passion and mystery.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01D4O804G/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1508551942&sr=8-6&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=historical+fiction+best+sellers

I haven't had much luck with books this summer, very few have been worth recommending.

Girl Before was just dreadful but I was on a plane without another book so I kept reading. Do yourself a favor and skip it.

Last month, I enjoyed Beartown by Fredrick Backman. I like his sense of humor and writing style, even when he tackles a deeper subject.

This month's book club pick is Be Frank with Me, but I haven't even started it yet. Early reader reports have been positive so I'm hoping it will make up for my reading slump.

I have a pile of books to return to the library but without looking at the pile, I can't recall any of the titles. That tells me they were forgettable.

I need another Gentleman in Moscow or One in a Million Boy to capture my interest.

Hhireno, I don't know if you saw my post upthread, but I read One in a Million Boy a couple of weeks ago, based on your recommendation. I loved it! And yes after reading something so well written, it's hard to read the next book when the author isn't as talented. I'm currently reading The Orphan's Tale by Pam Jenoff. I'm not that far into it, but already, I find myself sighing at some of the cliched writing.

Another fan of Kinsey Milhone here!

I really enjoyed Be Frank With Me.. its quirky and special. I wouldn't rate it as high as Gentleman in Moscow but I liked it in the same kind of way.

One night I turned on BBC in the middle of the night and heard an interview with Jane Gardam about her book Old Filth. I decided to give it a try and am enjoying it very much. In some ways it reminds me of A Man Called Ove (which I did not like) but far better. Next up for book club is Manhattan Beach. I am so far down the list at the library I may have to give up and buy it.

I just finished The Last Days of Cafe Leila, and gave it 5 stars on Goodreads, which I don't do frequently. If someone here mentioned it, THANK you! Really lovely book, set mostly in Tehran. The author is also a restauranteur and features food throughout the book. I didn't love the ending, but I will miss these characters.

The Last Days of Cafe Leila

I have Manhattan Beach in my next to read list.. and this is the second recommendation I've seen for Last Days of Café Leila. I just downloaded it too.

I so appreciate all these recommends!

Based on recommendations here, I just finished Sudden Death an Andy Carpenter book. For it's genre it was good. It didn't strike me as funny as some suggested. I find the Janet Evanovich ones much funnier...the Stephanie Plum novels. But I'll definitely keep him in mind...good books for traveling....

Next up The Light Between Oceans. We're reading it for our book group and will watch the movie before we discuss the book. Looking forward to it.

I finished Lilac Girls last night. I was really looking forward to it because several people had recommended it (whose taste in books I usually share). But I was highly disappointed. The story was informative (meaning I learned a lot about something I didn't know much about - which is a good thing) but I found the writing so annoying and trite that I ended up skimming paragraph after paragraph. The author had this annoying (to me) habit of her characters asking (in their minds, not in dialog) questions that just...well, ugh.."Will he kiss me?" "Did I see disappointment in his eyes?" Those aren't direct quotes, but the way she wrote. I swear there was one in every single paragraph. So, I won't be recommending it as a great book.

I LOVED The Light Between Oceans. One of my favorite books I read this year.

Olychick, you are NOT alone WRT to Lilac Girls. In my review on goodreads, I mentioned that I found the story/people on which this novel is based, very interesting. However, I thought the author did a terrible job with character development, did not care for the fictionalized affair the one character had, and just didn't think the book had any real substance. My friends all loved it but it just didn't resonate with me. I felt my time would have been better spent reading factual accounts about Caroline and Herta.

The Light Between Oceans was a great book, but the movie.................was just okay. My book club read the book a number of years ago and then after the movie was out awhile, we rented it and watched it together at my house. None of us were very impressed with the movie.

Another book we read, and then watched the movie, was A Man Called Ove. We all liked the book AND the movie.

I see that Frederick Backman has a new book out, Beartown. I'll have to add that to my list. Another of his books that I liked was Britt-Marie Was Here.

The Sound of Gravel was, as beagles said, compelling. And jaw dropping aggravating. How does one reach into a book, grab the people by their shoulders, and shake them while shouting "Are you crazy?!" It was that kind of book.

After that I read Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. Wonderful snapshot looks over the course of 200 hundred years of a Ghanaian family split in two. One thread in Africa, one in America. A good read.

Two books are waiting for me at the library. Coffin Road by Peter May and A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway. Looking forward to both of them.

I agree that I liked both the book and the movie for a Man Called Ove. I felt the same about Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close...both were well done.

Someone told me Tom Hanks was making an English language version of A Man called Ove. I have mixed feelings about that. I like him but too often they change so much of a foreign film it ruins the story.

Based on recommendations here I started The Best of Us. Really enjoying it, Thank you SueB & others who suggested it. I have The Closing of Cafe Leila on my list to read. This thread is an on-line book club. Love it!

Just started The Alice Network and I am hooked. Very good, so thanks again bothell for the recommendation.

Beagles, I recommended that. It was one of three I assigned to our book club over the summer. They liked it a lot; I did not read it! I am way behind, I dont know why just not reading much at all. Too much news coverage.

OUtside - I can savor sentences, phrases, paragraphs, images without end. This. It is, IMHO, the only reason to read. I can get a plot in a movie.

I am the only one who does not like Rules of Civility. I thought it was a grown man version of Eloise. It felt very young adult fiction to me.

HELP - has anyone read When Crickets Cry? Someone else chose it and I have to read it and I hate it. Am willing to cheat but cannot find chapter summaries anywhere. It has a 4+ on Goodreads but I think it is awful and the rating inflated by fans of a subgenre.

Bestyears, I'm reading The Closing of Cafe Leila now based on your recommendation. I'm about 1/3 of the way through and really enjoying it so far. Thanks!

Mtn.. I am thinking it's Gentleman in Moscow you thought was a grownup Eloise? You are not alone. My bff didn't care for it either.. though she said it may have been because she read it on the beach (vs me-- who read it amidst the 2016 election)

I am reading Rules of Civility now. It's eh to ok.. I am not really all that into the characters or their escapades.

I've not read more than a handful of pages a night the last few weeks so it's actually ok that it isn't my favorite. If I loved it, I'd resent the deadlines, work and social calls that have been occupying my time. :)

Oh LOL of course. I didn't like Rules either. : )

I finished The Best of Us with tears streaming down my face. Even though I knew how it would end, it was still moving & sad.

I tried Ministry of Utmost Happiness and it just was not the right time or something so I returned it. Might try it again. I do like the name.

Somewhere I had heard Lincoln in the Bardo was supposed to be very fine so I did seek it out and just finished it. It is highly acclaimed, and was interesting in parts , but mostly I just made myself read it and finish it, I think because I felt guilty about not sticking with Ministry of Utmost Happiness. lol sort of.

I think Lincoln in the Bardo was a over my head. but I do feel a sense of accomplishment. I would say it was The Whole Town's Talking but not as easy to follow and less entertaining.

Next up for real will be the Cooking Gene which now that I have looked into it, really does look like it will be a great read. Will keep you all posted.

I finished Rules of Civility and I have to say, much as I didn't really get into the first 2/3.. I loved the end. I really didn't want it to end. As I said up thread, I didn't care so much about the characters or their self-indulgent goings on-- but in the end, I found I related to the trajectories of some of the characters. While not parallel to my own story, I could relate .. this one will stay with me in deeply personal and somewhat bittersweet ways.

Ive started The Likeness by Tana French. I've been wanting to give her a try and thus far, I like her writing.

Olychick - I am so sorry about not getting back here sooner. The PD James book I picked is Death in Holy Orders written in 2001.

I just finished Rules of Civility and it did take me through to 1/3 of the book before I could pick it up and read it for a while. I did like it more towards the end as well.

I am currently reading Being Mortal for bookclub and at the same time I am also reading The Hidden Life of Trees which is actually quite a cool book and for my own pleasure I also have the latest Dan Brown book going which is Origin.

I just finished a good suspense novel. Fierce Kingdom tells the story of a woman and her young son visiting the zoo who become trapped in a random shooter situation.

It's written in chapters that span 3 hours while she tries to keep her little boy safe and away from harm and it's a real nail biter. Aside from the plot the author weaves an entire novel of pondering what and how mothering is and means to someone, and her perspective is strikingly authentic. Definitely recommend this one.

4kids, thank you so much for recommending The One-in-a-Million Boy! It was really special, and I loved it. The last three books I've read (Ordinary Grace, The Two-Family House before this) were all stories of redemption, told through different lenses. I was esp. satisfied with the ending of The One in a Million Boy.

Linelle, I'm glad you enjoyed it. It took me a little while to get into it, but yes, the ending worked well. I loved how the relationships developed with the different characters. I read Ordinary Grace maybe a year ago - loved that one as well.

Edited to say, I think it was hhireno who originally recommended The One-in-a-Million Boy so credit should go to her!

Okay then, thank you hhireno!