Just finished Mark Sullivan's Beneath a Scarlet Sky, and loved it. I can see why it has more than 19,000 positive reviews on Amazon! A film adaptation starring Tom Holland is in the works.

I'm also reading two memoirs: To the New Owners: A Martha's Vineyard Memoir by Madeleine Blais, and Martha's Vineyard - Isle of Dreams by Susan Branch. Of the two, I'd more highly recommend the Branch book; the other is a bit name-droppy for my taste. We're visiting the island in September, so it will be fun to explore some of the locations mentioned by the authors.

Educated was fantastic.

I just finished The Story of Arthur Truluv by Elizabeth Berg. Sueb20, thank you for recommending this book. I loved it! Best book I have read since Ordinary Grace.

This is the first book I have read by Elizabeth Berg. Can't wait to read more.

MrRogers, I read the Madeline Blais book and tended to agree with this quite scathing review. When all is said and done, she wasn't an owner but simply had the chance to use an in-law's vacation house for a couple of weeks each summer. However she spends an entire book alternately weaving a spell of old-money-landed-gentry ennui and bitter resentment about new owners taking over.

I finished The Other Woman, the newest Gabriel Allon adventure, this weekend and was enthralled. As some reviewers pointed out it was a 'quieter' installment in that there were no terrorist attacks, violent stalking or elaborately plotted take-downs.

But all the usual Silva/Allon characters were on board, the plot was engaging and as usual very interesting in pulling back the curtains on international espionage. This book also featured a fictionalized account based on the story of a very well known real spy which was an interesting twist.

I just downloaded Hamilton and hope to finish it before seeing the musical next month. Wish me luck.

Runninginplace, I also agree with much of that review. Even the book's title, from the perspective of having read the memoir, was rather off-putting. I feel for the current residents, when Amazon reviewers instruct readers on how to locate the property on Google Earth and ogle the lap pool.

Bonnie, are you already familiar with the Hamilton soundtrack? I found it most enjoyable to learn the music and lyrics almost by heart (the many double meanings and references are fun and satisfying to decipher). Having researched the people and events mentioned in the lyrics, by the time the curtain went up I was quite familiar with the story line. This greatly enhanced my enjoyment of the performance, because the singers have quicksilver tongues and the sound quality in our theater was not optimal. Have a wonderful time!

I finished The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons last week. It's the first book in a trilogy. It is a love story which takes place during the Leningrad siege of WWII. I liked it. Hard to read at times(people starving to death), but I'm a big fan of historical fiction. The back cover bills it as 'the Russian Thorn Birds'. I loved 'The Thorn Birds' when I read it ages ago, so I'm re-reading it now.

I also read Elin Hilderbrand's new book, The Perfect Couple. Her books take place on Nantucket, a place I hold dear to my heart. This one is a mystery, a little different from her others. It's a quick read, I finished it over 2 afternoons.

Finished 7 rules of Elvira Carr and it was good. 4 stars, it was our book group book and it was decent for that purpose. Story of a gal with aspergers who has to learn how to get along by herself after her mother suffers a stroke.

Halfway through David Sedaris' Calypso, a set of mostly humorous essays. Some said portions, too.

Starting isobel Allende 's in the Midst of Winter, for my book club. Only just cracked this one.

Finished The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather today. I gave it 5 stars. Cather had a way of describing landscapes and people that is a delight to read. It didn't unfold as I expected it to but I like that in a novel. The epilogue is simply wonderful.

I have several of the 2018 Man Booker Prize long list books reserved in the library system. Not available yet so I picked up a random (I read the dust cover blurb) book at the library. I have decided to not look it up online until I have finished it. What? Read a book with no preconceptions? Yes!

roses, I read Willa Cather's trilogy when I was doing the reading challenge and did enjoy them all: Oh Pioneers!, The Song of the Lark, and My Antonia.

Just finished The Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson. I enjoyed it immensely.

Promoted by my trip to Daufuskie Island next week, I’m reading The Water is Wide, a memoir by Pat Conroy about his time teaching there in 1969. Just getting started but very interesting so far.

I finished Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri. I absolutely love her writing - this is my third by her.

I made quite a bit of progress listening to Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. However, I still have 12 hours of listening left! It was starting to get really good just as I was reaching my destination. I didn’t want to have to get out of the car. The accented English by the narrator adds to the enjoyment.

I also picked up a book I’ve probably had in my nightstand for almost ten years, The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. I started reading it way back when, got distracted by a library book and then never went back to it. A gothic mystery, sort of dark and gloomy, but so far, I like it. Sort of fantastical, it fits a category of my book challenge so decided it was time to finally delve into it.

My random book was The River at Night by Erica Ferencik. Finished it today (a quick read). Goodreads has it as 3.5 stars. I gave it 2. Would have been 3 if the author hadn't screwed up the first bit by making this tale of 4 gal pals sound like Sex and the City goes to Maine. The story then gets somewhat gruesome and scary (and kind of interesting) but the initial thought remained. Pia = Samantha, etc.

I finished The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd. I loved her other books so much and was excited when I recently found this on my bookshelf, waiting to be read. It's one of those books that I can't quite decide what I think of. Can't rave about it, but there was much I liked. But it was like she was trying too hard with her descriptions, metaphors and similes. But then she'd write something kind of brilliant. I'd rate it a 3.

4kids4us, I hope you enjoy 13th Tale...I really liked it.

Has anyone read LESS by ANDREW SEAN GREER? I just ran across it & ordered it bc the reviews were amazing. Coming tomorrow via Prime, lol.

Last night I started a mystery/suspense book that grabbed me immediately-How it Happened isn't really a whodunit, more of a howdidhedoit. I won't give away any of the plot (and I'm only half way through anyway) but it's VERY intriguing and it kept me up reading past my bed time LOL

@nini804

I read Less. I hope you'll like it.

I posted this in June:

"I just finished Less by Andrew Sean Greer. It didn't have great reviews, but did win a Pulitzer :). It was funny, poignant, clever and well written; I highly recommend it."

Funny that I perceived the reviews at the time I read it to be only so-so.

Finished reading Dream Eyes, by Jayne Ann Krentz, Saturday; it was an interesting read. Yesterday, started reading The Kingmaker's Daughter, by Phillipa Gregory; am enjoying it so far.

I just finished The Secrets She Keeps by Michael Robotham. I would call it a psychological thriller of the beach read variety. It was a page turner and I enjoyed it.

I also enjoyed Less — and yes, at the time, the reviews were so-so. I gave it 4 stars —which is pretty high for me. I don’t give many 5 star reviews.

Running - How it Happened is Michael Koryta, one of my recent favorites. If you like this, you'll like his others. If you haven't read them you're in for a treat. Often he has a natural element that acts like an antagonist in addition to the human one(s) but I can't remember if this book features that.

That is so funny, Funky and IntheTrees...granted I didn’t dig super deep but the first 10 reviews or so that is saw for Less were REALLY glowing, and written by literary types. Lol...I hope they are legitimate! Glad y’all enjoyed it!

I'm on the reserve list for Less at the library. Agree that the reviews look so-so but I added it to my list after it was recommended here. I have been thinking that I wish I could record on Goodreads where I heard/read about a book. Today I searched around and saw that there is a comments area (which I think is your own personal notes that others don't see) so I will try to remember to add that info to the comments from now on.

Picked up Only Killers and Thieves by Paul Howarth. A debut novel published earlier this year. Good rating and looks interesting if, perhaps, a bit grim.

Taking a break from a history book (The Dreyfus Affair) now that it's delving into comparative philosophical trends in Europe at the time - yikes!, and am really enjoying The Late Show, by Michael Connelly. In this book Connelly introduces a new detective, Renee Ballard, who is, of course, smart, and quick-witted and has a unique approach to lifestyles. Just finished several pages about a homeless encampment which had some fascinating details (such as the internal government that runs the place). Connelly loves L.A. and takes his readers all over the city.

Nini…. I suspect the reviews changed tenor after it received the Pulitzer. :)

I just finished The Invention of Fire by Bruce Holsinger. I would describe it as historical fiction; the main character is John Gower who was a poet in medieval England where the story takes place. It's part history, part mystery (ha! I'm a poet too), but what inspired the author was the discovery of the possible existence of "handguns" or handgonnes as they were called at the time in the Tower of London armory. The time period is 1386 and Richard II is king.

It's interesting and well written. Gower's friend Geoffrey Chaucer is also in attendance here. I would recommend this book as it is not only informative historically but is also thought provoking with respect to the development of these new guns.

For book club we are reading She Weeps Each Time You’re Born by Amy Quan. I think it’s important and worth the read, it’s sad, it’s dense, it’s magical realism, which I have a hard time with in general, but a well done example of it imo. Vietnamese colonial and war history told through the life of one important woman.

Wow, finished How it Happened last night and what a read! Skibby I will certainly be checking out a few more Michael Koryta books. This one was atmospheric and plotted very well-loved it.

I"m staying in Maine for awhile, literarary-ily speaking :), with the next Paul Doiron Mike Bowditch book Stay Hidden.

AnnieD, a few days ago I finished A Thirteenth Tale - really enjoyed it, though its dark setting and plot were probably not the right choose for my beach vacation! I noticed The author has a new book coming out so I’ve already put myself on the wait list at my library (got on it early while it’s still on order).

This morning I finished The Only Story by Julian Barnes. I found it on the “new release” shelf at the library. Despite being a prolific writer whose name I recognized, I have never read any of his works. He is a talented writer for sure. I had mixed feelings about this novel. Despite his beautiful writing, I found myself frustrated and bored about 2/3 of the way through. Thankfully it’s a short book so I was able to soldier on. It’s the story of an older man looking back on his first (only?) love and the impact it had on the trajectory of his life.

After my drive home from the beach last night, I’m now about halfway through Americanah. Something I realized while listening, I really really enjoy audiobooks whose characters are not native-English speakers, or whose characters have accents/dialects different from my own and very distinguishable, such as a Southern accent (I’m a mid-Atlantic native with no discernible accent as to where exactly I am from). In Americanah, especially where there is actually dialogue b/w characters about the way people speak English, it is lovely to hear the narrator giving voice to these accents rather than me imagining them in my head if I were reading the book rather than listening to it. Other books where I’ve noticed the appeal of narrated accents include An American Marriage, Born A Crime and Lucky Boy. By comparison, I found the monotonous voice of JD Vance narrating his own book Hillbilly Elegy incredibly annoying!

I haven’t decided on my next book-going back through this thread for some ideas!

Running - I'm waiting for the Mike Bowditch to came back to the Library. That series is fun too. Love those game wardens. I wish the characters of Bowditch and Joe Pickett would get together on a case. Like JW Jackson (Philip Craig) and Brady Coyne (William Tapply) did a few times. Craig and Tapply were friends IRL and worked together on a few books. Now that was a fun surprise.

This morning I finished Circe. I loved it, loved her, loved Aiaia and the lions and wolves. Madeline Miller's storytelling is astonishing. I read The Song of Achilles first and adored it. Circe covered more time, being a god and all, and had quite a few more twists and turns. I began to sense how it would end, and yet I found the ending so very satisfying.

Just checking in to say thanks for this thread. DH had surgery this week and I needed something good to read at the hospital. As a result of the recommendations here, I chose really Educated by Tara Westover and really enjoyed it.

These monthly threads are the best. I was just in a non-book-related meeting and we all talked about books we like before the meeting. I mentioned this place, not by name, but what a wonderful resource it is for learning about good books.

I agree Bunnyf.

I just finished The One-in-a-Million Boy by Monica Wood last night. It was really good. I would definitely recommend it for anyone's book club.

Spoiler Alert (sort of?): It took me a few chapters to figure out that "the boy" was never named. I was telling DH about the book and couldn't remember the boy's name so I started looking back on what I had read. I thought they might reveal it at the end, but no.

And I want to add my thanks again for this thread. I have lots of friends who read, and I'm also in a book club, but I have gotten more and better recommendations from this thread than from anywhere else.

Been meaning to read- The One-in-a-Million Boy for quite a while. It seems almost unanimously enjoyed so thank you for mentioning that one.

I continue to be on a very slow reading course for some reason. I just finished The Blue Castle, which was delightful and an easy read but took me like 2 weeks to read. I think I will now look for more by Montgomery. It was so touching and sweet.

I am going to try to read Don Quixote next and or The Orphan Keeper by Cameron Wright who wrote the Rent Collector. This is for a potentially new book club.

After loving A Gentleman in Moscow so much, I've waited forever to get a copy of The Rules of Civility from the library. I finally received a copy and thoroughly enjoyed it; not quite as much as Gentleman, but his writing is so rich with wonderful things, I really savored it. I'd give Gentleman 5 stars and Rules 4.5.

I was at a luncheon and a gal there I know belongs to a different book group and she said they are reading Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson and really enjoying it, though it's long. She also said they had a good discussion with Mrs. Ike, about Mamie, written by her granddaughter.

Finished Only Killers and Thieves. 3 stars. Started out okay although not brilliantly. Soon there were moments like you have when watching horror flics and shout "Don't open that door, you idiot!" Then violence and more violence. Some interesting characters and a pretty depressing and, perhaps, accurate look at parts of Australia in the late 19th century. I don't recommend it even though it has a 4+ rating on Goodreads.

Just going to give a big shout out because I finished The Orphan Keeper; and I highly highly recommend it. I have been one who really lags with reading and I believe I started it Saturday and finished it yesterday . I actually might have finished it Monday but I knew I had some waiting room time so I left it unread until that yesterday.

It was such an effortless read. It was similar to The Rent Collector, which I read several years ago and remember only that it was a great book based on a true story but fictionalized. The Orphan Keeper was also a true life story. Simply amazing truly truly worth reading.

Yesterday I finished There There by Tommy Orange. It's been getting great reviews and has been on the NY Times bestseller list all summer. However, for me, it was a difficult read. Orange is clearly a talented author, writing about the plight of urban/contemporary Native Americans. However, there are 12 main characters, each chapter about a different one, moving back and forth in time as well as constantly shifting characters. For me, it was impossible to keep track of them as well as the secondary characters. For instance, the character in chapter 1 might not be mentioned again for another 10 chapters and by then, I've forgotten his/her backstory. The story is leading up to a point where all the characters attend a "pow wow" in Oakland but I was just skimming at that point b/c I couldn't even remember the backstory for each character. Unfortunate, because so little fiction is written about this culture and I was looking forward to it.

Up next is something that is supposed to be a light read, The Lido by Libby Page. I also have After Anna by Lisa Scottoline. I have so many anticipated books in my pile right now I'm having a hard time trying to decide! And I'm still listening to Americanah and enjoying that but it is very long!

We have been away and I did zero reading, which really surprised me. I recently downloaded One in a Million Boy by Monica Wood (thanks Bunnyfoof), which is interesting and very touching. At the same time I downloaded The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian, which Beagles recommended some time ago. We will be away again, but with less company this time so I know I will finish both.

I just finished Thunder Bay by William Kent Krueger. It was a pretty decent summer read. I loved Ordinary Grace so much I thought I'd try one of his Cork O'Connor mysteries. The story was interesting and his writing is very good. I could easily read more in the series, unlike being Up. To. Here. with Louise Penny Twin Pines books.

Yesterday I picked up The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver from the library and it took me about 12 pages to decide it wasn't working for me. Every sentence felt overworked. I longed for a refreshing paragraph that just had some straightforward narrative.

Now I'm reading a free (or was it $1.99?) Kindle book The Old Neighborhood by Avery Corman. I'm really liking it so far.

ETA: Bonnie, I'm glad you liked One in a Million Boy.

Poisonwood Bible...one of my all time Favorite Books! Maybe more of a winter/dense read? It really is a fabulous story, but her writing generally appeals to me.

Oly, maybe it's the time of year, maybe it's just me. I've just come off a great run: An American Marriage, Educated, Circe, so I may be spoiled, crabby, or over-tired. :)

I was kind of disappointed in The Chalk Man in the end, although I read it all the way through. I am now reading The Cost of Hope by Amanda Bennett. It is a well-written and interesting.

My friend feels the same about The Poisonwood Bible as does olychick, but I’ve tried to read it 3 times without success bunnyfoof!

The Old Neighborhood by Avery Corman was a quick read but I really did enjoy it. I've found a number of free (Amazon Prime) or inexpensive ($1.99) for Kindle reader as I await my library books.

It's a first-person story of a Jewish boy growing up in the Bronx, his self-made success in advertising, his marriage, and then a mid-life crisis. I loved his description of the old neighborhood, then and now, really the main character in the book.

After weightier reads, books that require more commitment from me, I enjoy having a little palate cleansing by a book with a simply told story.

ETA: I really need to add one more comment about this book, or rather the sentence structure. I think he uses way too many comma splices. I'm guilty of using them in emails with my friends, and I just leave them be. I see them more and more in novels, to the point that I figured it must be a thing. But I became so aware of it in this book that I had to make myself stop caring about it so that the story--a good one--could be enjoyed without fussing. Why not use a semicolon instead of a comma? Or just make two sentences?