I finished "The Goldfinch" by Donna Tartt last weekend. What a journey that was! And a very hilly journey, at that. A few parts were of 'skip-over' quality, some parts were enjoyable, and many were emotionally draining. After that, I needed something very light, so read "A Christmas Wish" by Leanna Morgan. A very light, quick, 'feel good' read. Enjoyable, fulfilled my need to read something that requires very little thought and no emotion.

Now I'm about a quarter of the way into "Remembering Christmas", by Dan Walsh, another light read while I look for something else to read. Maybe John Grisham's "The Guardians"? If our library has it in yet. . . . ..

Rusty

I am doing the goodreads challenge, and am now trying to get 4 more books read this year. With that goal, I am really focusing on the short ones lol. So I just read The Friend, by Sigrid Nunez. It's a very different type of book but a very engrossing read (and well under 300 pages- maybe under 200 can't recall.) It's a very interesting book about a writer and a dog. I thought it was possibly a memoir but it seems to be all fiction.. I would give it 4 stars.

Last week I finished Never Let Me Go. I had reserved it at the library and then suspended it for quite a while. When I would look at unsuspending the hold so it would be available, I kept thinking I'd already read it, but I searched all my "read" lists (at the library and my book club) and it wasn't there. So I finally got it and started to read, then I knew I'd read it before. I was mistaken in thinking it was currently published but is over 10 year old and I did read it when it came out.

I went ahead and read it again (since I obviously didn't remember it). I think it is a fascinating subject (I have strong opinions about organ donation) and the author explored it in an unusual way. However, it was FILLED with extraneous details, thoughts, actions, etc. that seemed to have no purpose at all, except fill. I wondered if I was missing something he did deliberately with all that unnecessary detail (I can be quite literal), but it didn't work for me, if that were true. He also would refer to something (like an event or incident) in a way that made me wonder if I'd missed it earlier in the book, but then a little further along, he'd actually write about the thing he'd referred to. It drove me crazy, as it seemed to happen every chapter at least once, maybe more.

For concept, I'd rate it highly, for content/implementation, not so much.

About halfway through A Dog's Purpose. I never saw the movie. Not sure how it ended up on my to read list, but it's so far a quick and touching read...good for a busy holiday schedule.

Slowly reading "Diary of a Bookseller", at night just before I fall off to sleep. lol. I like it okay but it does put me to sleep. At work: "Full Throttle" by Joe Hill, not reading much of it, book of short stories and am only on the 2nd story. Also just started listening to Game of Thrones in the car on the way to and from work again.

Once Upon A Farm by Rory Feek. I enjoyed it.

Sue

I just finished Catch and Kill, by Ronan Farrow, the journalist who broke the Harvey Weinstein case. I had had it on hold at my library for ages and it finally became available; otherwise I'm not sure I would have chosen to read it during the holidays. I could feel my anger simmering and finally boiling over, just as it did when the news (and related news) was all over the media. The book is well done, although I found it a little difficult to keep track of the track of characters at times. It's a bit eye-opening to fully realize how fullly NBC intended to bury this story.

I'm listening to On Being Mortal and it is helping me to understand some of the issues DH and I are facing with his 92 year old mother. I finished A Gentleman in Moscow, which was a nice escape from pondering the weighty issues of OBM. Just last night I downloaded Into the Water by Paula Hawkins (The Girl on the Train).

I just picked up The Friend, by Sigrid Nunez, and I want to thank you Salonva for the mention. It wasn't available in ebook format, which is my preferred way of reading now, due to eyesight issues. But I figured I'd go to the library and take a look at it since it was readily available. I knew within two pages that this was the type of writing I just fall into, just love to pieces. The author's name is so familiar to me, but I haven't yet had a chance to review her other books to see if I've read her before.

I just started Lost and Wanted by Nell Freudenberger (link here) after hearing Maureen Corrigan rave about it on NPR. As per my usual, if I'm particularly intrigued by a book, I set off to find out more about the writer while still reading it. What intrigued me, in this case, is all the physics talk. My son is in physics, and so maybe the subject intrigues me more than the average reader, but I was stunned that a writer could learn enough about this complex subject matter to adroitly include it in a novel. I discovered that Nell Fredudenberger didn't know anything about physics actually, and is in fact, a bit math-phobic, but she set out to learn about it in much the same way you would set out to learn about another culture. Fascinating book...

Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi, the sequel to Children of Blood and Bone.

Wanted to come back and say how much I enjoyed Henry, Himself by Stewart O’Nan. its about every day happenings in the life of an older man and his wife and family, beautifully written. It’s rather wry, not at all saccharine. Just the descriptions of the dog Rufus are spot on.

Has anyone read House of God? It came out 10 years ago and was a best seller. The author, Samuel Shem, has returned to describe "the miracles and horror of modern medicine" in Man's 4th Best Hospital. I'm 50 pages in and loving it.

I finished Anna Quindlen’s “Black and Blue” a couple of days ago. I really don’t know what to say about it. Quindlen is an excellent author, a prize-winning author, and she has presented this story very well. It really makes one stop and think. I had to keep reminding myself that it is fiction, only fiction. Perhaps it spoke to me so because I was once, many many years ago, a victim of domestic violence. Not for long, and nothing real serious, but even one slap is too much.

From Goodreads:

"For eighteen years, Fran Benedetto kept her secret. And hid her bruises. And stayed with Bobby because she wanted her son to have a father. And because, in spite of everything, she loved him. Then one night, when she saw the look on her ten-year-old son's face, Fran finally made a choice--and ran for both their lives.

Now she is starting over in a city far from home, far from Bobby. And in this place she uses a name that isn't hers, and cradles her son in her arms, and tries to forget. For the woman who now calls herself Beth, every day is a chance to heal, to put together the pieces of her shattered self. And every day she waits for Bobby to catch up to her. Because Bobby always said he would never let her go. And despite the flawlessness of her escape, Fran Benedetto is certain of one thing: It is only a matter of time... "

I don’t know what book clubs look for in a book to discuss, but I think this one could be a good one for that purpose, especially if there are any members who have had, or have family or friends who have had to deal with domestic violence, either themselves, as bystanders, or as support.

I’m glad I read it.

Rusty

I felt like I needed some very light reading after I finished "Black and Blue", so I picked up "A Virtuous Woman" by Kaye Gibbons. It turned out to be almost a nothing, if that makes any sense. The descriptions of it led me to expect something light-hearted, interesting, humorous. For me, it was none of the above, I finished it because it is a short book.

Now I'm about halfway through "Flowers in the Snow" by Danielle Stewart.

Copied from Goodreads: In the 1960s, Edenville, North Carolina is full of rules. Sagging under the weight of racism and segregation the small community finds itself at a dangerous tipping point.

Eleven-year-old Betty Grafton believes the world is fair. She knows there are worse places to live than Edenville. Unaware of the wars waging around her, she spends her days patting horses in the field and running errands for her mother. The world she doesn’t see, full of turmoil and unrest, is hiding just below the surface. One day, she has no choice but to see what’s been right in front of her all along.

Alma knows where to walk. She knows who to talk to and which fountain she can drink out of. Her mother, Winnie, spares no opportunity to remind her how dangerous it is to be a little black girl in the South.

When a chance encounter puts Betty face to face with the peril that exists in her own hometown, everything she knows turns upside down. The world isn’t as fair or safe as she’d imagined. Her family is the Klan. Her friends are the enemy. And nothing makes sense anymore.

Although the world demands they stay apart, Alma and Betty forge a secret friendship. One that could cost them their lives.

I’m having a hard time putting this one down!

Rusty

So glad you liked The Friend, Bestyears. After that, I read Ordinary Life by Elizabeth Berg. Its a collection of short stories, maybe 12 or 15 and there was only one that I didn't care for and did not read in its entirety. She is the author of Arthur Truluv, so I figured I would enjoy her writing. And, it's a short book so I am likely to make my goal on goodreads. I have 2 more books to read this year and I am now reading The Outsiders, which gets good marks on Goodreads as well. So far, at about 20% it is holding my interest.

Finished A Dog's Purpose. Sweet read. I teared up at the end. Not for book group though.

Next up for me, Before We Were Yours.

Next up or book group, The Girl With Seven Names

I believe it was recommended here, so I recommended it to the group. Will let you know how they liked it.

Just finished A White Wind Blew by James Markert. The story takes place in a tuberculosis sanitorium in the 1920s during a TB epidemic and before drugs were developed to fight the disease. The story is filled with episodes of sadness and then some of joy. It was very well written. This would be a good book group read since it is filled with issues that provoke discussion.

Agree totally on the poor editing (or no editing) in Goldfinch. I may have liked the book, but the loose, bloated writing spoiled it completely for me. 3 stars.

Finished The Heart’s Invisible Furies last week. I give it 2 stars. Most undisciplined editing and uninspired writing. While I agreed with the author on the hypocrisy of the Irish Catholic Church and the plight of gays and women, the plot and the writing drove me nuts. The coincidences in the plot were just piling up and lacked any plausibility. And the writing was so bloated, with uninteresting characters, uninspired writing and loose ends that took up literally hundreds of pages and hours of my time.

Also finished A Warning by Anonymous. 3 (or 3.5) stars. While almost all the facts and information in the book is already in the public domain, the author’s cohesive and compelling case on 45 was worth spending time on the book. I really appreciated the writing, the perspectives and the author’s building a case based on principles rooted in history and philosophy.

Finished Inheritance by Dani Shapiro. 3 to 3.5 stars. She does make you think about what makes a person who the person is.

Agree totally on the poor editing (or no editing) in Goldfinch. I may have liked the book, but the loose, bloated writing spoiled it completely for me. 3 stars.

Finished The Heart’s Invisible Furies last week. I give it 2 stars. Most undisciplined editing and uninspired writing. While I agreed with the author on the hypocrisy of the Irish Catholic Church and the plight of gays and women, the plot and the writing drove me nuts. The coincidences in the plot were just piling up and lacked any plausibility. And the writing was so bloated, with uninteresting characters, uninspired writing and loose ends that took up literally hundreds of pages and hours of my time.

Also finished A Warning by Anonymous. 3 (or 3.5) stars. While almost all the facts and information in the book is already in the public domain, the author’s cohesive and compelling case on 45 was worth spending time on the book. I really appreciated the writing, the perspectives and the author’s building a case based on principles rooted in history and philosophy.

Finished Inheritance by Dani Shapiro. 3 to 3.5 stars. She does make you think about what makes a person who the person is.

I just finished The Good Cop, Peter Steiner (also a cartonist for The New Yorker, famous for his cartoon with the adage, "On the internet, nobody knows you're a dog.") It's only 185 pages, and it's 3 or 4 stars. If you don't have time, just read Author's Notes, which I think are why he wrote the book for today's audience. It's about Hitler's rise and disastrous rule. If you can't see the likeness to Trump, you aren't looking.

Now on to the new Martin Cruz Smith 'Arkady Renko' book, The Siberian Dilemma.

I’m about to start Isabel Allende’s book Daughter of Fortune: A Novel. I thought I had read all her books but this doesn’t sound familiar.

Previously...

I’ve had the flu and wanted to read something light and frivolous so picked a book 5 of a series I hit on once in a while. It was so bad I think the author lost interest and let his eleven year old finish it. I’d be too embarrassed to even share the title.

chisue, just finished The Siberian Dilemma. It's short and a quick read. I haven't read Martin Cruz Smith in years but am fascinated by Russia and Siberia (I read The Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips earlier this year and it was so foreign and engrossing). Anyway, I enjoyed it, although I wasn't sure at the beginning that I would. It grew on me.

Finished Red At The Bone by Jacqueline Woodson which I thought was beautifully written. It made me think about strength to be your own self and the prices paid.

Also finished The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead and loved it. It's loosely based on the boy's home where they found the 'unofficial' graveyard of past inmates.

I just finished "Inheritance" by Dani Shapiro and it was a great read and very moving. Now I am rereading an old sci fi series I originally read back in the late 1980's called The Many Colored Lands by Julian May. I like to reread books that were my favorites and often reread stuff. I always pick up details I missed the first time around!

Annie- The Girl With Seven Names was a book club selection for me last year. I don't really know that it was such a good book club read, but it was a very good book and definitely worth reading. Amazing story. Before We Were Yours was also a book club read and very much enjoyed.

It's interesting how so many of these books become book club books. I am in 3 or 4 book clubs, and there is so much crossover between them. Often it can be more than a year between, but it's interesting.

The books I am reading now are not for book club (for example, January selections for 2 of the 4 are Eleanor Oliphant and Killers of the Flower Moon. Both stupendous books but already read.

I just finished The Outsiders which I think would be a good book club read (and at just under 200 pages is getting me to my goodreads goal). I think it might have been young adult but in any case, it was a good but sad story and I think good material for discussion. It was also a movie but I never saw or heard of it. I just googled it and it was directed by Francis Ford Coppola in 1983. Live and learn.

I started Inheritance by Dani Shapiro and am racing through it very much captivated by it. I agree with you ghoghunter.

I do have Wind 's Invisible Furies on my list but not sure when I will get to that........and now reading the latest mention here, will see.

I appreciate the mention of Henry, Himself. I read an excerpt and it's just the sort of thing I want to read right now, so found an ex-library copy on eBay and ordered it.

I'm still reading Being Mortal by Atul Gawande, and also The Last Time I Saw You by Elizabeth Berg about a 40-year high school reunion. Unlike Berg's other works that I've read, this one is merely "meh" to me, but I'm still plodding along.

Finally, I just started Everett Ruess: His Short Life, Mysterious Death, and Astonishing Afterlife by Philip L. Fradkin. From my first visit to the canyons of southeastern Utah, I became fascinated with the story of this young man who mysteriously disappeared into the remote Escalante wilderness in the 1930s. I've read many books about him, but hadn't gotten my hands on this one til recently.

Just finished, and really enjoyed, The Piano Maker by Kurt Palka. Right before reading that, I finally got around to reading The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani which I also liked a lot.

I was having issues downloading books from my public library onto my Kobo, where I didn't have issues before. It finally sorted itself out, but I still am not able to download (via ADE) books to my Kobo by Kristin Hannah, who is one of my favourite authors. It always says my Kobo isn't authorized to open them (I tried to download two different books of hers), so I finally bought The Great Alone through the Kobo Store just so I can finally read it. I think it's next on my reading list.

I just finished The Highway by CJ Box, who is the author of the Joe Pickett game warden series which I like a lot. This one is a 'mini-series' of four books with the same protagonists, a pair of sheriff's investigators out west.

However The Highway was a very dark and disturbing read, one I actually wish I'd skipped. The plot deals with serial killers and women being tortured and murdered, and it's been haunting me for days. I wouldn't recommend it.

runninginplace -- I stopped reading such fiction years ago. I think it was after Wire In The Blood. I don't like *very* lightweight novels, but I also do not need to introduce those images -- that EVIL -- into my life.

Thought I'd share our book group reading list for 2020:

• The Girl with 7 names: Escape from North Korea (my recommendation based on reviews here)
• The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind and the Body in the Healing of Trauma
• The Woman in the Window
• On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (Stephen King)
• The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek
• Becoming (Michelle Obama)
• The Body in Question
• Mrs. Everything
• Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover & Me
• Against the Wind
• Red at the Bone
• The Opposite of Fate

Save Me the Plums by Ruth Reichl. I'm enjoying it very much.

I just finished reading Victoria The Queen : An Intimate Biography of the Woman who Ruled an Empire by Julia Baird. Definitely 5 stars out of 5. Although it's a large book (696 pages), I read it fairly quickly because the writing is very good and it is packed with interesting people and events. As many people know, Queen Victoria was the longest reigning British monarch until Queen Elizabeth II. In her long reign, she oversaw many changes in her country, although many shocking injustices and cruelties occurred under her watch, both within Britain and in "conquered" countries. However, she often had to struggle against powerful politicians who didn't have the same objectives as she did. For example, she was very moved by Dickens' Oliver Twist and proposed to Prime Minister Lord Melbourne that social change should be instituted. He was dismissive of any such talk, practically rolling his eyes and certainly refusing a discussion.

In order to have access to the Royal Archives in researching her book, the author had to sign a contract agreeing that the Chief Archivist would need to approve the book's content. A portion of the book didn't get approved but the author used the content anyway, since she also obtained these details from another source. The details describe items that the Queen was buried with, particularly those of John Brown, a long-time friend who had predeceased her.

Stacey, that Queen Victoria biography was indeed a wonderful read. I particularly enjoyed the author's delving into archives and letters to debunk her popular image facade of a 'Victorian' woman....she was anything but in her private life.

It's interesting to know how deeply sexually connected she and Albert were all their married lives while simultaneously they both chafed under the reality that she was by far the more powerful of the two in the world. Certainly as difficult a dilemma, probably more so then, as it is today for many married couples.

And her attitude about her children and childbirth being one of the great agonies of her life. And of course the long running almost-certainly physical love affair with Brown. Hot stuff!

That Queen Victoria book sounds amazing. Definitely going to give it a try

I just finished Inheritance (Dani Shapiro). I thought it was an amazing story- the philosophical aspect was of course there heavily but just the actual history was incredible to me. I would give it between 4 and 5 stars and I think it would be perfect book club book.

And yay with that I have reached my goodreads goal for the year. Now I can relax although I have a bunch now on kindle from the library and thanks to @Elmer J Fudd and others, I can play the airplane mode game and not worry about getting them read in 14 days. ( My previous library had 21 days which was really good. this one is 14. Usually that works but now I understand that I can keep it until I finish and I am not affecting anyone else who wants to borrow).

I need to try The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell which looks very interesting- for Book Club #1. Unfortunately library does not seem to have it on kindle which I have grown to strongly prefer.

I have these 3 queued up:

My Friend Anna

The Storied Life of A J Fikry

Dear Mrs Bird

and of course, will get the Queen Victoria book soon.

My Friend Anna is for book club #2

Runninginplace - there were displays in Kensington Palace featuring Queen Victoria when we visited a couple of years ago. One of the display cases held a pair of the Queen's stockings and Prince Albert's razor. A quote from Queen Victoria's diary on the display hints at the intimate and erotic life of the couple: "My dearest Albert put on my stockings for me. I went in and saw him shave, a great delight for me."

I just finished The Art of Inheriting Secrets, by Barbara O'Neal. I read it immediately following another by the same author: When We Were Mermaids. I had the same reaction to both: I enjoyed most of the book, but it wrapped up too quickly at the end. It's as though she realized she was on a deadline and had to finish it. With both, it was hard to suspend disbelief as the plot "resolved" (more or less) at the end. And with this second one a couple of loose ends were left dangling. I did enjoy 95% of both of them though.

Hey! I just read a book! One of my five books of the year LOL!! I read The Woman in the Window. It was pretty good. I think I'll see the movie when it comes out.

I just started reading The World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman. I was really liking it at first, but then the Golem 'happened' which I didn't expect since I didn't read any previews or reviews. I'm not really into books about fantasy/magic, but I'll keep reading since I haven't lost complete interest.

I just finished the The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. I am starting The Kindness Challenge by Shaunti Feldhah. I had the chance to see her speak, I am going to try the challenge as a new year, new me endeavor. I just ordered Mrs. Ella on Ella Brennan’s life By Ella Brennan and Ti Marten. I am fascinated by the Brennan Family.

dee_can1, don't give up. I don't read fantasy but I was persuaded to read The World That We Knew. I was flummoxed by the Golem too. It turned out to be my absolute favorite book of 2019, one I recommended to my 34 year old daughter who reported back that she loved it. Somehow, amid the otherworldly evil that actually happened and the unbelievable but true courage that rose to meet it, Hoffman made me accept the Golem and other fantasy pieces as part and parcel. It's beautifully written and just gets better. Hang in there.

I may reread it.

I just finished The World That We Knew last week. I’m typically not a big fan of fantasy either, but I’ve read another of Alice Hoffman’s novels and loved it. I happened upon her latest novel in Overdrive while looking for an audiobook. I didn't really pay attention to what it was about when I checked it out. I was unsure whether I could suspend disbelief when the golem was introduced but decided to continue reading, as I was otherwise quickly drawn into the story. In the end, I found Hoffman’s use of the golem and its symbolism allowed for a beautiful story to be told, and will perhaps be one of the more memorable WWII novels I have read. For those that listen to audiobooks, Judith Light was wonderful as narrator of this novel.

Typically I don't care for fantasy either, although the Song of Ice and Fire series (upon which Game of Thrones is based) was an exception.

A couple of years ago I read The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker and loved it. Because these fabled characters manifested in turn of the 20th century NYC and everything else around them was real, I had no trouble suspending disbelief. I will look into The World That We Knew.

Thanks for your comments about The World That We Knew, barncatz and 4kids4us. Good to know you both really liked it.

Last week I read "Because of the Rain" by Deborah Raney. It was pretty good. It tackles some sensitive subjects in a thought provoking way, makes you stop and think.

Today I finished "Cottage by the Sea" by Debbie Macomber. I enjoyed it a lot! I've liked all of her books that I've read, but had become a little 'burned out', so hadn't read any of hers for quite awhile now. I was very ready for a light, easy read.

Rusty

I just started Malcolm Gladwell's latest Talking to Strangers. As with all his books it is compulsively readable with fascinating examples of his theory which is that people make judgements about strangers based on their predisposition to think someone who behaves in a certain way must be 'good' and the opposite must also be true.

However as everyone knows Gladwell is a journalist, not an educated professional in any behavioral science. So as entertaining as the book may be as with his other work it's not necessarily solidly grounded in theory nor is he qualified to make deep dives into research. Still fun to read!

I’m currently reading The Dutch House by Ann Patchett. I had been on the wait list at my library for both the audiobook and the hardcover, planning to read/listen to whichever came in first. Well, the audio arrived right before Christmas, at a time when I would be doing very little driving (I usually listen while driving to my kids’ far away high schools). I started it, but only could listen in little blocks of time while running errands, etc before Christmas. I got lucky tho because the hardcover came in this weekend, so I just spent the morning reading. The downside is that Tom Hanks is the narrator for the audio version-my first book with him as narrator and he is very entertaining, esp this book as the main character is a teenage boy but the book spans 50 years of his life. While I’m still enjoying the hard copy, I can hear his voice in my head as narrator! No plans today so Im hoping to finish it later this afternoon.

Just finished before we were yours....5 stars and great for book group.

Annie, I also read Before We Were Yours and I found it a very good read. Yesterday I finished Queen Bee by Dorothea Benton Frank which was a southern story and it was quirky, funny and heartwarming with a tiny bit of magic thrown in. It's my first novel of this author but I will definitely be reading some more, she has a wonderful way with words and hearts.

Annie, I read "Before We Were Yours" quite some time ago, and loved it. When a number of us were trying to get an online KT book club going, I suggested it for the group to read, but no one was interested. I hope your comment will encourage others to read it.

Janie, Dorothea Benton Frank is one of my very favorite authors. I love her books, and I think I've read all of them except "Queen Bee". I hope to remedy that soon. "Shem Creek" stands out in my mind as my favorite, it was the first of hers that I read, and one of the few books that I've read twice. It is so sad that she passed away so young, who knows how many wonderful 'Low Country' tales will not be told now.

Rusty

Rusty, thanks! I'll make Shem Creek my next one! I did learn that she had recently passed away and way too young, a true loss.

Nice to read the comments about Queen Bee. A friend sent it to me recently with praise for the author, whom I'd never heard of--although she has many fans. I'll read it in the new year.