Finished Valley of the Dolls which was mentioned here...one of those books I never read back then but probably should've. I enjoyed it, and it was a nice easy read after the weight of Anna Karenina, though essentially the same genre. I enjoyed it and would give it 3.5 stars. Not enough meat though for a book club for sure. Up next a book GF lent me: On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong. Sounds interesting.

Grandma Gatewood’s Walk by Ben Montgomery. Biographical story about a 67 year old woman who walked the entire Appalachian Trail.

I've been going through the Dennis Carstens series of Marc Kadella series. Good stories with enough explanation of different legal and court explanations without being boring. I like the characters and their banter, Marc, Tony Carvelli and Maddy Rivers. The first book is The Key to Justice.

I loosely belong to a book club that chose The Broken Road, by Peggy Wallace Kennedy, and subtitled George Wallace and a Daughter’s Journey to Redemption. I give it 3 stars overall, and maybe 4 for effort.

As George Wallace’s daughter, she provides much insight into how difficult it was to be his daughter. As she became old enough to realize what his actions were about, she had a lot of emotion, questions (obviously) which went unasked and unanswered, and self-doubt. Even though I grew up in Alabama, I am a similar age to her (2-3 years older) and was too young to understand all the politics behind it all back then. I also didn’t realize how poor her family was until he became governor and how poor of a father he was to his children. It is really a sad book in many ways, but I am glad I read it. It’s only about 200 pages and goes fast.

Next up may be a beach read.

3katz, I have read many stories about Grandma Gatewood and now I am interested in following up on the book about her.

Annie, I LOVED On Earth we are Briefly Gorgeous. I thought it was stunning.

One of my all time favorites, too. I think I've written here that I never finished it when I read it oh so many years ago because I couldn't bear for it to end. It's still on my shelf, designated for the "nursing home box" where I will take all the wonderful books I never finished because I loved them too much! Hopefully, I can finish them before I'M finished, lol.

Everything Here Is Beautiful by Mira T. Lee. Wonderful so far.

I just finished Peter Heller's The Painter. Wow. I think it was worth all the details about *fishing*. Yeah, fishing -- something I have never understood and would have to be paid to do. 4 Stars.

@Fun -- Glad you enjoyed Celine. It's why I tried The Painter. I'll get The Dog Stars sometime, too.

I'll be reading lots now that I'm starting a new therapy for my MM. Icky infusions; weekly. They take all day, and then you barf. Didn't have trouble with the last meds, but they stopped working. This one (Darzalex) *may* be available as shots like the last one was. Buying time.

I'm in the middle of The Magpie Murders, which is a fun read ala Midsummer Murders on pbs.

I found The Last Flight in the NYT summer reading list and was intrigued. Oddly enough my library already has it although official publication date isn't till June 23.

It sounded like yet another in the genre I keep renouncing, those books about women in various states of distress or danger with A SHOCKING TWIST YOU WON'T SEE COMING!

So this one had all that, but as the NYT pointed out the characters were so well drawn I found myself engrossed in their dilemmas and very interested in how things would get resolved.

And the ending actually did have a twist I didn't see coming, one that was in fact both shocking and very moving.

Highly recommend this one.

Continuing my Russia theme, I just finished reading Cancer Ward by Alexander Solzhenitsyn. It's a wonderful book and no doubt one of the reasons for Solzhenitsyn's win of the Nobel Prize for Literature (1970). The book is about staff and patients in a cancer hospital, and their lives are depicted in ways that illuminate the Russian political, economic and social situation under which they live.

I've started to listening to an audiobook Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice. The author is from Northern Ontario, and this is where the novel is set. Although an Indigenous village is located in the remote north, the inhabitants are able to have internet service thanks to previous construction managers having brought it in for their employees. However, one day the internet stops working and then all electrical power is lost. The residents can't figure out what is going on and can't communicate with larger communities for more information. Then two young men of the community who were attending school in the south suddenly return home, saying that all electrical power has been lost there as well and they saw the beginnings of anarchy. Much to their surprise, a non-Indigenous man comes to their community and asks to be taken in and, according to the summary, others follow suit. The Indigenous people live a fairly basic lifestyle, mostly on the land, and will have to deal with perhaps sharing scarce resources with a group of people who are part of the dominant culture and who have historically caused much harm to the Indigenous population.

The Immune by David Kassie at work and The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins at home. The second is a prequel to the Hunger Games books.

I am reading Anne Tyler's Redhead by the Side of the Road. I kinda like how she takes ordinary people and somehow manages to make them fascinating. It is a pretty small book and a quick read.

Chisue, so sorry to read you have MM and your previous meds stopped working! That must be scary. I hope the infusions work well no matter how miserable they are. I will be thinking of you.

Finished The Big Sleep (Raymond Chandler). First time reading Chandler; will read more. 4.25-4.5

Someone on the forum recommended the Longmire series. I'm about 30% of the way through The Cold Dish by Craig Johnson. I'm liking it a lot. Great dialog/ great characters which is saying something coming off of Raymond Chandler. Thank YOU to whoever recommended the books. Will be hunting down more of Johnson's work.

Alter Ego by Brian Freeman. I love is books. He lives in Minnesota, and it is so fun to have books set in towns and places you are familiar with. Especially Duluth!

I’m currently reading The Liberated Bride by A.B Yehoshua. It’s a slow start, but beautifully written with an ear for how people really are—warts and all.

Just finished Things you Save in a Fire/Katherine Center. No Pulitzer prize here but a quick read. If you like "happily ever after" books, it's a book for you. About a female firefighter. I mostly liked it from an entertaining stand point. Would put it in the "chic-flic" category. If you just want a light read, this is it.

I have started to read A Prayer for Owen Meany for a second time. I read it several years ago and enjoyed it very much. I became interested in Irving's writing after having read A Son of the Circus, also very enjoyable.

Jim_1, I just wanted to thank you for recommending The Workshop. I was expecting a terrific collection of work, but hadn’t realized it goes back seven decades, and includes the early works of some famous Iowa Workshop participants who later went on to literary success, such as Flannery O'Connor, Jane Smiley and Raymond Carver. I even bought a new, more comfortable pair of readers to better enjoy this fabulous book -thank you!

Thanks to the recommendation here, I've just started Grandma Gatewood's Walk and am loving it after only a couple of chapters.

I'm also continuing to read pretty much anything I can get my hands on pertaining to the Camino de Santiago, and just finished Walking To The End of the World: A Thousand Miles on the Camino de Santiago by Beth Jusino and really enjoyed it. Felt like I was on the pilgrimage right along with her.

I’m about to start Virgil Wander by Leif Enger. I was in the mood to read something along the same vein as Ordinary Grace. Not sure if this is it but it does sound interesting.

I've finished Peter Swanson's The Girl With A Clock For A Heart. A whopping *tale*, but hard to believe a man nearing forty is this gullible, regardless of the hot sex. Maybe he got 'imprinted' too young? 3 Stars.

I'm reading Kate Atkinson's first novel, Behind the Scenes at the Museum (1995). My copy has an unappealing cover, and the title is less than compelling, but I like it very much. I'll reserve my 'stars' until I've finished it, but right now it's at least as good and maybe *better* than any of her other novels -- and DH and I have read most of them. Echoes of Dickens in the first line, "I EXIST!"

I accidentally posted this in the May 2019 reading thread because someone new revived it for no known reason, so I deleted and am moving the comments here.

I just read The Dutch House and like most here who recommended
it, I loved it. Such a great book - wonderful story telling. I'm sorry
to see it end, but I couldn't wait to get there to learn the ending.

Oly, The Dutch House is a great book.

@sableincal, you asked me about my cataract surgery in last year's book thread. Thanks for asking. It went very well. It was a revelation. I wish the cataract in my other eye would hurry up and get to the point where Kaiser will do surgery.

Finished Craig Johnson's The Cold Dish. 4.0

Have started Herculine Barbin: Being the Recently Discovered Memoirs of a Nineteenth-Century French Hermaphodite. Introduction by Michel Foucault.

just finished all 7-800? Hundred pages { iPad, so unsure) of The Mirror and The Light.

I did like the first two better, but oh my, how wonderfully she writes! Just too much of a great thing in this one.

I loved the camaraderie of Cromwell, Rafe, ‘Call me’, and son, Gregory. Also all the dialogues, and the oneupmanship of “ he” ( ha!) over his ‘betters‘ All that and her amazing writing, made it worthwhile for me. Did I keep all the names straight? Heck no, and that was ok. I’m sad to say goodbye to Cromwell and the cast of characters.

And TerriLynn, I loved Ordinary Grace. Hope the Virgil Wander is good. Let us know your thoughts.

Bunny - I remember waiting for my cataracts to reach the point where insurance would cover the surgery. My vision was already a bit cloudy but the doctor kept saying "not yet, not yet..." Twas a relief when it was all finished! So good to have near perfect vision again.

Really looking forward to reading The Dutch House which so many of you have praised. It's a July book club read for me.

I have been reading The Book of Lost Friends about which I have high hopes - same author as Before We Were Yours.

I have many books now coming available on kindle from the library and I am busy juggling the edit hold portion! A good problem to have I suppose.

I will again recommend The Things We Cannot Say.

I just started a new book by William Kent Krueger (Ordinary Grace), entitled This Tender Land. I’m hooked already at chapter 3.

OP, I loved This Tender Land. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

i just finished Conjure Women, a debut novel by Afia Atakora, a beautifully written story that takes place just before and just after the Civil War. It’s centered around a village of former slaves who continue to live on the plantation land of their previous owner, who along with most of his family, dies during the war. A bit slow to start and meandering at times, it’s a dark story but everything sort of comes together at the end. Not a beach read, but a worthy book to read.

I’m 3/4 of the way through listening to An Unseen World by Liz Moore. I recently finished her most recent novel Long Bright River which I really enjoyed. I think someone here, though I apologize I’ve forgotten who it was, recommended her previous novel which is very good so far. I look forward to finishing and learning the mystery surrounding the main character’s father. I listen while I walk the dog and dh keeps joining me, so I have yet to finish!

Just finished The Dutch House. Really enjoyed it. 3.5 stars. Great writing and a logical plot that’s driven by the themes of redemption; resolution of internal turmoil and external Conflicts; and the state of being cared for as a marker of childhood. As someone who lost a parent (mother in my case) at a very young age, the book’s exploration of the bond among siblings arising out of that shared loss and the perennial living-in-the-past rang true.

I finished On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong. It wasn't a long book, but I read it slowly as the language is very poetic and I wanted to enjoy it. I'd give it 4 stars. I would not recommend for book group as there are some vivid scenes that might not suit all sensibilities. But it was a good read.

Next up The Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover and Me for book group.

Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

I just started The Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover and Me after Annie recommended it. Wow! This is a hell of a memoir, which is one of my favorite genre's. I‘ve never read a memoir without wondering about the fallout in the lives of the people mentioned, and this particular one has me riveted with that question. Definitely recommend -thanks for the suggestion Annie.

Finished Herculine Barbin. 2.0 rating. My son saw me reading it & exclaimed, "You're reading that book?! That's one seriously messed up book." Turns out that it was a text he had to read for a class--which is how I figured it ended up here because I didn't recall buying it. Nor was it subject matter that I'm very interested in. I wouldn't consider it 'messed' up but one that I could have lived my entire life and not missed out on much for not having read it. Anyway, it's off the TBR pile and on it's way out of here.

Next up is Pukka's Promise: The Quest for Longer-Lived Dogs, Ted Kerasote. Kerasote's follow-up book after Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog. Merle's Door was a terrific book; I'm looking forward to meeting Pukka, Ted's new dog. About 60 pages into it; Pukka has not appeared yet.

I just finished The Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover and Me and it was better than I expected. It was for book group and I think it will lead to some good discussion.

Next up, as someone mentioned here: Watership Down

I finished The Book of Lost Friends (Lisa Wingate- who wrote the very popular Before We Were Yours) and while I expect it to be a very popular book, I have to say I was disappointed. Fascinating story which went back and forth between 1800's and 1980's, in a Louisiana small town, but I think it had too much in the way of stories and tried to include too much.

Still I would say it would be a good book club read as there is much to discuss.

I gave it 3 stars.

Just started Death Without Company by Craig Johnson--the second book in the Longmire series. I'm anxious to see how the new deputy fits in w/ the old crew.

I just finished the audio version of Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown by Anne Glenconner, actually Lady Glenconner. It's a book that proves that truth is stranger than fiction. Glenconner is from an aristocratic family in England and as a child, played with contemporaries Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret. When she was older, she was a Maid of Honor at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth and Lady in Waiting to Princess Margaret for many years. Because as a female she wasn't going to inherit the family estate, she had to marry well and in fact married a very wealthy individual. He was extremely eccentric, having violent temper tantrums without regard to who was nearby. Once when they were in St. Petersburg, Russia, he became angry and lay down in the middle of the street in a fetal position. Their children, like most children of their "set," went to boarding school which they disliked intensely and would cry when being left there. Glenconner and her husband developed the island of Mustique which became a vacation destination for the rich and famous. The book describes their extravagant lives and a way of life that most of us (thankfully!) will never experience. I would give it a 5 out of 5 for its colorful events and characters but wouldn't recommend the audio version since the author narrates and her frequent smacking noises are distracting.

Reading On Earth We Are Briefly Gorgeous. Just beautiful. 4.5 stars so far. It’s poetic.

Some parts were hard to take, mainly because you think about the deliberate, cool cruelty people are capable of against a defenseless being. I still can’t sleep sometimes thinking about it. It’s hard to read that way, in parts, but still magnificent because it doesn’t lose its artistic merit.

I finished The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd. I had great hopes for it, but I thought it was sorta meh.

It's told by Ana, the wife of Jesus. Oh, you didn't know?!! And whaddya know, her brother was Judas, yes, *that* Judas. It's really about her and her longing to write and the women in her life. Meanwhile she falls in love with the Messiah and he does his thing. They're separated during most of his ministry, but she returns to Jerusalem just in time to see him nailed to the cross and have some last words together. Seriously. I kept waiting for a payoff, but I don't think it ever came. I was going to apologize for spoilers, but the story is already out there. ;-)

3 stars and that's being over generous.

I intentionally avoided this thread because I was trying to finish a book before I started looking for new titles. When I finally opened this today, I laughed because the original post mentioned Anna Kareninia, which is the book I was trying to finish! It is (was) the only book I started but didn’t finish. I remember getting about 1/4 through it and I struggled with keeping the characters straight. Then I put it on the shelf and started reading What to Expect When You’re Expecting, because I found out I was pregnant with DS1. He is now 12 years old 🙈.... the unfinished Anna Karenina haunted me all these years so I decided to start over and finish it while I was stuck at home due to the stay at home order. I finished and I’m glad I did! Now, off to find some light reading....

Oh my, I just finished a book I mentioned earlier in this discussion and it was AMAZING!!! The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires wasn't what I expected.

Of course it was set in the South (suburban Charleston in the 90s) and of course there was a book club and a vampire. But it got into some really interesting themes of American culture, women's strength within traditional gender roles, and marital dynamics. The writing style was smart and engaging too.

I started it a couple of days ago and then just couldn't stop reading till I inhaled the whole book. Highly recommend this one, it's a great summer read or of course a book club pick.

I just finished White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide by Carol Anderson. Absolutely heart-breaking, but I wish everyone would read it.

Finished Death Without Company by Craig Johnson--4.0-4.25 and have started Tokoyo Station by Martin Cruz Smith.

Death Without Company is the second book in the Longmire series.