Stacey, have you watched 'Anne With an E'? May be on Netflix, I think. It's based on Anne of Green Gables and is a completely charming series.

Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld who also authored Prep and American Wife. This book l

tells the life and political story of Hillary Rodham if she didn’t marry Bill Clinton. For me, a historical fiction of a living character is a bit odd, especially as this book goes into her sex life. I don‘t consider myself a prude, but some scenes had me shaking my head. Good Reads had the same kind of comments so I was not alone. The book showed Hillary’s dedication to politics and what she ultimately gave up.

Next, was The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue ( she also wrote Room). Just what I needed, a book about the 1918 flu pandemic! This is the story of a Dublin, Ireland nurse working in a maternity flu ridden ward. These women ended up changing each other lives in unexpected ways. The characters were interesting so I would recommend if you can handle this topic.

I downloaded from my library, because it was the only book available for immediate download, Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan. My gosh! I could hardly put the book down. It has been a very long time since a book really engrossed me like this one did. Now I have to see what else he has written.

Am currently reading Camino Winds by John Grisham. Am enjoying it very much.

I loved Ten Thousand Doors of January and enjoyed the Rosie project but haaaaated the sequel. I’ve been floundering a bit with reading lately-picking up funny romances as an antidote to Covid and election anxiety, I guess.

Walnut, We watched the Crazy Rich Asians movie and really enjoyed that, books are normally even better.

I took a few days and read nothing after finishing Hamnet which I will say again was a 5 star read (so you should read it!!!).

I am not sure where I heard of this book, but I reserved it and last night got notice that Convenience Store Woman was available on kindle from the library. I only read a little bit, but it seems good so far. I will report back when I am finished.

I liked BookWoman of Troublesome Creek (which was recommended here a few months ago) and I recommended to one of my book clubs and they loved it. I recommended to my sister who suggested it for her book club and she said they all loved it as well.

Outside, I've read several other Bachmann books but Anxious People annoyed me from the outset. Semi-spoiler alert since I only read ~25 pages: the instant jump into some kind of locked room mystery even though the criminal wasn't really a criminal even though he had a gun but the realtor thought it was a toy but it wasn't (oh boy), the narrator's omniscient voice detailing little anecdotes about someone pondering jumping off a bridge then someone becoming a policeman then talking someone down who then SURPRISE jumped, the interrogator so frustrated with the supposed-to-be-charming but simply idiotic realtor who is then upstaged by the other policeman who is SURPRISE first cop's father...thanks, I've read enough. Unfortunately for me once I am over a book I cannot power on, if it's put me off then I'm done.

I did finish my stroll through medieval England via Ken Follett's latest The Evening and the Morning which I keep transposing. Side comment: I never ever understand the titles of Follett's Kingsbridge books! Anyway I promptly checked out the next unread book in the series which for me is World Without End. As I told my librarian, I think reading about 10th century life with all it's beatings, rapes and the plague is still more soothing than watching CNN these days ;).

I also started a suspense novel Dear Child but not sure I'm going to continue. Continuing my literary curmudgeon state of mind, this one features one of those genius savant child narrators who make easy work for the author but who become annoying reeeeeeeal fast. Then too the subject matter is very dark (abduction, years of forced confinement, rape resulting in children who are raised in captivity by the victim and abductor).

I finished Barking Up the Wrong Tree which is like a review of what we think makes people successful vs. what science shows. It was written with a breezy style and a lot of anecdotes to keep it from getting dry, but he came up with a lot of contradictory things so I felt it was more like reading proverbs rather than useful advice. Y'know, like, look before you leap, but he who hesitates is lost kind of stuff. I'm sure we'll have a lot to discuss at book club though...the book club is "best lives" and is geared toward insights on living a happier life. I gave it 3 stars.

Next up is Spilled Milk. Based on a true story.

Running, I sort of get what you mean about the first 25 pages, but believe me when I say, it all changes and becomes so complex yet clear the more you read. And so bittersweet at the same time. And yet remained entertaining and sometimes funny and frustrating all at the same time but it does have a good ending. A little like life I guess. I don’t want to spoil anything either for a future reader so will leave it at that.

@just_terrilynn, I do want to see the move now. But, I am so glad I read the book first. I have put the rest of the trilogy on hold at the library, and hope they are as engrossing as the first one.

@salonva, thank you for your recommendations. I have put Convenience Store Woman and BookWoman of Troublesome Creek on hold. My library does not have Hamnet.

DH likes The Pull of the Stars so much that he's brought home another by Donoghue, Landing. We have two by Valerie Martin waiting on our shelf: The Confessions of Edward Day and Italian Fever. I'm sticking with the lighter side of life, reading Spencer Quinn's adventures of Bernie and his dog Chet: Paw and Order (finished) and Heart of Barkness (underway). I've learned that human ears are merely 'decorative', according to Chet.

All of the above authors were recommended here. Many thanks.

Outside, based on previous book shares...I just put a hold on Anxious People and will give it another try ;)

My brain is overloaded these days and I couldn't face any more of Crime and Punishment. So I bought a couple of paperbacks from the drugstore - one by Janet Evanovich and A Reasonable Doubt by Phillip Margolin. I've started reading the book by Evanovich (Twelve Sharp) and it's just perfect for my current mood.

As I mentioned on another thread, I'm listening to the audiobook version of A Christmas Carol. It's narrated by Tim Curry and I'm enjoying it very much. I hadn't remembered that there are 4 ghosts that visit Scrooge and not 3 as in the movie.

I'm also listening to Anne of Green Gables. I'm less enthused about the narrator now than when I started and realize once again how important it is for them to pronounce words correctly. When the narrator speaks about how people went to hear the premier of P.E.I. speak, she pronounced it "premiere." This is fingernails on a chalkboard to a Canadian!

I just finished Spilled Milk: Based on a True Story. I'm giving it 4 stars ++ and it would be good for book group. Author fictionalizes her own life story as a victim of sexual abuse by her father who also physically abused her siblings. I kept picturing this becoming a made-for-TV movie which sheds light on a difficult subject. She has been engaged in bringing awareness to this topic for many years. This was one of those books where I stayed up way too late because I wanted to finish it.

Next up, based on recommendations here is: Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead

Just finished "The Library of Lost and Found" Good book. Next up, "A Gentleman in Moscow"

I just finished The Vanishing Half and was very let down by it. I put it aside on several occasions and started other books, but people I know and like said it was worth finishing So I did finish. To me, none of the characters seemed like real people, only archetypes chosen to drive the narrative. The story wasn't that engaging either. Interestingly, another book about a Black family in Louisiana---
The Yellow House----- is non fiction yet had more drama and appeal than the novel. The end was as uninteresting as the rest of the book.

I am just starting Anne Tyler’s Redhead by the Side of the Road and have Ann Patchett’s Commonwealth on deck (despite my dislike of The Dutch House). I am also listening to Being Mortal after having read it...very interesting how differently it comes across in the spoken word.

Jkayd, A Gentleman in Moscow is a very engaging book.

Wow...considering I didn't like The Yellow House, that's not good. The Vanishing Half is on our list for next year's book group.

Annie, it was recommended to me by someone I like and respect very much, so YMMV!

I just finished Hidden Valley Road, a book about a family with twelve children, six diagnosed with schizophrenia. I haven't had much luck with Oprah book club selections, they are often too depressing for me, but I liked this one. It was a well-done combination of the science of schizophrenia and family drama. Plus, I have two degrees of separation with some people in the story so it was very interesting to read about them from the author's perspective. I did not know they were in the book until after I started reading it.

Just about to start Obama’s The Promised Land. He is a deep thinker and can articulate complex thoughts so nimbly. So looking forward to it. BTW, my Libby came through faster than my Amazon order!

ETA, as a bonus, the audio book is read by the author!

Oh I was hoping the audio would be read by Obama himself! Michelle O. read her own book and that was a treat. I felt like she was right there telling me her story as to a friend. I think both Obama’s have that special ability to seem like a friend to anyone and everyone through their writings, their spoken words, their actions and even the expressions on their faces. (If you can’t tell, I am a HUGE fan!)

I "read" exclusively with audio books and I agree that often when read by the author themself, it can add a broader dimension to the experience.

I'm not sure if I mentioned this in a prior month's thread but a few months ago I read John Cleese's partial autobiography So, Anyway...... I say partial because rather than being what I would consider to be comprehensive, he told the tale of his life by using vignettes, mostly very humorous ones, from here and there. The audiobook I had was read by Cleese himself and besides the obvious, that listening to it was like listening to a Monty Python piece (because of the familiarity of his voice in that context), there were numerous incidents described in the book that still struck his funny bone and he would start giggling or laughing while reading the words. Very enjoyable.

Ben Macintyre is a favorite author. He's an Englishman who's had a knack of finding little known or unknown incidents during WW2 or later and developing them into fascinating books. I've read and enjoyed all of his books. His latest release, Agent Sonya, is an interesting expose about an espionage agent whose story was not previously well known but whose impact changed the course of world events. And he was the audiobook reader, an added treat.

Macintyre is a meticulous researcher and one particular source he found added an interesting twist. Without mentioning any spoilers, the person who was that the subject of book wound up living in East Germany and retired from government service. She wrote an autobiography that had to be submitted to government censors before being published. Apparently they found that too much of her life story as written (including what happened when she was young and through later years) revealed sensitive secrets and facts they didn't want disclosed. What wound up being published and released to the public was highly edited, highly censored, and rather unenlightening. However, the original version she wrote and had submitted to the censors had been retained by the East German Stasi and Macintyre found it among the now open Stasi files. So he effectively stumbled upon a First Person source, the subject telling her own story in her own words, not previously available to anyone else. The book by necessity had to cover what his research unearthed and some parts seem a bit overly detailed and not necessarily needed to tell the tale but I thought it was worth reading.

Me too, kswl. Both of them are bright, deep, gracious ... I can go on and on. I feel fortunate to be a contemporary to have witnessed, if only remotely as a citizen, all that they have to offer.

i went back and forth whether to get Kindle or hard copy of "The Promised Land" and went with the Kindle version.

if i love it, then i will get a hard copy.

i have Michelle's book but have not got to it yet.... shame, shame shame :(

I recently finished a Library of America edition of Elmore Leonard, Four Novels of the 1970s (all in one volume). Fifty-Two Pickup, Swag, Unknown Man No.89 and The Switch. It took quite a while to get through all four (768 pages).

Leonard had most of these set in Detroit and its northwest suburbs where I lived for a while. Good reading.

I so wish I could do audio books. I do love reading on my kindle, and would do it in conjunction. Somehow I can't seem to listen and pay adequate attention. I go for long walks and keep thinking I should give it another try. (maybe I will start another thread because I don't know how to go about that).

Elmer, it sounds like John Cleese's book would be an enjoyable read - so I will reserve it.

I finished Convenience Store Woman, it's a a very short book and it was very different but very good. It's translated from Japanese and apparently won awards. It was a very good read -- and I would give it 4 stars.

I just finished Elizabeth is Missing by British author Emma Healy. It’s billed as a mystery/suspense, but there really isn’t much suspense. The main character has Alzheimer’s and the story is told from her point of view. I thought it seemed a realistic portrayal of what happens as someone’s memory deteriorates, but I was not too interested in the actual plot. I’d give it 2.5-3 stars.

Over the weekend, I had to make a 10hr roundtrip drive to pick my son up from college. None of the audiobooks I have on hold thru the library came thru in time so I had to randomly choose books from what was available, i picked Virgin River, which was made into a Netflix series. It started off okay, a chick lit plot. I managed to overlook some of the stupid stereotypes initially, but somewhere near halfway the plot just became ridiculous and well...bad, really bad! Gave up. Chick lit/romance is not something I often read, though occasionally I find some that are well done. Sadly, this was not one of them!

To finish out my road trip, I began listening to The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Story of a Donner Party Bride by Daniel James Brown, author of The Boys in the Boat, which I read years ago and enjoyed. it’s pretty interesting but sometimes hard to follow as there are so many people to remember. And lots of places mentioned so wish I had a map.

Next up to read on my Kindle is Homeland Elegies by Ayad Ahktar. He is an award winning author and playwright but this is my first time reading any of his works.

I just read another short one (good to keep in mind - for those of us who do goodreads challenges lol)-Southern Lady Code. It was a series of essays , very entertaining, and a very easy breezy read. but it did have some substance to it as well.

I am reading John Cleese's (thank you Elmer) semi autobiography, So Anyway.

Please report back when you've finished it. Are you using a print version or the audiobook?

I am currently reading Finding Freedom by Omid Scobie. The book is about Prince Harry and Meghan. So far, it is not entertaining at all. I am going to keep plodding through it for a while to see if it gets any better.

I just finished Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead. It was recommended here and I really liked it. 4 star and may make for an interesting discussion in book group.

Next up is Too Much and Never Enough. It may help me understand him, though it won't help me understand his supporters. I've been trying for over 4 years and still don't get it.

My book club just met via Zoom and discussed The Guest List by Lisa Foley. We all enjoyed it and none of us figured out the ending ( it’s a mystery). I’m not a fan of mysteries but this was pretty good.

Next book club choice is Writers and Lovers by Lily King. I’m not sure what it’s about but it does get more than 2,000 almost 5 star reviews on Amazon.

in the meantime I just started The Boy in The Field. Can’t remember the author off hand. I’m not far into it but it has grabbed me. Oh, author is Margot Livesey. Got good reviews from the NYT.

Annie, glad you enjoyed Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead. I liked it a lot too, and it instigated a very lively discussion in our book club.

I just finished I'll Be Seeing You by Elizabeth Berg, a memoir of a stretch of life with her aging parents as the family navigated getting them to give up their long time home and move to what sounds like the independent living wing of an ALF. Well written (of course) but I confess once the parents actually moved all I could feel was envy because in my own life neither elder I've dealt with ever did that on their own! Still, it was a worthwhile read for anyone facing or who has faced this stage of family life.

I'm currently reading The Best of Me by David Sedaris. I love his work and true to form the first essay made me literally LOL. What draws me to him though is that within the laughter is a warmth and tenderness about life, his family and the path he's taken. Very much enjoying this book, and I'm treating it like a box of good chocolates. I read a bite (essay) or two at a time and then put it aside to anticipate another treat next time I pick it up.

I also decided to forge on to another Ken Follett doorstop of a book, World Without End. This is a semi-sequel to Pillars of the Earth, set a couple of hundred years later. I am finding his Kingsbridge books (I just finished this one) to be very suitable for today's craziness. It's soothing to immerse myself in the details of life in a time and place so different and yet with humanity so much the same as our world. Although I have the hard copy from my library the ebook is on hold and I'm probably going to break down and spend ten bucks for my own Kindle version. These books are literally heavy at 900+ pages, with very small print to boot. I also love the ability to quickly look up phrases or words with which I'm not familiar or to scoot to Wikipedia to check a historical mention of a person, place or event and of course the XRay feature to remind myself of just who that character is that was last mentioned a couple hundred pages ago.

I’m about 500 pages into A Promised Land. “Enjoying” is a frivolous word to describe the experience. Yes, enjoying it, but also learning a lot, analyzing and synthesizing as I’m reading, especially the chapters covering policy and strategy.

Long expansive discussion of the stimulus plan, foreign policy, healthcare, climate change, the supreme court ... All done with great care, with clear exposition of the background and issues for neophytes (as I am on some of these topics), yet deep and insightful for those who are well-schooled (as I am on some of the areas). All articulated with his characteristic precision and elegance.

It is truly a delight to be privy to the inner world of a deep thinker, who is capable of honest reflection and introspection. It’s interesting to see him talk about things that I thought he had transcended — like political strategies for winning, media coverage, his anger and frustration. He doesn’t hold back much. His description of various political figures, both American and international, are quite candid, though never crass. His description of Sarkozy, for instance, is hilarious.

I do look for any indication he may be glossing over his mistakes or flawed decisions, but it's hard to detect.

I’m a fast reader, but I’m going back to re-read frequently, to understand the issues better.

Overall, it's a wonderful read, for something as informative and serious as American and world history told by someone who had serious influence to shape both.

The writing is part poetry, part philosophy and part street talk.

I just started Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu, this year’s National Book Award winner. Not in love with it yet.

I never have time to read. ☺ I read Midnight Sun. By Stephanie Meyers. Huge book....went really fast. For Twilight fans.

I am about 2/3 through So Anyway by John Cleese. ( I am reading it on kindle). I can imagine that to hear him read it would really be something. I agree with you Elmer that it's not quite an autobiography although a lot of what he shares i really very impressive. I think it's more about him explaining what shaped/shapes him and his thoughts than a typical autobiography. I am enjoying it, and have to admit that I knew pretty much nothing about him other than his name and Monty Python.

Even some of the background facts are intriguing to me. I remember the show That Was the Week That Was, and as a kid ( I am pretty sure around 10-12) we got tickets to a taping of it and I adored that.

The book is a lot weighier ( and longer ) than I would have expected but enjoying it all the same.

Am about 1/3 into Michael Chabon's Telegraph Avenue, and I love it. I didn't know that he wrote Wonder Boys, from which one of my favorite movies was made. I'm going to have to read more of his books.

I'm starting The Thursday Murder Club, Richard Osman. Reviews are great, including mine so far. Perhaps because *I* am a Senior, the Senior Housing setting cuts a little 'close to the bone', but I still like it a lot. DH is starting the new Anthony Horowitz, Moonflower Murders, which is *one very thick tome*. Later, we'll switch. We're so pleased that our library is able to continue to serve, putting requested books in the vestibule for pickup (after 'aging' them in quarantine).

I finally finished The Heart's Invisible Furies.
It was just ok...I was highly disappointed it wasn't better, as I'd
seen some raves about it and had to wait forever for it from the
library. The story is good enough, as is the writing, but the underlying current of educating the reader about the issues presented in the book just kind of rankles me. I guess if you don't know very much about the things he's lecturing you about, it can be educational, but very off-putting to me. The contrived situations allowing for a point to be made, the over the top coincidences "two Cyrils"??? just fell flat for me. I'm being vague so as to not write any spoilers.

It had the same effect on me as some Jody Picoult books, always trying to write a story to fit her lesson plan.

I started Anxious People and so far am intrigued. I think I'll like it overall. It is filled with writing that makes me really think, in a philosophical way. Little sentences that make me think, "Whoa! That really is profound." It's very different, the way he's telling the story, but I think it will work for me.
I've liked most of his other books (except for Beartown, where i just
couldn't get beyond the small town sports crazy aspect, so I put it down
almost immediately). So, I expect to like this one, too.

(cross posted to POV forum)

Still reading, The Yellow House, I may stop reading it as it is getting really boring. I have a bunch of books in my Amazon cart that seem a lot more interesting. This book does help me go to sleep soon after reading parts of it, though.

I started "A Time for Mercy" by John Grisham probably two weeks ago. I have not picked it up all week. I enjoyed both previous books in the series. I am so hit or miss about reading!

Oly, I’m glad I’m not the only one that found The Heart’s Invisible Furies exasperating. I found the writing bloated and undisciplined, the plot obvious in some places with convenient coincidences in others.

The rave reviews here and elsewhere serve as a sound reminder of the myriad different ways people experience the same thing.

I was looking for a reliably enjoyable audiobook and since I had read and enjoyed Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens, I got it in audio format. I am absolutely loving it, it's one of my favorite Dickens books. It does get a bit sentimental at the end, but no biggie. I find that a book experience is more intimate in audio vs. paper format and the narrator (David Timson) is excellent. I am also listening to Book 1 (The Man of Property) of The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy. It's also very good and it's no wonder that Galsworthy won the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Thankfully our libraries will be opening for pick-up and drop-off next week. During our pandemic Code Red, we were able to buy alcohol but not borrow books! Go figure!

Edited to remove excess word.

Add me to the list of those who did not like Furies or Yellow House. Both felt 'bloated'. And nobody likes a whiner, especially anyone who goes on and on and on about it... or who nurses a wrong for *decades*. (I have great sympathy for people repressed by societal norms, but *enough* already.)

I just finished The Invisible Life of Addie Larue after it kept turning up (like one of the book's plot points) seemingly everywhere as a must-read. And it was definitely that! I highly recommend it for an absorbing well written genre novel, a la The Time Traveler's Wife. Would rate this as a literary tastes-great-less-filling experience since I doubt I will remember and cherish it but it was a lot of fun going down.

Next up is Uncanny Valley which landed on a few best of 2020 book lists. A memoir of a young women working at tech start ups in Silicon Valley, this one sounds very promising and has gotten great reviews. My former university was a recruiting stop for many of these firms and I'm interested to get a look at the other side of the places that were and are holy grails for lots of young bright techie careerists.

Thanks--- I like the title so reserved The Invisible Life Of Addie Larue---.

I finished So Anyway and gave it 4 stars.

I see at my library holds that I should be getting The Yellow House very soon so may just wait on that, or I do have the 2nd and 3rd Miss Buncle books as well so maybe one of those will be next.

I ended up not reading Homeland Elegies as my last post on this thread indicated would be my next read. It was due back at the library.

I did read Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue, a novel that takes place in Dublin over a three day period during the Spanish Flu. It was a quick read, albeit a bit intense. Despite some heartbreaking scenes, there are tender moments. I gave it four stars.

Following that, I read The Last Flight by Julie Clark, kind of a suspense/thriller. It was another easy read, what I’d consider average for its genre. I gave it three stars. Nothing I‘d go out of my way to recommend.

I haven’t started anything new. I have these books waiting for me to decide what will be next:

Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Dare, about a Nigerian girl’s quest for an education

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel, historical WWII fiction