Just finishing The Lightening Rod by Brad Meltzer. The "construction" is choppy with back stories...IMO...indiscriminately dropped into the prose at rather odd intervals that, to me, didn't seem relevant to the current prose. I find this is often a tool of authors who write series but I think...in this case...it could have been handled better by writing an epilogue at the beginning of this book. The main characters [Zig and Nola] plus the murder mystery story line were no surprise but a bit tiring. I'll give the book a 3.5 rating and call this the end of my involvement with this series. The book ended in a manner that hints at future series versions but I found this to be a disappointing read so I'm signing off.

Onward to Criminals by Margot Livesey.

And then, thanks to the excellent review by Woodnymph2...I've just order The Paris Apartment. I'm looking forward to enjoying it as much as you did, Woodnymph.

I finished The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni. Again, a pleasant read, but did not describe a life that I would call extraordinary. Perhaps the title came from the fact that Sam's mother told him repeatedly that he would lead an extraordinary life. This was kind of all tied up with her strong Catholic faith. I don't think I was the target audience for this particular novel.

I am still trudging through The Iliad by Homer. Even as a spoken book it is a slog. I think I mentioned last month that I had decided to read it because there is a well-regarded recent translation by a woman, Caroline Alexander.

It is simply the goriest book I have ever read or heard. Game of Thrones was tame compared to this, Red Wedding not excepted. I must have skipped a lot when we read the Lattimore translation in college because I do not remember all the bloodthirstyness. I am finally past the halfway point. I refuse to quit, so I guess I'll grit my teeth and soldier on.

(Heheh, in my well-made bronze armor, of course!)

Hello all,

Recent reads were: The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate and Working by Studs Terkel.

The Book of Lost Friends was a great concept, and in my opinion, written in a mediocre way. I am not a fan of the author but the book was recommended by a dear friend. The idea and the history behind it were amazing. But the author, again, my opinion only, couldn't decide which direction she wanted to go in with the book and so tried to go in all directions a little bit instead of committing herself one way or the other. The basic premise is the factual Lost Friends column for slaves or recently-freed slaves to place a small notice in a paper sent to churches. The pastors would then read the columns in the hope of helping families reunite after members were either sold or torn from each other. I never knew this existed, and in the hands of a more talented writer, the idea could have been a classic. In Wingate's hands, it felt two-dimensional.

Working was written in 1972 and is a series of short interviews with people across the USA doing all sorts of jobs. We read this for book club and while it was long (over 500 pages), it was fabulous. I loved identifying themes that were common then and still exist today, and how appreciation and pride in a job well done are still so important. I work in health care and the last couple of years have been horrid. Appreciation from leadership has been nothing more than lip-service. So I admit that I got sucked into this book completely and enjoyed this amazing treasury of voices from the past.

Next up: I think I am going to dive into Umberto Eco's The Prague Cemetery.

PAM

Carolyn, I am eager to hear your thoughts about Year of Wonders. I really enjoyed it and hope you do as well.

RE: John Sandford - I've been a fan of Virgil and Lucas for years. In fact, I had a book crush on Lucas in his early days... a good, strong, tough guy in a Porsche? Um, yes... sign me up. Anyway, Sandford continues to get sloppy and political which are two things I do not want in my fiction reading. I actually broke up with Lucas in Broken Prey. Sorry to hear that he did not hear the feedback of his fans.

PAM

Pam, I just loved Year of Wonders. I suppose just living through our own pandemic added to the interest in the subject, but I thought the book was really well done and liked (or didn't) the characters very much. People are always just people, aren't they? Some are heroic, some are mundane, some are selfish, some are evil.

While caring for an artist friend's cat, I read a wonderful book: "An Artist's Way of Seeing". This is by SC artist Mary Whyte, and included many of her art works. I liked the way she divided up the chapters by primary colors. I must say, Whyte writes as well as she paints.

Donnamira, sorry I haven’t answered you yet; the Ruth Noel book was one my father had purchased several years ago and gave to me along with several other books by/about Tolkein. I found it on my bookshelf when I was browsing for something different to read.

Currently I am reading Doing Time by Jodi Taylor. I believe it’s the first in her Time Police series. So far I like it so maybe I will manage to finish it, unlike many of the books I have started over the past couple of years and abandoned after the first couple of chapters.

I'm reading Icepick by Phillip DePoy. There are five books in this series, and they are a hoot. The main character has run away from his Brooklyn car thief past and is now a child protection officer in small town Florida, a job he takes seriously, while encountering various crooks, Seminole Indians, and good seafood.

After suggesting the soon-to-be-out Godmersham Park from my library (do they take note of recommendations?) I found they had another Gill Hornby book Miss Austen on the shelf.

Despite having been Austened-out while at school, I have very much enjoyed it. Just a gentle 'looking back' by Jane's loyal and devoted sister Cassandra on their earlier life and wider family connections and maybe why she burned so much correspondence.

It is also a poignant reminder on the fate of the unmarried sisters in a family and spinsters in particular. Either they were expected to act as companions and carers for the parents or had to rely on the kindness of their brothers . .. of which Jane and Cassandra had several, but their later years seemed to see them forced to travel between 'lodgings' in fashionable seaside resorts or spa towns with breaks to help in the 'confinements' of various sisters-in-law . . . and My Goodness did the Austens ever have enormous families!

I loved Hornby's comment on one nosy servant who spent much time 'polishing the key holes'.

Just started "Disoriented" by one of my prefered author, Amin Maalouf, born in Lebanon, but moved to Paris when there was the civil work. He's an Univerty Professsor and a novelist is famous for his historical novels, but also for his non-fiction book. This one is the first he has written about nowadays time. One night, a phone rings in Paris. Adam learns that Mourad, once his closest friend, is dying. He quickly throws some clothes in a suitcase and takes the first flight out, to the homeland he fled twenty-five years ago. Exiled in France, Adam has been leading a peaceful life as a respected historian, but back among the milk-white mountains of the East his past soon catches up with him. His childhood friends have all taken different paths in lifeand some now have blood on their hands. Loyalty, identity, and the clash of cultures and beliefs are at the core of this long-awaited novel by the French-Lebanese literary

giant Amin Maalouf.

I'm well into The Golden Hour by Beatriz Williams and am really enjoying it. I like her books very much.

Here's the Amazon synopsis:

“TheGoldenHour is pure golden delight Beatriz Williams is at the top of her game.” —Kate Quinn, New York Times Bestselling Author of The Alice Network

Beatriz Williams, the New York Times bestselling author of The Summer Wives, is back with another hot summer read; a dazzling epic of World War II in which a beautiful young “society reporter” is sent to the Bahamas, a haven of spies, traitors, and the infamous Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

The Bahamas, 1941. Newly-widowed Leonora “Lulu” Randolph arrives in the Bahamas to investigate the Governor and his wife for a New York society magazine. After all, American readers have an insatiable appetite for news of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, that glamorous couple whose love affair nearly brought the British monarchy to its knees five years earlier. What more intriguing backdrop for their romance than a wartime Caribbean paradise, a colonial playground for kingpins of ill-gotten empires?

Or so Lulu imagines. But as she infiltrates the Duke and Duchess’s social circle, and the powerful cabal that controls the islands’ political and financial affairs, she uncovers evidence that beneath the glister of Wallis and Edward’s marriage lies an ugly—and even treasonous—reality. In fact, Windsor-era Nassau seethes with spies, financial swindles, and racial tension, and in the middle of it all stands Benedict Thorpe: a scientist of tremendous charm and murky national loyalties. Inevitably, the willful and wounded Lulu falls in love.

Then Nassau’s wealthiest man is murdered in one of the most notorious cases of the century, and the resulting coverup reeks of royal privilege. Benedict Thorpe disappears without a trace, and Lulu embarks on a journey to London and beyond to unpick Thorpe’s complicated family history: a fateful love affair, a wartime tragedy, and a mother from whom all joy is stolen.

The stories of two unforgettable women thread together in this extraordinary epic of espionage, sacrifice, human love, and human courage, set against a shocking true crime . . . and the rise and fall of a legendary royal couple.

I have just finished Fierce Poison, the latest Barker and Llewelyn book by Will Thomas. This series is set in London in the late 1800s and features a private detective agency. Best if read in order, and this is No. 13.

About 2/3 of the way through The Iliad, I'm taking a break to read The Journal of Sedona Schnebley by Lisa Schnebly Heidinger. This is our book club selection this month and the focus of our trip this year is to Sedona, Arizona, named after the subject of the book. There we will meet the author and discuss her book. The book is based on Sedona's own journals and feels accurate, but the modern writer's touch is there. (She is the great-grand daugher of the original Sedona.) I don't know if it would technically be a true biography or historical novel. It doesn't feel "prettied up", but reminds me of an adult version of the Little House books in being a story of 19th century pioneer life. I wonder what the orignal Sedona would think of the modern town? She died in 1950, long before her town became the tourist destination it is today.

I'm pushing to finish Criminals by Margot Livesey. It's one of her earlier books and not only am I not enamored with one of her main characters...I'm finding it a rather depressing tale. I would not recommend it. It does...as advertised...tell the story of an abandoned and then rescued very young baby girl who was left on the floor of a bathroom stall at a bus station but the telling becomes complicated with several less than desirable character involvements and side stories including the reading of a book within this book itself. Although I find Ms Livesey to be a very talented author...I, personally, don't think this was one one of her better creations so I will be retiring it hopefully this evening to venture forth into The Paris Apartment.

Winter, I hope you like The Paris Apartment. I liked it a lot, but I've read a number of negative comments about it.

I've finished The Scholar by Dervla McTiernan, the second one of this series I've read, and I want to thank Astrokath for recommending them. Really good Irish detective series written by an author now living in Australia.

Thank you, Carolyn. So far...so good. I'm so glad to be done with the Criminals that I suspect the local pizza menu would give me pleasure right now. I'm about 50 pages into The Paris Apartment and very thankful that I read Woodnymph's smashing review. I, too, had read some negative comments about it and unless it has a big surprise coming...I can't justify any of the negative comments. I only read at night time and I had difficulty convincing myself last night that I should put it down and go to sleep or I'd be a zombie in the morning.

A few minutes ago I finished The Journal of Sedona Schnebley. I ended up liking it better than I had expected. Normally I am not a big fan of biographies or memoirs, but I enjoyed this one quite a bit. She lived a fairly ordinary life, but she lived it well. I found myself wondering how many people there must be about whom the same could be told. We don't know about them because they didn't keep journals and they didn't have famous towns named after them, so they disappear from our view. Many more than we expect, I believe.

Reading The Golden Hours, a good story but I really wish that Beatriz Williams would try to stay away from raw locker room words.........and believe me, I am not a prude !

Winter, I hope you like "The Paris Apartment" as much as I did. I never read anything negative about it and know it has remained on the NY Times " best" list for a long time. I found it so good that I actually read it twice. The complexity of the characters and their possible motives kept me guessing constantly!

YoYo...I empathize with you completely. It isn't just your read and your author. It's becoming all too common place these days and has caused me to retire a growing list of authors. And, I'm no prude either.

Woodnymph...I'm enthralled with The Paris Apartment. I'm indebted to you for your recommendation. I needed a good mystery. I wish I had more time on a daily basis to read because I'd finish it in less than a day. I'm dying to know the story behind Sophie and what Ben dug up on her. I rarely read a book twice but I may have found the exception thanks to you.

Finished The Other Passenger by Louise Candlish. I'll just say this is mostly about people who are not nice to each other. Four of them commute to work in Central London each day aboard the river bus, a ferry on the Thames, which I think sounds delightful. But just remember, not everyone riding the river bus is nice.

Kathy, I read that a while back. I remember not liking any of the characters very much! I sure wouldn't want to hang out with any of them.

Donna

Donna - We are like-minded on this!

Goodreads won't let me enter The Scholar as a book I've read. It keeps telling me I don't have a book of that title entered. Yes, I know that! Does anyone know what I've done to cause this?

I'm now reading Fair Warning, a Jack Ryan book by Michael Connelly. Bad violence; scary murderer.

Jack McEvoy, not Jack Ryan. Too many books; too many heroes.

Too many books indeed! I know I read and commented on The Other Passenger but can't remember a thing about it!

I am still listening to books but my CD player doesn't bookmark so I have to run through and take sound stabs to find where I last finished. Annoying!

The palsy is still causing problems but is slowly getting better.

Annpan - I bet that a year from now I will have trouble remembering The Other Passenger. It's one of those not-very-memorable books. It is not lingering in my mind at all.

Good luck with your CD stabbing. I have a mental image of you poking away at that machine and it makes me smile, even though I know it's aggravating for you. Hope it all gets better for you soon.

I've had a down day and read A Sunlit Weapon by Jacqueline Winspear. It came in from the library on the perfect day.

Carolyn, sometimes with Goodreads I get better results if I search on the author and choose the book from among those listed. It won't be too bad for Dervla McTiernan because she doesn't have too many.

Just finished Susan Hill's Comforts of Home. As always well-written and 'believable'. Not too much blood and guts in this one as our hero Simon is recuperating from a serious accident on a Hebridean island. I think I still have one books to go before I finally catch up with the series.

Vee, I love that entire series by Susan Hill. I am still trying to track down the latest one, which I am eager to read. I think it came out in the UK long before it did in the US.

Mary, if you want to buy an English book before it is released in the U.S., you can order from Book Depository.com. They give U.S. pricing and don't charge shipping. I got the Hill book that way and used to get the latest Morland Dynasty by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles. If you have not read that series, it is great. It traces one family from the War of the Roses through all the conflicts into WWI when her publishers made her quit on them. I was so aggravated; I loved the series. The name of the first book is The Founding. Another much shorter series by her is War at Home.

I was intrigued by the description of The Golden Hours and managed to get a Large Print book from the library. I am half way through it and haven't seen more than one coarse word! I was standing by to skip any as Yoyobon, did warn us. Perhaps this comes later?

I don't normally like split stories that jump time settings but the book is well written and apart from a misplaced "gotten" instead of "got" seems to be correct, speechwise.

As we have discussed, it is these little annoyances that can spoil a mood!

LOL.....ann, I meant to say that a few words she chose while writing her intimate scenes were strangely coarse when other erotic but less offensive words were her usual choices.

Hope you're not too disappointed !!!

Yoyobon, Not worried by this at all because I skip intimate bits! In fact, I have skipped a lot of the second half of the book as I wanted to find out how it finished before I went to bed.

I really don't like stories that feature characters in different times with interlocking themes.

Too complicated for my patience so I usually avoid them.

I felt I owed the library staff and my Support Worker, who all went to the trouble to select, issue and deliver, to at least read it!

The hook was that the book featured the Windsors. I have read several books about them.

Rather a fascinating couple.

I am also reading The Golden Hours. I haven't gotten far yet; still sorting out the characters in my mind. :)

Donna

I got a copy of Willis In Love...the untold story of the Duchess of Windsor and the woman who changed the monarchy, by Andrew Morton.

At the end of his introduction to the book he made this statement:

"...there are those who believe she should be remembered with a statue on the famously unoccupied fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square in central London for saving the British from her pro-Nazi royal husband at a critical moment in their island saga as they faced Hitler's eager battalions, war-weary and alone. This is the story of a most extraordinary American who, single-handed, changed the history of the British royal family and arguably the destiny of the British people. "

Kath, That worked! Thank you so much. I even asked the Help people and didn't get any answer that helped.

The BBC has a new series (4 episodes) of Kate Atkinson's Life After Life I think Kath had enjoyed her books?

Yes I have enjoyed her work, including this one I’m always a bit wary of adaptations though

Kath, I read the book quite a while ago so cannot remember all the details but the production seems to have got the period 'right' . . . it certainly isn't an easy work to show on screen with all the over and overs!

Vee, I was so intrigued by your comments that I checked out the plot of the book.

Not one for me! It would not only do my head in but would keep me awake more than ever. I do scenes in my head where stories are left hanging, trying to finalise them.

I try to be accurate and have got out of bed in the small hours to check a map or dictionary! Lucky I don't have to work now...

Paris...the Apartment...and I have reached its end. Lucy Foley is a very talented writer. I found the tale to be as you stated, Woodnymph but I thought the ending was a bit rushed. I would have appreciated a more involved telling of the fate of Concierge and the intended future whereabouts of Nick. As much as I appreciated the story...I could not read this book a second time. For me...it was too emotionally draining. I shall, however, look to read other books that she's written. I'm curious about The Guest List. But, at the moment, my next book is Woman On Fire by Lisa Barr.

Wallis In Love by Andrew Morton

Vee, it certainly wouldn't be easy - I'll have to check if it is available here.

Carolyn, glad to have helped!

Winter, I cannot disagree with your comments re the rushed ending of "The Paris apartment." I think the author should have added at least a few more pages to carry it into the future.

It was as though she'd had enough of it and couldn't end it fast enough. Or her editor told her she'd missed her deadline. It was quite strange and abrupt...like a splash of cold water after pages and pages of detailed story telling. I'm glad you agree, Woodnymph. And...if I remember correctly, she even made a detail error when telling of Jess's trip to Milan...making a reference to "we" when there was no explanation as to who "we" was. It was rather odd. But it's a tale I shall long remember and I thank you, again, for pointing me to it.

Yes, I think I recall that "error", also. Let me know if you like her other works.

I did a little investigation of The Guest List and decided it wasn't for me...at this time. I didn't look any farther into her other offerings but I think I need a lighter mystery venue for a while. Lucy Foley is a very talented writer and I will return to a review of her other books at some future date. If you find one you like...please post about it.