I was browsing Libby last night to see what was available. The Last Thing He Told Me popped up so i borrowed it. Ill give it a try. it got good reviews on Amazon. My book club was postponed until later in September so I need a ”filler” book until then.

I already read the next book club book which is The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne. Its one of the best books i ever read. I will reread it with pleasure before we discuss it.

I was browsing this forum because I've seen the names of lots of old cooking forum regulars. Delighted and surprised to see someone (Woodnymph) read "Conquered: The Last Children of Anglo-Saxon England." And then I saw Laceyvail has read it too! And Faftris wants to! During Covid-year home-schooling I dug out my old books and notebooks, bought some new ones, and taught my grandchildren medieval history on Zoom and Facetime.

Eleanor Parker is absolutely wonderful. I've been reading her blog, The Clerk of Oxford, for years. And I support her Patreon. She has such a humane, insightful way of writing about any subject. She has a new book out now, "Winters in the World: A Journey through the Anglo-Saxon Year." Avilable in the US on September 30; can be pre-ordered on Amazon.

Right now I am reading "Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin." Hard to read about what the people of eastern Europe have endured, but helpful for understanding the background of the war against Ukraine.

I love everything John Boyne has written, but that's his best. Heartbreakingly great.

The Heart's Invisible Furies is on my list of Best Ever Books. I don't think any of my other "most favorite" books have resonated with nearly as many people as that one does. A masterpiece.

I've started reading a new author (to me) Lilac Mills I just finished "Waste not want not in Applewell" The most heartwarming story you will read this year! I am not her second book now and it is just as good " Make Do and Mend in Applewell:" Its for the over 50's ladies, a fun read.

The first book is free on Amazon right now. Grab you copy (Kindle)

I just finished The Dry which I think someone recommended here. While I wouldn't think there's enough for a book group, I give it 4 stars. It's the first in a series so I may look up subsequent novels.

Another one who loved The Heart's Invisible Furies. I don't often tackle books that are over 500 pages but this one was worth it. I also read The Boy On Top Of The Mountain and liked it a lot but it was notas good. This reminds me I want to read The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.

Sorry to those who didn't love Leonard and Hungry Paul. I thought it was a great read.

Thanks Joann- I just got the free kindle one you recommended.

I'm taking a little break now and not reading anything.

Another who absolutely loved The Heart's Invisible Furies. From the title to the last word.

I am a sucker for any book with the word "library" in the title. I came across The Last Chance Library, by Freya Sampson. It's about a town whose library is threatened with closure and how the people form a protest group to fight it. It's a pleasant read, perfect for when you want something to rest your mind in between more challenging things.

I just finished a fantastic true story novel about World War II in Italy. At first I thought it was written for an adolescent age group but after a few chapters I couldn’t put it down. I really really loved this book! The preface and aftermath section at the end is also very engaging.

Beneath A Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan.

You will laugh and cry…a lot.

Count me in as another fan of The Heart's Invisible Furies. It is one of my favorite books ever. Boyne is such a talented writer, I've read most of his adult books, but that is his best.

I've also read all of Jane Harper's books and like @barncatz, enjoyed The Lost Man the most. It's a complex family drama combined with a psychological thriller. She does an excellent job of describing the desolate Australian outback. Her most recent novel, The Survivors, was just okay for me, so I hope her latest in the Falk series will be better (The Survivors is a stand alone, not part of the series).

I recently tried The Maid by Nita Prose (not to be confused with Maid) while on a long road trip. I found the first person narration irritating and gave up about 1/3 of the way through. Fortunately I was readingnon my kindle and had other books downloaded to choose from so I started The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn. I previously read her novel The Rose Code which I mostly liked, so hoping I will enjoy this one.

I'm listening to The Girl in His Shadow by Audrey Blake and look forward to finishing that today.

I just started the 3rd book in the series of The Applewell stories by Lilac Mills. A stitch in time

I am an advocate of West With Giraffes. Who cannot completely empathasize with a Depression era boy? Think about how you would survive. Loved the story.

Cloudychristine, thanks for the information on the newest Eleanor Parker book. I will look for it, as I am fascinated by that particular time period of history.

You're welcome! I'm so glad to know more people like her work. And medieval history!

Cloudychristine ! So good to see you here. I remember our get together so many years ago. Lpinkmountain was there, too. Hope you are well.

For my fellow medieval fans, have I got a book for you!

I just started reading The Falcon's Eyes by Francesca Stanfill and am LOVING it. Set in France in the late 12th century, it is the story of a woman who becomes a lady in waiting to Eleanor of Aquitaine. The author grew up in Oxford and studied art and medieval history at Yale...and it shows.

This book is fascinating in it's details of life during that time. I'm only 100 pages into what is an 800 page novel(!) and absolutely riveted.

Highly recommend it to my fellow history lovers.

Pam, it's good to see you too! I'm very rarely on the cooking forum. I don't cook much any more, and it isn't the same place it used to be. I still remember many people fondly.

Yes, i miss the old Cooking Conversations. I still stay in touch with some through Facebook.

@runninginplace, I looked at The Falcon's Eyes and wondered. It got some brutal reviews in Goodreads. I think I'll start with a sample. Thanks for the recommendation!

And I need to correct my last post. I think Jane Harper's new book, The Exiles, won't be a in the US/ e-book until January 2023.

I just finished Wrong Place Wrong Time and could not put it down. Suspenseful time travel story but not sci-fi. Before that, I read I'm Glad My Mom Died by I Carly, I mean Jennette McCurdy. I am a sucker for a tragic life story, and it did not disappoint. And before that, I read Small Pleasures, which I also liked a lot.

Just finished The Last Thing He Told Me and I give it a resounding meh. 2.5 at best. I finished it by skimming through to find out how it ended, which was not very staisfying.

“A resounding meh.” lol

I just finished Fifty Things That Aren't My Fault by Cathy Guisewite...of the Cathy comic strip fame. Some of it was laugh out loud...like when she's in the dressing room, stuck in a sports bra and can't get out of it. So much of it I could relate to, much like her comic strip, only here she's real and she talks about bringing up her teen daughter and dealing with her elderly parents who are now in their 90s. I had no idea that she wrote her strip for over 30 years. I'd give it 3++ stars but not for book group, unless your group is full of women who enjoyed her strip. But I'd definitely recommend it to GFs to read.

Just finished The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny. I love her writing style and have read several of her books. This one is right up to date with covid and mercy killing of elderly people and handicapped children and a murder. Deciding who the murderer is was a bit convoluted but as usual the beauty of the people of Three Pines shines through. 4 stars. Book clubs could get a real discussion going with this subject matter.

An aside, I was looking up books to suggest for book group and came across this:

https://bookslikealike.com/

It lists other books that are similar to one you may have read that it thinks you might also like. I found it fun to scroll through.

Annie thanks for that link. Our library has a similar feature on its website.

5 Stars for Alice Dark's Fellowship Point. Thanks to those of you here who recommended it. I was so wrapped up in the narrative that the ending was a complete surprise -- and only believable due to the trust developed throughout the story. I'm going to get "The Best American Short Stories of the Century - 2000" just to read Dark's "In The Gloaming". But first...I'm starting Unsettled Ground, Claire Fuller -- another title grab from the KT.

I am almost finished with The Honey Bus: A Memoir of Loss, Courage and a Girl Saved by Bees. I have enjoyed it so much. I have read a few books ( actually fiction) about bees and they sure are fascinating. What a horrible childhood she had. I was sort of reminded of Educated in that respect. I would rate it 3/5 to 4 stars.

Edited to add, I finsihed it. Probably would give it 4 stars . Very different and a very good read.

chisue, I'm about 40% through Fellowship Point. It's very good, and it's very long. I can' figure out where it's going and that's always a plus in my book.

I finished Lion which is a memoir of a young boy who gets lost in India, ends up on a train that takes him cross country with no way of getting home. He ends up getting adopted by an Australian couple and eventually finds his way back to his family. I'd give it 3 stars. The story was fascinating but the writing was not very sophisticated. I wouldn't think I'd want to read it for book group.

Annie, have you seen the movie? I haven't read the book, but it's excellent. I think it won a major award the year it was released.

Lion was a wonderful heart-warming movie, especially since its based on a true story. I never read the book.

I'm partway through Mary Rodgers' memoir, Shy. She was anything but, and if you like dish about Broadway (her father was Richard Rodgers; the platonic love of her life was Sondheim) and life growing up in 20th c. NYC and environs, it's a real treat.

No I haven't seen the movie...

I read the book under its other title, A Long Way Home. I really loved it for the pluck, determination and intelligence of the main character who finally goes home after so many years. It was indeed a long voyage. As always, I thought the book was much better than the movie.

I seem to be coming out of the mediocre reading material run to some great novels. Finally! This whole month has been good plus. I recently finished The Girls in the Stilt House by Kelly Mustian and This I Know by Eldonna Edwards. I would give both 4. 5 stars.

Next up is While You Walked By by Regina Felty.

Yay, @just_terrilynn. Last night I downloaded the ebook Out Front the Following Sea, set in late 1600s colonial America. Usually I download a sample but this time I foolishly didn't. I read like 3 pages, including a very detailed description of a fight in a mud patch, and stopped. I hope this doesn't mean I'm entering a mediocre material run! I have several want to reads being published tomorrow.

I recently finished reading Not Without Laughter by Langston Hughes. What a wonderful book! It's semi-autobiographical about a young Black boy early in the 20th century who grows up primarily in the care of his grandmother. The language is very vivid, descriptive and poetic. Definitely 5 out of 5 stars. As bedtime reading, I have Tour de Oz by Bret Harris. It takes place in 1899 when three men bicycle around the circumference of Australia while another man does the same in the opposite direction. All of them are trying to establish a record for their achievement. The trip is mainly very rough going, as can be imagined, and I get exhausted just reading about it! The writing is not especially great but it's very interesting to read about their journeys.

I just finished Fellowship Point by Alice Dark. 3 stars, and that's being generous, but it kept me reading through 580 pages, so that's good for something. I would imagine an all-woman book group would eat this up.

The good: Some of the writing was sublime, especially Polly's thoughts and words as she journeyed through grief, both her husband's recent death, and the long ago death of her only daughter. They resonated very much with me and I highlighted them so I could go back and remember them.

The not good: It was too long. Even through the better parts it was simply too long. One of the main characters was a writer and another an editor. Surely this book could have benefitted from some judicious editing.

I grew to like Polly and found Agnes somewhat insufferable. I didn't care about Maud and Clemmie (or Heidi for that matter) and found their abrupt welcome and integration into the family felt unrealistic and contrived. The big aha moment made me groan. Seriously?!!

I really wanted to like this book. After I finished it I read a bunch of 1, 2, 3 ratings on Goodreads. I had to agree with so many of them. Still, it kept me turning all 580 pages, so for that, plus some beautiful turns of phrase, it rose to a 3.

ETA: I'm trying to avoid spoilers so my comment about the "aha moment" might be mistaken for something else. The very end, the very last page, that wasn't a groaner for me. It was some character reveals that made me groan.

I just finished reading two books. Santa Suit by Mary Kay Andrews was a light enjoyable read. If it is not already a Hallmark movie, it should be. The other was The Godmother's by Camille Aubrey. I also enjoyed this one about how the 2nd generation of Italian immigrants coped to disengage themselves from decisions and ifestyle of the 1st gen. The writing is engaging. The plot held my interest throughout and the author tied up all the lose ends at the conclusion. I am not sure how these two books were brought to my attention. Perhaps they were mentioned in the monthly reading thread but a search led nowhere.

I am on the wait list at the library for Shy.

Bunny, I'm sorry you didn't enjoy Fellowship Point the way I did. That's a silly reaction on my part because it is akin to saying, "Oh, I'm sorry you don't like cheesecake," -who cares, plenty of different desserts for all tastes, right? And yet it's tempting to take it more personally when it's a book. I'm glad you grew to like Polly. I was dismissive of her initially, and she turned out to be my favorite character.

Bestyears, I understand what it's like when you love a book and someone else doesn't. I have a dear friend who didn't like A Gentleman in Moscow. :( We have completely different tastes in artwork too. But I love her anyway.

I've known Pollys in my life. They work so hard at keeping everyone else happy and feeling good about themselves. Her reflections in grief were so similar to mine. And she emerged more her true self. So yes, Polly was ultimately my favorite character too.

As I read the book, there were times when I thought, oh this is so long and drawn out. Then it would pick up and I'd think, I love this book, I have to recommend it to my friends. For me, it was the denouement that felt contrived and I wished it were otherwise.

I think that Polly had the type of kind, forgiving soul we all wished we had ourselves. Unfortunately, those people can become targets for meanies. Agnes was a kind of off-the-grid person. It was satisfying to me to see how the two of them could be so devoted to each other, given their differences. I guess Agnes had her own hidden softness too.

Just a few words lest we hijack the thread: I swallowed the ending, partly because I'd failed to put two and two together sooner regarding Heidi's list. I never 'inkled'. I enjoyed all the characters, the Quakers' earnest obliviousness, all the insular reality of Maine. I had sympathy for Anges' life of tending the sick and her self-imposed denial in the guise of establishing her independence. There's a lot of 'meat' in that book! I'm OK with the length.

Chisue - Inkled?

I just finished While You Walked By by Regina Felty. What a great story! If only all abused or abandoned children could have such a wonderful outcome. 4.5 stars.

Had an inkling?

Link to September 2022