I'm halfway through The Sanitorium for book group. It's a meh for me, but maybe it will have a surprise ending. Seems an agglomeration of past thrillers: hotel used to be a sanitorium, isolated in mountain top, mysterious disappearances and murders...

Ordinary Grace is a wonderful book. I enjoyed Spare but thought it was way too long, especially the middle section. Nevil Shute's Pied Piper and Trustee from the Toolroom are among my favorite books, esp. Trustee.

I am glad that the Pulitzer Committee chose two wonderful books for this year's prize for fiction. Demon Copperhead and Trust were the winners. I enjoyed both of them. The other finalist was The Immortal King Rao, which I just "Libby-ed".

I started reading The It Girl by Ruth Ware last night. So, far it's good.

I have just returned from Jolly Olde. Thanks to the KT for recommending The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher (AKA plain Jane Fraser, which I prefer). I can see why people would return to this beautifully told time and place. I doubt that I've re-read more than one or two novels, but this is on another plane. I have to agree: 5 stars.

Now I'm appreciating Dear Edward, Ann Napolitano. I say 'appreciating', not exactly 'enjoying'. I have half the book to go, but would award 3.5 stars. A difficult subject, but I think, smack on the mark with 'Edward', as well as all the other characters. I haven't read this author before and wanted to start with this before her current Hello Beautiful.

I see Hernan Diaz' Trust has won a Pulitzer, so will get to that before long. I really liked In The Distance -- I think most here were less enthralled?

So glad you loved The Shell Seekers. I too gave it 5 stars. I do intend to read somethng else by her. I had never heard of the book or the author.

Re Dear Edward- that was a book club book and I think I felt the same way about it. It was a good read, but parts made no sense and I didn't find it relatable. I know it's based on a true story, but it was fictionalized. I have heard that Hello Beautiful is quite good.

On a totally new turn, after Finding Dorothy, I just started Funny in Farsi. It's really cute and I'm enjoying it. I might add it to the uplifting or happy read thread, but I don't know yet overall as I am about halfway with it.

I am glad that the Pulitzer Committee chose two wonderful books for this year's prize for fiction. Demon Copperhead and Trust were the winners.

I was thinking, I recall years when there was no Pulitzer winner in fiction, but I do not recall 2 being announced. I am part of the Pulitzer Project and have read all the fiction winners (89 books I think). I thought i was ahead of the game because i read (and loved) Demon Copperhead (5 stars!) already, but now I need to read Trust!

Just today i used an oldl B&N gift card (I figure I'd better hurry as I am not sure how long they will last). I picked up a copy of The Covenant of Water. Verghese's Cutting for Stone 5 stars1) is a fave of mine, so I am excited, even though it is 700+ pages.

BTW. Amazon wanted $22 for The Covenant of Water, delivered; B&N wanted $33. What?

I finished This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub and would give it 3 1/2 stars. It’s about time travel and kind of jumps back-and-forth a lot, but the premise is would you go back and make changes in your life if you could, and what are the long-term consequences of that. It was pretty good, but there was too much jumping back-and-forth . I liked it but I didn’t really love it.

Thanks ded, I just requested it. Sounds like a great spring book.

I finished Funny in Farsi. I'd give it 4 plus stars. It is pretty light but very nicely done, and I did laugh a few times and most definitely smiled quite a bit reading it.

I would add it to the uplifting reads thread but you know, houzz and search and I cannot find it.

I am reading The Immortal King Rao, the "losing" finalist for the Pulitzer. It's one of those dystopian novels that I try to avoid if possible. The jury is still out, and I am not sure I will finish it.

I finished The Sanitorium and give it 2 stars...not sure what we'll talk about at book group. The book was an amalgam of the shining, 10 little indians, house on a haunted hill and others. The misdirections were obvious, some of the story line so far fetched as to be ridiculous. And then she throws in a "say what??!!??" in the epilog that is clearly a set up for book #2. And I really dislike the arrogance of an author who is so sure #1 is going to be such a great hit that a set up for #2 is called for before it's even published. So not recommending. I'll be interested in hearing what others in the book group think...

Did anyone else read Simon Stephenson's Sometimes People Die, a 2022 mystery? I read it and DH listened to it. 3.5 Stars.

salonva -- Dear Edward is fiction; only the conversations between the pilots were lifted from a black box after a crash. (Not encouraging! They were totally disoriented. There were also remarks about a lack of pilot training on how to deal with problems at high altitudes.)

Don't know if this happens to anyone else. I forgot to check my Goodreads "Read/Finished" shelf. I had forgotten that I have already read This Time Tomorrow and really liked it. I got the Ebook really quickly from the library, started reading and, oops...

I generally enjoy the time jump with different narrators format, but I just "kind of" read Mad Honey (Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan) and was confused by the format of two narrators telling the story in different timeframes. I finished it but skimmed huge chunks. Some of the bee colony parts were interesting to me, others not so much.

4 Stars for LeHane's new release, Small Mercies. LeHane had best stay out of South Boston after this wild ride, set during the race riots when schools were first desegregated. IDK if the distance in time is enough to keep resent day Southies from wanting his head for his scathing description of the area's Irish-American clan behavior. (Of course, the setting could just as easily have been Chicago or many other places.)

I loved Demon Copperhead. I'm now re-reading, in order, and loving Elizabeth Strout's books about Lucy Barton.

Adding: I rarely do that, cuz I race through books. But, Lucy by the sea, made me go back and re-read the earlier novels.

I finished something that was completely off the radar. It is Lady Audley's Secret, by Mary Elizabeth Braddon. It's a Victorian "sensation" murder mystery, in the spirit of Wilkie Collins. It was written in 1862 and very enjoyable. I don't usually do mysteries, but this was fun.

I don't post to this thread much anymore but I do lurk quite a bit. I know a few people have mentioned Demon Copperhead .. and of course now we know it has received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

I had preordered it so it has been sitting waiting for me for a number of months. Last night, I finally started it .. I am SO loving the writing and the story (which is a little rough)! I am barely 10% in (it's a long book) but I already predict it will be my first 5-star rating of the year.

I was pretty certain I'd like it (I like both Barbara Kingsolver AND David Copperfield) so I ordered the UK version. Love the cover!

I've heard great things about Demon Copperhead. Then again I've heard extreme reviews- love and hate but overwhelming love.

I read The Red Tent which is another one of those that the rest of the world seems to have read but I never did. I like it quite a bit and it was so interesting in a retelling or background of biblical characters in their time. I can definitely see reading it again as there was so much to it and I'm certain that I missed some meaningful points. Overall though I'd give it 4 stars.

I'm getting ready to leave ( today) for my trip so I have loaded on my kindle

This is Happiness ( which I started and am enjoying)

Lincoln Highway ( not sure if i'll attempt that)

The

curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

and, The Grapes of Wrath.

I expect I'll finishe This is Happiness and the rest, remains to be seen but I like to be prepared.

LOVED This Is Happiness, so beautiful. To balance your Grapes of Wrath, I’m reading East of Eden. Steinbeck was amazingly aware of human psychology.

East of Eden and The Grapes of Wrath. 5 big stars for each.

Everyone I know loved Demon Copperhead. When I borrowed it I gave up early. Perhaps I need to give it another go.

Salonva: I really loved The Red Tent, read it ages ago. The opening line haunts me: "We have been lost to each other for so long."

Still reading my Ruth Ware book. Been doing a lot of work, in the garden and helping my daughter move so by the time I get in bed and try to read my eyes won't stay open. I may get a page or two read before I fall asleep.

Speaking of books, my daughter and I went through my son's massive Rubbermaid bin of books he left at my house, boxed them up and are taking them to him later this month. He's moving his belongings to his new apartment when we get there, so more work. Hoping he decides to move most of it before we get there. It's exhausting.

I just finished Babel, or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution by RF Kuang. It was excellent, although it did have a few structural issues. Next on my list is the new book by the same author entitled Yellowface. Her illumination of cultural appropriation through fiction is nothing short of brilliant. Babel’s background fantasy that precedes China’s Opium Wars and the Boxer Rebellion gives those events (not part of the book itself) a totally different kind of context.

I just finished Maureen, the 3rd in the Harold Fry trilogy. I didn't care for The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry too much, but loved The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy, the 2nd book of the trilogy. I also LOVED Maureen. It's been so long since I read Harold Fry that I don't recall much of her from that book, but it didn't hamper my enjoyment. Rachel Joyce can tell a great story!

Also finished The Song of Achilles which I didn't expect to like as much as I did, as I'm not a fan, nor a student of mythology. It was both really tender and very brutal; the brutal bothered me a great deal and I had to put it down for a while at the end. Finally finished it last night. Reading mythology always confuses me because I don't know what is fact and what is fiction, but I never care enough to try to research it. It's a great and interesting story, though.

The Feast, by Margaret Kennedy. It was wonderful. I don't want to give away the story. I couldn't put it down.

<< Everyone I know loved Demon Copperhead. When I borrowed it I gave up early. Perhaps I need to give it another go. >>

@Bunny, I think it depends on why you quit reading.. if it is the harsh/sad world, I don't think that is going to get better and I am fairly certain it will get worse.

Much like David Copperfield, I really appreciate Demon's perspective on his life and environment. I want to say more but I feel I need to read more before I share my thoughts or opinion.. I have a lot left to read.

Funkyart ; maddie260 ; faftris ; mtnrdredux_gw

If I ever read David Copperfield, it would have been in my youth and I remember nothing of it, or whether I actually read it. Do you recommend reading it before Demon Copperhead?

Funky, I don't remember the exact reason I bailed on Demon Copperhead. Maybe it was the harsh/sad world. Maybe it was a mood or feeling that I wasn't going to like it. With the world in the fix it's in these days, I have very little capacity to read about it for pleasure.

Oly, I loved The Song of Achilles. Previously I had zero affinity for Greek mythology and was surprised how much I enjoyed it. You might also enjoy Circe by Miller.

I don't think you NEED to read David Copperfield first, but if you do, it will enhance your experience with Demon Copperhead. You will appreciate the shout-outs. Also, for fun, look at Bleak Expectations, by Mark Evans. It's a pastiche of every Dickens novel all put together, and it's a lot of fun if you are familiar with the books.

Bunny, I tried Circe after people raving about it here, but quickly sent it back to the library - just not my jam. But now that I made it through Achilles, maybe I'll try it again. Thanks. I'll try David Copperfield, too.

The Trojan War lasted 10 years and it took Odysseus 10 years to get back home. I can't believe Penelope waited all that time for him without a text or call or anything.

Some women would appreciate the downtime, lol!

Speaking of getting back home, I was dumbstruck at the threat that their ships could be burned and they could NEVER get home again. That would have never occurred to me about life in other times, when we are so mobile now.

I've finished the last Oliver Clements historic-based mystery, All the Queen's Spies, and am sorry to see the end of the series. I'll be looking for further adventures from the author. 4 Stars.

I enjoyed The Red Tent, although perhaps not as much as some have posted here.Astounding how much adventure was packed into what had to have been short lifespans. Is there anything that discusses how much of the story is *in* the Bible and how much fiction? IDK how (if?) the Old Testament differs between Jewish and Christian interpretations.

Next up is Verghese's Cutting For Stone. I thought I'd read that before The Covenant of Water.

Well, none of the samples I wrote about in my post above panned out. I no longer worry about abandoning books, which I why I love the opportunity to sample so much. I'm currently reading Starter Dog, by Rona Maynard (sister of the writer Joyce Maynard), and enjoying it very much. It's the story about getting her first dog at age sixty and how it opened up her life. I don't think you need to be a dog lover to enjoy it. She's a terrific writer, and it's just lovely. She referenced Diana Athill in that book, and as a result I started Somewhere Towards the End, a book Diana Athill wrote at age 89, described as "an amusing and deeply personal memoir about the ups and downs of old age." Again, a lovely writer...I've also got a sample of Life B by Bethanne Patrick waiting.

Oly I also loved The Song of Achilles although it wasn't an instant pick--it was a beautifully written book and I have to say, somewhat sheepishly, it was probably the book that most resonated with me as a portrait of just how universal love is regardless of the lovers' genders.

I started Demon Copperhead and abandoned it because I wasn't in the mood for a very long exploration of someone's very hard life.

Chisue, just requested the first Oliver Clements book based on your recommendation of the series. It sounds like something I'll like, based on my thorough enjoyment of books such as the Matthew Shardlake series.

I just finished The Eden Test which is a variation on the twisty suspense genre-a woman in a troubled marriage brings her husband up to a remote New England marital retreat to try to repair their relationship...or is that really what's happening? While the plot swings definitely held my attention, the book rests on a series of preposterous assumptions. After I finished it I couldn't help but shake my head because it was all pretty unbelievable, but like a big old greasy fast food meal I ate it up with gusto while it lasted. Probably a decent beach read.

My nominee in the books everyone's read that I finally discovered is Tana French's Dublin murder series. In the Woods left me astonished by what a great book it was, so far beyond my expectations of YA murder cop procedural.

I just finished the second book The Likeness. Unlike The Eden Test although it also rests on a completely unbelievable premise, the writing style, plot and character development are wonderful enough that it too was an immersive reading experience. Highly recommend both and looking forward to the rest.

I'm pacing myself on this series. Since I read each of the first books during trips to see my daughter that will be the rule: I can only read these when I'm visiting her. That of course means I've got something absorbing for the flight up, the evenings and maybe even the flight home LOL.

Is there anything that discusses how much of the story is *in* the Bible and how much fiction?

Dinah's story in the Bible is just one chapter of Genesis, so Diamant has added a lot (including the idea of a menstrual tent, which is not in the text nor was it a typical custom). You can read the story for yourself here: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2034&version=NRSVUE

IDK how (if?) the Old Testament differs between Jewish and Christian interpretations.

The interpretation differences would take up an encyclopedia, but the main difference, textually, between the Tanakh (the Hebrew Scriptures) and the Old Testament is in the order of the books. They start off the same with the Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy), but the rest of the books are in a different order.

Thank you, Bookwoman. You'll educate me yet! Time is of the essence. <smile>

So...other than the existence of Dinah and her many brothers, the 'rest of the stooorrry' is a fabrication? No king and his followers submitted to permit Dinah's marriage, then were slain? Etc.

Not that I know of, but I'm not an expert!

Tin Man by Sarah Winman was just lovely. It's a very short novel, a "weekender", and although giving away the storyline would ruin it, let's say that it' s about loss and was very moving and emotional. Now, I am into a book of short mystery/horror stories by Edith Wharton, of all people. I saw it sitting on the library shelf. It is called Here and Beyond. It's not what you think of when you think of her writing, but I am having a nice time with it.

I just finished On A Night Of A Thousand Stars . It was pretty good for the first 3/4 of the book and I learned a lot about Argentina history, especially during the times of Peron, but the last quarter of the book really was difficult to read, not only upsetting, but less interesting, and I grew to dislike the protagonist. Others might feel differently though.

Cutting For Stone, Vehghese, was teriffic. 4 Stars. I'm glad I read it before starting The Covenant of Water, which won't be soon, as I have a shelf full of books beforer that:

Martin Cruz Smith has a new Arkady Renko novel, Independence Square.

I have two Rosamunde Pilchers, one with three novels in one book, where I only want to read Under Gemini.

This Time Tomorrow, Emma Straus, is waiting.

I think I'll read something 'light' next: Funny In Farsi, Firoozh Dumas. Gosh, I see it has a blurb from President Jimmy Carter! (Hmm...)

I don't read many books - most of the books I enjoy are audiobooks - but every now and then I pick up an actual paper book. Right now, I'm reading The Education of an Idealist, a memoir by diplomat and author Samantha Power. I'm only about a quarter of the way through, but I'm really enjoying it.

Lessons in Chemistry--Bonnie Garmus

Mostly enjoyable until I started to wonder how everything in narrators life was negative. The ending was so busy tying up all the loose ends in a positive way that it spoiled the rest of the book.

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Queen Charlotte--Julia Quinn & Shonda Rhimes

A delightful read that parallels British history along with pure fiction.

Rho, I did not care for Lessons in Chemistry at all. It was a silly attempt to shoehorn a classic autistic-but-goodhearted modern protagonist complete with 21st century feminist values into a 1960s setting. And some of the plot contrivances simply were impossible to accept

Came here to share something I am happily absorbed in, a book recommended in the NYT summer reading guide. Courting Dragons is tons of Tudor mystery fun complete with a very winning protagonist. Will Somers was an actual person, King Henry VIII's fool, who served him for many years. The book makes Will the focus of a mystery in Henry's court, set during the King's Great Matter AKA the effort to get Henry divorced from his first wife Catherine of Spain so he could marry Anne Boleyn.

Will is a terrific character-sharp witted, warm hearted with a VERY active bisexual love life which is a bracing new angle for fans of Tudor England LOL. Definitely recommend this for all of us who love books set during this period of history. Lots of details about life at court, personalities of the great nobles including the King, Anne etc.

ETA: This is the first of a new series and the authors note says she is already working on the second book

runninginplace, will have to check out Courting Dragons. My fave historical fiction time period is Tudor England, so this is right up my alley.

I did not like Lessons in Chemistry, so I bailed a chapter or two in.

Will also look into Courting Dragons, thanks.

I just finished Hour of the Witch by Chris Bojahlian and went immediately to the 2 star Goodreads reviews to find some sympathy. I laughed my head off at many of them - far more enjoyable than the book.

I am in the middle of Time Shelter, which just won the International Booker. The premise is that people with dementia feel most comfortable when they are recalling past memories, and the book is about creating a hospital setting that evokes that, in the hope that it will help in the treatment. Not a very joyful story line, I realize, especially for people my age, but very well written. I would classify it as "magical realism".

Link to June 2023