I just finished Srill Life with Bread Crumbs by Anna Quindlan i loved it after i figured out her quirk about phrases like ”but that was later” and “before” to put things in time. guess those are the crumbs

I just finished Happy Place by Emily Henry and I loved it. It was a Good Reads pick and on the NY Times list. Although I am not in her regular demographic audience of readers I would guess, I really liked it. It was well written and kept me up too late at night trying to finish chapters.

Now that I've finished it, and stayed awake nights absorbing it, Postcard is getting 5 stars from me. You do have to persist through the first part -- the background of the holocaust that you think, "I know, I know already!" Going forward, you will *live* what thus far you've only seen as history. I found the section about returnees to be the most affecting -- a few months of desperate reality heretofore unknown to me.

I can't sleep. Back pain.

So I see I didn't update that I finished Mad Honey. It was a very good read and it held my interest (mostly?). I think I've only read one other book by Jodi Picoult and I do think she sure can weave a good story. I kept thinking I should look up more about bee-keeping because she referenced it and described it so much and I am so unfamiliar with it.

Overall it was a good read BUT I did think there were several features that felt a bit forced to me. I did think her basic shocker was really well done and the parts that annoyed me were not key to the story but they just felt thrown in. Also one aspect of the story, when it fully unraveled , didn't hold true .Editing to add- didn't hold true in the sense of being realistic .

I would give it 4 stars. It could have been a 5 star but it fell short.

I just started reading Lucy and the Octopus. It's a stange one but seems to be a fairly quick read so I will stick with it and see how it plays out.

Going to curl up with Tom Lake the new Ann Patchett. Will keep you posted.

When I started Tom Lake, I thought it was a very light read, but as I got into it, I realized that it was actually very intriguing. Lara tells the story of her life to her three daughters, and her life is a series of "If/Then" events. I've already cast Meryl Streep in the movie, and her three daughters can play Lara's three daughters and double in the flashbacks. Are you listening, Hollywood?

Finished The Book Woman's Daughter and it was ok. For book group. 3+ stars. I enjoyed the first a lot more. But it was an easy, summer read.

Next up is Horse by Geraldine Brooks for my other book group.

@salonva I highly recommend The Honey Bus for another book about beekeeping. It’s a memoir and a fascinating read. I learned a great deal about honey gathering, bees, and bee culture from it. Great book!

Books on tape ... outlander series. 3+

Faftris - I have also started to read Tom Lake. I had heard (maybe here?) that reading Our Town first would enhance appreciation of this book. Our local library has a film of the play that I plan to watch since it's been a while since I read the drama. The inside flap of the book mentions Lara and her daughters are picking cherries during the book's narration, so I'm also keeping an eye out for echoes to Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard.

3.5 stars for Little Monsters by Adrienne Brodeur. Considerable psychiatry involved in the lives of a 70-year old bipolar whale scientist/father and his adult son and daughter -- plus one, or plus two or three, if you count the babies. Got all that?

Re Tom Lake: There are just a few minor references to The Cherry Orchard. I hadn't read Our Town in many years, but if you know the basic plot, it will be enough.

I did read The Honey Bus! I checked on goodreads, and I read it last August. Someone suggested in these threads and I think it was you, Oly.

I enjoyed it a lot. I don't know what it was but in Mad Honey, when they went into all the details of what they do to collect the honey and make sure the queen is good and the hive is happy, it seemed way more involved and technical.

I finished Liy and the Octopus. For a good part of it, I was thinking it was too "out there" for me but somehow it turned around and it was just beautiful. I gave it 4 stars. Caution though, it is a bit different.

I have just started The Nature of Fragile Things (Susan Meissner) and it's a good one.

I had to put aside The Covenant of Water for now; too heavy for my summer brain. Now I am almost done with Tom Lake, a perfect porch/beach read. I love Ann Patchett.

Little Graves, by Harriet A. Ruby. From the front cover: Ghost stories and scary tales of Old Kentucky. The stories are fine but the grammer is horrible. I don't think anyone proofread any of it. It's very distracting. Using the possessive form of a word instead of the plural, using there instead of their. I'm not perfect but I expect a published book to be close. I'm halfway through and I'd probably give it 3.0 stars.

While we were away, I read Olive Kitterage and Hang the Moon. I really enjoyed both novels. I always have a a hard time giving stars because it is so subjective. My daughter just loaned me The 7 Husbands of Evelyn Hugo so I'll be starting that soon.

I volunteer as a shelver in my local library, and today, when I was working on the newly-received books, I came across a new one by Pip Williams, the author of The Dictionary of Lost Words. It's called The Bookbinder. I liked Dictionary, and I know a few of you did too, although none of us can use the word "slip" anymore!

I read The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, by James McBride. It was just wonderful, if you like a story with many characters and an ending that brings them all together when you are not sure where all of it is going. African-American and Jewish residents of a factory town in Pennsylvania are marginalized by the white Christian population. The story revolves around a long-ago murder, but it isn't central to the plot.

faftris, did you read McBride's memoir, The Color of Water? It's one of my favorites. I'm really looking forward to this new book of his.

Yes, I did. I really enjoyed Deacon King Kong, which was the same kind-of crazy story as this one. When I get to it, I want to read The Good Lord Bird. It won the National Book Award a number of years ago. I have a whole pile of books right now, with many holds at the library. Such first-world problems!

I thought McBride sounded familiar. I did read The Good Lord Bird and thought it was very good. I read it after I had been to Harper's Ferry and I wished I had read it before for context.

I just finished The Covenant of Water. In general, i enjoyed it but found it somewhat uneven. Around page 500 I got kind of lost about who was who and their relationship. Then it got to be a bit of a slog but bounced back later. So much sadness, suffering and heartbreak. Im glad I read it but it’s quite the commitment to tackle it.

So much sadness, suffering and heartbreak.

Oh jeez, I'm so glad I bailed on that one.

I haven't posted much here lately but I just finished Good Night Irene by Luis Alberto Urrea. I've had a few of his books on my "to read" list but hadn't read them yet. This novel is based on his mother's experience as a Donut Dolly during WWII - basically driving military buses for the Red Cross with coffee and donuts to the front lines in Europe. It is wonderfully written, a moving novel about courageous women and the camaraderie they shared under harrowing conditions of the front lines. There are some holes in the character development, but I really enjoyed it. The author's note at the end provides insight into his inspiration for the novel and the research he did, noting there is little documentation of these women since all the records were lost in a fire.

I am now reading The 272 by Rachel Swarns. It explores the sale of 272 slaves by prominent priests in the Catholic Church in order to save what would later become known as Georgetown University. The story follows the saga of the Mahoney family, beginning in Maryland with matriarch Ann Joyce, an free Black woman whose freedom is stolen. I grew up Catholic in one of the historic areas mentioned in the book, attending one of the oldest Catholic churches in MD. So far, it is very interesting.

4kids, thanks for mentioning Goodnight Irene. My friend was aDolly Donut during the Vietnam war and might enjoy this one.

I just finished The Dust Child by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai, and really enjoyed it. The title: ‘Dust Child’ refers to the orphaned and mixed race children born during and after the Viet Nam war. The timeline went between the Viet Nam war and recent times, and spoke to the implications for both people in Viet Nam, and the soldiers who were there. She did a wonderful job bringing to life the Viet Nam women who bore Amerasian children, the American soldiers who suffered from the war and walked away from their children, and the children who suffered the consequences. It provided me a fresh look at the Viet Nam war and people. I would recommend it. 4.25 stars

Thanks @4kids4us for the recommendation of The 272. It sounds really interesting.

I 've finished The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner.

I really enjoyed reading it for most of it but as often happens, maybe the last 1/4 or so kind of lost it for me. It had too much tying together and even more not believalbe aspects.

While I was reading it, I thought it would be a 4 or 5 star but with the ending and all, I'd give it between 3 and 4 but closer to 3 stars. It might sound silly but the author is possibly getting too prolific . The fist few I read of hers were so good but I find the more recent ones are not there.

I started Demon Copperhead and man oh man that's a lot. It's really good, and I keep being drawn to it and reading for a lot of time, but still not quite at 50%. I read for over 2 hours today, yesterday, and so on.... I have no idea how this will play out but It's surely captivating.

I have also read Demon Copperhead and I know that it has won the Pulitzer but I can't say that I was impressed by this gritty tale. We see so much of this subject matter on the daily news that I don't necessarily need to read about it elsewhere. 3 stars

Read this and note the similarity to recent political exhortations to return to the past. Time Shelter, Georgi Gospodinov, translated from Bulgarian by Angela Rodel. You'll reexamine popular nostalgia for 'the good old days'. And, it's funny.

I'm reading Exiles by Jane Harper. It is probably something that I wouldn't have chosen if not for seeing it recommended here by Olychick. I needed something quick since what I had checked out turned out to be a dud and it was on the shelf . I'm really enjoying it and will probably now read her others. I'm another who likes complicated relationships.

I am currently reading Anne Tyler’s French Braid. I love Anne Tyler, but this one is a bit uneven. However, whenever I think of quitting, I find myself wanting to know what happens next!

I’ve also read Elin Hilderbrand’s Summer of 69 and the sequel-ish Summer of 79. Summer of 69 was entertaining. Sumer of 79 wasn’t really a sequel. It was just an epilogue published separately.

And I also read Lessons in Chemistry, finally. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.

Pip Williams, of Dictionary of Lost Words fame, has a new book, The Bookbinder. It was a DNF for me. I have added the word "fold" to the word 'slip" on my list of words to never use again.

I finished Demon Copperhead and I loved it. I didn't know if I'd care for it at all, but to begin with the writing is just spectacular. It was one of the few Pulitzer winners that I liked ( and this one, I loved). There was a lot going on, and often I find the story lines a bit too contrived or not quite believable , but I didn't feel that way with this book. I also was thankful that it wasn't a total downer. Toward the end, I kept hoping each time a chapter ended that the book would not be over. FIVE STARS

I delayed reading this as well as Lincoln Highway for some strange reason but finally decided to give them both a try in the last month or so and I was so thrilled with these 2 books.

I've been in a reading slump -- checking out books that look good and getting disappointed. Yesterday I got a book I'd requested from my library a while back -- Richard Russo's Somebody's Fool. It's a follow up to Nobody's Fool, a favorite of mine, and so far I'm enjoying it.

Bunny: Thanks for the ”Psst” to me for Nevil Shute’sTrustee in the Toolroom. I am enjoying it as much, maybe more, as Pied Piper,.

Oops, sent too soon. Another good one is The Wager, David Grann, Historical nonfiction. Think Mutiny on the Bounty, Slower in the early and later chapters, but quite a page turner for most of it.

I just finished The Country of the Blind: A Memoir at the End of Sight by Andrew Leland. It's an autobiographical account of a man who knew since he was young that he was eventually going to lose his sight from a degenerative disease, and how he learned to be a blind adult when his eyesight started going. It's very well written and a fascinating peek into what it's like to be blind and the culture that goes with blindness. I'm not blind nor do I have anyone close to me who is, but I found the book to be fascinating.

Write what you know. Do not present tropes you picked up from reading other people's novels. There are two interesting stories here, one about the Paris menagerie, and the most worthy, coming in only at the end, about the failed revolution. Unfortunately, someone decided this all needed spicing up, so there's a tedious description of two young adult men discovering their homosexuality that detracts miserably from the whole. 2 Stars for The Beasts of Paris, Steff Penney.

martinca, I'm so glad you're enjoying Trustee! I recently reread Pied Piper and, while it's good, Trustee remains my favorite.

I've listened to two Nevil Shute books this month and thoroughly enjoyed both: Beyond the Black Stump and Pastoral. Pastoral had me on the edge of my chair; my throat got tight and tears were ready to spill. Many months ago I enjoyed Trustee of the Toolroom and A Town Like Alice. Shute's topics are so varied. I've yet to read Pied Piper but know it's been recommended here.

I've recently been spending quite a bit of time on jigsaw puzzles but find that when I have a Shute book available, the puzzle takes a backseat.

yes, thanks to this forum ( and thread from another month) I read Trustee of the Toolroom a few months ago and enjoyed it. I should read another one of his, and I also am reminded to try another Richard Russo. I read Empire Falls but no others.

Very good.

Salonva - a Richard Russo book that I really enjoyed is Straight Man. From what I remember after having read it several years ago is that it has hilarious moments which I always appreciate in a book!

Ha ha. I just did a search on Richard Russo on my library's website, and everything is taken out. Too many people read this thread!

Started An Honest Man by Michael Koryta the other day. So far it's pretty good.

After enjoying Demon Copperhead and realizing that the only other Kingsolver I have ever read was The Poisonwood Bible, I looked around and found The Bean Tree. It was her first novel, and it is very funny.

@faftris Pigs in Heaven was good, too, and a follow up to The Bean Trees.

I also loved The Lacuna by Kingsolver.

Just finished Lady Tan’s Circle of Women for our book club (which I am trying again with some trepidation). I read it in its entirety on our long flight from Paris and for once did not sleep. Just now starting James McBride’s latest, The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store. Whilst on our trip I also read Lessons in Chemistry (favorite character was Six Thirty, who reminded me of my dear departed Mr. Fluffy), and Missing, Presumed by somebody. Also reread Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg.

Olychick, both are on the shelf at my library. Thanks for the heads-up.

Link to September 2023