The Next Best Book Club discussion

I'm reading 2076: A Revolutionary Tale which is a dystopian novel. Seems symmetrical since I just finished an historical novel, moving from the past into the future.

I'm going to start Saturday by Ian McEwan. Haven't read any others of his although I hear Atonement is very good.

I just started Call Me Zelda. I don't normally read historical fiction, but it's very good so far.

I'm reading The Life History of a Star by Kelly Easton

I'm not one to stick with only one book at a time... I'm reading
The Autobiography of Henry VIII: With Notes by His Fool, Will Somers by Margaret George
The Fall of Five by Pittacus Lore
and
Wool Omnibus (Silo, #1) by Hugh Howey

Storm Damage by Ed Kovacs – 2.5**
Set in the months shortly after Hurricane Katrina laid waste to New Orleans, there is a kernel of a great story here. But Kovacs seems intent on bringing in every possible conspiracy, subterfuge and secret relationship that ever graced the pages of a crime or espionage novel. The hero forgets the main murder investigation and instead goes after every crooked politician, drug lord and “highly-connected businessman” in New Orleans, until the last twenty pages when he suddenly solves the case he was hired to investigate. Kovacs does have some skill in writing a page turner; it was a fast read but not a good one.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Jackie and Karen, I also liked The Paris Wife. Hemingway could be awful to wives (and to friends as well), but just looking at the expression on his face near the end of his life is enough to make me forgive him.

Shelley
http://dustbowlstory.wordpress.com

I just started Anything But Ordinary by Lara Avery

I am currently reading , , , , and .

Just started Black Sunday by Thomas Harris

A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty by Joshilyn Jackson – 4.5****
Jackson writes the kind of Southern fiction I absolutely love – full of bigger-than-life characters facing “un-possible” plot twists, and sprinkled with colorful dialogue. She also writes strong female characters. And while all three Slocumb women make their share of mistakes, they face their future with a determination to succeed and the knowledge that they will always have each other to count on. Jackson read the audio version of the book herself. A talented voice-over artist, she has good pacing and a style of reading that is just perfect for her novels.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Robert wrote: "Just started Black Sunday by Thomas Harris"

Enjoy! His early books are so much better than the "Hannibal Lector" sequels.

I'm reading Saved by the Light: The True Story of a Man Who Died Twice and the Profound Revelations He Received by Dannion Brinkley.

I'm reading The Poisoned Pilgram by Oliver Pötzsch. 4th book in the Hangman's Daughter series.

I just started reading The Hour of the Innocents, 1968 rock 'n' roll.

Just finished Blood Brothers by Nora Roberts (paranormal romance)and started Grace Interrupted by Julie Hyzy (cozy mystery).

Going to start Perfect by Rachel Joyce.

Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

The Innocent Man by John Grisham (Book on CD read by Craig Wasson) – 5*****
Grisham turns a spotlight on justice in America, focusing on the story of Ron Williamson who was wrongly convicted (and sentenced to death) for a murder he did not commit. It’s a gripping account of a horrific episode. If the reader is disturbed by the events portrayed, one can only imagine the horror of living such a nightmare. Well-researched and well-written. Craig Wasson does a fine job reading the audio version.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Claire wrote: "Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost"

Love that series -- and the spin-offs! ☺

Split by Swati Avasthi

Laughing without an accent by firoozah dumas

Heather L wrote: "Claire wrote: "Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost"

Love that series -- and the spin-offs! ☺"

I read the novella Reckoning by Jeaniene Frost not long ago and enjoyed that.

I think the next on my reading list is Galveston, by Nick Pizzolatto. Has anyone read it, and recommend it?

I'm reading a 1968 rock'n'roll themed book called The Hour of the Innocents which I'm really enjoying since way back then I was fan of many of the rock groups mentioned in the book.

I just finished A Memory of Light, the final book in a series I've been reading for YEARS. There aren't enough superlatives to describe how much I loved this book - I get teary just thinking about it! 5★ for sure - it deserves many more than just five. I feel quite bereft now that I have no more Wheel of Time books to read, but so very glad and privileged to have read them.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I just finished The Emperor's Soul and wrote a apoiler-free review (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)

I'm reading Hellhole now and once I got over the hump of the intro, the back of the book tells you almost everything the intro does, it's turned into a great read.

Autobiography of Us by Aria Beth Sloss – 3****
This is a character-driven novel, told by an older Rebecca, relating her youth to her daughter. It’s a coming-of-age novel that is intensely personal and mimics the upheaval the country was undergoing in the 1960s. The best way I can describe this novel is that it is atmospheric. Maybe that’s because I, too, was growing up in that era, and questioned the apparent expectations that society had for me.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Just started re-reading Marathon man

Just started The Deliverance of Evil

Was forced into reading Bitten.
Didn't finish. Simply terrible.

Northanger Abbey

The Rosie Project - currently reading: loving it! LOL at times...
The Lions of Little Rock- 3*** great story, writing not the best
Sweet Tooth -I. McEwan- 3*** and not so much IMO

I've just started

Tell Me Where It Hurts by Dr Nick Trout (Book on CD read by Simon Vance) – 2**
Trout uses a “day-in-the-life” structure to relay various stories from his experience as a veterinary surgeon in Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston Massachusetts. I was expecting something in the way of James Herriott’s memoirs, but Trout isn’t anywhere near so entertaining a writer. This book just didn’t do it for me. I was mostly bored.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

After I'm Gone by Laura Lippman. Very good so far.

Just finished Life After Life by Kate Atkinson.(best GR historical fiction 2013) Interesting premise, but I didn't love it as many readers did.

Just started The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert. So far I'm enjoying her writing style.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.

The shadow of the wind is AMAZING!! It's now one of my top 3 favorite books of all time. Enjoy!

I'm about half way through The Rope by Nevada Barr, the pre-quel to her Anna Pigeon series. It's pretty good so far.

I'm about halfway through Night Diver by Elizabeth Lowell -- pretty goodso far.

Jackie wrote: "The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon."

So good! Fell in love with Zafon after that book. The two others based in that world are great too: The Angel's Game and The Prisoner of Heaven

By the Pricking of My Thumbs by Agatha Christie

I'll definitely have a look at those Scott if I like this one, thanks!

Well I am more than 2/3 of the way through Jo Baker's Longbourn, which revisit's Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice only telling the tale through the eyes of the servants. I approached this with some wariness, but it has been a joy to read & I think every fan of Austen will like this book. It is really quite good.

I am nearly done The Weight of Blood , a coming of age story combined with mystery. It is set in the Ozarks and I have found it to be a compelling read.

I just finished Janet Evanovich's The Chase and now working on John Grisham's Sycamore Row.

Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt – 5*****
This is an emotional coming-of-age story, set in 1987 when a diagnosis of AIDS was a certain death sentence. I liked the very personal story of one family’s response to this issue, and particularly how Brunt used an innocent child to concentrate on the love and admiration for the person, rather than the disease that killed him. I really liked the final resolution of the story, though I was distressed by certain aspects. However, the emotional impact of the story completely carried me away, and it’s on the strength of that reaction that I give it 5 stars.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Just finished The Death of Ivan Ilych.

This amazing book blew me away.

State of the Onion by Julie Hyzy – 2.5**
The first in the White House Chef mystery series introduces the readers to Ollie (Olivia) Parus, and the rest of the staff in the White House kitchen. I thought Ollie was annoyingly nosy, especially given her position in the White House kitchen. Hyzy includes a fair number of red herrings, but they seem mostly there to plump up a weak plot. Basically we have a reasonably interesting premise/framework for a cozy mystery series, but not the best execution. I’m not sure I’ll read another.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...