The Next Best Book Club discussion

The Noel Diary. Needed something simple to get me through this dry spell. Read too many eh books in a row.

I read The Boat People. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Written in Stone – Ellery Adams – 3***
This is book number four in the Books By the Bay Mysteries series. I like Olivia and her friends – the Bayside Book Writers. Of course the writers’ group includes the town Police Chief, handsome Sawyer Rawlings, which is convenient for the amateur sleuths.
LINK to my review

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The Shape of Water – Andrea Camilleri – 3.5***
Book number one in the Inspector Montalbano mystery series, set in Sicily is an absolute delight! Montalbano is a wonderful character. He deals with the worst of human situations and yet still finds humor in his life. Camilleri’s writing is very atmospheric. I almost felt as if I were visiting Sicily. I look forward to reading more of this series.
LINK to my review

I just finished Best Day Ever and it was very good..
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I am reading A Gentleman In Moscow. Enjoying it- but not a fast read. One to read at leisure

I finished reading Pines and now I have no clue what I want to read next. I'm still reading A Spoonful of Poison but since I have the electrician in tomorrow I'll read while they work so I really need to decide on the next 2 books and I'm just not sure. I hate when this happens. It's so much easier when I already know what I want to read next.

I read As Bright as Heaven. 4 stars .My review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I just finished 180 seconds, and I absolutely loved it. I think I'm going to re-read
The Perks of Being a Wallflower tomorrow, but I'm not entirely sure. Might check out this thread for tips!

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Catch Me If You Can – Frank Abagnale – 4****
Subtitle depends on the edition: The Amazing True Story of the Most Extraordinary Liar in the History of Fun and Profit! -or- The True Story Of a Real Fake. Frank Abagnale began his career as a forger, check-kiter and con-man when he was just sixteen years old. It’s a fascinating memoir of his years of crime, full of daring escapades, humorous situations, and outlandish lies.
LINK to my review

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The Turn of the Screw – Henry James – 3.5***
A ghost story and psychological thriller. A young woman is hired to be governess to two young children, Miles and Flora. The governess is certain that some malevolent entity is intent on capturing the children in her care, and she is determined to prevent it from doing so. All the uncertainty and secrecy serve to increase the emotional tension in the story. It is dark, and puzzling, and disturbing.
LINK to my review

Kate Atkinson writes about about both WW1 and WW2 and times before during and after in Behind the Scenes at the Museum. It's a story of a (mostly) English family, extended family, would-be family (failed suitors), births, deaths and marriages (and extra-curricular activity). A busy book by an excellent writer!
4★ Link to my review

I'm reading

I read The Atomic City Girls. 3.5 stars rounded up . my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The Girl Who Fell From the Sky – Heidi W Durrow – 4****
Rachel, the daughter of a Danish mother and a black G.I., becomes the sole survivor of a family tragedy after a fateful morning on a Chicago rooftop. I found the book in turns horrifying, moving, disturbing, riveting, and confusing. The story moves back and forth in time, and with multiple narrators. I was moved by Rachel’s predicament. And empathized with her struggles to come to terms with what had happened to her, and to those she loved. All told, this is a great debut, and I look forward to reading future works by Durrow.
LINK to my review

Next book problem solved after I 'walked' through my bookcases. Love Lincoln and Amelia but I think I read two in a row and was a bit over cooked with gruesome murders so I'm ready for more now.
The Vanished Man

I read Love. 3 stars. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Just read Wildest of All by P.K. Lynch, who played Lizzie in the film Trainspotting. Turns out she’s a pretty good writer, too.
3.5★ My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Our House in the Last World – Oscar Hijuelos – 3.5***
Hijuelos’ debut novel spans five decades, telling the story of the Santinio family from 1929 in Cuba to 1975 in New York. Alejo is a man who has never met a stranger. He is exuberant and generous. Mercedes is a woman who lives in the past. She cannot let go of past glories of life in Cuba as a girl. She loves Alejo, but the man he has become is a stranger to her. Hijuelos’s writing is vivid and passionate, with scenes that are ethereal and full of mysticism contrasted with scenes of brutal reality. People yell in anger, whoop in celebration, and cry in despair.
LINK to my review

I've just started

PattyMacDotComma wrote: "Kate Atkinson writes about about both WW1 and WW2 and times before during and after in Behind the Scenes at the Museum. It's a story of a (mostly) English family, extend..."

Boy, I have missed following this thread! I've returned from a week's vacation so was only looking on my cell phone and its too cumbersome to really read and respond. So many good books. I've got two of Atkinson's books to read: Behind the Scenes at the Museum and When Will There Be Good News?.

I'm currently reading Marriage Can Be Murder by Emma Jameson.

Hope you enjoy both of the Atkinson books, Pamela. It is hard to catch up, but it’s fun to be prompted to read more books!

I read How to Stop Time. 4+ stars . My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I finished The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor
My review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I just finished the fourth Louise Penny novel, A Rule Against Murder, set in the (fictional) Quebec town, Three Pines. I love the chief detective Armand Gamache--the way he thinks and the way he solves crimes. Eventually, I will probably read all of these.

I am reading "The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden". Because for some reason Jonas Jonasson's sense of humour cracks me up. Hopefully some of it will rub off on this author.

Starry Night – Debbie Macomber – 2.5**
It’s a typical Macomber holiday schmaltz novel. The characters are straight out of central casting and the plot is predictable. Still, it’s a fast and entertaining holiday read.
LINK to my review

Barbara, I plan to return to Three spines regularly to read the series. I’ve read only the first two, and I intend to drag it out as long as possible! I really enjoy Louise Penny.

Have been putting off reading Salman Rushdie's sweeping saga of the birth of modern India, Midnight's Children for some time now, but have finally entered that fascinating world.

Finished The Secret Mother

The opening chapter - a woman coming home to find an unknown boy in her kitchen who thinks she's her mother - is a great hook! I would recommend The Secret Mother if you like a pacy, suspenseful psychological novel.

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

4 stars

I'm reading . Cute so far.

I've been reading a few children's picture books lately, and this is one I'd like to see promoted to introduce little kids to some basic earth science.

Seed School: Growing Up Amazing by Joan Holub has attractive illustrations by Sakshi Mangal, useful information, and activities to boot!
5★ Link to my review

Today I'm going to start reading Three Martini Lunch by Suzanne Rindell. Finally managed to get a copy & am looking forward to reading it as I thoroughly enjoyed her book, The Other Typist.

I read Red Sky at Noon. 3.5 rounded up. My review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

In the mood for a romance so I'm reading The Little Bookshop on the Seine. So far it seems predictable but I need something completely different than The Vanished Man which had more twists and turns than a corkscrew

Killers of the Flower Moon – David Grann – 4****
Wow. I am ashamed to say that I knew nothing of this shameful episode of American history. Grann did a marvelous job researching and reporting his findings. He did more than simply report what the FBI managed to uncover, and that only emphasizes how institutionalized the racist attitudes were.
LINK to my review

I loved Tim Winton's book, The Boy Behind the Curtain: Notes From an Australian Life. It's a collection of articles and reminiscences - a memoir of growing up in regional Western Australia to become one of our finest authors.
5★ My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I am reading Been There, Done That. It is a collection of short stories by young adult and middle grade authors with the story and also the real life story in their life that inspired the fictional story.

I've just started . Having been there, it's a fun read so far.

Commonwealth – Ann Patchett – 4****
The novel follows the four parents and six children of the Cousins and Keating families over five decades. As children, the six kids are frequently left to their own devices, the adults in their lives too busy with their own drama to focus on the children. How the adult siblings each interpret and remember what has happened, and how they manage the guilt or shame is the main focus. Patchett really shines when exploring human relationships. She slowly reveals secrets, hopes, and fears until the reader feels she truly knows these people. Little by little events are revealed, and characters are fully realized. Like her other works, this would be a great choice for a book club discussion.
LINK to my review

Finished Summer Hours at the Robbers Library 3.5 stars . My review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I am reading The Shadowy Horses by Susanna Kearsley

I just finished by Peter Swanson
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I'm starting James Patterson

I've previously read The Day of the Locust by Nathanael West so I decided to read a short one he wrote Dear Miss Lonely Heart.

I do enjoy finding a new mystery writer with good characters! Aussie author Zane Lovitt has written the very entertaining Black Teeth, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
4.5★ Link to my review

Cotton – Christopher Wilson – 1.5*
I was intrigued by this idea of a “white-skinned black boy” in the segregated South of the mid-20th century. But the novel took a decided turn for the weird. …. Let’s just say that Lee Cotton changes skin color and/or gender like some women change hair color. Wilson gives Lee a unique voice – with an odd mixture of local dialect and educated English. But in the end, I found this just too fantastically absurd to be believed. I never warmed up to Lee or any of the other characters, and I found it a chore to finish.
LINK to my review

Finished Winter Kept Us Warm. 4 stars. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

First, a rant turned review of Menagerie - 3*
Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Then... Wasn't gonna post my Prince of Thorns "not really a review", but ppl seemed to like it, so I'll risk it. Oh, 3*:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
+ there's an interesting convo in the comments, though not really about the book.

I always enjoy your rant/reviews, idiffer!

I finished a great psychological thriller by Sharon Bolton:

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

I finished My Name Is Venus Black. 4.5 stars. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...