The Next Best Book Club discussion
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What Are You Reading - Part Deux
I read Praise Song for the Butterflies. 5 stars . My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I'm reading Ant Middleton First Man In. Really enjoying it
Esther wrote: "This year's Pulitzer winner Less 
was 5 stars for meMy review :https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
Wonderful review ... on the strength of which, I'm adding it to my TBR.
The Fiery Cross – Diana Gabaldon – 3***
Book number five in the popular Outlander series continues the saga of Claire Randall and Jamie Fraser. There’s plenty of drama and intrigue in these tales … personal and political. It’s a ripping good yarn that moves at a quick pace and held my interest throughout.
LINK to my review
I'm reading The Beautiful Dead by Belinda Bauer. I've enjoyed every book I've read of hers so far.
Sherri wrote: "Lord Peter Wimsey: Whose Body. By Dorothy L. Sayers"Big thumbs up. You can't go wrong with Lord Peter!! :-)
I've returned to yet another series I started and then for some reason stopped reading but I'm back. The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine
The Best of Friends – Sara James & Ginger Mauney – 2**
Sara James and Ginger Mauney met when they were in middle school, and this shared memoir covers their early divergent career paths, missteps and successes, both personally and professionally. Good for them. I was bored.
LINK to my review
I think I'm the one out of step about Claire Fuller's new novel Bitter Orange. Many readers love it.
3★ Link to my review
Schools started this week where I live. (I am a school librarian), so my reading of War and Peace has slowed down quite a bit. I am determined to finish it, though, a little at a time.
Nichole wrote: "Schools started this week where I live. (I am a school librarian), so my reading of War and Peace has slowed down quite a bit. I am determined to finish it, though, a little at a time."What an apt title to have floating around during the beginning of school!!
Just read The Perfect Mother by Aimee Molloy. New mothers, a baby abducted, a mystery many will enjoy. 
3.5★ My review
Just finished The Wartime Sisters by Lynda Cohen LoigmanReview can be found here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Heat Lightning – John Sandford – 3***
This is the second book in the Virgil Flowers series, which is a spin-off of Sandford’s extremely popular Lucas Davenport series. In his trademark style, Sandford gives us plenty of twists and turns in the plot, a few red herrings, and some subtle clues that are easy to miss. Flowers is an extremely likeable character. The action is fast and furious, and the ending is satisfying for the thriller/mystery genre.
LINK to my review
Island Beneath the Sea – Isabel Allende – 4****
In a bit of a departure from her usual emphasis on Hispano-American history, Allende gives us a story of an 18th-century slave in French-occupied Saint-Domingue (later to become Haiti). We follow Zarité from her childhood through age forty, Saint-Domingue to Cuba and on to New Orleans. Allende is more than up to the task of relating the historical events that frame this family drama. I loved Zarité. She’s intelligent, resourceful, courageous, and wily. Violette is also a richly drawn character – willful, intelligent, confident, loyal and loving. None of the men in her life are a match for her.
LINK to my review
PattyMacDotComma wrote: "Nichole wrote: "Schools started this week where I live. (I am a school librarian), so my reading of War and Peace has slowed down quite a bit. I am determined to finish it, though, ..."You're right! The book title fits my profession.
Nichole wrote: "PattyMacDotComma wrote: "Nichole wrote: "Schools started this week where I live. (I am a school librarian), so my reading of War and Peace has slowed down quite a bit. I am determin..."HAHAHAHA! : )
I recently enjoyed Dark Fire by C.J. Sansom. Everyone’s farourite hunchbacked lawyer, Matthew Shardlake, works reluctantly for evil Thomas Cromwell and survives (only just) to live another day in Henry VIII’s Tudor England. Great book but scary times.
4.5★ : My review
I read The Gatsby Affair: Scott, Zelda, and the Betrayal That Shaped an American Classic. 3.5 stars. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I'm reading Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys. It's pretty good so far.
Dashing Through the Snow by Debbie Macomber. We're still several months away from winter-but I was looking for a 'feel good' book after all the depressing books I've read lately.
Michael Tolliver Lives – Armistead Maupin – 3***
Eighteen years after “finishing” his Tales of the City Series in 1989, Maupin returned to the beloved characters and gave readers a 7th installment. Michael has a landscaping business and a new husband. He’s dealing with what many middle-aged people face – the decline of our elderly parents. I really like the way these characters support and love one another. However, readers who are offended by gay sex scenes should beware. I’m not usually shocked, but a couple of scenes made me uncomfortable.
LINK to my review
She writes a good story, does Aussie author Liane Moriarty. I just enjoyed The Husband's Secret.
4.5★ My review
The Baileys Harbor Bird and Booyah Club – Dave Crehore – 4****
What a lovely, gentle story focusing on “familiar” characters. My husband and I have vacationed in Door County (and in Baileys Harbor) many times. We always go in the off-season – fall and spring, even in winter (once). I know these communities and these people, and Crehore gets them down perfectly. My only regret is that this is a library book and I have to return it. I’d love to own it and read it over and over again.
LINK to my review
There be dragons in the sunset!! Naomi Howarth's beautiful new The Night Dragon explains nightfall.
5★ My review (with some illustrations)
Digging to America – Anne Tyler – 4****
A story of the immigrant experience and two families united by the decision to adopt. Tyler writes so well about family dynamics, about all the little events in our lives that both form and show who we are. As I got to know these characters, I grew to love them. And I wanted to give them all a big hug at the end.
LINK to my review
My Italian Bulldozer – Alexander McCall Smith – 3***
Smith is fast becoming my go-to author whenever I feel the need for a gentle humorous break from the realities of life. Like most of his novels, this one is full of the drama of everyday life. Not much happens, but somehow major life decisions get made. Along the way are scenes of heartache, humor, friendship, and romance.
LINK to my review
Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew J. Sullivan is a mystery with a catchy title, but it isn't really about books.
3.5★ Link to my review
The Time In Between – María Dueñas – 4****
A sweeping historical novel about a young woman, who begins by cleaning the floors of the atelier where her mother is a seamstress and ends up as a sought-after fashion designer in World War II, and a spy for the British. What a fascinating and engaging read. Dueñas is an accomplished storyteller. I loved the way that Sira grew as a character, coming into her own while carefully observing and learning from her friends, neighbors and clients. Her relationships are wonderfully complex, and there are some scenes that had me on the edge of my seat. I recommend this to anyone who loves a fast-paced novel, with fascinating characters, and a strong female lead. The final scene when she decides to take matters into her own hands and go forward on her own terms is marvelous. I wanted to stand up and cheer!
LINK to my review
Casino Royale – Ian Fleming – 3***
“The name is Bond, James Bond.” And this is the book that started it all. It’s a fast-paced, spy thriller, that entertains. Bond’s attitude towards women is rather appalling, but he’s a product of his time, and of the genre.
LINK to my review
I am not a gamer, but by golly I enjoyed Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. I won't look up all the 80s references, but enough are familiar that I bet all the others are accurate, too.
5★ https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Diva Serves High Tea – Krista Davis – 2**
This is # 10 in the Domestic Diva Mystery Series, featuring two rival “divas” in Alexandria VA. I’m tired of Natasha’s over-the-top, DIVA (with a capital D) antics. Sophie is a very likeable character and I like her relationships with ex-husband Mars and attorney (possible boyfriend) Alex. But I’ll only read another if it satisfies a challenge task.
LINK to my review
The Cruelest Month – Louise Penny – 3.5***
Book three in the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series, set in the small town of Three Pines, Quebec, very near the US border. I like this series chiefly because of Gamache and his relationships with friends, and colleagues. I also am quite fond of the residents of Three Pines and their interactions. This is not a cozy series, despite the small-town setting and cast of eccentric residents. Rather it is more of a police procedural. Penny crafts the story from multiple points of view. The reader as well as Gamache must figure out the truth from bits of information gleaned from different witnesses / suspects.
LINK to my review
Nathan wrote: "How do you do the thing where you can click on the name of the book and it brings you to the books page?"If you mean how do you add a link to the book in a comment box like this, you may have to use the desktop version instead of the app. You can log into Goodreads on a web browser on your phone or tablet - you don't have to be on a computer.
Where I'm typing now, just above this box is a link to add book/author. When you click that, you'll get a menu to choose from. Good luck!
Aussie author and now American citizen Geraldine Brooks set her novel Caleb's Crossing in early colonial America. Good book, but I wish she'd included a colonial dictionary.
3.5★ Link to my review
I just finished the no.1 ladies detective agency.
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The Next Best Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
High Heat (other topics)Mai Tai One On (other topics)
Any Ordinary Day (other topics)
Death By Honeymoon (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Lee Child (other topics)Jill Marie Landis (other topics)
Leigh Sales (other topics)
Jaden Skye (other topics)
Brigid George (other topics)
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Review can be found here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...