The Next Best Book Club discussion

I strongly recommend Jo Rooks's lovely new children's book about emotions, A Box of Butterflies, for all families and schools. It includes helpful notes for the adults, too.
5★ Link to my review with lots of pictures

I recently finished Dolores Claiborne and The Manitou.

Now, I'm about half way through Sacré Bleu.

Ordinary Grace – William Kent Krueger – 4****
Krueger is best known for a series of mysteries set in Minnesota. Here he departs from that formula to write a stand-alone novel that explores issues of family loyalty, decency, and faith. The catalyst this particular summer is death – an accidental death, a natural death, a murder, a suicide. Through the Drum family we see how differently people react to death in this small town, where every person, related by blood or not, is somehow close to you and any death affects you. This is the first book by Krueger that I’ve read. It will not be the last.
LINK to my review

Finished: Before and Again by Barbara Delinsky
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I've just finished Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind this after a lot of bugging from my boyfriend (who loved it!).

I think it started off really well but he came across a bit to opinionated at times.

Full review here

I am also halfway through Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch and loving it! Who knew the Apocalypse could be so hilarious!

I'm reading .

The Widow Clicquot – Tilar J Mazzeo – 3***
Subtitle: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It. Mazzeo’s biography is sparse on intimate detail, due to lack of personal letters and papers. The result is somewhat interesting but flat. The extraordinary woman at the center of the story never quite comes to life.
LINK to my review

I have begun reading All Who Go Do Not Return by Shulem Deen. A riveting memoir. I will post a review of War and Peace one of these days. My soul still has not recovered from these past 4 months absorbed in this book. Frustrating and unforgettable months. A true classic.

The Most Beautiful Village in the World by Japanese author Yutaka Kobayashi is a children's picture book about Afghanistan and everyday life and war. Yes, war. It reaches little kids' books, too. :(
4★ Link to my review with pictures

Just Finished. We Are All Welcome Here by Elizabeth Berg. I completely forgot how much I love her books.

Cold Sassy Tree – Olive Ann Burns – 4****
Thirteen-year-old Will Tweedy narrates Burns’ historical novel which takes place in the small Georgia town of Cold Sassy Tree circa 1906. Oh ,what a treat this novel is! The characters are richly drawn, and cover the gamut of personalities. I was completely engaged in the story from beginning to end, laughing aloud several times as I watched the residents engage in gossip and speculation.
LINK to my review

The Little French Bistro – Nina George – 3***
A German tourist in Paris runs from her loveless marriage and winds up in Brittany where she finds her inner strength, and love. I liked some aspects and was disinterested in others. (The whole Celtic Druid connection was unnecessary in my humble opinion.) All told, it’s an okay story and there are some moments that are really tender and enjoyable.
LINK to my review

Today I started reading Gillespie and I by Jane Harris.

I finished Ultraviolet. 4 stars . My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Lost in the Beehive by Michele Young-Stone
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Shelter in Place – Nora Roberts – 2.5**
Roberts, best known as a romance writer, turns her attention to the thriller genre, and she fills it will all the stereotypical characters of that genre. There wasn’t much suspense as I could see the end coming practically from the beginning of the novel. Still, it was a pretty fast read and mostly held my attention.
LINK to my review

I just read The Timeless Land by Eleanor Dark, which is now a classic of well-researched Australian historical fiction about the First Fleet, the soldiers, the convicts, and the local Indigenous people.
4.5★ Link to my review

Boys in the Boat

Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown

I finished The Winter Soldier. 4+ stars. My review : https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Giant’s House by Elizabeth McCracken

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, recommended by several friends here at GR. Finding it difficult to put down at night.

Well I did finish Saving Fish from Drowning which did get better the further I read but the first 70/80 pages, I have no words. This was nothing like The Joy Luck Club or The Hundred Secret Senses.

For pure enjoyment I read The Wedding Date and it was silly and romance and funny which was just what I needed. I think I'm still not in the best place so I'm reading another indulgence Agatha Raisin and the Witches' Tree.

LOVED THIS ONE! 2028 by Aussie author Ken Saunders throws the FUNNIEST, most clever spanner (monkey wrench) in the works of modern politics that anyone could imagine! We MUST make it happen!! I’m off to change my name.
5★ Link to my enthusiastic review!

Just finished a great psychological thriller..
Bad Mommy by Tarryn Fisher
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I read The Cut Out Girl: A Story of War and Family, Lost and Found. 4.5 stars rounded up. My review : https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir – Jennifer Ryan – 4****
Among the many novels about World War II, this one stands out for its focus on the women left behind. Set in an English village, where most of the men are off to the fight, and the women have stepped up to the task of keeping things going. The novel is told by a series of diary entries and letters. I was engaged and interested from beginning to end, and thoroughly enjoyed spending time with these ladies!
LINK to my review

A light read. Duelling Facebook groups! Not quite the “duelling banjos” of “Deliverance”, but women can get pretty nasty. Choose your weapons in
Those Other Women by Aussie Nicola Moriarty (yes, sister of Liane).
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The Circus Thief is a colourful picture book for kids showing 1929 Pennsylvania. Here's my review, with some illustrations.
Link to my review - with illustrations

I read A Cloud in the Shape of a Girl. 3.5 stars. My review : https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Exit West – Mohsin Hamid – 4.5****
What an inventive and interesting way of telling a tale that examines issues of immigration, war, and love. Hamid uses a framework of a political unrest, where outsiders are quickly blamed for all that goes wrong. It’s uncomfortably recognizable and plausible, but also has a mystical / ethereal quality.
LINK to my review

A Superior Spectre, Aussie author Angela Meyer's debut novel, is kind of genre-bending. Or genre-fluid? I think many readers will love it.
Link to my review

I read A Spark of Light. 3.5 rounded up to 4 stars. My review : https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Listened to Charlotte's Web which I had never gotten around to reading and the lovely thing is it was read by the author, E.B. White.

Reading The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter.

I am nearly finished with All Who Go Do Not Return, the memoir by Shulem Deen.

I’m reading The Key to Midnight by Dean Koontz

Half-Truths and Semi-Miracles is a reissue of Anne Tyler’s 1974 story. If I had a light like this, I’d be tempted to hide it under a bushel, I think, ungrateful so-and-sos.
Link to my review

Educated: A Memoir – Tara Westover – 5*****
In this memoir, Westover recalls her childhood and personal journey to become an educated, independent woman. It’s amazing that Westover survived some of the episodes she relates; it’s a testament to her inner strength and determination that she managed to prosper. Her story is fascinating, compelling and inspiring, but there are scenes that left me shaking my head or cringing in fear.
LINK to my review

Just finished The Sellout by Paul Beatty

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

Now half way through The Girl in 6E and about to start Dracula

Just finished: Somebody's Daughter by Rochelle B. Weinstein

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

I just finished The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life
Link to my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Currently reading The Way of the Superior Man: A Spiritual Guide to Mastering the Challenges of Women, Work, and Sexual Desire

I just finished reading Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
by Gail Honeyman. Loved this book!

Just started reading The Bookshop
by Penelope Fitzgerald.

I finished Gone So Long. 4 stars. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Finished reading The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter which was lovely. Now I've gone to a favorite author Isaac Asimov. I'm finally reading The Naked Sun which is #2 in the Robot Trilogy but actually was the third one published (I think). Anyway, I've read I, Robot and The Caves of Steel so I'm finally reading the last one.

I can't believe I'd never read Rebecca! I thought, well, 80 years old, classic, guess I SHOULD read it. Silly me for waiting. Daphne du Maurier nailed it!
5★ Link to my review (no spoilers)

The Trouble With Goats And Sheep – Joanna Cannon – 3.5***
What an interesting and inventive way to structure this mystery / coming of age novel. Cannon tells the story in dual timeframes (Summer 1976 and December 1967), and with multiple points of view. But in addition to the mystery Cannon gives the reader a coming-of-age story. I loved Grace and Tilly. The girls learn valuable lessons about friendship, responsibility and not being quick to judge.
LINK to my review

Over the Edge – Michael Ghiglieri & Thomas Myers – 2.5**
The subtitle is all the summary anyone needs: Gripping accounts of all known fatal mishaps in the most famous of the World’s Seven Natural Wonders. The chapters are divided by cause: falls from the rim, falls within the canyon, environment (i.e. dehydration), etc. They have a pretty engaging style when they are recounting a specific scenario, but they tend to get preachy about the causes of most of these fatalities. Mostly it’s boring. My husband’s account of his raft trip is much better (read full review).
LINK to my review

5 star review alert!
A Piece of Cake by Cupcake Brown
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Black and Blue – Anna Quindlen – 3***
The abused wife of a New York City detective flees with their son to a new life in a new state with new identities. Quindlen gives the reader a reasonably suspenseful story arc, but I had some problems believing in the characters. I was interested in how it would play out, but I won’t remember this book for long.
LINK to my review

I wanted to read another book similar to A Man Called Ove so now I'm reading Britt-Marie Was Here also by Fredrik Backman