Play Book Tag discussion

so at the midpoint, I thought we could assess how we are doing with our reading.

I'm posting three links to best books so far in 2021, which have you read?

What books would you put on your best reads this year?

https://www.vulture.com/article/best-...

https://fivebooks.com/category/the-be...

https://time.com/6050302/best-books-2...

I have Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty lined up to read this summer-none of the others have caught my interest, as of yet.

Most of the 2021 releases I want to read won't be out until July or August

Thanks for posting these links. These sound better than some of the anticipated books lists.

I loved Hamnet (published in 2020).
Klara and the Sun - I plan to read this month.
Girl A- maybe this month

I'm interested in these:
In the Quick (Jane Eyre in Space? How can I resist?)
Who Is Maud Dixon
Libertie
The Equivalents
Empire of Pain
Detransition Baby
Piranesi
The City we Became - or an earlier book by NK Jemison
The Dictionary of Lost Words

Maybe -
Hot Stew
The Fourth Child (I think this involves a shooting that occurred in the neighborhood of one of my son's friends.)
Fake Accounts
Under a White Sky
Let the record show
The Book of Difficult Fruit - This sounds like the kind of book you browse, reading just a page or two at a time.

Biographies - I often find them intense, but I need to read more:
The Red Comet - about Sylvia Plath
The Equivalents
The Price of Peace
Stranger in the Shogun's city
The Dead are arising
Fierce Poise (Artist)
Painting Time (Artist)

International Booker list:
The Employees
In Memory of Memory

No thank you -
Milk Blood Heat - the title is so nauseating, I fear the content would be too.

I've read Detransition, Baby,Infinite Country and Aftershocks.

For my own list, these are the favorites which I have read this year, although most were not published this year:
The Mercies
For Rouenna
The Nine: The True Story of a Band of Women Who Survived the Worst of Nazi Germany
The Missing American

NancyJ wrote: "Thanks for posting these links. These sound better than some of the anticipated books lists.

I loved Hamnet (published in 2020).
Klara and the Sun - I plan to read this month.
Girl A- maybe this ..."

I added 7 to my wishlist and already had a few on my TBR

Here are the books, I added to wishlist (some are the same as yours)
Fierce Poise: Helen Frankenthaler and 1950s New York
Golem Girl: A Memoir(if chronic illness wins, I want to read this.)
A Room Made of Leaves
The Dictionary of Lost Words
Who Is Maud Dixon?
Hot Stew
In the Quick

I loved Klara and the Sun
I found both Hamnet and Libertie to be ok but overly long and repetitive, maybe too interested in beautiful language
I also loved Project Hail Mary, which wasn't on any of the lists.

I loved Klara and the Sun, Piranesi, and Hamnet - rare 5 stars from me.

I liked a lot: Infinite Country - 4 stars.

I have quite a few from these lists on my TBR, but not sure when I will get to them.

Interesting lists, with many books I have heard about. However, I am even more oblivious than usual to what is being published except for a few mysteries. Thanks to Edgars reading, I have read quite a few mysteries.

Books need to be around a while before I get to them. Sometimes even favorite authors.

My 4.5 and 5-star reads so far:

The Galaxy, and the Ground Within
The Gravity of Us
Steve & Me
Troubled Blood (my only 5-star read)

My reading has just tanked the last month because I am falling further into a rabbit hole of true crime interrogation analysis etc 🤦‍♀️

However, I feel like my upcoming summer break is going to pull me out of this slump! I'll have some time to catch up and get back into my groove.

So far my favorite reads have been:
Deacon King Kong
A Brief History of Seven Killings
The House by the Cerulean Sea
The Sympathizer

The last one on there sent me into my reading slump (I think).

I am really focused on getting some books off the tbr so I am trying to steer away from new releases this year... so I am not going to tempt myself by looking at those lists! (Thanks for sharing nonetheless). I am sure I will be back though 😈

Joy D wrote: "I loved Klara and the Sun, Piranesi, and Hamnet - rare 5 stars from me.

I liked a lot: Infinite Country - 4 stars.
I have quite a f..."

I will def read your first two, but I'm not sure about Infinite Country right now.


Robin P wrote: "I loved Klara and the Sun
I found both Hamnet and Libertie to be ok but overly long and repetitive, maybe too interested in beautiful language
I also loved Project Hail Mary, which ..."

I think I'm going to love Klara too.
When I think back to Hamnet, I can't remember why I loved it so much. It was slow going at times and the rushed ending was a let down to me.

Meli wrote: "My reading has just tanked the last month because I am falling further into a rabbit hole of true crime interrogation analysis etc 🤦‍♀️

However, I feel like my upcoming summer break is going to pu..."

I was slow getting into a new book after Sympathizer too. My
My husband just finished it, and he jumped right into a new book already. He almost picked "Don't say we have nothing." Because of the link to the mysterious "nothing" at the end of Sympathizer. He's reading about an escape from N Korea instead.

Of all the books published in 2021, my hands down favorite is Malibu Rising. (I'm pretty sure its the only 2021 I read so far, haha but it deserves some praise.)

My favorite reads of 2021 are:
Migrations (2020)
Mrs Dalloway
A Tale for the Time Being
Atonement
Euphoria
The Sympathizer
Home by Marilyn Robinson

I thought I had been making progress on reading new 2021 publications but apparently they aren't qualified as the best. :) And others on the list I read but they were 2020 books. I did read Aftershocks and Milk Blood Heat which were both good.

A few are currently on hold at the library or on my TBR but many I hadn't heard of which was interesting.

2021 published books that I would add to the list that I enjoyed are:
My Broken Language: A Memoir
The Arsonists' City
Unsettled Ground
Robert E. Lee and Me: A Southerner's Reckoning with the Myth of the Lost Cause
How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House

NancyJ wrote: "I was slow getting into a new book after Sympathizer too. My
My husband just finished it, and he jumped right into a new book already. He almost picked "Don't say we have nothing." Because of the link to the mysterious "nothing" at the end of Sympathizer. He's reading about an escape from N Korea instead."

I am not familiar with that title.

I was anxious to get into The Committed, but quickly realized with my other book club commitments it would be impossible.

I've read 2.5- Detransition, Baby, Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning, and part of Crying in H Mart- which I've put on the backburner since it's set in my hometown- I might save it for December to fly home.

I think all three have a chance of making my top 10 this year.

Meli wrote: "My reading has just tanked the last month because I am falling further into a rabbit hole of true crime interrogation analysis etc 🤦‍♀️

However, I feel like my upcoming summer break is going to pu..."

Deacon and The House by the Cerulean Sea are both on my TBR Meli, good to hear a friend enjoyed them!

Jen K wrote: "I thought I had been making progress on reading new 2021 publications but apparently they aren't qualified as the best. :) And others on the list I read but they were 2020 books. I did read A..."</i>

<u>I'm trying to figure out why there are underlines and intalics in my response</u>I added your Robert E. Lee and Me: A Southerner's Reckoning with the Myth of the Lost Cause to my wish list as this is something I am really interested in.

Here are my 2021 reads:
1. [book:Infinite Country
2. Aftershocks
3.The Women of Chateau Lafayette
4. The Nine: The True Story of a Band of Women Who Survived the Worst of Nazi Germany
5. The Seven Day Switch

It is fewer new books than I generally have read, I think. All very good reads, except for The Seven Day Switch that I chose just for the fun of it, not literary merit.

NancyJ wrote: "Of all the books published in 2021, my hands down favorite is Malibu Rising. (I'm pretty sure its the only 2021 I read so far, haha but it deserves some praise.)

My favorite reads of 2021 are:
Mig..."

A tale for the time being, Migrations and Euphoria are on my TBR and have been for a while.

Myfavorite (5-star) reads thus far this year are as follows:
-A Gracious Plenty
-Shadows in Time
-The Song of Achilles

John wrote: "Myfavorite (5-star) reads thus far this year are as follows:
-A Gracious Plenty
-Shadows in Time
-The Song of Achilles"

I really liked The Song of Achilles when I read it. A Gracious Plenty sounds really good.

Have you read the other books in the series of Shadows in Time? I have the first book A Murder in Time on my tbr and will most likely read next month it if Regency is chosen.

Joanne wrote: "Deacon and The House by the Cerulean Sea are both on my TBR Meli, good to hear a friend enjoyed them!"

Awesome!

Deacon was a little polarizing in book club, but The House by the Cerulean Sea was a hit all around (mostly).

Booknblues wrote: "Jen K wrote: "I thought I had been making progress on reading new 2021 publications but apparently they aren't qualified as the best. :) And others on the list I read but they were 2020 books. I di..."

I have The Nine on my TBR!

Joanne wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "Jen K wrote: "I thought I had been making progress on reading new 2021 publications but apparently they aren't qualified as the best. :) And others on the list I read but they we..."

I hope you like it.

Booknblues wrote: "Jen K wrote: "I thought I had been making progress on reading new 2021 publications but apparently they aren't qualified as the best. :) And others on the list I read but they were 2020 books. I di..."

It was a really fascinating read, the author has the fervor of the converted, but also a PhD in History and taught at West Point. As a northerner, I learned a lot about how the Civil War and the confederates were framed so differently in the south, including the state's history curriculum. I never quite realized that we were getting different "facts". Though even my own 7th grade teacher in northern VT had serious hero worship of Stonewall Jackson which I would have a serious problem with at this point in the discussion.

Jen K wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "Jen K wrote: "I thought I had been making progress on reading new 2021 publications but apparently they aren't qualified as the best. :) And others on the list I read but they we..."

I've been interested in the reconstruction and how quickly things were reframed afterwards in the Jim Crow era. It seems to have carried forward to present day with attitudes.

Booknblues wrote: "Jen K wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "Jen K wrote: "I thought I had been making progress on reading new 2021 publications but apparently they aren't qualified as the best. :) And others on the list I re..."

The more read, the more I find the same as attitudes and policies were just repackaged to make them legal and the "right" way again until people don't even realize the how those laws and "traditions" started.

Jen K wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "Jen K wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "Jen K wrote: "I thought I had been making progress on reading new 2021 publications but apparently they aren't qualified as the best. :) And othe..."

Another similar book that I read this year, though not quite as comprehensive or good, is Down Along with That Devil's Bones: A Reckoning with Monuments, Memory, and the Legacy of White Supremacy.

Booknblues wrote:

"Have you read the other books in the series of Shadows in Time? I have the first book A Murder in Time on my tbr and will most likely read next month it if Regency is chosen.."

I have read the complete series awaiting the next one. I have enjoyed all of them rating them between three and the latest, five-stars. I thought the last one was written particularly well. If Regency wins, I hope to find one similar, I realize that it probably won't involve a contemporarya lost in time but maybe I can find a mystery. I not a fan of "bodice-rippers." There is a romantic element to the Shadows in Time series but it doesn't overwhelm the mystery aspect.

John wrote: "Booknblues wrote:

"Have you read the other books in the series of Shadows in Time? I have the first book A Murder in Time on my tbr and will most likely read next month it if Regency is chosen.."..."

You would like the Captain Lacey series by Ashley Gardner I believe. First is The Hanover Square Affair.

Jen K wrote: "Jen K wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "Jen K wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "Jen K wrote: "I thought I had been making progress on reading new 2021 publications but apparently they aren't qualified as the bes..."

I read Stony the Road: Reconstruction, White Supremacy, and the Rise of Jim Crow, but it didn't talk as much about Jim Crow laws as I had hoped. It focused a lot on art and literature of the era and the pseudo-science.

John wrote: "Booknblues wrote:

"Have you read the other books in the series of Shadows in Time? I have the first book A Murder in Time on my tbr and will most likely read next month it if Regency is chosen.."..."

I found the Bow Street Rivals series with the first beingShadow of the Hangman. I plan to read that as well. After doing a bit of research, I found that the Bow Street Runners started during the Regency era or a little before and they were the precursors to modern police.

Booknblues wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "Of all the books published in 2021, my hands down favorite is Malibu Rising. (I'm pretty sure its the only 2021 I read so far, haha but it deserves some praise.)

My favorite reads o..."

All three were special to me for different reasons (and they're all set on or near the ocean). Tale of the Time Being is honestly unlike anything else I've read. The cover makes it look like a beach read, but it's more literary and thought provoking than you might expect. I loved it. I hope you love it too.

Of course this is just being used loosely, but because my eldest is an Aspie with a math major and so so this sort of thing comes up in our house, here is trivia for those who like it. Day 183 of the year is the day in the middle of the year (182 days before it & 182 days after) in 3/4 years.

So, hurrah, Canadians, because that day is July 1, Canada Day :)!

Booknblues wrote: "I read Stony the Road: Reconstruction, White Supremacy, and the Rise of Jim Crow, but it didn't talk as much about Jim Crow laws as I had hoped. It focused a lot on art and literature of the era and the pseudo-science."

I have a copy of this but haven't read it yet.
Through it on the pile with many other tsundoku purchases 😢
I love the construction of this book, the paper quality and all the pictures!

Meli wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "I read Stony the Road: Reconstruction, White Supremacy, and the Rise of Jim Crow, but it didn't talk as much about Jim Crow laws as I had hoped. It focused a lot on art and liter..."
I read it on kindle, so didn't get the paper quality. There were lots of pictures.

Karin wrote: "Day 183 of the year is the day in the middle of the year (182 days before it & 182 days after) in 3/4 years.

So, hurrah, Canadians, because that day is July 1, Canada Day :)..."

Oh, that is cool!

Booknblues wrote: "I read it on kindle, so didn't get the paper quality. There were lots of pictures."

Oh darn :(
Well, it's what is inside that counts, but the quality of the print struck me. I think that is why I bought it. I am interested in the content but touching the book I was like "neeeeeed this" 😊

Meli wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "I read it on kindle, so didn't get the paper quality. There were lots of pictures."

Oh darn :(
Well, it's what is inside that counts, but the quality of the print struck me. I t..."

I recognize that feeling.

I have a humorous anecdote that I have to share with my fellow bibliophiles. I had several books out of the library that were very overdue. Late fees were waived until July, so I figured I'd keep them out until I had made a definite decision about them ( whether or not to read them) I finally got into The Most Fun We Ever Had ( p. 300 or so ) and when I went to check the library website it said I owed $131 ! All along it said that my fines were 0. I freaked out! So I emailed the library immediately. Apparently the books were so late they considered them lost and were charging me for lost items. When I returned them the fines dissapeared. But I then had to order The Most Fun We Ever Had from Amazon and I now have to wait until it comes to finish it.
I'm going to have to break one of my cardinal rules and start another book in the meantime. I think I'll do a rerread of a classic.

That’s very funny, Sally! Maybe it will get picked as Trim next month and I will read it too. Miss you.

LOL Sally, I would have freaked out too!

Many libraries have stopped all late fees, but I guess they can still charge replacement fees. But it seems odd that they can consider books lost over this last year. I know people who were literally not leaving their homes or immediate block until just recently.

Robin P wrote: "Many libraries have stopped all late fees, but I guess they can still charge replacement fees. But it seems odd that they can consider books lost over this last year. I know people who were literal..."

It's very possible the system is set to mark books as lost after being overdue for a certain amount of time.

ETA: And usually there is still an option to renew. Or have someone return the books for you if you aren't leaving your house.

What a great thread - - so interesting to see what people have read thus far.

I've gotten to: Klara and the Sun, No One Is Talking About This, and When We Cease to Understand the World. Oh, and also Piranesi.

Klara was very good. When We Cease to Understand the World is excellent, but definitely not going to be up everyone's alley. I didn't get No One is Talking About This at all.

In terms of the others, I am interested in Girl A, The Other Black Girl, and Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty. The latter wasn't on my radar, but sounds like something I'd really be interested in reading.

Oh, and I really need to get to Hamnet!!!

Robin P wrote: "Many libraries have stopped all late fees, but I guess they can still charge replacement fees. But it seems odd that they can consider books lost over this last year. I know people who were literal..."

Yes, they are still charging for lost books. I just got notice of being charged for a book I read for Poll Book Tally, which means I turned it in last year and I remember turning it in, but things can get lost. It was on my son's card (yes, I use it if I max out my holds on my card since he doesn't really use it much now--anytime he wants it he can ask and stop me from doing this like my daughters did ;)! )