#5 in the Sam Capra series by Jeff Abbott. #5 looks to be the last one. The books (thrillers) have ranged from good to implausible. Major complaint: the books end on a cliffhanger. That always annoys me.
Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead. Three interconnected stories revolving around the main character and his decisions in life. I like it better than Underground Railroad because … well, a touch of dry humor maybe. One section left to go.
and
The Iliad by Homer. (Temporary loss of sanity on my part. However, I want to read Emily Wilson’s translation of The Odyssey. Since I’d never read The Iliad it seemed the time to do so had arrived.)
Upcoming IRL bookclubs:
The Dutch House with These Precious Days
Mary Jane
I plan to start one of the above the minute I finish Harlem Shuffle. Hopefully soon.
I like to mix it up and am fine reading both light and dark, but re the latter, I hate when children are involved and I try to avoid that if at all possible. Sometimes, I’m caught by surprise (e.g., Sarah’s Key, ugh).
I’m almost done with The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian. He writes well, but I am SO over sexy blackout drunk women full of booze and self-loathing who witness a murder, are met with disbelief and find themselves in peril. It’s the same plot over and over, going all the way back to “The Morning After” with Jane Fonda – 1986 blurb: “A washed up, alcoholic actress who is prone to blackouts wakes up next to a murdered man. Did she kill him and, if not, is she in danger?”. Substitute the word “actress” with “flight attendant” and you have Chris Bohjalian’s book.
I read that Kirsten Bell has created a send-up of this genre in her new series, “The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window.”
The book club has gotten to read many books I would never normally have tried. Some were much more interesting than I had expected. I love the insights everyone shares. I’ve never been in a book club IRL so this virtual one is special.
Yes, I loved “Promising Young Woman” (in a very dark sort of way…) As it happened–coincidentally–I had just finished Know My Name by Chanel Miller before I watched the movie, so in that moment, I was totally cool with vigilante justice.
I know we had all the Herriot paperbacks but donated them when S purged several bookcases so we would have more space in the great room. I have put a hold in our public library for the books I need.
@Marilyn, well done! I still have those same paperback editions – although to be honest, I’ll probably read All Creatures Great and Small on the Kindle because I need the larger font.
It’s been 40 years or more, but I remember liking All Things Bright and Beautiful just as much as the first book.
I’m also reading the latest in the “Outlander” series – although I had to take a break to read the next book for my RL Book Club. For the most part I’ve loved the series, but will say the book prior to this one (# 8, “Written in my Own Heart’s Blood”) didn’t grab me quite as much. When I finished I was left thinking it was about time to wrap up the series. I’m about 25% into the current book, and again, it’s not as exciting as earlier books. It doesn’t help that there’s been 7 years between the publication of #8 and #9! I read somewhere there will be 1 more book after this, which, IMO, is likely a good thing.
I’m plugging away at Jade Legacy, the third and final book of the Green Bone Saga. It’s really good, but it’s much longer than the first two were and I know the author well enough now to know she’s got no problem killing off characters you’ve gotten to like.
I’m also rereading Dune. It’s actually even better than I remember it being. The movie was quite faithful to the book, but it I don’t think it lets you see what characters are thinking. There’s a very funny scene of a dinner party where everyone has a different agenda and you “hear” both Paul and his mother thinking about who is lying and why.
We’re only reading All Creatures Great and Small, though, right?? Not all of them?
I’m currently reading Night Music by Jojo Moyes. Next up: One Summer by Bill Bryson. It’s about the summer of 1927 in the US. After that, I might read Radium Girls, but I might do something else instead. We’ll see.
Haha, yes, definitely just All Creatures Great and Small. But it’s nice to know the others are out there, for anyone who falls in love with Yorkshire and wants to carry on.
@Colorado_mom, if you have Amazon Prime, you should be able to borrow it for free (for an unlimited period of time), without enrolling in Kindle Unlimited.
I’m also a big Outlander fan and read the latest book. It feels like the latest book, and the one before it, are setting us up for the final book. I felt the books before these last two were a continuation of the whole series, but also an individual story. The last two are a continuation of the series, but not as much of an individual story. I still really enjoyed them because I love the characters, but enjoyed the earlier books more.
I loved One Summer! Bill Bryson makes history so interesting. Bill Bryson made 1927 so fascinating just as Erik Larsen did for 1893 - in the Devil and the White City.
Hope you enjoy, too.
