I voted. I based my vote on the cost of the book. While I would like to read all of them, I want a cheap book this time.
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I voted. 
The Latecomer
The Marriage Portrait
Half Sick of Shadows
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The front runners keep changing by the minuteā¦NOW I get why people like horse racing. 
Now that was just plain fun. I wasnāt planning to vote because any choice would work for me but I couldnāt resist. 
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I know! Itās life-changing! Excuse me while I go re-write the voting section of the by-lawsā¦ 
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Iām dead. Can I vote anyway??
Sorry, thatās only permitted in Chicago elections.
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Me thinks @Mary13 likes not having to tabulate old school way - pencil and paper the next selection.
Not to mention the stress involved -
So proud of our fabulous leader embracing technology - adapting to new methods !
No hanging chads - here any more -
Please send this voting discovery to Atlanta election board - 
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The old Chicago mantra: Vote early, vote often.
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Itās after 7:00 pm, so the polls must be closed! And the winner by waaaay more than a nose is The Latecomer by Jean Hanff Korelitz.
@silverlady, The Latecomer may not be the cheapest book, but is the easiest to obtain at my library. Available both in Kindle form and hardcover, with no waiting for either. Maybe youāll have similar luck. (I am 110 on the waiting list for The Marriage Portrait.)
Iāll start a new thread. What are you folks reading in the interim?
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Iām reading A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews for the second time (finished and started right over again). It has really grabbed me. Itās a darkly humorous coming-of-age story told in first person by a 16-year-old girl in a fundamentalist Mennonite community in Manitoba. She has just such a wry view of everything as her family falls to pieces ā¦ it is brilliantly written and heartbreaking. Fiction, but loosely based on the authorās life.
The author came to my attention when I read about the movie Women Talking, which is based on her more recent book by that name. Iām going to read that, too, when I get my hands on it.
On a lighter note, I binged on all the Olivia (kids) books after seeing that author/illustrator Ian Falconer had died. Olivia Saves the Circus is probably my favorite. Somehow I missed these when my son was growing up, so theyāre fresh to me now! The illustrations are as subversively charming as the text.
For a different book group, Coretta Scott Kingās My Life, My Love, My Legacy.
Everybodyās Son by Thrity Umigar. Another one that left me wondering about who gets to write about the interiority of a young black man. In this case, the author is from India, and she writes about the interiority of white Americans, too. She has lived here for a long time and seems to be able to penetrate many kinds of minds.
I keep trying to read Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. I know itās going to be good for me, but Iām still bogged down in the lengthy introduction!
Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez. Gossipy, funny debut novel, a family saga layered over a Puerto Rican political story that can get heavy at times.
Ladyparts by Deborah Kopaken. Her memoir of health disasters, her failed marriage, dating again in middle age. Not for the faint of heart!
How Not to Die Alone by Richard Roper. A novel, not a how-to manual! Very British story about a lonely misfit (why are there so many variations on that?) with a satisfying ending.
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As mentioned upthread, I have been reading this book. It is a slow but interesting read. Learning about Lincoln (his views / politics evolved) and the sad, sad Civil war era.
The good thing is phew, itās not really 600 pagesā¦ the last 200 pages are Source info and Bibliography.
https://www.jonmeacham.com/book/and-there-was-light/
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I know most of you all donāt read sci-fi, but I recently finished Arkady Martineās A Memory called Empire and A Desolation called Peace. Sheās written an amazing pair of books dealing with ideas about colonization, loss, love and so much more. Definitely in the top ten for the last year. She writes beautifully. Currently I am reading Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky. I loved the first book in the series Children of Time, but Iām finding this one less compelling.
Iām also slogging through Easy Spanish Reader which is a pretty dreadful collection of readings for super beginners. Iām hoping to find something more engaging when I finish it. Iāve had good luck finding fun to watch easy videos, but books tend to be too hard to read in Spanish. It doesnāt help that Iāve only begun to learn the past tense! Iām only a few months into, my I am going to learn Spanish, so I am actually amazed I can read anything at all.
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I may have mentioned this one before, but I read Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir for another book club and absolutely loved it. Heās the author of The Martian.
Also a thriller called Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson. Very good and lots of twists.
And, if I havenāt mentioned her before, I highly recommend the author Jane Harper. Sheās Australian and her books take place there. I loved The Dry and I just finished The Lost Man. Another of her books, The Exiles, is on my nightstand.
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Jane Harper is great. We read The Dry in 2018 (and @VeryHappy, you were there! ) After that, I read Force of Nature and The Lost Man, but I havenāt picked up her more recent stuff.
I just got on the wait list for the Kindle version of Project Hail Mary. Iām #26. The book, however, is on the shelf. Is anybody else noticing that itās faster to get an actual hard copy of a book at the library than it is to check out the Kindle version? That how it always seems to be at my library.
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I love Jane Harper!! I was so glad that the book club introduced her to me. I think that my favorite was The Lost Man.
Oh, my gosh!! I just checked our library system and 2 of the libraries have *Project Hail Mary!!
Most of the books that are mentioned here are not in our library system. I will request it from one of the libraries after we return from our 3 week trip.
I am currently reading The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck. I got it at the Good Will bookstore. It is very good.
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I just finished Mister Impossible (Dreamer Trilogy, #2) and have requested Greywaren (Dreamer Trilogy, #3) from the library. The Dreamer Trilogy follows The Raven Cycle (four books) so I consider Mister Impossible to be #6 and Greywaren #7 in the YA fantasy series.
Iām currently reading Donāt Letās Go to the Dogs Tonight - nonfiction.
I finally got Encore in Death (In Death, #56). Iāll start it this afternoon. I always enjoy spending time with Eve and Roarke (characters in the series). I also picked up The Lost Apothecary and If I Were You (both book club books).
Iām looking forward to reading The Grief of Stones, (The Cemeteries of Amalo, #2) aka (The Goblin Emperor, #3) @mathmom, you might like this fantasy series by Katherine Addison.
Looking at other posts: @jollymama - I read and liked Olga Dies Dreaming. Good description of it.
@Colorado_mom: Impressive.
@mathmom: I noted Arkady Martineās books when you mentioned them previously. They sound really good. I donāt know when Iāll get to them but they are both in my āwant to readā file.
@VeryHappy: Iāve read every book you mentioned with Exiles on hold for me at the library. Love Jane Harper.
@Mary13: Exiles follows The Dry and Force of Nature as Aaron Falk, #3, if that matters to you.
@silverlady: Glad you found Project Hail Mary. Meanwhile enjoy your trip.
Happy reading to all and a special thanks to @Mary13 for continuing the CC Book Club. I worry about you one day thinking āenough.ā Iām grateful that hasnāt happened. And to all who posted, your comments added greatly to the discussion. Canāt have a discussion if no one discusses.
Special thanks to @SouthJerseyChessMom for all her research.
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@ignatius I loved Donāt Letās Go to the Dogs Tonight . The world she was talking about post-colonial expats in East Africa was a huge part of my childhood, though I think my family was somewhat more put together than hers.
I remember liking Jane Harperās The Dry when we read it here. Iāve always thought I should read more of her books.
Yes, thank you @Mary13 !
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Thanks, everyone! Hanging out with yāall is one of my very favorite pastimes.
For those who were around for our discussion of The Essex Serpent, did you see that thereās a new mini-series on Apple TV? Just signed up for the one month free trial so I can watch it. (Somebody please remind me to cancel. 
)
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One of my close friends works part-time at the library. She mentioned to me that our library system is cutting back on the eBook and eAudio editions in this yearās budgeting. She said it just means that it takes longer to get one than previously. Print editions may be an easier route to go.
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