Currently reading “Everybody’s Fool” by Richard Russo. It’s long, but has me laughing out loud.
@rosered55 I read it back in September and I think I posted about it here. It is definitely a fascinating look at the craziness of the 70s. It confirmed what I felt all along, that Patty Hearst was fortunate to get off as easily as she did.
Really, @alwaysamom? I have always been astonished that she was prosecuted at all. Kidnapped and held in a closet under threat of death for how long?
@Consolation, the book might change your mind.
@Consolation I highly recommend the book. I’m fairly certain that your opinion will change once you read the entire story. The closet time was a fraction of the 19 months she was gone.
I haven’t read it yet - but I just saw where the sequel to"The Girl With All the Gifts" is coming out in May! It will be called “the Boy on the Bridge.” @jaylynn
Half way through Swing Time, Zadie Smith, and really enjoying it. I purposefully haven’t read any reviews but will be interested in what people think comparing this book (dance) to On Beauty (poetry)
also reading swing time - should finish it today!
Really looking forward to hearing more about Swing Time. I’ve liked her books but HATED NW with a passion. I was so disappointed. So I’ve bern avoiding this one.
Finished After James, by Michael Helm. I did a search and can’t find it mentioned on this thread. Has anyone else read it? It’s an unusual novel, intense and scary and mind-bending. Well written IMO, though dense. I’d be interested in other thoughts.
I’m 20 pages into The Nest, by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, which is more conventional and promises to be delicious. Love the writing so far.
Just finished Locked In. Up next, Crosstalk by Connie Willis and The Nix. What do you guys think of the HBO adaptation of Big, Little Lies with Reese Witherspoon?
I am currently reading a Pulitzer Prize-winning book called An Army At Dawn, by Rick Atkinson, about the Allied invasion of North Africa in the early days of our involvement in WW2. It’s going to be a grind, but it’s well written so far. It can’t have won the PP for nothing, so i’ll assume it’ll be rewarding.
My previous book was The Cardinal of the Kremlin (Tom Clancy), which dragged me back into the days before we chased the Communist USSR into political, social and financial bankruptcy. That was a bit of a slow read for me, though Clancy kept it taut and interesting, as always. That one showed some of the gamesmanship, rules and respect – and the avoidance of killing, if possible – that developed between CIA and KGB.
I might be burning out on spy and military novels. I love good action/crime (Cornwell, Patterson, Ludlum, LeCarre…), fantasy (Gaiman), horror/suspense (King, Koontz) and dramatic novels. Wilbur Smith’s Egyptian novels are fantastic – starting with River God. And Michener. I loved Texas, The Covenant and Space, so maybe my next novel will be one of his. I enjoy how he traces separate families through time and brings them together in the end as history unfolds. What a great writer he was.
@jedwards70: I’m starting Crosstalk today.
I like the casting for Big Little Lies.
And I’ll p.m. you about Lock In
As someone posted earlier it’s that time of year to list Best Books of the Year. We’re all readers here. Anyone care to list how many books you’ve read this year and your personal Best Books of the Year. Obviously the books don’t have to be ones published this year. I’ve read 61 books so far this year and will look back to see what I want to note as “best.” As for not recent … Beowulf - Seamus Haney translation - will be on my list. Somehow, I missed out on Beowulf till now. If you get a chance, listen to Seamus Haney read it (YouTube).
Swing Time was only fair - don’t bother
I’m about half way through * Lock In. * Enjoying it so far.
I looked over the books I’ve read so far this year and none of my favorites were published in 2016. Admittedly I’m behind on the latest releases but still it felt good to catch books I’d missed along the way.
So - ignatius’ Best Books Read This Year:
Queens’ Play - Dorothy Dunnett - The Lymond Chronicles #2 (You should read The Game of Kings #1 first.) Love this series so far, as in on-my-desert-island-with-me books.
Beowulf - Seamus Haney translation - Listen to it!
True Grit - Charles Portis - Quick read - Do not listen to the audio version! Meh at best.
The Complete Maus - Art Spiegelman - Nonfiction; graphic novel
Nimona - Noelle Stevenson - Graphic novel (sci fi/fantasy) I finished this in one day - just fun! - and look at its awards:
Farseer Trilogy - Robin Hobb - Fantasy - Some serious reading time was spent in Hobb’s world - 2000 or so pages and I don’t regret it at all. In fact, I plan to continue with the author.
East of Eden - John Steinbeck - CC Book Club choice for December
Honorable mention:
The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Computer - Sydney Padua - nonfiction/sci fi/fantasy - Honorable mention only because I’m not a math/computer science aficionado.
Personally, I’m surprised to find three graphic novels on my list.
Taking a cue from @ignatius I looked back over my year of reading. A few surprises and pleasures:
Discover Anthony Marra (thanks to this forum): Love both books, Tsar a bit more than Constellation
Finish the whole Elena Ferrante Neapolitan Series: On the fence about it, not as taken with it as others do, but I read all of them anyway.
Being Mortal and When Breath Becomes Air: read as pair. Food for thought, contemplating on my own mortality as I am taking care of an elderly parent.
Eligible: fun, quick read. Imaginative retelling of Pride and Prejudice, even though the ending falls apart for me.
Modern Romance: a hoot to listen too. Audiobooks are best read by comedians.
Big Little Lies: surprised that I have not read any Liane Moriarty before now. More enjoyable than I expected. Any other Moriarty I should read next?
The Girls, Sweetbitter: overhyped in my opinion. The Nest is slightly better but still meh.
Looking forward to more suggestions from this forum.
Book I enjoyed the most this year: A Man Called Ove
Runner Up: All The Light We Cannot See
Wish I hadn’t wasted time on: Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Series.
I’ve read 55 books so far this year (empty nest, no social life). Here are some I highly recommend:
“American Heiress” by Jeffrey Toobin (nonfiction about Patricia Hearst);
“Here is New York,” by E.B. White (long essay; written in the late 1940s);
“So Long, See You Tomorrow,” by William Maxwell (novel);
“There’s Something I Want You to Do,” by Charles Baxter (interrelated short stories);
“Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death, and Brain Surgery,” by Henry Marsh (nonfiction);
“Evicted,” by Matthew Desmond (on several best books of 2016 lists).
A few from 2016 that I liked but wouldn’t call the best of the year for me:
“Barkskins,” by Annie Proulx (too long);
“My Name is Lucy Barton,” by Elizabeth Strout;
“Here I Am,” by Jonathan Safran Foer.