Front page of the NYTimes online today is an article about the author Claire Messud. Has anyone read any of her books?
I read The Emperorās Children several years agoā¦ it was much talked about. Well done and I would recommend although if I recall, it was long and started to get a little bogged down but then had a well-done, clever resolution.
I have that book, unread, on my shelf somewhere.
I read and liked The Woman Upstairs.
I also have The Emperorās Children on a shelf, unread. I started it, but it didnāt engage me. Itās one of those Iāll-try-it-later-when-Iām-in-the-mood books for me. Some of which have ended up being all time favorites.
I am currently luxuriating in Bringing Up the Bodies, by Hilary Mantel, who has to be one of the very best novelists currently writing. Her Wolf Hall was a book I didnāt get into the first time, but loved the second time.
I recently reread for the umpteenth time one of my favorite SF/fantasy novels, Jaran by Kate Elliot. I found it a few years ago at a used book store, coincidentally during the same visit at which I purchased Wolfe Hall. I donāt know what happened to my first copy. Anyway, that prompted me to buy the rest of the series in used paperback from Amazon. Two volumes just arrived today. When I finish the Mantel, Iāll dive in. 
Loved Wolf Hall & Bring Up the Bodies. I am very impatient for the final book!
I read Jaran recently. To me it seemed too drawn out ā although I like the genre and the story okay, I wished for an editor to slice it down a bit.
I find the world/culture-building in Jaran outstanding, particularly the Jaran and the Chapali. I also love the characters.
Has anyone mentioned Yaa Gyasiās āHomecomingā? Just finished it. Fierce, unsettling, lovely. A great new young voice.
I just finished āWhy Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenmentā by Robert Wright. I listened to it on audio. Probably not a book for someone completely unfamiliar with Buddhism. While I enjoyed parts of the book immensely, other parts were not as interesting to me.
@garland Like you, I loved the book. I keep mixing up the title as well. Itās Homegoing, not Homecoming. Terrific book!
^Whoops, thanks, @calla1 ! I knew that, and still typed it wrong. Glad you liked it as much as I did! 
āHilary Mantel, who has to be one of the very best novelists currently writing.ā ā THIS!
Homecoming the YA novel by Cynthia Voigt though, is a lovely book! One of my all time favorites.
Mine, too, @mathmom. I got that for my kids years ago and wound up getting the whole series that we all read and loved.
50 Children: One Ordinary American Coupleās Extraordinary Rescue Mission into the Heart of Nazi Germany. Thought provoking, very timely.
Iām reading āHillbilly Elegyā and āStrangers in Their Own Landā now, alternating, and Iām thinking itās a good combination. Both worth taking a look at.
Iāve been struggling through Hillbilly Elegy for awhile. It was recommended by many people I know but Iām finding it a slog. Not really learning much I didnāt already know and I think his writing is a little repetitious and lacking in style. Am I missing something?
@doschicos, Iām not super enamored with the writing in Hillbilly Elegy, either . . . I was unaware of the migration from Kentucky to Ohio, and that phenomenon was interesting to me. I like Strangers in Their Own Land more, personally.
I also recently finished āThe Goldfinchā, which was not a slog at all!!! Another non-slog (but truly chilling) is āThe Orphan Masterās Son,ā set in North Korea.
@pickledginger Iāll put Strangers in Their Own Land on my reading list.
I read Goldfinch a couple years back. Although I liked aspects of it, I thought it needed some major editing. I would have cut way back on the Vegas part, probably because I found so much of it disturbing.
I listening to Memoirs of a Geisha, took this on a 12 hour round trip drive and it made the drive quite enjoyable.
I donāt think I could tackle it through reading, but really enjoying the autobook.