I really liked Memoirs of a Geisha, too - I actually convinced my S18 to read it last month, and he enjoyed it, too. He also liked The Help . . . these type of books are our only overlap in reading taste. Otherwise, he likes fantasy and science fiction, which are not my cup of tea. Occasionally, I can get him to read a biography. We both liked “Steve Jobs” by Walter Isaacson - I listened to it on audio. To me, it read like a psychological case study of someone showing pervasive disregard for the rights of other people.
I did “Hillbilly Elegy” in audiobook form, read by the author. I don’t think it’s a particularly deep book. It seems to me the buzz created by the book is a result of the conversations about various topics brought up in the book, not by the book itself, if that makes sense.
I listened to a podcast interview with the author and the one hour plus interview was so much more interesting than the book itself.
@pickledginger Seconding, thanks for the mention of Strangers in Their Own Land. That one was off my radar and it looks like an interesting read.
Hillbilly isn’t deep, but I found it interesting. My husband and I related as several family members of our families of origin are the hillbillies of the type he spoke about (altho a different parts of the country) and I am the only white collar in the family and he went to an ivy and was an exec. I guess given the political results of 2016 I was seeking some confirmation of what seemed to be people in certain parts of the country voting against their interests and why that was. It also showed me some lovability of those people who it is, for me at least, too easy to demonize bc I have different political views.
@midwest67, I’d be interested to know what you think of Strangers . . . aptly subtitled “Anger and Mourning on the American Right.” There are some interesting interviews of the author, Arile Russell Hoschchild, out there, too, such as a 9/28/16 interview with Amy Goodman. Strangers is a more scholarly and comprehensive book than Hillbilly, for sure.
The Man Booker shortlist is out - Lincoln in the Bardo is one of the 6 finalists. Two widely acclaimed books from the long list - Underground Railroad and The Ministry of Utmost Happiness - did not make the cut.
Ministry got a few mixed reviews… surprising about Underground Railroad, though… maybe the Man Booker people thought it got enough kudos already…
The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry. Cool story set in 1890s England. Best crafted story I have read in a long time.
@jmnva06 Are you reading The Essex Serpent for the CC book club? We’ll be discussing it starting October 1. I’m enjoying it so far.
@jmnva06 Are you reading The Essex Serpent for the CC book club? We’ll be discussing it starting October 1. I’m enjoying it so far.
@Mathmom-- I wasn’t. I read it because it was displayed in the front of my neighborhood indie bookstore. One of the cool things they do there is the staff put notes on books. The note on The Essex Serpent was “my favorite book of 2017” which made it hard to pass up
@mathmom and @doschicos , a librarian friend of mine was on the Newbery committee that gave the award to book 2 in that series, Dicey’s Song.
I think that Hillbilly Elegy was over-hyped. But it is interesting, although the writing is somewhat amateurish.
I think Dicey’s Song was the best of the series, but I really did like them all. I was sorry she stopped writing them - I thought Dicey was the sort of character one could easily have followed into adulthood.
We read The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane in Bookclub. Someone brought the tea written about, along with a large container. I must say, a delicious tea.
Hi all, I’m just jumping in and apologize if this book was discussed upstream…I just asked my library to order, Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng and it’s on back order. Has anyone read it yet? Worth the wait?!
^I haven’t though I plan to eventually. But never apologize for bringing up a possibly discussed book–this wonderful thread circles around and back all the time! 
Highly recommend “The News of the World.” Wish it had been longer. I just saw that movie rights bought as vehicle for Tom Hanks. Hope it makes it to the big screen.
Just read “The Child Finder” and “The Dry”. I thought they were both mysteries worth reading. The Dry was set in Australia out in the boonies so that made it interesting. I unfortunately didn’t check the “what book did you want to throw across the room” thread and also bought “Since We Fell”. Bad idea.
Just read Little Fires Everywhere and enjoyed it