@MommaJ I recommended The Winter Soldier in January. 
Reading it set me looking for his other work.
A potential warning to audiobook listeners: my sister listened to it instead of reading it and found it mightily depressing. Although it can be harrowing, I wouldnāt describe it that way. Iād agree with MommaJ.
If youāre looking for a tome on leadership, you canāt go wrong with āonce an eagleā by Anton Myher.
āChinaās Debt Trapā is an OUTSTANDING primer on the PRCās current economic challenges and the implications for the future.
In addition, āgood calories / bad caloriesā was a fascinating look on how fats and carbohydrates effect out bodies. But it can be a bit dry.
Just finished Dave Barryās āLessons from Lucy.ā I actually listened to itāall 4 CDs in one day. Itās a (mild) self-help book based on lessons learned from his old dog, so if you like dogs or are growing older, itās worth a try. Lots of LOL stories, and the author narrated the audiobook.
Churchill: Walking with Destiny
Finally finished The Stone Sky the last book of The Broken Earth Trilogy by N. K. Jemisin. What a ride! While, I didnāt love, love, love it, there is much to admire. Interesting characters, amazing world-building, an intriguing system of magic and technology. Lots to chew on - what does it mean to be human? What do we owe our families, our communities, our earth? Where should our priorities lie when everything is at stake? Plus we finally got an explanation for why so much of the narration was in the second person - all is forgiven.
@ccreader, Iāve never head of that book but just ordered it for Kindle based on your recommendation. DH is a colon cancer survivor, so this really caught my attention. He was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer in August of 2007, so MD Anderson considers him cured. Thank God.
Iāve been really enjoying the Tana French novels. Thanks to whomever recommended these wonderful books!
Does one need to read the Tana French series books in order?
Anna Burnsā MILKMAN, a Man Booker winner. Definitely a tough read because itās stream of consciousness, and the author doesnāt use many proper names, but so very worth the effort. Itās a darkly funny, very insightful tragicomedy set in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. I finished it last week and have been pitching it to everybody I know, and then saw it on a NYT roundup of what they chose to call ā#MeToo novels.ā (It both is and isnāt that.)
Iād love to know if anybody else has read it.
@HarrietMWelsch
Milkman is on my to read list, has a pretty long hold time (I put in the hold about six months ago and my library states I have about three more weeks of wait). I am a slow reader too, so most likely wonāt be able to finish it in one lending period. I have heard great recommendations from other readers on Goodreads too.
@VABluebird, I havenāt read them in order. She has written a couple of āstand aloneā books that are fine to read any time. On the Dublin murder series, there have been a couple of times where I thought āoops, should have read these in order,ā but not so much that it spoils the book Iām reading.
I had googled āBest Tana French novelsā and had read them based off of those recommendations, which is how I ended up reading them out of order.
I think Iāve read all of the Tana French books, but I havenāt paid attention to the order.
Just read The Farm by Joanne Ramos. Reminded me of the Handmaidens Tale. Very provocative but also plausible. Dystopian literature is not for everyone, but this book did leave a lasting impression.
@lykia99 our book club just put The Farm on our list of potentials for the summer!
āThe Great Aloneā by Kristin Higgins, about life off the grid in Alaska
Back with another Irish one, THE HEARTāS INVISIBLE FURIES, by John Boyne. Itās almost like a gay, modern, Irish DAVID COPPERFIELD - a sweeping coming of age (well into old age) story thatās funny, heartbreaking, whimsical, near tragic, and full of forgiveness and redemption.
A friend recommended it when we were talking about how much we loved LESS, not because both narrators are gay, but because the two books share an unexpected sweetness and generosity of spirit.
I loved Less, so I will look for that!
Just finished The Fifth Season after waiting several months for it from the library. So far, interesting and well developed world, with an unusual structure. Looking forward to the next two books.
Also just finished The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer for my book group. Canāt say that I loved it. Maybe because I recall reading some great feminist novels from long ago (The Womenās Room and Marge Piercy) which at least in my memory seemed much better. I did not find the main character to be compelling nor did her story line make sense to me. There was a bit too much ātellā and not enough āshowā for me in the characterizations. Not a bad read, but somewhat disappointing.
I just finished Last Hope Island by Lynne Olson. It is about WWII with the focus on Britain, the ālast hope Islandā where the monarchs and escaping fighters from the rest of Europe fell back to from the Nazi invasions. I thought it was an incredible book. Lots of fascinating stories, thought provoking, and pretty evenhanded (I thought) - the good and bad actions of governments and citizens come out in the story. It made my cry more than once, both ways - from heartbreak and from joy. Best book so far this year, highly recommended!
I enjoyed āthe heartsā invisible furyā quite a lot, one of my top 10 reads in 2018, so I will be looking for āLessā. @HarrietMWelsch
I didnāt like āfemale persuasionā, didnāt like any of the one-dimensional characters and couldnāt believe the rave reviews it got. @mom2and