Just listened to Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane. So many themes: the ripple affect of trauma, the collateral damage to those we love, the healing power of facing the pain, finding and giving forgiveness. Really enjoyed it.
Just finished How Not to Die Alone and loved it. Also liked Nine Perfect Strangers. Just started The Weight of Ink.
We are living parallel lives, @cartera45! I just finished How Not to Die Alone, just started The Weight of Ink, and recently enjoyed Nine Perfect Strangers. Also recently enjoyed other recommendations here for The Island of Sea Women, Before We Were Yours, and The Woman in the Window, among others.
Audio book of The gifted school. Very apropos for the CC crowd LOL.
I peek in her now and then but feel like the level of reading of many of you is more sophisticated than my reading! BUT I just finished Nine Perfect Strangers too - gave it a 4/5 on GoodReads. Iād give it a 4.5 but the app only allows solid numbers.
Maybe this one has already been discussedā¦2 books ago I read Mrs. Everything - really a great book - I recommended it to my daughters and DIL.
I just read an excellent book, āThe Brightest Sun.ā The author was a TCK (āThird Culture Kidā), meaning she lived in a country with her ex-pat parents. Africa was her home, but it was expected she would go back āhome,ā the US, to attend college and live eventually. She decided to write a fictional novel trying to explain what that experience is like. The book has very interesting characters and is well-written. I liked it so much I am going to pick it when itās my turn to choose for my book club. 
Since @mathmom recommended āThe Weight of Ink,ā I just ordered it for my Kindle.
@MaineLonghorn I hope you like it as much as I did!
Although quite the oldie and it takes some time, I really enjoyed reading Les Miserables.
Ok, I finished reading āMilkmanā, by Anna Burns. It is, what shall I say, a very different book. I donāt love it, but I also couldnāt let it go. It made a deep impression on me while at the same time, I lack the necessary background knowledge (Northern Ireland in the 70s, though no location and/time period were specifically identified, everything was referenced indirectly, a very unique way of writing that was a bit frustrating at time before I got used to it) to feel connected and touched. As befitting, I started reading the nonfiction āsay nothingā, about the killing of a Northern Ireland mother of 10 during the same period. Maybe I should have read this historical account first.
Has anyone read āMilkmanā? Would love to hear your feedback. I found it a very sad book, yet almost like the way it was written, my emotions were very subdued.
@makemesmart I attempted to listen to the audiobook version of The Milkman while on a road trip but gave up when I realized it was probably a book I need pen to read rather than listen to. I never did get around to reading it. I did, however, read Say Nothing about two months ago and found it very interesting. I was just a teenager in the 80s so much of what was going on over there I only heard about in passing new stories. I never really knew much about The Troubles, just a basic understanding. I was glad I read Say Nothing and thanks for the reminder that I need to add The Milkman back to my āto readā list.
@4kids4us
I totally can see that I would give up on an audio version of āmilkmanā! Would love to hear your comments after you read it visually.
Speaking of audio vs visual reading, I enjoy both but I think I am more a visual ālearner/readerā, retain info better visually.
@makemesmart, I am totally a visual learner and normally canāt stand someone reading something to me (like if my kids want to read me something from homework, etc., I always tell them I need to read it myself). Years ago, when Dh and I were engaged we spent three weeks driving from the west coast to east coast. We tried to listen to an audiobook but I just couldnāt do it! Iād get distracted, or start talking to dh. I really only started listening to them a couple of years ago when I worked alone a couple of days a week in a catering kitchen. It took a while to train myself to focus. I no longer work there, but now S21 goes to school 45minutes away. Thankfully we are in a carpool, but when his sport is in season, I have to pick him up every day so I started listening to books again. I can only listen to uncomplicated books that donāt have to many characters. And they must have a great narrator(s). I love listening to books with British or Irish narration. Iāve also found that I really enjoyed some audiobooks because of the narration, meaning it really brought the book alive.
That said, the majority of my reading, and I read a lot, is hard books versus audiobooks.
I probably wonāt read The Milkman until the fall. I prefer lighter reading in the summer. 
The Weight of Ink to be discussed here for August book club. Amazing book
@4kids4us ās21 goes to school 45 min awayā, being there done that. ? when we lived far away from DS20ās school, audiobook/podcasts were a savior and lots of homework were done on the road. Hats off to you!
I am re-āreadingā some classics, and most of these rereading are through audio. Agree with you, bad narrators could totally make or break a book for me.
Iāve been away for a couple of weeks so Iām catching up. I didnāt see anyone mention The Girl in the Rearview Mirror. Itās in the same vein as the other āGirlā books. Itās a fast-reading thriller. Also just finished We Came Here to Forget, another easy but engrossing read.
White Trash on audio. Must brush up on US history LOL. Really engaging.
My vacation book this year was fantastic. A great nonfiction read, but would be equally entertaining for those who enjoy thrillersā¦ Agent Garbo: The Brilliant, Eccentric Secret Agent Who Tricked Hitler and Saved D-Day.
This got under my skin, in a good way: Stand and Fight, by Madeline ffitch.
Based on recommendations here, I just finished the audio book of How Not To Die Alone. I really enjoyed it and think that anyone who loved Eleanor Oliphant would also enjoy this book.
Next book in my queue is The Rosie Project.