I really enjoyed Celeste Ng’s–Everything I Never Told You. Her second novel, Little Fires Everywhere, was also a good read. That being said, I liked her fist novel better. I think she has a new book coming out this fall.
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Our zoom/covid book club read “Everything I never told you” last year. It was compact but powerful. Also rather sad. I was surprised to learn during a discussion with a college student that he knew and liked the book.
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so - spent three weeks on a houseboat dock - with two sets of friends this summer. bliss! ran into Apple TV directors walking up and down the dock - they are making a movie of this book - and part will be filmed right next to the place I was visiting! its the book The Last Thing he told me. My four friends are doing a “pop-up” book club with me for this book now 
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I’ve read it. My husband read it as did several friends. I think it will make a great movie. I’m assuming you were on a dock in Marin county.
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Oh, yes, I’ve read it. Easy to adapt to film. I liked it.
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I just read the summary of the book and I have read it before. I liked the story and see how it could easily be a movie. I normally read about 2 books or more a week so I forget the names of many that I have read!
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Not a new book but new to me was Atonement by Ian McEwan. Such good writing. Now to watch the movie.
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I loved Atonement, in my top ten of all time. I tried another book of his and disliked it, started another one and just couldn’t get into it. I thought the movie did a good job with dealing with that section of the book (possible spoiler!) …
that isn’t quite what you think.
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Atonement is a favorite of mine, too.
Saoirse Ronan is a young actress in the movie and it’s very apparent, very quickly and throughout the movie that she will age well as an outstanding young actress. (And the music is hauntingly dramatic and spellbinding.)
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Just finished “West with Giraffes: A Novel”, but Lynda Rutledge. (I think it was part of my pre-vacation Kindle/free batch of books.) It’s a historical novel, interesting read. .
Book Review: West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge | Book Thoughts from Bed.
Coincidentally it is about a 1938 trek across the Lee Highway, reminded me an bit at times of the mentioned Lincoln Highway (used as title of our August CC book, which I read for another book club)
PS - I did like “The Lincoln Highway”, but I liked this book even more.
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My book group just discussed West with Giraffes last night. I really did like this book, gives a great sense of the time period.
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Coincidentally, I just started reading West with Giraffes yesterday. I’m only at the beginning so no thoughts but I’ve only heard good reviews from friends who have read it.
I seem to have this weird luck about subject matter with books. I usually have one audiobook that I listen to while walking my dog and at the same time, a Kindle/physical book I’m reading. Just after I started West with Giraffes, which I reserved a few weeks ago at the library, an audiobook I had put on hold via Libby came in yesterday - Horse by Geraldine Brooks. I’m already 1/3 of the way through listening - funny reading/listening to two books about animals at the same time!
Last month I read Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez, a book inspired by true events, about forced sterilization of young and poor Black girls in the South in the early 1970s. At the same time, an audiobook happened to come in called The Foundling by Ann Leary. While not the same subject matter, it was also inspired by someone in real life and set at an institution for “feeble minded” young women in the 1920s. Different plots, but both touch on the same theme - eugenics. Totally coincidental to be reading them at the same time. FWIW, I did not care for The Foundling at all, just did not like the plot nor was it well written IMO.
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funny - I think that “Horse” by Geraldine Brooks was in the list of recommended reading at the end of “West with Giraffes”.
Semi off topic, I really like how @4kids4us bolded the name of the books mentioned. It makes it really easy to skim and browse. I’m going to start doing that myself and hope others will!
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Bold and Italics - great idea.
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I will check out some of these books. Thought others might like to see his list.
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@jollymama I’m in several groups/message boards for book recommendations/discussions and we all use bold to make it easier to quickly find titles (the grammar nut in me also italicizes since that is the proper rule, but bold is really what makes it stand out)
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I recently read The Last Thing He Ever Told Me. Can’t say I loved it. Fast moving, but a lot of unrealistic and unbelievable events.
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I really loved West With Giraffes. It was just a plain good story.
I just read a book I have skipped over the years Where The Heart Is by Billie Letts. Oh my gosh, it was so good. I need to see the movie.
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I wanted to love West with the Giraffes because so many of my friends loved it, but I found it just meh. It felt too manipulative, I didn’t really believe in the characters, or enjoy hanging out with them.