The Flatshare was really good audiobook. Thanks.
Art of the Deal…just kidding 
Poverty, By America is amazing, and readable.
Also was given a copy of a little book called God Got a Dog , which is little poetic vignettes of God doing typical human things and it is very kind and smile inducing. Author is Cynthia Rylant.
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I just finished Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid, author of Daisy Jones and the Six et al. I always enjoy her writing. This book was very focused on tennis - great for both players and professional fans. I learned so much! Pretty sure Serena Williams was the inspiration. But it’s also about love and family and expectations.
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I enjoyed the Carrie Soto book too. A quick read!
The Paris Bookseller by Kerri Maher. Just outstanding. Historical fiction and just fascinating. Look it up. I really enjoyed it. And be sure the read the Author’s Note.
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Looks good! Still annoyed at myself that I didn’t get to Shakespeare and Company while I was in Paris.
I found Poverty, By America unrelenting in its anecdotal descriptions of poverty and very sloppy analytically (my book group has a few university economists in it). I’m sympathetic with the sentiment, but the book didn’t work for me. Apparently very different from his book on Eviction. But, one thing that is clear is that exclusionary zoning is a major contributor to poverty and yet it will be very hard to change.
On the other hand, Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane was really well-written (and incredibly well-narrated on Audible). Captures key aspects of the time when forced busing was implemented in Boston. Very powerful.
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It was very different than Evicted, to be sure. More like an OpEd piece as a novel. I found his take on tax breaks really interesting though, and his assessment of the impact of wealthy tax avoiders spot-on. In any case, I enjoyed how much it made me think!
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Oh my goodness. Whew! The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride is just extraordinary. I highly recommend it. Be warned, however: “The source material contains depictions of racism, antisemitism, xenophobia, ableism, involuntary institutionalization, sexual assault, child sexual abuse, and substance misuse. Additionally, the source material uses outdated and offensive terms for Black people throughout.”
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Just finished Tom Lake, which I’d fully expected to like, and did! Thanks to all who reminded me to move this to the top of the pile. Such a thoughtful work on how we acquire wisdom (for lack of a better word!)
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I am a few pages from the end of Tom Lake. It’s been an easy read, quite good.
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I just started Tom Lake, and I’ve got a long flight on Thursday, so I hope to make good progress.
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Funny I just downloaded Tom Lake after waiting months from the library.
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Reading Tom Lake also for book club!
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Finally circling back to one of my favorite threads! I’ve read several of the books recently mentioned.
Fellowship Point was a lovely story though I felt it was slow going at the end.
I haven’t read Tom Lake yet, but I adore Ann Patchett. I am making my way through her earlier works. State of Wonder is my absolute favorite book and Bel Canto was equally wonderful. I plan to read The Dutch House next.
As for recommendations not already mentioned, Take my Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez is a heartwrenching story about reproductive rights and forced sterilizations that occured among mostly minority and poor communities. Any fellow laywers in this thread will surely remember discussing Buck v Bell in constitutional law in which Justice Holmes declared “Three generations of imbeciles are enough.” Perkins-Valdez’s novel explores the social and moral implications of this inhumane practice.
Booth by Karen Joy Fowler was an enlightening read about the Booth family (yes, those Booths). It’s historical fiction but there are elements of fact. I had no idea John Wilkes came from a long line of thespians!
@groundhog74 Lucy Foley has been my choice lately for “candy”/beach reads: The Hunting Party, The Guest List, and The Invitation all provide a temporary escape from reality.
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I also read a lot of historical fiction, especially 19th and 20th century. I second the recommendation of Booth.
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Just finished Ithaca by Claire North – really excellent work! Even though it is a familiar tale and all the Greek names kinda slowed me down, the persepctive of Penelope and the women of Ithaca while all their men are gone is riveting. Funny, tragic, tricky, true – recommended!
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I just finished Tom Lake and I loved it! We had read The Dutch House for our book club, and I really liked it (but only one other person agreed with me). It was so beautifully written but everyone thought it was too sad. I thought it was more hopeful than sad. But Tom Lake is even better! Plan to go through the rest of Ann Patchett’s novels now.
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Just finished Richard Russo’s Somebody’s Fool and really enjoyed it. (This was a sequel to Nobody’s Fool and Everyone’s Fool.)
But I have to admit, I still pictured a few of the actors from the Paul Newman movie version when their characters came up.
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