Here’s the voting link:
Have fun!
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The votes are in, and the clear choice is The Alice Network by Kate Quinn. I’ll start a new thread. @MMRose has already read the book, but hopefully, she’ll still hang around and join us for discussion!
Many thanks, everyone, for the great discussion of The Latecomer. Looking forward to being with you all again in August! In the meantime, what are you reading in the interim?
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I just started on The Fourth Wing - every once in a while I don’t mind a good fantasy novel. I think it made #4 on the NYT this week?
My “actual” read waiting to go next is the Covenant of Water, now that it’s finally out. Cutting for Stone is one of my GOAT, so I have high hopes for this one.
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I loved Cutting for Stone. It was our CC Book Club selection back in October 2010 and we had a great discussion.
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Currently reading Terciel and Elinor by Garth Nix. It’s part of his Abhorsen series. It’s sort of an alt-England where north of the wall is plagued by various magical evils, while south of the wall it’s mostly safe except when the wind comes from the north. It turns out I missed a couple of books in the series, and it’s been long enough I’m still trying to remember just how this world works! Probably should have done some rereading first!
Started the Jemisin ( The City We Became). I like the first chapter better than the prologue, so we will see.
I just finished If we were Villains. It’s sort of like Donna Tartt’s The Secret History, but with nicer characters, set at a college with a small close theater group studying Shakespeare. They quote Shakespeare more or less constantly. There were some clunky bits, and sometimes often too much Shakespeare, but it was a fun if sometimes overlong read.
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I’m so excited; I’ve never had a recommendation win before! Or make the finals very often, for that matter.
I am mainly just reading romances at the moment. And the newspaper.
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Anything entertaining? I am so deep in college search stress - thats what you get for having 3 kids in 3 years - and a distracting beach side read is all I really want these days.
Forgot to mention it earlier, but I’ve also read “The Alice Network” – I think I bought it when it was a Kindle “Special Deal” a couple of years ago. Not sure if I’ll have time to reread it, but I’ll definitely come hang out for the discussion in August.
My RL Book Club picked “The Covenant of Water” as a summer read, for discussion in September. (We don’t meet in July & August.) As I mentioned up-thread, I’m currently reading (and liking) “Demon Copperhead.” I don’t remember ever reading “David Copperfield,” but I’ve heard “Demon Copperhead” closely mirrors the Dickens novel. Last month my RL Book Club read “The Other Eden,” a novel about the real life interracial community on an island off the coast of Maine from the Civil War until 1911, when the residents were forcibly evicted from the island. IMO it was a little thin on a plot line, but the writing was wonderful. Some of the books on the list for this summer’s Books on the Beach club are: “Gentlemen and Players,” “The Maid,” and “The Sweetness of Water.”
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@TonyGrace, I’m about halfway through Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld. If the second half is as sweet and silly as the first half, it’s definitely one you could take to the beach. I think it would be particularly enjoyable for any fan of SNL or 30 Rock because it’s firmly set in that milieu.
I’m reading Michelle Obama’s book (the more recent one) and enjoying it.
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I read that last week. Nothing earth shattering but it was cute.
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Ok—have placed a hold and should get it by July. Thanks for the recommendation of a book that wasn’t on my radar.
Well, believe it or not, I’m reading Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep, for another book club. Let me just say: Boy, has society changed!! The book includes lots of tough guys slapping dames around.
I also recently finished a nonfiction book called The Girl with Seven Names: A North Korean Defector’s Story. It was excellent. I highly recommend it.
Also recently finished Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson. Very good thriller with female characters. I highly recommend this one also.
Has anyone read The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson? It was a real struggle to get through it, but I’m glad I did. It’s sci-fi, about climate change and the actions people take to solve it. Many of his ideas were incredibly creative and, I’ve since learned, actually being utilized.
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I’ve also read The Girl with Seven Names and also really enjoyed it – and learned a lot!
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I’ve had very little time to sit down with a book since the spring — I’ve also had to delay downloading my books because of travel. Some countries will not permit the use of book loaning apps while you’re visiting.
What I’ve been reading:
A Surgeon’s Daughter by Audrey Blake. Finally managed to read it. My free time and the availability of the book never worked out till last week. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea but I liked it.
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. I enjoyed reading it but it wasn’t a book that stayed with me.
Next up:
Horse by Geraldine Brooks. Looking forward to reading it before catching up with the discussion here that I missed because I couldn’t get the book in time.
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I read The Ministry for the Future a while back. It’s a strange book so I hesitate to recommend it to many people but it probably is the book that’s made the greatest impact on my life, and I read a lot!
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I just started “People of the Book” by Geraldine Brooks. I would be further along if it weren’t for the college baseball Super Regionals. We also just arrived at WDW with the family. It will take a while to finish.
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Exactly. It’s a tough book to get through, but it’s riveting at the same time.
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I have only read his books about terraforming Mars. He’s clearly done a lot of research, but I find his characters and plotting less than compelling, so after I finished them, I felt no need to read more!
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