What Fiction are you reading this week, February 11, 2024?

[hermetic]

Finished The Guide. This was the first Heller book I've ever read so I can't compare it to others. But I did read a number of reviews which opined that this one was not as good as his others. There's a lot about fishing in it and if you're not into that pastime you may find it boring. I gotta tell you, though, about 2/3s of the way through, something happens that just blew my mind. I thought it was brilliant and then I couldn't put it down until I reached the end. Then the end left some unanswered questions so perhaps there's another book in the works. I will read that, as well as a few of his previous works.

Meanwhile, I've started on Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell; a book I've been curious about for a while.
"...a shattering evocation of a family ravaged by grief and loss, and a tender and unforgettable re-imagining of a boy whose life has been all but forgotten, and whose name was given to one of the most celebrated plays of all time, Hamnet is mesmerizing, seductive, impossible to put down."
I'm finding it a fantastic story rendered beautifully. Haven't had any trouble putting it down, though.

Still listening to The Mirror & the Light. Just 14 more hours to go.

Thanks so much for the hearts. Wishing you all a lovely Valentine's Day.

I

[hermetic]

1. Interesting

It won't let me post the usual book picture.

[niyad]

2. "Dirty Thirty" by Janet Evanovich, the latest in her Stephanie Plum series.

Fugitive apprension agent (bounty hunter) Stephanie is on the trail of stolen jewels, missing fugitives, Grendel, and missing bodies. She is also dealing with the two men in her life, both commitment averse. . or are they?

Janet, by the way, is one of the funniest, most delightful people it has ever been my pleasure to share drinks with.

[hermetic]

7. Sounds like a great memory for you

[Jilly_in_VA]

3. I'm currently in the middle of

Where the Light Enters by Sara Donati. It's the sequel to The Gilded Hour, which I had mistitled last week as "The Gilded Mirror.". Oopsy. I have the feeling she's not done with this series either, since her Wilderness series went to 7 or 8 books and was about forebears of some characters in this one. The search for the abortionist is not yet finished, but they may be closing in on him. These books have kept me up way too late at night!

[hermetic]

4. i love books

Don't know why I couldn't post this earlier. Bewitched?

[txwhitedove]

10. Lovely, always look forward to your pics. Earlier, though, I got an ad for Triftbooks,com

[hermetic]

12. That's odd

I had a lot of trouble posting the OP with the picture in it. For some reason it caused all the text to disappear. So I posted the text sans photo but I really wanted to share that one today, because I think the windows look like a heart. So I just put it in a reply, instead.

I've bought books from Thriftbooks but have never posed an ad for them. Some algorithm probably just glommed onto the words 'books' and threw it out there.

But thanks. Glad you enjoy them.

[mentalsolstice]

5. The Women by Kirsten Hannah

I’ve been looking forward to reading this for a long time, finally came out this past week. I can’t put it down!
It’s about Army nurses in Vietnam. I dated a USMC helicopter pilot for 3 years and became interested in the war. Although that relationship failed, when I was in postgrad school my dream was to go to DC and work for the VA. But I fell in love during my last semester with another veteran and stayed put. He’s been my project ever since, and I chased other dream jobs locally.

Happy Valentine’s Day dear readers! 💗

[hermetic]

8. Aww, thanks for sharing

Good memories for Valentine's Day.

[Bayard]

6. In the last couple weeks,

I've finished, "Runner," by William C. Dietz. "In a crumbling futuristic society, Earth is only a myth, the technological advances of centuries have faded into distant memory, and space travel depends on a fleet of run-down, unreliable ships." Memorable characters and story. I enjoyed it.

"The 11th Hour," by Catherine Coulter. The murder of a priest leads FBI agents Sherlock and Savich to their most baffling case yet, in this riveting novel of suspense." Thumbs up.

"Broken Prey," by John Sanford. "In the wake of a series of killings that disturbingly emulates the works of a trio of inmates currently being held at the Minnesota Security Hospital, Lucas Davenport investigates a missing man who was released from the hospital weeks earlier." I always like Sanford's books, and this one did not disappoint.

"Strange Highways," is a collection of short stories and two novellas by Dean Koontz. I actually didn't enjoy the title novella as much as the short stories. These were really good, and surprising. Recommended.

I re-discovered a box of books stashed in the garage, and was quite happy to find them. Looks like several I had not read. Added to my recent shipment from Better World Books that I was still working my way through. I'm a happy camper!

[hermetic]

9. No doubt

Happy, happy.

And a great collection there. An FBI agent named Sherlock? I'm in!

[japple]

11. Thank you for the weekly thread, hermetic. I'm still reading

Horse by Geraldine Brooks. It is multigenerational and has several story lines going, but she does a good job of keeping things organized. There are so many threads--horse racing, history, art, science and culture in addition to the characters and their relationships that I am not reading at my normal speed. It takes some time to digest in between servings.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone and happy reading.

[txwhitedove]

13. Happily, yet sadly, read last 3 books in the "Cat Sitter" series by Blaize and John Clement, ending

Last edited Mon Feb 12, 2024, 10:15 AM - Edit history (1)

with Cat Sitter and the Canary. One review lamented there hasn't been a new book in the series for five years, but due to death of creator Blaize and growth of our traumatized heroine Dixie, it ended in the only way possible and happily.

Read an ebook The Grl in the Letter by Emily Gunnis. Good story based on horrible mistreatment years ago of unwed mothers in Irish birthing center. However, the back forth between everyone's story in four different time periods was a bit much.

Read another John Grisham, Sparring Partners, this time 3 separate stories, great as always.

Now reading Dog On It by Spencer Quinn. Ha, my first attempt at a new cozy mystery for comparison. Love it! A Chet and Bernie mystery, the "narrator" is the dog and I laughed from page one.

[hermetic]

14. Ah yes

Chet and Bernie stories. Good fun.

Sad about Blaize, though.

[Number9Dream]

15. Just finished "The Pale Horseman" by Bernard Cornwell

Thanks for the thread, hermetic, and happy Valentine's Day to you.

I started re-reading the Saxon series by Mr. Cornwell. This is book two in the series. It's 900 AD, and English Saxons vs Danish Vikings. King Alfred and Uhtred try to prevent the Danes from completely conquering England. An action page-turner which makes you feel like you're there. My main complaint is that he kills off my favorite female character.

[hermetic]

16. Oh I hate when that happens

Thanks. Good to see ya. Hope all is well.

[japple]

17. Re: Peter Heller books - I really loved The Dog Stars but that's the only book

of his that I've read. I put The Guide on my list.

[yellowdogintexas]

18. Attempting to read The Hare With the Amber Eyes

by Edmund de Waal
a book club selection for my Liberal Ladies Who Lunch group.

It has not been a good week for reading. Plus this is an actual book and has teeny tiny print. I had to get +2 reading glasses to read it!!!

Edmund de Waal is a world-famous ceramicist. Having spent thirty years making beautiful pots―which are then sold, collected, and handed on―he has a particular sense of the secret lives of objects. When he inherited a collection of 264 tiny Japanese wood and ivory carvings, called netsuke, he wanted to know who had touched and held them, and how the collection had managed to survive.

And so begins this extraordinarily moving memoir and detective story as de Waal discovers both the story of the netsuke and of his family, the Ephrussis, over five generations. A nineteenth-century banking dynasty in Paris and Vienna, the Ephrussis were as rich and respected as the Rothchilds. Yet by the end of the World War II, when the netsuke were hidden from the Nazis in Vienna, this collection of very small carvings was all that remained of their vast empire

I have a week to finish it.

[yellowdogintexas]

19. Attempting to read The Hare With the Amber Eyes

by Edmund de Waal
a book club selection for my Liberal Ladies Who Lunch group.

It has not been a good week for reading. Plus this is an actual book and has teeny tiny print. I had to get +2 reading glasses to read it!!!

Edmund de Waal is a world-famous ceramicist. Having spent thirty years making beautiful pots―which are then sold, collected, and handed on―he has a particular sense of the secret lives of objects. When he inherited a collection of 264 tiny Japanese wood and ivory carvings, called netsuke, he wanted to know who had touched and held them, and how the collection had managed to survive.

And so begins this extraordinarily moving memoir and detective story as de Waal discovers both the story of the netsuke and of his family, the Ephrussis, over five generations. A nineteenth-century banking dynasty in Paris and Vienna, the Ephrussis were as rich and respected as the Rothchilds. Yet by the end of the World War II, when the netsuke were hidden from the Nazis in Vienna, this collection of very small carvings was all that remained of their vast empire

I have a week to finish it.

[yellowdogintexas]

20. there is no hope for me and this book

Ran into one of the other ladies yesterday and she is hating on it too.

So we will get together and talk about what we are watching on TV like the last time we hated the book