| Author |
Message |
Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Monday, May 27, 2019 - 6:57 pm 
I searched the archives to see if anyone had read anything by Sally Hepworth - just one, Sugar, whom we haven't heard from since last July of last year (I hope she's okay!).
Today I finished Ms. Hepworth's excellent novel, The Family Next Door, which she wrote in 2018. I can't remember what made me want to read it, but I'm glad I took a chance on it because it was captivating the whole way through. I will track down her other titles.
Thanks, Tres, for that WaPo list. I've never read anything by Ms. Lippman, but she is on my list of writers to look into. I hope you like this newest one by her. 
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Tuesday, May 28, 2019 - 5:45 pm
Just finished The One-in-a-Million Boy. And really liked it!
Next, on toWhere the Forest Meets the Stars.
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Tresbien
Member
08-26-2002
| Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 6:37 am
Thoroughly enjoyed The Word Is Murder and will get on the library waitlist for his new one. It is unusual for a novel to be written in the first person, but I'm on board with Ric's 'fun, fun, fun' description!
Next up is Tara Westover's Educated.
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - 8:09 am
Ric, I enjoy Lippman.
Tresbien, Educated will knock you out! It is such an amazing story.
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Friday, May 31, 2019 - 5:36 pm
Tres, I'm so glad you liked TWIM - I would've been so embarrassed if you hadn't. I'm glad my crystal ball still works. I totally agree with Mamie about Educated - you'll soon see what all the fuss is about. All the praise is very much deserved.
I just finished Sally Rooney's, Conversations with Friends - it's one of the most remarkable debuts I've ever come across. She's 27 now and she wrote it when she was 24 or 25. The writing is extremely mature, stunningly worded with the voice of a much more seasoned writer - that's what so amazing: such a young person tackling complex, adult subject matter and handling like a professional who's been at the game for decades! I highly recommend it.
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Heckagirl631
Member
09-08-2010
| Friday, May 31, 2019 - 7:51 pm
Finished Nora Roberts' "Blue Smoke". Another quite good book.
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Tresbien
Member
08-26-2002
| Sunday, June 02, 2019 - 2:39 pm
Glad you have kept that crystal ball shined up Ric!
Finished Educated, which I'd describe as like Hillbilly Elegy on steroids. If this had been a novel, I might have found it hard to believe. I hope that writing this was healing for Tara Westover. Thanks Mamie and Ric for encouragement to read that one.
Starting The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish. I'm in the mood for an historical novel on this rainy Sunday evening. It engaged me from the start, a good sign.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Sunday, June 02, 2019 - 3:25 pm
I finished Where the Forest Meets the Stars and did enjoy it, even the unrealism of the plot.
In some ways the plot reminds me of Catherine Ryan Hyde's books, and hers I tend to grab when they go on sale for Kindle. Tresbien, glad you mentioned this and that I already had the book. Bonus!
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Sunday, June 02, 2019 - 6:46 pm
Now starting a memoir, The Honey Bus: a Memoir of Loss, Courage and a Girl Saved my Bees.
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Monday, June 03, 2019 - 3:42 pm
Because it got good reviews, I checked out a copy of Team of Vipers: My 500 Extraordinary Days in the Trump White House by Cliff Sims. Having already read at least three other books by various authors who detailed Trump's ongoing crimes, I thought I'd read something by one of his ardent supporters (to get an opposing view).
Sims writes well and he's not too over-the-top in his allegiance to Trump. He's pretty fair in distributing his observations/criticisms of the various players we've all come to know since Trump took office. He's definitely convinced, for example, that Kellyanne Conway routinely leaked stuff to the media (and explains how), so tidbits like that are extra-interesting. Also interesting is his refusal to spell out any foul language (when quoting someone like Steve Bannon, who littered his comments with numerous f-bombs). I hate foul language, too, but when it's part of the narrative, it looks really weird to not have it spelled out.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Wednesday, June 05, 2019 - 12:45 am
The Honey Bus.. Not just a memoir of a childhood with a crazy mother and grandma and overcoming through hard work and education, but a wonderful description of the lives of bees via the wonderful step grandpa, including why bees are so important and endangered.
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Wednesday, June 05, 2019 - 9:59 pm
After seeing it promoted over and over on the L.A. Public Library's home page, I finally got around to reading Tommy Orange's debut novel, There There, one of the more celebrated books of the past year. I really enjoyed it and by the time I got to the end, it made wish I'd made an effort (when I was a young man) to explore my Native American ancestry. It's too late now because I have no relatives I can consult for background info. 
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Monday, June 10, 2019 - 11:20 am
I'd never heard of Hannah Beckerman until I came across a rave review by Alex Michaelides (who wrote The Silent Patient) of Ms. Beckerman's latest novel, If Only I Could Tell You. But because it's her second book, I had to track down her first, The Dead Wife's Handbook, which I finished this morning. It's very good, but not great and at 421 pages, it's long by about 100 pages. Anyway, it held my interest and I'm pretty sure I'll agree with Mr. Michaelides that her latest one is a winner. (Fingers crossed.)
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Monday, June 10, 2019 - 7:56 pm
SCHOOL'S OUT!!! TEACH IS READING FOR FUN!!
First - finished listening to We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson. Thoroughly enjoyed its quirkiness.
Second - am about half-way through listening to Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood (also narrated by her). Not as big of fan. Parts are good, but it's not holding my attention.
FINALLY got In Pieces again after not finishing it from the library. Diving into that tomorrow on Kindle.
AND....reading Fortress, the second in the Tom Buckingham trilogy by Andy McNab (whose autobiography Seven Troop I am also reading on my other Kindle).
GOD -- I LOVE SUMMER!!!
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Jimmer
Moderator
08-30-2000
| Tuesday, June 11, 2019 - 5:44 am
That must be so nice. I should have been a teacher!
(By the way, I’m not at all implying it’s easy work.)
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Tuesday, June 11, 2019 - 7:25 am
Ric, I put in for the new Beckerman book so fingers crossed!
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Kappy
Member
06-28-2002
| Tuesday, June 11, 2019 - 7:28 am
Finished Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman after seeing it on Reese's Book Club list. It's suppose to be a psychologial thriller and it has good reviews but I wasn't impressed. When you're 80 pages from the end and don't care if you finish it or not, it's not a thriller in my mind. It had a main character who I just couldn't feel any empathy for. Sometimes things happen in life where one has to choose between what is morally right and wrong and in the case of the newlywed couple in this book, not much thinking about that happened no matter how many pages the author spent trying repeatedly to convince you it did.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Tuesday, June 11, 2019 - 3:07 pm
I am reading Astronaut Scott Kelly's memoir, Endurance: My Year in Space; a Lifetime of Discovery.
Scott and his twin brother are both astronauts. They did a study where Scott spent an entire year on the International Space Station, while his identical twin remained earthbound, and I think simulated activities, so they could be compared in terms of skeletal and other effects.
He is so informative and down to earth ( 😉 ) detailing what it is like in Space beyond the was of it all. Also about qualifying for The program and working with other countries and the Russians, since the Soyuz spacecraft is the only way to get too and from the space station these days.
My kind of book.
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Wednesday, June 12, 2019 - 8:24 am
I just finished Recursion by Blake Crouch. I cannot say I totally understood it or was not confused by it but it was a fascinating story about love, memories, and time travel. Definitely a page turner.
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Jimmer
Moderator
08-30-2000
| Wednesday, June 12, 2019 - 9:52 am
Wow! I was just thinking about reading that one so I appreciate your comments.
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Thursday, June 13, 2019 - 9:51 am
Mamie, I've got 'em crossed, too. Let us know what you think of it the instant you finish reading it!
I checked up on a colleague who retired last year and one of the questions I asked was "are you getting a ton of reading done?" To which he replied "yes" (I'm so jealous). Anyway, he highly recommend Nicci French, a writing tandem I'd not heard of - it's a husband/wife team comprised of Nicci Ferrard and Sean French.
One of their popular fiction series is the Frieda Klein psychoanalyst character who helps solve crimes in London. I tracked down the first book in the series, Blue Monday, and really enjoyed it. There are six other books in the series. The next one has Tuesday in the title, the 3rd has Wednesday in the title, and so on until Sunday. I'm now going to send my colleague note thanking him for the recommendation!
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Tresbien
Member
08-26-2002
| Saturday, June 15, 2019 - 2:36 pm
In The Weight of Ink a professor is called by a former student after he finds a trove of 17th century documents in a house he has begun renovating. The professor and a graduate student examine the documents and discover their historical importance. The story alternates with the present work on the documents and the life of their author during the time of the plague in London. Very well written and compelling story that envelops a mystery. Recommend.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Monday, June 17, 2019 - 7:51 pm
I loved Scott Kelly's memoir, his life, so much about the space program, where he was on 9/11 (Mark was doing wilderness training with the cosmonauts), his brother Mark, his identical twin, also an astronaut, and the husband of Gabby Giffords (Scott was on the International Space Station when Gabby was shot).. His reflections on what issues must be resolved to get to Mars, what is going on in the U.S. and the world.. Fabulous photos..
He is a good writer, too. I was sorry to see if end.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Monday, June 17, 2019 - 7:56 pm
Next, another memoir, Joy Enough by Sarah McColl.
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Grooch
Member
06-16-2006
| Tuesday, June 18, 2019 - 4:41 am
Seamonkey, did they find any major differences between the 2 brothers after Scott came back to earth?
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