| Author |
Message |
Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Friday, December 27, 2019 - 1:07 am 
Tres, I hope you like it. Very disturbing but I'm glad I read it. I'm pleased you liked the Rooney book and are liking the Ng book - I loved both very much.
I spent the bulk of today recovering from the holiday yesterday by finishing the 4th in the Frieda Klein series by Nicci French, Thursday's Children. It's the best, thus far, of the 8-book series. There's a shocking revelation on page 44 that reverberates clear through to the end of the book. That revelation is independent of the underlying (and wickedly elusive) character who happens to be a very smart, behind the scenes, serial killer. It's too delicious that there are four more books to see how this all turns out! 😜
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Friday, December 27, 2019 - 11:07 am
Tresbien, I really enjoyed The Escape Room. That really didn't go as planned, did it?!
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Rieann
Member
08-26-2006
| Friday, December 27, 2019 - 2:31 pm
I need to try The Escape Room again. I think I bailed early thinking it would be too dark. Or I was grumpy. Probably the latter as I think I bailed *really* early. 
Ric, I may have to check that series out. I think I read a Nicci French ages ago. Is that the husband and wife writing duo?
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Saturday, December 28, 2019 - 1:00 am
Yes, Rieann, they combined their surnames (Nicci and French) to create the new name. They've written other books as NF, but the Frieda Klein books are their bestsellers. I just love how fiercely independent she (Frieda) is.
Tonight I finished the much-too-short Do You Mind if I Cancel? by Gary Janetti. It's a collection of humorous essays that are part reflections of his life and part scathing indictments of all the things he did incompletely with his career as it was developing.
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Sunday, December 29, 2019 - 12:59 am
Just as we're closing out the year, I figured I couldn't really read any books greater than the ones I've classified as "great" already for 2019.
Tonight I finished Ocean Vuong's stunning, stunning, stunning On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous. Talk about a literary sensation! If he writes nothing else ever again, at least he'll always be remembered for this. It's very difficult to describe what the book is about or what the writing style is like. I just know it really connected with me, primarily because of how powerfully he crafts the emotions of his characters. This is one of those books that will keep you thinking about it long after you've finished it. I'm not saying you'll love it (or even like it), but it will impact you in some sort of way. It's just challenging to explain what makes up all that impactful stuff. I'm only glad I got my hands on this remarkable debut of a novel.
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Sunday, December 29, 2019 - 2:05 am
I was so impressed by Ocean Vuong that I had to do a little bit of research about him. One tidbit (and it's a big tidbit) I came across: he's one of the 26 artists (from various fields) who was awarded a 2019 grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. These fellowship grants recognize “extraordinary originality" and each recipient gets a grant of $625,000. This guy really needs it, too. Before he got his current job of teaching writing at the University of Massachusetts, he was earning $8-an-hour cleaning toilets at a Panera Bread restaurant. He's the youngest, at age 30, of this year's grant recipients.
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Sunday, December 29, 2019 - 11:33 pm
Thanks to Grant Ginder, who wrote two of the books I read earlier this year, I became aware of Nell Zink. Grinder raved about Zink's newest novel, Doxology, which has received great reviews from many quarters. I tracked down her debut, The Wallcreeper, and loved it - I laughed out loud several times. It's about an eco-terrorist couple who bounce from Philadelphia to Berne to Berlin. I have to read her 2nd/3rd/4th books before I get to the latest one, which is her 5th. I'm glad I took a chance on her!
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Rieann
Member
08-26-2006
| Monday, December 30, 2019 - 10:44 am
Ric, you are a reading maniac. 
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Monday, December 30, 2019 - 3:13 pm
I just this minute finished Parkland by Dave Cullen. He is a journalist and also wrote Columbine, which I read when it came out.
In depth, well researched, with great in person contact with the communities and survivors.
I really cannot say enough about how these young people responded.
I need to catch up on listing books read.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Monday, December 30, 2019 - 4:02 pm
Going backwards.
Michael Crichton, Travels an odd memoir about his travels and explorations and experiences, also his time in medical school. A bit random, but interesting.
Henry Jay Przybylo, MD Counting Backwards: A Doctor's Notes on Anesthesia .. Interesting guy and very patient oriented.
Mary Dunnewold, Fine, Thanks: Tales from the Cancerland Jungle. Memoir.
Bernd Heinrich, The Homing Instinct: Meaning and Mystery in Animal Migration in
Alexa Albert, Brothel (about the Mustang Ranch)
Having trouble finding what I read. I did re-read all of my Beverly Jenkins Blessings series and the newest one.
Tim Baurschmidt and Ramie LiddleDriving Miss Norma: One Family's journey Saying YES to Living Norma got to a point of saying no to more treatment for her cancer and her son and daughter in law lived a nomadic lifestyle in a mother home. Norma sold her house and they got a larger motor home and they went off to make memories from Norma's bucket list. Online blogging led to some unique experiences.
Louise Beech, The Lion Tamer Who Lost a novel I liked very much.
Nadia King, Tales of a Digital Nomad.. I just remember not liking this very much.
Carson Vaughan, Zoo Nebraska: The Dismantling of an American Dream
Amy Noelle Roe, Becoming Boston Strong: One Woman's Race to run and Conquor the World's Greatest Marathon
Hillary Whittington, Raising Ryland: our Story of Parenting a Transgender Child With No Strings Attached
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Monday, December 30, 2019 - 4:45 pm
Now starting Educated, Tara Westover.
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Tuesday, December 31, 2019 - 9:14 am
I loved Educated. It is an amazing story.
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Tuesday, December 31, 2019 - 9:17 am
Rieann, you are too kind.  . I just wish I could read as many books as Sea and Mamie!
Yesterday I finished one of the most enduring of all classics, My Antonia, by Willa Cather, which she wrote in 1918. Even after threatening, for years, to join the Cather party, I just never got around to it (it's so embarrassing to admit that). Anyway, better late than never. What a story - I loved each and every page. If there's room on your list, please add this one; it really is that good.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Tuesday, December 31, 2019 - 5:28 pm
Ric, I think you read far more books than I do, especially since I got so into playing Yahtzee online.
But I sure love reading.
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Tuesday, December 31, 2019 - 8:32 pm
Given the number of musicals I did this year, the chaos that was our house remodel for 4 months, and school (with all the essays that involves), I was tickled that I read 5 more books this year than I did last year. I still haven't met my goal of one a week, but closer is always better.
Finished There, There, The Hangman's Daugher, and Daisy Jones & the Six in the last 3 days, and just got Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud and the Last Trial of Harper Lee - one of Pres. Obama's top reads for 2019. I LOVED that he had Normal People on his list. I want to finish Catch and Kill and The Starless Sea before school starts back up again.
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Wednesday, January 01, 2020 - 12:59 am
A few minutes ago, at approximately 11:46 p.m., PST, I finished Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell and loved it. The man is so, so smart and I learned a TON by the time I got to the last page.
The reason I was so specific about the time of day I finished the book is because it was the 100th book I've read since the beginning of 2019 and I made it just under the wire! My previous high was the total of 71 books read last year. I feel just as happy and proud as the first time I ever finished a 100-mile running race. I've finished a total of 11 of those, which means I have to read 100 books in a year 10 more times!
Happy New Year!!!!
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Wednesday, January 01, 2020 - 2:40 am
I know I'm only one who really cares, but in case you want to know what the 100 books were (without digging through the archives, that is), I posted them on Twitter (to memorialize the effort since I may never be able to do it again).
Titles #1 to 50:
https://twitter.com/munoz_ric/status/1212304372274610176
Titles #51 to 100:
https://twitter.com/munoz_ric/status/1212304617783955456
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Jimmer
Board Administrator
08-29-2000
| Wednesday, January 01, 2020 - 9:52 am
Very cool, Ric. It's awesome that you are getting replies from some of the authors as well!
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Wednesday, January 01, 2020 - 11:37 am
That is one of the greatest things about social media. You get to know the authors and talk to them.
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Heckagirl631
Member
09-08-2010
| Wednesday, January 01, 2020 - 7:27 pm
Read Beverly Barton's "Don't Say a Word". It was pretty good. Unusual in that it was a mixture of a murder--mystery and a romance. Noticed in the back of the book that it said the author "was". She died in 2011.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Wednesday, January 01, 2020 - 9:35 pm
Ric.. Great list, and I have only read two of them (and that was many many years ago.. Little Women, My Antonia). Just shows the vast wealth of books available for us to read, and never enough time.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Thursday, January 02, 2020 - 1:31 am
There are some on your list waiting on my kindle fire to be read...
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Thursday, January 02, 2020 - 7:58 pm
Thank you Jim and thank you Sea. Mamie is so right about getting to interact with your favorite writers. And they’re so nice when they chat. I really admire their ability to write books of high quality, then promote them AND spend what precious free time they have visiting with regular folks like us via social media - amazing!
Sea, don’t forget to tell us what you think of the books that are on your KF and on my list. I look forward to your opinions about them!
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Rieann
Member
08-26-2006
| Sunday, January 05, 2020 - 1:50 pm
Thank you, Tresbien and Mamie for recommending The Escape Room. I gave it another go and really enjoyed it. I started it yesterday and just finished.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Sunday, January 05, 2020 - 2:17 pm
Educated was amazing and painful and triggering..
And then at the end, her website tarawestover.com
And so many interviews
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jnd6S2JCeUE
This one, and others, about polarization and labelling people based on just a small part of who they are, what they say.. Very important. Israel is impressive in this one as well. Worth a listen.
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