What Fiction are you reading this week, May 28, 2023?

[hermetic]

The Portico Library, Manchester


Reading Watching From the Dark by Gytha Lodge. "When a vibrant young woman is murdered while on a video chat, a small-town detective wades into a circle of friends and lovers with dangerous secrets."
I've been reading this all week and still don't have any guess as to who the murderer is. Everybody is suspect. Good stuff.

Listening to Shrines of Gaiety, Kate Atkinson's latest; a spellbinding tale of seduction and betrayal. "It's 1926, and in a country still recovering from the Great War, London has become the focus for a delirious new nightlife, clubbing. Peers of the realm rub shoulders with starlets, foreign dignitaries with gangsters, and girls sell dances for a shilling a time." Just started it but I think it's going to be terrific.

What terrific books will you be enjoying over this long weekend?

[onlyadream]

1. I just finished The Measure by Nikki Erlick

Very thought provoking novel.

One day, out of the blue, everyone on earth (age 22 or over) gets a box with a string. The string shows how long their life will be.

Just an amazing concept.

[hermetic]

3. Wow

This just came out last year so it's a really timely message.

"As society divides itself, the truth has the power to unravel their long-held beliefs and relationships all while forging new alliances and philosophies about our time on this earth and our place in the community. Both heartbreaking and profoundly uplifting, The Measure is a sweeping, ambitious meditation on life, family, and society that challenges us to consider the best way to live life to the fullest."

[Sky Jewels]

2. I'm reading Anxious People by Fredrik Backman (who wrote A Man Called Ove).

It's done in his signature style of peeling back the story, layer by layer, so your understanding of people's motives keeps deepening and evolving. Lots of humor in it too.

[hermetic]

5. Another timely message

Rich with Fredrik Backman's “pitch-perfect dialogue and an unparalleled understanding of human nature” (Shelf Awareness), Anxious People's whimsical plot serves up unforgettable insights into the human condition and a gentle reminder to be compassionate to all the anxious people we encounter every day.

I really enjoyed Ove so I gotta get this one, if I can. Thanks.

[hippywife]

4. For lack of finding something better at the moment...

Last edited Sun May 28, 2023, 12:05 PM - Edit history (1)

I've been reading the Anne of Green Gables series. I came across it while scanning available ebooks on Libby and realized I'd watched the TV adaptation many years ago, but had never read the books. I'm on the third. The first was enjoyable, the others are just okay.

[Magoo48]

6. Issac Asimov, The Naked Sun.

Simple allegory, detective procedural, cool sci-fi world building, humorous voice.
Lots of fun.

[hermetic]

7. There's an oldie

1957. Considered to be one of the most famous science-fiction novels ever.

[Magoo48]

8. Yes, I read much of his work long ago, but I missed this one. I'm enjoying it.

[Magoo48]

9. Yes, I read much of his work long ago, but I missed this one. I'm enjoying it.

[EmeraldCoaster]

10. The Dark Forest

book 2 of 3
(the three body problem)
Liu Cixin
Wild Sci Fi about a future alien invasion.

[hermetic]

12. Fun!

[cbabe]

11. Two Degrees/Alan Gratz

Kids confront climate change when caught in disasters.

Written for middle school so fairly simplistic. The ending was too simple for me. Better to tell kids the truth about where the power really lies than encouraging ineffective actions.

Not the Ones Dead/Dana Stabenow

Latest Kate Shugak. Pretty good. Pulled in a lot of outside real troubles at the end which pulled me out of my Alaskan reverie.

[hermetic]

13. The 23rd Shugak

Michael Connelly says, 'If you are looking for something unique in the field of crime fiction, Kate Shugak is the answer.'

[The King of Prussia]

14. "Lost River" by Stephen Booth

#10 in his Cooper and Fry series of thrillers, which are set in Derbyshire's Peak District. My reading time has definitely been curtailed since I returned to work.

In non-book news, my wife tested positive for Covid (again) on Friday. She was feeling poorly but is over the worst. I was ill first, but tested negative.

[hermetic]

15. Oh dear

Well that's not good news. I do hope the both of you completely recover and feel much better right away. When I had it, it was mild but there were certain lingering symptoms that remained for a good while.

Lost River does sound quite good. Thanks for that.

Take care.

[yellowdogintexas]

16. The People of the Book Geraldine Brooks

I started it last week but have not gotten very far into it.

n 1996, Hanna Heath, an Australian rare-book expert, is offered the job of a lifetime: analysis and conservation of the famed Sarajevo Haggadah, which has been rescued from Serb shelling during the Bosnian war. Priceless and beautiful, the book is one of the earliest Jewish volumes ever to be illuminated with images. When Hanna, a caustic loner with a passion for her work, discovers a series of tiny artifacts in its ancient binding—an insect wing fragment, wine stains, salt crystals, a white hair—she begins to unlock the book’s mysteries. The reader is ushered into an exquisitely detailed and atmospheric past, tracing the book’s journey from its salvation back to its creation.

Inspired by a true story, People of the Book is at once a novel of sweeping historical grandeur and intimate emotional intensity, an ambitious, electrifying work by an acclaimed and beloved author.

Didn't read much last week; I was working my annual stint at the Charles Schwab Invitational golf tournament. (it is the longest running tournament on the PGA tour that has been held at the same location - this year was the 77th tournament.)

SO for 4 days I was working from 7 am until around 6 or 6:30. I have a fun job so it is worth it. (but I was exhausted today)!

[Demsrule86]

17. I am reading the Mrs pollifax series

Which my Mom read. They are wonderful. What can be better than a woman in her 60’s who becomes a spy and learns karate… actually dispatches a very bad guy! I like to read them. But I must say the Barbara Rosenblatt narrated audio book are very enjoyable as well. Happy reading.

[hermetic]

18. Thought I would add that:

The Mrs. Pollifax series is a series of popular spy fiction books and mystery novels written by Dorothy Gilman. It is comprised of 14 books starting with The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax from 1966.

[Demsrule86]

19. I found that out...and have been 'reading' them...actually I love Barbara Rosenblatt's Audio books.

They are really very good. Glad I noticed them. They caught my eye because I remember my Mom liked them.