What Fiction are you reading this week, February 18, 2024?

[hermetic]

Just finished Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell. Quite a remarkable story. No wonder it won so many awards. Historical fiction at its best. I quite enjoyed the tale of the 3 little fleas who brought, from Egypt, so much death and misery. I didn't realize, for a long while, who the characters are in this story but the names and places are all real. Only one name is never mentioned; that would have given it all away much sooner.

Now reading The Final Cut by Catherine Coulter & J.T. Ellison, the first book in an international thriller series. Scotland Yard meets the FBI and it's nonstop action from the first pages. I'm really enjoying reading this one from 2013 and looking forward to reading many more.

I made it through the 38-hour long The Mirror & the Light, just under the wire. Next up is Lockdown by Laurie R. King, another piece of historical fiction. Not very popular with the GoodReaders but the only King audio available from the library right now. We shall see.

What fiction is popular with you this week?

[niyad]

1. That image reminded me of another saying, "When I have a little money, I

buy books, and if I have anything left, I buy food and clothes."

[hermetic]

4. LOL

No clothes for me. Um, that is to say, I don't buy clothes any more since I hardly ever leave the house. So, more books for me!

[Picaro]

2. The Last Chairlift By John Irving

It's a ghost story of a sort. Love John Irving.

[hermetic]

6. Oh, that's a new one

His first novel in seven years. "Irving is a bard of alternative families. In The Last Chairlift, readers will once more be in his thrall."
Put that one on my TBR list.

[japple]

9. I love John Irving's books, esp. A Prayer for Owen Meany. Will also

put this one on my wishlist.

[Mz Pip]

3. The Maidens

Alex Michaelides

[hermetic]

8. Another winner

"..a spellbinding tale of psychological suspense, weaving together Greek mythology, murder, and obsession"

[QED]

5. Crucible of Secrets by S.G. MacLean

This is the 3rd of the Alexander Seaton series. Kind of got me hooked as they are set in Scotland. I started this series after finishing the author's Seeker series. When I get hooked, I get hooked. LOL

[hermetic]

10. I, too, am a big fan of Scottish books

I'll give these a look.

[QED]

23. The Bookseller of Inverness

is another one by her set in the time of Bonnie Prince Charlie. This is the one that got me hooked on this author.

[hermetic]

24. Cool

Thanks!

[cbabe]

7. Yours for the taking/Gabrielle Korn

Picked off library shelf as climate change dystopia apocalypse. Not really. Actually a lgbt romance/soap opera.

I always end up quibbling: where are they getting toilet paper and toothpaste? Plus quarreling insecure women not my cup of tea.

Comfort reading: early Dick Francis and Michael Connelly.

[hermetic]

13. So, it's both then

Remember back in 2019-20 how everyone was buying up vast amounts of tp? I always wondered what people did with all that they didn't use. I think it might have all been stored in huge warehouses across the country so that's where they're getting it from in 2050.

[japple]

11. I am re-reading MARCH by Geraldine Brooks. After finishing her latest work,

Horse, I wanted more of her kind of writing, so am reading March again. It was so good the 1st time around and I hope it will be again.

Thanks for the weekly thread, hermetic.

[hermetic]

14. Nice

I have those on my list, too.

[Jeebo]

12. Re-reading "Project Hail Mary" by Andy Weir

Read it when it first came out, REALLY enjoyed it, a GREAT read. Been waiting for it to fade from memory a little bit so I could read it again. Hasn't faded from memory much though, it's stayed with me, which I think is a measure of how good of a novel it is. If I had a criticism of it, it would be that it's kind of far-fetched, but that's just imagination, and isn't that part of the definition of science fiction?

-- Ron

[hermetic]

16. Good reading,

An irresistible interstellar adventure as only Andy Weir could deliver, Project Hail Mary is a tale of discovery, speculation, and survival to rival The Martian -- while taking us to places it never dreamed of going.

[hermetic]

15. Hey, thanks

To my anonymous donor, or or both.

[txwhitedove]

17. Hi, Hermetic. Good week. Finished 1st in series by Spencer Quinn, and love the new perspective

of Chet the dog in Dog On It. Example, he ponders why humans talk about "wild goose chases" like it's a bad thing, cause it sounds like the best thing ever to him. Serious mystery also, but I need a lighter view after reading more serious books like Matthew Perry's memior, ick.

Now reading historical fiction Code Name Helene by Ariel Lawhon, based on thrilling real life story of socialite spy Nancy Wake. Wow, great writing. Love that I have to search for descriptions of drinks, food, locale, people. There is also a movie to watch when I am done.

[hermetic]

18. Solid 5-star rating for this one,

"This fully animated portrait of Nancy Wake... will fascinate readers of World War II history and thrill fans of fierce, brash, independent women, alike. A stark exploration of the remarkable difference one person, willing to rise in the face of fear, can make."
A woman who deserves to be a household name. An astonishing woman who killed a Nazi with her bare hands and went on to become one of the most decorated women in WWII.

[Jrose]

19. Just started reading James Paterson's "Second Chance"

The second book in his detective/mystery series, in which the main character, Lindsay, a female detective in
S. F. P. D., writes from her point of view.
Very suspenseful, with many surprising twists... and very addictive!

[hermetic]

21. The good old Women's Murder Club Series

Very popular.

[rsdsharp]

26. I have the 22nd and 23rd entries on the stack. Haven't gotten to them yet.

About the first half of the series, Patterson had Boxer “clicking the safety off on her Glock.” Apparently, someone pointed out the error, and he stopped doing it. Research isn’t Patterson’s strong suit, but they are fun (and quick) reads.

[mentalsolstice]

20. Thank you hermetic for hosting this amazing group!

I finished The Women by Kristin Hannah, so good! At times I wanted to throw it across the room, but couldn’t because I read ebooks, yikes major damage to the iPad mini. I cried at times, which is very rare for me. And I’ll probably get in a big argument with my mom who is also reading it, because she’ll brag that she was of that era, I wasn’t…..although I actually knew people who were there, including my spouse of 30+ years. I saw how badly my in-laws treated him because he fought in a losing cause. On Veterans Day my FiL, WWII no combat, always played the hero to his “loser” son.

Almost finished with Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian. Also very good! It’s about a strange mix of people trying to escape the Russian invasion of Germany during WWII.

I’ll be on the road a bit this week and next, so lots of time to read (I’m not driving).

[hermetic]

22. Yah,

don't be throwing that.

We are a fun bunch, aren't we? Enjoy your reading travels.

[EverHopeful]

25. The Enormous Room by E.E. Cummings

It's an autobiographical novel about his time as a POW.

Always loved his poetry but was unaware of any of his other writing. His use of language is such a joy I'll probably read it again soon.

[Bayard]

27. I finished, "The Handyman," by Bentley Little

I have several of his books, and they all have strange and original plot lines. Not for the faint of heart though...kind of like Stephen King on steroids.

Now reading, "Look For Me," by Lisa Gardner. So far, so good.

Thanks, Hermetic!

[Jilly_in_VA]

28. I finished Where the Light Enters

the second of the Sara Donati Waverly Place books, and I really wanted more! Unfortunately it left me with the feeling that there is more to come, and I read that she's working on another in the series. I hope I live to see it! It was kind of hard to come down to earth and figure out what to read next. I settled on My Mother's Friend by Sally Jameson Bond, an unusual WWII story of an Iowa Lutheran pastor's teenage daughter, musically talented, who through some rather unusual circumstances is asked to become the accompanist for a Mænnerchor made up of German POWs in a prison camp nearby. She becomes friends, and more than friends, with the choir's leader, a young man who later becomes the conductor of a German symphony....but I haven't got to that part yet. It started out rather slow but has picked up. The style is quite different from Donati's and I'm curious as to where it's leading. I know they will be separated and go on to lead separate lives, I think much of his perhaps behind the Iron Curtain. I'm considering reading Augusta Trobaugh's Sophie and the Rising Sun after this for a slightly different perspective. I've read all of her books available on Kindle, I think, except that one, and I loved all of them.

[hermetic]

29. Nice. Thanks.

I so appreciate when readers share their thoughts and feelings about what they are reading.

And Pogo? I never noticed your tag line before. I loved Pogo and had several books I read again and again.
"Oh I may be your dish of tea
But baby don't you sugar me.
Don't stir me girl,
or try to spoon.
Don't sugar me
Cause us is thrune."

That little poem has stuck with me for, like, 60 years

[joshdawg]

30. Fourteen Days...

edited by Margaret Atwood.

[yellowdogintexas]

31. I am reading "Waking Up in Vegas" by K L Phelps Volume 5 in the Kat Parker mysteries

Kat has never been a morning person, but waking up in a Vegas hospital to discover she's been married, widowed, and pulled from the rubble of a collapsed building along with a gorgeous amnesic vampire with the unlikely name of Jonny B. Good pretty much cements her hatred of mornings. In fact, having no memory of any of these events almost seems like a blessing.

While waiting to be cleared for possible involvement in the destruction of the hotel she'd been pulled from, Kat agrees to try to use her newly discovered psychic ability to help hunky detective Damian Johnson look into the mysterious events surrounding his comatose ex-partner.

With lycan youths turning up dead, terrifying visions from Damian's coma-stricken partner, horrific creatures attempting to grab her in the night, and dealing with Jonny's bizarre obsession with the Food Network, Kat just hopes she survives long enough to say goodbye to Las Vegas.

In between all the business with the boring "Hare With Amber Eyes" I read "The Girl in the Letter" by Emily Gunnis. The sample of this book was so good I just dropped the Hare and dived into it

1956. When Ivy Jenkins falls pregnant she is sent in disgrace to St Margaret's, a dark, brooding house for unmarried mothers. Her baby is adopted against her will. Ivy will never leave.

Present day. Samantha Harper is a journalist desperate for a break. When she stumbles on a letter from the past, the contents shock and move her. The letter is from a young mother, begging to be rescued from St Margaret's. Before it is too late.

Sam is pulled into the tragic story and discovers a spate of unexplained deaths surrounding the woman and her child. With St Margaret's set for demolition, Sam has only hours to piece together a sixty-year-old mystery before the truth, which lies disturbingly close to home, is lost forever ...

I definitely want to read some more books by this author