What Fiction are you reading this week, January 19, 2025?

[hermetic]

The Library Tram in Brno, Czech Republic.

The "Library in the Tram" travels every day on a 70 km route, teaching about library services, and about benefits of digital reading. Visitors can scan QR codes with their mobile phones to access library’s website, search the catalog, and download free samples of selected ebooks.

I'm Reading A Darkness More Than Night by Michael Connelly. This is an older Bosch novel, 2001, and he's joined by FBI profiler Terry McCaleb to help solve a dark murder. Award winner.

Listening to The Old Man by Thomas Perry, a contemporary thriller. I'm looking forward to armed mercenaries, spectacularly crashed cars, a precarious love interest, and an unforgettable chase scene through the snow (from the description).

Hope you all have something pleasant to do tomorrow. Goodness knows, I'm going to be REALLY busy.

[PJMcK]

1. Trump's inauguration speech (n/t)

[._.]

2. Reading

I've been reading "Post Captain" by Patrick O'Brian.. It's good!

[hermetic]

5. From 1972

An Aubrey/Maturin Action Adventure Very popular.

[PittBlue]

3. Just finished Demon Copperhead.

I don’t know why it took me so long to find it. I loved it.

[hermetic]

6. Yeah,

that is truly a great one.

[QED]

4. I started rereading the Jacobite Chronicles by Julia Brannan

This series captivated me a year ago when I read it on my tablet. I subsequently purchased "real books" to reread them.

The first in the series is The Mask of Duplicity. The protagonist is Beth, a young woman raised in the country who due to a substantial dowry is thrust into London society where she meets Sir Anthony Peters. The London society stuff is blech to me but the story of Anthony's true identity and the struggle of the Jacobites sucked me in.

Brannan also wrote a series about the back story of many of the characters that is nearly as good as the original.

[hermetic]

8. Aye, that sounds great.

My ancestors might be in there. I have an ancestral home where the Bonnie Prince once hid out. I'm for sure going to have to find those books. Thanks!

[sinkingfeeling]

7. Just finished "The Blue Hour" by Paula Hawkins.i

[hermetic]

10. Nice title

There's about 20 books that have used it. This particular one, though, has tons of rave reviews. A masterpiece! Gorgeous and chilling. Atmospheric and marvelously twisty, and etc. A must read for me. Thanks!

[txwhitedove]

9. Great news on our re-opened newly renovated community library, which had been flooded by

Hurricane Harvey in 2017! It's lovely, lots of activities planned for this library, but I'll still be ordering most of the books in the online Harris County Public Library system.

Still reading The Great Alone, Kristin Hannah. Well written, wonderful characters, including beautiful wild Alaska. However, story a bit triggering for me and need to set aside at times. I do want to explore more by this author.

[hermetic]

11. That's some good news.

Finally! Sounds great.

[ratchiweenie]

12. I've read all the Bosch books twice. Love them. Right now I'm reading the Rivers of London books by

Ben Aaronovitch. If you haven't read them they are a mystery series with some magic leanings. Very fun and he is a very good writer.

[hermetic]

14. Those do sound like fun

Thanks for the rec!

[iemanja]

13. The Parable of the Sower

by Octavia Butler. I convinced my book club to read it too.

[cbabe]

15. Great line up: Connelly, Butler, Perry. I just

finished a reread of Mike Lawson’s House Reckoning. A thriller version of West Wing.

Next up: Jonathan Kellerman’s Unnatural History and Ann Cleeves’ The Dark Wives.

[japple]

16. I was about 1/3 of the way into The Consequence of Anna by

Kate Birkin, when I finally just gave up on it. It was a nominee for Pulitzer Prize 2024, but I can't for the life of me see how. The author's unnecessary use of obscure, unusual words was a real hindrance to the flow of the story. One amazon.com review listed a few such instances:

Some examples of her writing style. Some of you might need your dictionary/thesaurus handy.

“They stood there in silence, endeavoring to stimulate their cerebral cogitations in the face of the insoluble emotional quandary.”

“His tone and demeanor inimical admiring the pulchritudinous scenery.”” '

Her corybantic thoughts defenestrated from the past . . .

She was abashed at her quondam social artifice . . .

the health and welfare of my mercurial cousin is impuissance.

Don't know where I'm headed now, but will definitely not be returning to that book. I'm glad to see that others are having better luck with their book choices!

[cbabe]

17. I felt the same trying to read Nobel prize winner Han Kang's

Greek Lessons. Maybe it was the translation but was disjointed mishmash to me.

[hermetic]

18. LOL!

Inspired by a True Story . . . Soon to be a MAJOR MOTION PICTURE! Egads. I hope they do something about the language... So, that came from GoodReads but Fiction Database shows neither the book or the author. I looked on Amazon and it appears to only be available on Kindle. So maybe Amazon has their own Pulitzerl Prize now. Wouldn't surprise me.
EDIT: Oops, wrong prize. Fixed it.

[mentalsolstice]

25. I agree, The Consequence of Anna isn't for everyone.

I made it through, but Birkin’s style of writing is quite challenging. The premise of the story was interesting, however, she could’ve written in a way to attract more readers. I’m not suggesting she should’ve dumbed it down, but who wants to read a book with thesaurus/dictionary also in their lap? I doubt I’ll read anything else by her.

I like to be challenged by the characters in a book, but not to the point where I feel stupid by the time I’ve finished it.

[Number9Dream]

19. Half-way through "Imperium" by Robert Harris

Thanks for the thread, hermetic.

Excellent historical fiction (part-fiction) involving a Roman era court case prosecuted by Marcus Cicero. At one point, Cicero is pleading with the Senatorial judges to not let a vile criminal go unpunished just because he was a rich and powerful man. Sounds timely and familiar, doesn't it?

Snowing like crazy here in the Lehigh Valley, PA right now. Set up a 'blizzard food box' for the barn cats this morning, next to their insulated houses.

[hermetic]

20. Thank you

for taking care of the kitties. Weather looks rather unpleasant there right now. I'm on the edge of the polar vortex so it's colder than usual, but still just in the 20s, so the cats don't mind so much. Stay safe and warm and thanks for stopping by. Sounds like an interesting book.

[yellowdogintexas]

21. Finished Landfall by Dawn Lee McKenna another in the Forgotten Coast series

then fell right into another one, Dead Wake
I really enjoy these books, so much in fact that I broke down and bought another one when Kindle was offering double points.
I hope she keeps writing them.

Dead Wake: When the local florists find a dead guy in their wall, it opens up a decades-old missing persons case. It also opens up a Pandora’s box of secrets - secrets that might have ramifications for Sheriff’s Office investigator Maggie Redmond.

Maggie and Sheriff Wyatt Hamilton learn that local kingpin Bennett Boudreaux was the primary suspect in the disappearance of Holden Crawford almost forty years ago, but he had an alibi. The problem is, no one knows what that alibi was. The former sheriff won’t tell, and even Boudreaux himself refuses to say.

When a photograph of Maggie’s own father becomes an important part of the case evidence, learning Boudreaux’s secret becomes even more crucial.

When is going to jail for a murder you didn’t commit preferable to revealing the proof of your innocence? Who is Boudreaux really shielding?
Note about the character Boudreaux: Maggie refers to him as a Professional Suspect

[yellowdogintexas]

23. Currently reading Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Torz

In this spellbinding debut novel, two estranged half-sisters tasked with guarding their family’s library of magical books must work together to unravel a deadly secret at the heart of their collection—a tale of familial loyalty and betrayal, and the pursuit of magic and power.

For generations, the Kalotay family has guarded a collection of ancient and rare books. Books that let a person walk through walls or manipulate the elements—books of magic that half-sisters Joanna and Esther have been raised to revere and protect.

All magic comes with a price, though, and for years the sisters have been separated. Esther has fled to a remote base in Antarctica to escape the fate that killed her own mother, and Joanna’s isolated herself in their family home in Vermont, devoting her life to the study of these cherished volumes. But after their father dies suddenly while reading a book Joanna has never seen before, the sisters must reunite to preserve their family legacy. In the process, they’ll uncover a world of magic far bigger and more dangerous than they ever imagined, and all the secrets their parents kept hidden; secrets that span centuries, continents, and even other libraries . . .

In the great tradition of Ninth House, The Magicians, and Practical Magic, this is a suspenseful and richly atmospheric novel that draws readers into a vast world filled with mystery and magic, romance, and intrigue—and marks the debut of an extraordinary new voice in speculative fiction.

"Ink Blood Sister Scribe is so many things at once: an adventure, a puzzle, a twisty thriller, and a tender romance. . . . I adored it.” – ALIX E. HARROW

So far I am enjoying it

[mentalsolstice]

22. Still reading The Book of Ebenezer Le Page by G.B. Edwards

It’s a slow read, but I’m quite enjoying it. It’s about a man who lived on Guersney Island between the world wars.

The only other thing I can say to this group, in Edward R. Murrow’s immortal words “Good night, good luck.”

[hermetic]

24. Likewise

[Skittles]

26. The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

so far so good, great story

[Bayard]

27. I guess I'm kind of coming back to life,

As long as I don't hear/read the word, trump.

I have read many books over the past few months. Last week, I finished, "Fast Ice," by Clive Cussler, and, "The Store," and, "The Consultant," by Bentley Little (not for the faint of heart.) I'm going to start, "The Influence," tonight, by Little as well.

I have ordered a new batch of new used books. I will need them as we are getting single digit nighttime temperatures. Plus, I need the distraction and enjoyment that reading brings me.

Thanks for always bringing this thread, Hermetic.

[hermetic]

31. Good to see ya

Hang in there. Reading books will definitely make life better.

[Tumbulu]

28. I just finished and absolutely LOVED "Light from Uncommon Stars"

by Ryka Aoki . It is particularly enjoyable if you know the Asian communities in the greater LA area and or if you know a bit already about violins and violin players.

The second book that I read this week was utterly different.

By Terry Sanville set on Catalina Island off the coast of southern CA “ The Big Fall” . A fun historical mystery novel.

Just joined your forum as I feel that in order to survive this go round, I will need to be reading fiction a lot!

[hermetic]

30. Welcome

Always glad to have new additions and recommendations. And truly, having a good book to read will be a blessing in the coming days.

[Tumbulu]

33. Thank you! I am reading through the posts to get ideas for my next reads

What a job it will be surviving these monsters.

[LisaM]

29. A Tale of Two Cities.

I haven't read it before and it was sitting on the shelf, so I thought, why not? It's kind of cartoonish, and you can tell Dickens was being paid by the word, but it's finally beginning to pick up steam about halfway through. I have read other books by Dickens, but the prose in this one seems a bit (purposefully) obtuse. Then again, it was also serialized, so I guess leaving readers hanging was part of the point.

I'll be glad to finish it, but also glad to have finally read it!

[hermetic]

32. Ah, yes. It was the best of times

Now it's the worst of times. Congrats on getting through that one, finally.

[LisaM]

36. Update - I finished it!

I had no inclination to rush through it, but over all, it was an easy enough read. I will probably go for "David Copperfield" as my next Dickens read.

[99MainSt]

34. "The Stand" by Stephen King

I've read about half of Stephen King's books and I'm currently reading "The Stand". I find King's stories to be superior 'chewing gum for the mind' And this book is proving to be great escapist literature in the age of Trump.

[hermetic]

35. Never did read that one

Though I am a big fan of his. Might be a good time to do that, to escape. Thanks.