What Fiction are you reading this week, June 21, 2020?

[hermetic]

Oh noes! I ran out of books (fiction) to read. Good thing I was planning to go to our just-reopened library tomorrow. I put a couple of novels on reserve so I can just pop in, grab them, and pop right back out. Masked and gloved, of course.

I do still have Antifragile (NF), a treatise on how some systems actually benefit from disorder, by Nassim Taleb. The book covers innovation, health, biology, medicine, life decisions, politics, foreign policy, urban planning, war, personal finance, and economic systems. As you might imagine, it’s pretty heady stuff.

I am listening to Downtown by Ed McBain. From 1991. Interesting story. Sometimes people just aren’t who you think they are. Fun fact: born Salvatore Albert Lombino, he wrote around 120 books under at least 6 different pen names.

What do you anticipate reading this week?

[SheltieLover]

1. Still rereading

"The Cat Who..." series.

[northoftheborder]

2. Transcription, by Kate Atkinson

I have either read this before, or, it was made into a movie or TV show. But it is interesting again, because of the intricate plotting and characters. Early WWII, spies in London and France; I can't remember how it ends - so worth reading again.

[hermetic]

3. One of the benefits

of getting older is not remembering how something ends, so everything old is new again. Works for me, anyway.

Your books sounds great, though: a work of rare depth and texture, a bravura modern novel of extraordinary power, wit and empathy.

[Jeebo]

4. "The Word" by Irving Wallace

At 600-plus pages, it's the longest novel I've ever read all in one sitting. I read it for the first time in 1972 and literally could not put it down. It's about a stunning archaeological discovery that begins a worldwide religious and cultural upheaval ... and then the owner of the public relations firm hired to publicize the discovery begins to have doubts about its legitimacy. I found my copy of it in a box of books I had stored away and just started reading it again. Not all in one sitting this time, my 70-something eyes are not up to what my 20-something eyes were capable of.

-- Ron

[hermetic]

8. Yeah,

I think I read that one, too. (See above reply about memory )

"First published in 1972, The Word remains a classic of brilliant storytelling, authentic detail and breathtaking narrative power."

[MadLinguist]

5. Inland by Tea Obreht

a great novel with independent story lines that begin converging. Camels and their peculiarities figure strongly, and a complex picture of the American frontier. It's nuanced with idiosyncratic life choices born of the collision of settlement reality with delusion/advertisement/propaganda of the day. Real Americana, in other words

[hermetic]

6. That sounds terrific

Arizona at its wildest. I do want to read this.

[murielm99]

7. The Night Watchman, by Louise Erdrich.

It is based on the life of her grandfather, who was a night watchman at a jewel bearing plant, and who helped his tribe avoid "termination," which would have dispossessed them and thrown them off their reservation land. Then, greedy people could have come in and bought the land for next to nothing. The tribes would have been forced to live in cities and lose their identities.

The book is set in 1953. Her fictionalized grandfather was not the only character based in fact. Senator Arthur V. Watkins was a real person. He was relentless in his quest to take away Native American rights.

The book is filled with wonderful characters. I am nearly finished with it. I recommend it highly.

[hermetic]

9. Oh yes

I am on the library list for that one. Only 28 people ahead of me. I think I might just go ahead and buy that one.

I wonder how Louise is doing these days. Her store is in Minneapolis and I hope is staying safe.

[japple]

14. I just recently finished The Night Watchman. As with all of her books, I relish the time spent

inside the pages and feel a sense of loss when the book is finished. The Night Watchman is one of her best.

I'm still reading Alice Hoffman's, The World that we Knew. Beautifully written, compelling story, and well-drawn characters hooked me right from the start. She is another gifted writer.

[The King of Prussia]

10. "The Crime at Black Dudley" by Margery Allingham

I read "Murder at the Brightwell" by Ashley Weaver which is set in 1932, and really not too bad. Decided to make a comparison with works written at that time so read "Murder must Advertise" by Dorothy L. Sayers written in 1933. One of the two Sayers that I hadn't read, and really very good.
"The Crime at Black Dudley" was written in 1929. I think I read it at school and didn't like it.
Next up is "Overture to Death" by Ngaio Marsh.

There have been a few more virus cases in our district - these seem to be linked to an outbreak at a meat processing plant, but otherwise the trend seems to be slightly down. The best indicator for us seems to be the local hospital, which has now had no deaths in over a fortnight. They keep relaxing the restrictions and so far it seems things are in check. The pubs and hairdressers re-open on 4th July so that'll be the next test.

Stay safe bookworms

[hermetic]

11. Overture to Death

is listed as a "Locked Room Mystery" and those are usually interesting, with authors finding ways hide the guilty party right up to the end.

I do miss going to my local pub but I'm not willing to put myself at risk just yet. Maybe in another month or so...

[Polly Hennessey]

12. Elly Griffith's, Crossing Places

[hermetic]

13. That souns pretty good

The first entry in the acclaimed Ruth Galloway series which follows the archaeologist as she investigates a child's bones found on a nearby beach, thought to be the remains of a little girl who went missing ten years before.

[Polly Hennessey]

18. It is.

Takes place in Norfolk County England.. Full of forensic archeological tidbits.

[Ohiogal]

15. More Myself: A Journey by Alicia Keys

Not really fiction. 🙂. An enjoyable read so far.

[TexasProgresive]

16. Done with Ruth Rendell- she drags so many red herrings it makes my head spin

Starting M.C. Beaton’s Hamish MacBeth series

[hermetic]

17. All right!

"Hamish Macbeth--Scotland's most quick-witted but unambitious policeman." These sound like fun and my library has many. I just grabbed the online audible Death of a Ghost which is a fairly new one and sounds like my kind of entertainment.

Beaton also has an Agatha Raisin series, which sounds delightful and she's written several stand-alone novels about witches and stuff. Looks like I've got plenty to keep me busy for a while now.