What Fiction are you reading this week, July 25, 2021?

[hermetic]

This looks cool. Tama Art University Library, Japan


Moving on now from Vera to The Winter King. "It takes a remarkable writer to make an old story as fresh and compelling as the first time we heard it. With The Winter King, ...Bernard Cornwell unveils the story he was born to write: a brilliant retelling of the mythic saga of King Arthur."
I've been wanting to read this one for a while but my library doesn't have it; so I finally bought it.
"As Arthur fights to keep a flicker of civilization alive in a barbaric world, Cornwell makes a familiar tale into a legend all over again." Yeah, I think this is going to be great.

For listening, I'm staying with Jasper Fforde and Something Rotten. The 4th adventure of Detective Thursday Next, where it's back to reality for Thursday-- and fiction never looked so good. "A totally original, action-packed romp, sure to be another escapist thrill for Jasper Fforde's legion of fans."

What fiction are you a fan of this week?

[Scrivener7]

1. Rereading True Confessions by John Gregory Dunne. Because it's totally worth a reread.

Winter king sounds great.

[hermetic]

6. It does

And yours does, too. Two brothers are at the heart of this powerful novel of Irish-Catholic life in Southern California just after World War II. It's about a crime that has no solutions, only victims. It was made into a move with Robert Duvall and Robert De Niro.

[PennyC]

2. I finished the Pendergast books...

...which are a romp! The next comes comes out next month, so meanwhile, I'm reading The Monster of Florence, also by Douglas Preston, about a real-life serial killer who inspired the Hannibal books.

[hermetic]

8. Those guys!

They write so many interesting books. Another winner from Preston is The Lost City of the Monkey God. A true story of an adventure he went on down in Central America. Good stuff.

[PennyC]

13. I read that one too!

Even that first book Preston wrote, Dinosaurs in the Attic, about the Museum of Natural History where he got his start. I've visited that museum many times, and the next time I go to NYC, I can't wait to see the redesigned minerals and gems section!

[bahboo]

12. love those books...

imo they hit a speed bump a few years ago, but now the series is back strong....

[Demsrule86]

18. There individual books by all the authors...and they are very good. Did you read the new

series with the female protagonist, Corrie (From the crows book), and also Nora is in it...very good.

[The King of Prussia]

3. "Chasing The Dead" by Tim Weaver

The first in his "David Raker" series (although not the first that I've read). Pretty good so far.

Earlier in the week I read "Dead Still" by T. F. Muir and "Murder at The Castle" by M. B. Shaw. Both murder mysteries set in Scotland. Both recommended - especially the latter if you like a good cosy.

Went on a little holiday to a place called Seahouses, which is nearly as far north as it's possible to get in England. Had a lovely time, although I have discovered that I now have pretty much zero tolerance for other people.

Johnson's policy now seems to be to get as many anti-vaxxers infected as he can as quickly as possible. In my heart of hearts I can't say that this bothers me (they have been calling for doctors & nurses to be executed - so fuck 'em).

Pip pip!

[hermetic]

9. Oh, I do love

Scottish castles. Put that on my list.

Seahouses looks lovely, if not a bit touristy. I pretty much share your tolerance level. Your Health Minister doesn't seem too likeable, either. Hang in there.

Cheerio!

[Bristlecone]

4. A Buried Giant

Kazuo Ishiguro

This is the second book of his that I have read and I have formally decided this will be the last book of his that I read.

[hermetic]

10. Not too impressed?

I see the genre is listed as Arthurian Legend, among many other things. Perhaps too many things for this rather short novel of 270 pages. Thanks for sharing this.

[bahboo]

5. just finished "Squeeze Me" by the great Carl Hiassen...

one of his best I think. Should be almost required reading for DUers, because he absolutely skewers TFG. Melanoma comes off almost sympathetic at times, but she takes her share of hits also. This book perfectly encapsulates the craziness of trump supporters, especially in South Florida. And for longtime fans, the return of Skink is an added bonus...

[nwliberalkiwi]

7. Squeeze Me

Love Carl Hiassen. I started out reading him with his book: Sick Puppy. On a tragic note his brother was killed in a mass shooting of a newspaper room about five years ago, Squeeze Me was dedicated to his brother.

[hermetic]

11. Quite a few here read that

And everybody loved it.

[murielm99]

14. I loved

The Winter King! Cornwell is wonderful.

I am reading a Pendergast book, The Cabinet of Curiosities.

I was trying to read the Joe Pickett series, by C.J. Box. My husband kept stealing them. I got through book three, and told him to take the rest of the books. I went to the library and checked out three more. He is swallowing them whole, so I may get to read them later.

[hermetic]

17. So, I guess he really likes them?

I enjoy Pendergast stories for many reasons. I really like how intelligent and informative they are about archaeology and such.

[Demsrule86]

19. Such a great book...I think The Cabinet of Curiosities is one of the best if not the best. I also

love Joe Pickett...and it so unlike other books I have read but I am waiting for the next one...

[japple]

15. Finished reading The Final Revival of Opal & Nev (Dawnie Walton) and

highly recommend it to fans of 60s and 70s soul and rock & roll. It dragged in a few places, but overall a very good book.

Our Friends of the Library group had their annual meeting recently and the featured speaker was a writer from Georgia who grew up in the community where I live. She has a new YA book which I am now reading.

Mignon F. Ballard, No Word For Goodbye.

From amazon: In the autumn of 1831, feeling as though her heart and stomach had switched places, eleven year old Nell Webb travels from her home in the small village of Athens, Georgia, to the Cherokee capital of New Echota in the northern end of the state.
Because of family circumstances, it has become necessary for her to live for a time with her uncle, a printer there, and his Cherokee wife, and to attend school with the local children.
Instead of the expected teepees and mud huts, Nell is surprised to find a wide main street leading through a town square bordered by neat frame buildings, not unlike those in her hometown.
Homesick and resentful, Nell’s friendship and adventures with her classmate, Callie, and the kindness of her uncle, aunt, and others lead her not only to a growing understanding, but respect and affection for the people she once considered primitive. As the grim threat of removal looms closer, she shares the sadness and alarm at the injustice that her friends might be forced to leave the land
they love.

This author is a very witty, charming, funny woman, who did her research on this project at New Echota State Historic Site which is located near where I live. She has also written a couple of cozy mystery series. If I recall correctly, someone here in this group was looking for a new series of cozy mysteries.

Thanks for the weekly thread, hermetic. I love the Japanese Art library you posted. What a gorgeous space.

[hermetic]

16. Sounds like a good story

Important. Say, I was in Athens GA once, for a couple of days back in the 70s. Seemed like a nice place.

Mignon sounds lovely and has 24 books out. Sheltielover is our cozy fan so hopefully she'll see this.

Thank you, as always, for finding such good books and sharing the details.