What Fiction are you reading this week, April 14, 2024?

[hermetic]

Still hanging out with my besties: Ian Rankin (In A House of Lies) and Louise Penny (Kingdom of the Blind). Hectic week; not much time for reading. I should finish Penny's book today though and will start the audio version of Lockdown by Laurie R. King, another of my faves.

What favorite authors will you be visiting this week?

[cilla4progress]

1. Circe

Madeline Miller

[hermetic]

2. A triumph of storytelling

"In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child--not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power -- the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves."

Sounds great. VERY popular.

[Bayard]

3. "Fool Me Once," Harlan Coben

Just started last night. So far, so good.

Finished, "Simple Genius," by David Baldacci. Recommended.

Just ordered another batch of new used books. Always exciting!

[hermetic]

6. All right!

Happy reading. Look forward to hearing more.

[Srkdqltr]

4. Cut and Thirst by Margaret Atwood. Short story.

It was an interesting read. Sad and funny.
I couldn't decide on something to read this week so the short story was ideal.

[hermetic]

7. As a New York Times Book Review once said

"If you consider yourself an Atwood fan and have only read her novels: Get your act together. You've been missing out.”
She's written a bunch of short stories.

Here's a fun thing I discovered: you can listen to this on You Tube.

?si=LSk3ZoShjEyE2MWq

So, that's my thing to do this afternoon. Thanks!

[NanaCat]

22. Read it last week

Atwood apparently wrote it in her sleep. It's strong for the first 15 or so pages, then gets ratty at the end. Sort of like someone who's wearing a suit and tie...but the shirt has gotten untucked.

Most unnerving. She can do better--and often has.

[Runningdawg]

5. Sunglasses After Dark - Nancy Collins - for the 3rd time

It's a favorite I had forgotten all about until I saw a much-loved copy for sale at a thrift store. I read it twice when it first came out (late 80s). Reading it now, I'm going to call it a female (and much better) version of Blade.

[hermetic]

8. Half vampire,

half mortal? Cool.

[cbabe]

9. Prendergast series/Preston and Child

Start with straight forward murder mystery and then plots take blind curve into weirdness.

Speaking of Atwood and Preston and weirdness and the early Covid days, I dipped into:
Fourteen days, a collaborative novel edited by Atwood and Preston

Best read of the week was nonfiction real life thriller about Bitcoin. Reads like novel:
Number Go Up/Zeke Faux

[hermetic]

10. Are you starting with Relic?

That whole series should take up a good bit of your time. 23 books. I've enjoyed them.

[cbabe]

12. I read Relic years ago. Only remember there's a monster in a museum. This

time I started with the Nora Kelly/Corrie Swanson books and worked backwards.

I haven’t decided if I enjoy them or not. Maybe when I get used to the plotting style…?

[vanlassie]

24. I started 14 Days about an hour ago.

Then got busy. Did you decide to (not to) read?

[cbabe]

25. I read a few stories but lost patience as they

were meandering and didn’t seem to add up to anything.

Then I read the last story for the weird surprise end that felt like a contrived wrap up.

How about you?

[vanlassie]

26. Not sure I'm going to invest.

Seems a bit gimmick-y.

[cbabe]

27. Yep. Good try. No cigar.

[brer cat]

11. Rereading To Dance With the White Dog by Terry Kay.

I am a huge fan of Kay, and reread some of his books every couple of years. White Dog is always worth the time.

[hermetic]

13. From 1993

In this “hauntingly beautiful story about love, family, and relationships,” a mysterious dog helps an elderly man in his final days. Sounds quite lovely.

[japple]

14. Another huge fan of Terry Kay, here. I love To Dance With the White Dog and need to

put that on my list to re-read!

[japple]

15. Thanks for the weekly thread, hermetic. I'm not reading fiction this week, but a

very interesting story nonetheless. David Mas Masumoto's book, Secret Harvests: A Hidden Story of Separation and the Resilience of a Family Farm

I discover a "lost" aunt, separated from our
family due to racism and discrimination against the disabled. She had a mental disability due to childhood meningitis. She was taken away in 1942 when all Japanese Americans were considered the enemy and imprisoned. She then became a "ward" of the state. We believed she had died, but 70 years later found her alive and living a few miles from our family farm. How did she survive? Why was she kept hidden? How did both shame and resilience empower my family to forge forward in a land that did not want them? I am haunted and driven to explore my identity and the meaning of family—especially as farmers tied to the land. I uncover family secrets that bind us to a sense of history buried in the earth that we work and a sense of place that defines us.

So far SO good. Lovely writing style.


Edit to add: I didn't realize that Terry Kay died in 2020. Also, many readers will rejoice that Leif Enger has a new book, I Cheerfully Refuse and it sounds like another winner!

[hermetic]

16. Oooh, gotta get that one...

I Cheerfully Refuse epitomizes the “musical, sometimes magical and deeply satisfying kind of storytelling” for which Leif Enger is cherished. A rollicking narrative in the most evocative of settings, this latest novel is a symphony against despair and a rallying cry for the future.

Just put it on hold at the library so should have it fairly soon. Thanks for that info!

[NanaCat]

21. I was lucky

And snagged the Enger from my library list without a hold. Bloody hell, everything else got yanked up in 5 minutes.

The release I really want, though is Clear by Carys Davies. It's set during the second phase of Highland Clearances (1840s), when the British government sought to 'correct' their previous first round of forcibly evicting Scottish people from their homelands so that the British landowners could maximize their profits. The second round will now evict any stragglers, as well as those evicted to new places (yes, this was stupid). Many Scots would emigrate to American during this second phase (like my nan's grandfather, a wee lad at the time). In this eviction case, a minister takes a job to boot the sole remaining occupant off an isolated island. When the padre arrives, he falls down a cliff and guess who saves him and nurses him back to health? Curious to see how it's handled. I'm high up on the hold list, so I'll learn soon!

[mentalsolstice]

17. Hermetic, thank you for this thread.

I just finished Foster Dade Explores the Cosmos by Nash Jenkins. I’ve read mixed reviews and understand why it may not be for everyone. It’s a pretentious, heartbreaking book about rich, white boarding school kids. However, I’m quite appreciative to have the opportunity and patience of reading it.

I don’t know what’s next….

[hermetic]

18. Thank you

for your honest appraisal. We've all got our own preferences and thankfully live in a democratic society where we are free to enjoy them. For now, anyway.

My way of choosing my next read is to randomly select titles from my list and plug them into the library's search engine. If it's there, I click on it. Hope you can do something similar and find another that you enjoy.

[yellowdogintexas]

19. Bedfordshire Clanger Calamity by Steve Higgs (book 4 in a 15 book series)

I have really enjoyed these books and they are so refreshing in these scary times

The basic premise: Retired Detective Inspector who is now widowed decides to embark on a culinary tour of England to take cooking classes featuring the regional speciality of that area. He travels with his retired police dog, a very large German Shepard named Rex Harrison (Rex is a professional scene stealer, just warning you) . Albert and Rex are faced with a new crime at every town, and there are a few twists along the way. Is Bedfordshire going to be different? .......
from Amazon:
In the small Bedfordshire town of Biggleswade, retired detective Albert, and former police dog Rex, are enjoying a peaceful break from the murder and mayhem of the last week. Until the waitress serving him is arrested for murder …

… and he discovers she killed the café’s owner three days ago. But Albert saw her eyes when the police came for her – she is innocent!

With evidence stacked against her, no alibi and both motive and opportunity, she will carry the blame unless someone can prove otherwise. Left holding her dog when the police took her away, Albert does what he does best … he snoops.

There is something very odd going on, that’s for sure, and as he starts to investigate, the woman’s checkered past comes to life. Is she guilty after all?

In no time at all Albert becomes the target and this time it will take more than Rex to keep him safe. Is there a master criminal working behind the scenes? What possible motive could he have? One thing is for sure … this is no underdog tale!

[NanaCat]

20. Mixed bag

Liu Cixin's Three Body Problem. I'm not much on sci-fi or fantasy, so this will probably be a bit of a slog. Still, I hear good things about it, so who knows? Maybe I'll wind up enjoying the read.

Thought I'd give While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams (yes, that Ms Abrams!) a go. I understand she has several romance books under a pen name, but I'm no fan of recent entries to the genre, at all. Never thought I'd find 70s/80s bodice rippers preferable to anything, but here we are. Anyway, a legal thriller is more my style, so I'm glad to support Ms Abrams' side job with an actual purchase.

In the background for as long as it takes: I'll be pecking at Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. It's been on my TBR pile for-bloody-ever, but Victorian novels and I are not besties; however, I'm determined to get this one off that TBR, once and for all.

[question everything]

23. The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood

This is the third book in a month where the main characters are in their 70s.

Judith Potts, 77, lives alone in a house and one evening, while swimming in The Thames, she hears a cry and a shot. The next day she finds the body of her neighbor. She is not satisfied with the way the police investigation goes and soon draws two other women to investigate.

Each woman is different but the three of them finally solve the puzzle.

Judith Potts constructs crosswords puzzles for the local newspaper and views the clues in the crime scene as parts of a puzzle.

I also found that the author- Thorogood - is behind the successful TV series “Death in Paradise.”

Quite enjoyable.