What are you reading this week? Please share! We’d love to know.
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A light, but interesting read by Jen Psaki titled Say More. I’m just 1/3 into the book, but she seems to hit on both her highs and lows during her career, noting goofs she made, times when she had to step up her game if she wanted to be successful and who was helpful in her journey to eventually becoming press secretary for Biden. Some of the people who “helped” her were not necessarily the ones who took her under their wing but were ones who were in a more trial by fire mode.
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The Place of Tides by James Rebanks. This balm for the soul tells the true story of a season that Rebanks spends on a remote Norwegian island with two women known for collecting the coveted down from Eider ducks. Anna has long been known as the ‘duck woman’ and is spending her last season with the birds due to age and health. Ingrid, her friend, is helping with the last eider collection, and James joins them to learn more about the work and the lives they lead. This is a beautiful story about chosing solitude and quiet to live a life unconstrained by anyone else’s opinions. In our increasingly frantic world, this book was a gentle reminder of what really matters in life, and how to bring peace back to our own lives. 
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I finally broke out of my slump - what a relief! The book to do it for me was The Tapestry of Time. After I got about 25% of the way through, it completely hooked me. I don’t think I would have picked it up based on the description - four clairvoyant sisters in WWII - but the author really made it work. Great historical fiction - very well researched - and she made the ESP part believable. Looking forward to discussing it with folks next week.
Next will be a WWI book that also has some fantastic elements: Angel Down, by David Kraus (“An immersive, cinematic novel about five World War I soldiers who stumble upon a fallen angel that could hold the key to ending the war”) and then Death at the Sign of the Rook by Kate Atkinson.
In audiobook format, I’m enjoying Mischa Berlinski’s Mona Acts Out, after which I’m not sure. Maybe another Seethaler.
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I am thoroughly enjoying “So Far Gone” by Jess Walter. I have never read this author before, so he is new to me. Rhys Kinnick had just bloody had it. An divorced environmental reporter faced with the global shrinkage of his industry, Trump, his daughter married to an ultra-Christian know-it-all, among other insults of the age, he finally blows a gasket at a family Thanksgiving and punches his son-in-law. With that dramatic statement he leaves, heads north to a his family’s hide away on forty acres in the Northwest woods. He chucks his cell phone out the car window and goes off grid for the next seven years. His life is reduced until one day, out of the blue, a woman appears at his door with two children in tow. So, who are they? The kids he fails to recognize are his own grandchildren, sent with a neighbor who brought them to him based on a message from their mother, who has disappeared. And thus his journey begins,
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I just finished Flesh by David Szalay. I am not sure how I feel about it. The main character Istvan has a very strange life. Also the ending is very sad. Would like to hear from anyone else that has read the book! One thing I can say it was a fast read because the entire book had very short sentences!
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I like his books, a local Washington author, from Spokane.
I just finished All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker. I have mixed feelings. The first third of the book was a total page-turner, but after that it just fell off a cliff for me. It’s 592 pages and at least 200 pages too long. Erratic pacing. Lots of interesting characters but by the end I just didn’t find them to be believable. Sad. I really wanted to like it more.
Am now starting Atalanta by Jennifer Saint. I have loved her other books and especially the genre of mythological retelling.
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I’ve just started “Dogged Pursuit” by David Rosenfelt and will get nothing done until I’ve finished it. Not nearly as literary and/or deep as what most of you are reading but I love his Andy Carpenter series for Andy’s snarky dialogue, the dog situations, and knowing that justice will prevail. The pace of the plot is fast moving and it’s the perfect antidote for my summer slump.
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I really enjoyed Dogged Pursuit. Felt fresher than some of Rosenfelt’s recent ones. His books are always great “palate cleansers.”
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Just started No More Tears about J&J. Also, listening to “Mickey 7” and reading The Briar Club. I find Kate Quinn’s books run hot and cold for me but am enjoying The Briar Club. And while I enjoy sci-fi, Mickey 7 reads a little too YA for me, plus doesn’t have a very involved plot. Entertaining but not one I would rush to recommend.
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I agree with you about So Far Gone. The plot was so timely and full of action. “No man is an island” has never been a truer statement.
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The Amalfi Curse by Sarah Penner. Set on the Amalfi Coast of Italy featuring sunken treasure, sea witches, volcanos, and the islands of the Sirens. Light historical fantasy for a great summer read. Loved her book The Lost Apothecary.
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I finished “Feeding Ghosts: A Graphic Memoir” yesterday and started “There Are Rivers in the Sky” today. Feeding Ghosts is great if you are looking for a quick read and like graphic novels. “There Are Rivers in the Sky” seems like it will be really deep so I hope I “get it.”
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On advice from a book club member, I’m reading Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks. The author speaks to the shocking numbness that the sudden death of a loved one can bring. The grieving delayed as life and its customary demands pushes one onward. Years after losing her husband, she removed herself to a remote island off Tasmania to give herself the time and space to come to terms with her unexpressed feelings. I’m just about one-quarter into this rather short memoir and am intrigued to discover how she will be changed by it.
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I am reading two very good books. In fact ,I highly recommend them.
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid.
It is Soo good. It brings back memories for me. I read an astronomy book in sixth grade. I was awes by it. Then in high school,watching the Space shuttle Challenger.
This book is so interesting. It has a lot of feelings in it. Heartbreak,awe, excitement. The writing is well done and the characters are so believable.
The second book,again,I highly recommend is The Phoenix Pencil Company by Allison King. Wow! This is a mix of historical and magical realism. So interesting.
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I just finished The Life Impossible by Matt Haig. So engaging, readable and inspiring. It was just what I needed to help me during this current season of uncertainty. The protagonist in the novel is also dealing with sadness and grief due to loss and loneliness, so I was able to live vicariously through her as I read about her adventures in Ibiza. I would highly recommend this read, especially for those who need to be reminded of life’s mysteries and wonders.
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Like water drops - Issa, ARC from Hidden Gems. It’s VERY good and different.
Is she really going out with him - Sophie Cousens, for Reader’s Digest book club discussion.
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Yes the Tapestry of Time was excellent though the beginning was a bit rough. But by the end I truly enjoyed it and can’t wait to discuss it.
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So glad I finally finished The Lost Continent by Bill Bryson. Just started Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall for my book club meeting next week. Am really hoping it breaks me out of my reading slump.
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