What are you reading this week? (7/2/2025)

Finished A Land So Wide for BookBrowse. Then a quick read of Elie Wiesel’s Night for my Banned Bookclub. Will be interesting to learn why some people want the book banned, the bookclub will be on Friday. Just started Midnight in Soap Lake by local author Matthew Sullivan. Fun to read a book that takes place in Eastern Washington. One of our many libraries is in Soap Lake.

Just finishing Return to Sender by Craig Johnson and am ready to start Fox by Joyce Carol Oates. Both are favorite authors and never disappoint. My public library tells me I have three holds ready: My Friends by Fredick Bachman, Kill Your Darlings by Peter Swanson and South of Nowhere by Jeffrey Deaver. I often wonder why all my holds come in at the same time! The chair on my back deck will see a lot of me in the coming week!

Thank you Lynne I just finished it. I really loved it. Very thought provoking

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I just finished I See You’ve Called in Dead by John Kenney, a newer release. Lots of heart, sprinkled with sage advice. Some things really hitting home. Next, I just downloaded The Original by Nell Stevens after seeing it here on BB. I loved her novel, Briefly, A Delicious Life, about George Sand and Chopin.

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Paula, would like to hear the opinions from your book club discussions on the book Night.

Book club this coming Friday. Will let you know!

Kim,
It’s hard to describe the difference because after further reading Atmosphere it is a love story but the books I have read of Taylor’s is more historical fiction romance but in a third person narrative between time periods.

I just started The Phoenix Pencil Company. I’ve heard some mixed reactions, but so far it look like it will be a good choice for me.

I really liked I See You’ve Called in Dead. I thought John Kenney did a great job of surrounding a not so likeable protagonist with some deeply insightful characters.

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I found Booth an interesting read. I’d like to know what you think when you’ve finished it. William Kent Krueger is someone I just discovered a year or so ago, I missed a lot of hours of good reading before that.

Sounds like an interesting character. I will put it on my TBR list…making it even one more book too long…

I’ve been debating if I should add this to my TBR. I, too, love so many Irish writers. When you finish it will you let me know your thoughts and if you recommend?

The Storm Sister by Lucinda Riley

I just finished The Names today and I was so impressed that this is a debut. This will be a pick in one of my book clubs. Glad you are enjoying, Maureen.

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Vicki - it was not my favorite of his. The first one of his I read - the Queen of Dirt Island - is wonderful. Another great Irish author is Niall Williams - his Time of the Child broke my heart and put it back together!

I just finished the darkly comic Endling, about the Ukranian female scientist trying to save mushroom species from extinction and two other women involved in the “romance tour” industry. I loved it. I’m just digging in to The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong – the writing does not feel quite as intensely stunning as On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, but I am still enjoying it. I also just read the deeply absorbing non-fiction Daughters of the Bamboo Grove by the excellent journalist Barbara Demick, about the One Child era in China and all the corruption around the adoption of Chinese girls, which many Americans unwittingly participated in.

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I just finished Long Division by Kiese Laymon. It’s one in a line of books I had to grit my teeth to finish. I started Black in Blues by Imani Perry. There’s clearly something great here, but I’ve not been in the right mood for it.

I don’t know where I found my latest read, which is City of Ink by Elsa Hart but I am sure happy I did find it. It is an exceptional historical mystery set in 18th Century China of all things. The portrait of all aspects Chinese politics and personalities are so interesting. It is set as a police procedural but details of life during that time is incredible.

The View From Lake Como by Adriana Trigiani

Thank you, Evonne. I appreciate your feedback. I also loved Queen of Dirt Island and Time of the Child, as well as Williams’ earlier This is Happiness. There are more books to read than I have time so I try to choose ones I think I’ll enjoy most :slightly_smiling_face: Thanks again for sharing your rec’s.

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