What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? Please share! We’d love to know.
I’m currently reading Happy Land by Dolen Perkins-Valdez for the open BookBrowse First Impressions Book Club Discussion. I’m loving it and can definitely understand all of the accolades it received from reviewers AND readers.
Audiobook wise, I’m about half way through the 17+ hours The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. I only listen to it when I’m driving which actually works well. It is a landmark book on the immigrant experience and U.S. food production in the late 1800s and early 1900s, but so filled with hardships and despair that I don’t think I could listen longer than 30-60 minutes at a time.
Last week I finished up Yesteryear for review here at BookBrowse. It was good, not great. It probably didn’t help my opinion of the novel that I was expecting something different - more time travelly/historical fiction, like Connie Willis’ Doomsday Book or Octavia Butler’s Kindred. Yesteryear turned out to be a satire about tradwife influencer culture.
Also read Women of a Promiscuous Nature for our discussion here (good, but grim!) and The Sister’s Curse, Nicola Solvinic’s follow up to The Hunter’s Daughter. If you haven’t read it yet, it’s definitely worth your time. I thought it was stronger than her earlier book. (She’ll be visiting us for a Q&A in a couple of weeks.)
Currently reading a techno-thriller (Nicholas). Not great. And then on to The Moonshine Women. BTW, no, this one hasn’t shown up for anyone yet. I badgered the publicist for an ebook of it weeks ago.
In audiobook format I’ve got about 1.5 hours left in my 20-hour space opera (Book 20 of the Expeditionary Force series by Craig Alanson) and then I’m going to start Chain Gang All-Stars thanks to recommendations here.
I finished the audio of Tilt which I found really uninteresting. Next up on audio is The Zorg.
I’m still reading (a little beyond halfway) A Remembered Soldier. The writing is beyond beautiful and I’m really engrossed in the story but it’s been slow going. I think partly because it is written in 2nd person pov and is pretty intense.
I’m reading Kin by Tayari Jones. Not even halfway through so I’m not commenting yet. An American Marriage by her was one of my favorites.
I am reading “Raising Hare: A Memoir” now and it is off to a great start. It reminds me of “H is for Hawk from about a decade ago with the themes of relating to animals on a deeper level for care and protection. I finished “All the Blues in the Sky” earlier this weekend and highly recommend it to anyone who dabble in middle-grade literature every now and again. (But avoid it if you are in the process of grieving.) Next up in the stack in “The Invention of Charlotte Bronte,” which someone recommended on here and I am nervous that I have not read enough Bronte to fully appreciate the book.
Good selections all, @Anthony_Conty! FWIW, I really enjoyed The Invention of Charlotte Brontë and I know others here have read it as well. It’s been a minute since I read it, but I feel like very little of it had to do with her novels themselves, that it mostly concerned her adult life and the role her friends played in solidifying her legacy, particularly Elizabeth Gaskell, who wrote her first biography.
If you’re interested, we had a great Q&A with the author a few months back.
Raising Hare is really wonderful. I knew absolutely nothing about hares so I enjoyed the experience in befriending one.
I just finished Master Slave Husband Wife by Ilyon Woo. I found it informative and propulsive. I really appreciated how the author constantly offered historical context to the story of the two persons escaping slavery and finding their way to safety.
I am also reading All the Beauty in the World by Patrick Bringhley. I just started a reread of Weyward by Emilia Hart on audio. I am not usually a re-reader, but this is the seleciton for one of my book clubs so I want to refresh my memory before our discussion. So far I am enjoying it more that I did the first time. We’ll see how long that lasts.
I ‘m in the mood for something immersive to take me to another place and time so I’m rereading Anna Karenina.
I DNF’d John by Niall Williams. His writing is beautiful, as always, and he remains one of my favorite authors. Sadly, I decided that now is just not the right time for me to contemplate questions of faith and the gospels so perhaps I’ll come back to it at a future date.
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I read Stone Yard Devotional which I cannot stop thinking about. 
. I also finished Kin by Teyari Jones which was . Such different approaches to grief and forgiveness. Great week of reading.
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I just started Honor by Thrity Umrigar and am thoroughly enjoying it. I have wanted to read one of Umrigar’s books for a long time and our local library book discussion group finally put one of her works in my hands.
https://www.bookbrowse.com/reviews/index.cfm/book_number/4382/honor
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Hi @Barbara_B1 I thought Master Slave Husband Wife was such a remarkable piece of history captured brilliantly. Those two were smart, capable, and apparently great actors. It was an unforgettable tale.
I just bought the paperback of Raising Hare yesterday along with a paperback of The Fox and I. My husband and I visited a major book retailer yesterday and he picked up two books we couldn’t find anywhere else without ordering so I had to get books, too!
I actually went in looking for a cookbook, but they didn’t have it. I’m really looking forward to Raising Hare.
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I’ve been reading Anna Karenina through Nick’s Chapter a Day Read-Along. I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how approachable it is to read.
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@Lana_Maskus - Anna Karenina and War and Peace are two of my favorite novels. They get a bad rap as being difficult and/or long, but I found both very approachable and no longer than a lot of modern novels.
Last week I finished Call Me Ishmaelle by Xiaolu Gu, a retelling of Moby Deck from a more female perspective, which I really enjoyed. And now I’m deep into The Wayfarer, an absorbing 700 page epic saga by Adam Johnson based on ancient Tongan myth and culture. I am loving being wrapped in theis very different – yet very relevant– world!
I just finished Audition by Katie Kitamura. It gets mixed reviews but I thought it was terrific. It makes you question what is truth and what is performance. Also makes you think about identity—who are we really? Lots to chew on.
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I’m reading with my online book club King of Kings. What perfect timing to understand the US-Iran topic. I was in my early 20’s. I thought I understood, not. It is an engaging, turn the page, fast read. What caused the Shah’s downfall, and the Ayatollah rise to power, and Iran hostage crisis. It worth the read.
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I’ve looked at King of Kings a few times, @Susan_C2, but haven’t picked it up yet. Glad to hear it’s worthwhile.