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 still working through The Seven Sisters: Captives and Rebels in Revolutionary Europe’s First Family by Veronica Buckley. I am enjoying it and particularly appreciate how cultural and current events of the day, such as young Wolfgang Mozart’s visit to Vienna and the observations of William Hamilton of the eruptions (1767 - 1768) of Mount Vesuvius are interwoven into the stories of the royals.
Meanwhile, I started Act One by Moss Hart (playwright and theatre director) this week. Ann Patchett recommended it recently (in the last year?), then I found a copy prominently displayed at one of my favorite independent bookstores about 6 weeks ago, and finally I attended a local high school performance of Hart’s “You Can’t Take it With You” last weekend. So I pulled my copy from the stack of books and dove it.
I’m still listening to The Finest Hotel in Kabul. I am really enjoying this framing of history.
I read Python’s Kiss by Louise Erdrich. I struggle to appreciate short stories. These had elements of folklore, magic, and mysticism that sort of escaped my understanding.
I also read The Great Shadow by Susan Wise Bauer. I love all things medical so this was a fascinating exploration of the history of disease and how we deal with the crisis of spreading illness.
I’ve started Tom’s Crossing by Mark Z Danieliewski. It is massive at over 1000 pages but I’ve committed to trying to read one BIG book each quarter. It’s too soon to say how this one is going to go.
Have you ever picked up the first book in a series that had a bunch of complicated plotlines, only to find that absolutely none of them resolved or even intersected in the first book? That describes Strains of Malice by Andrew Beardsmore, Book 1 of the Nessemiah series. It was enjoyable enough that if I had time I’d pick up the second volume, but I’m not so wrapped up in it that I’m interested in making time for it, if that makes sense.
Also read The Greek House by Dinah Jeffries. It had some lovely descriptions, but my overall opinion of it generally matches what others have said in the book discussion.
I’m about halfway through Liar’s Poker by Michael Lewis for our 1000 Books Before You Die side read. (BTW, anyone is welcome to join this side read at any time. We’re reading The Little Red Chairs by Edna O’Brien in April - discussion opens May 1 - and A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines in May for discussion in June). I should finish it today & will post comments over in that topic once I do.
Then Tailbone by Che Yeun for review, The Flower Sisters by Michelle Collins Anderson in prep for an upcoming Q&A with her, and Aphrodite in Pieces by Lauren A.J. Bear for the online discussion here.
In audiobook format, I finished Chain Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. I had a lot of trouble getting into it at first, since I was expecting a much lighter book. By its end though… WOW. Can’t recommend this one highly enough - but it’s definitely not a feel-good book so you have to be in the right mood. It talks a lot about the prison system and reality TV/society, and let’s just say it’s not a pretty picture. Probably the best book I’ve read all year, though, and I hope to have a chance to reread it in print at some point.
Next up for me in audiobook is The Green Mile by Stephen King. Yes, I must admit I’ve never read it or seen the movie.
Just started Theo of Golden. I think I’m going to love it as much as other folks have. I needed to pick up something uplifting after yet another week of grim news.
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Just begun “The Frozen River” for my bookgroup. Then I’ll begin “Ms. Rebel Goes Back to the Chopping Block. Weather is getting better here so I’ll be able to read more outside.
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I’m reading I Am Not Sidney Poitier by Percival Everett. If you need a break from reading anything somber or heavy this is it! It is typical Everett, laugh out loud funny 
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I’m starting Vigil by George Saunders. I’m a fan of his past books and stories but I’m curious about this one given the mixed reviews on BookBrowse.
I’m also still rereading Anna Karenina and thoroughly enjoying it. I had to pause when my library hold for Vigil came in but looking forward to returning to Russia and Anna.
Yay! I was a bit on pins and needles waiting to hear your thoughts on Chain Gang All Stars. I’m so happy you were won over. It is dark but oh so compelling.
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Oh @Joyce_Montague I so want to delve into Everett’s backlist. I have three sitting unread on my shelf right now. Sidney Portier is one of them.
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@Anne_Glasgow, Nick is considering a BookBrowse book club similar to our online book club, only it would feature a backlist title everyone would have to source on their own rather than a book provided by the publisher to x members. Everett’s Erasure is high on the list of possibilities. I hope that moves forward as I’d really like to read that one.
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Great idea. So many backlist titles get missed for a variety of reasons. I have read Erasure, James, and The Trees. I enjoyed each of them for different reasons. I understand that the backlist contains a number of genres which is even more impressive.
The movie, American Fiction, was based on Erasure. The movie was pretty close to the book so you could watch it instead
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Anne, I Am Not Sidney Poitier is closer to Trees but much funnier.
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Good idea. I have so many unread books sitting on my big bookcase. I try to read some between reading newly published ones.
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I finished “The Invention of Charlotte Bronte” by Graham Watson and it was a great trip into the 1800s. I was not the biggest fan of her work but now want to go back and give some of the books a second look.
Now, I am reading “Angel Down” by Daniel Kraus, which is an immersive experience into the war setting when the natural becomes the unnatural. The one-sentence structure takes some getting used to but once you settle in, it works.
Next in my stack, I am anxious to read “Time of the Child” by Niall Williams, which sounds outstanding so I am looking forward to it. It sounds like a slice of life and significant to those with a family.
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I am reading With Love from Harlem by Reshonda Tate.
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I am now about half way through The Finest Hotel in Kabul and I am finding it fascinating. The way the hotel serves as the backdrop for explaining Afghanistan’s “recent” history is so engaging. This will probably be among my favorite non-fiction reads this year.
I loved The Time of the Child. Now I want to go back and read the book that preceded this one.
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@Gabi_J YES!!! Me too. I’m loving the hotel framework for several reasons but I think it is brilliantly employed in this particular instance. Those poor hotel staffers! The author is reading the audio and I absolutely love the tone of her voice and her accent makes it feel so intimate.
Re: The Finest Hotel in Kabul