My review was posted in “What are you reading 8/27.”
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Finished Kutchinsky’s Egg by Serena Kutchinsky, a non-fiction story of a father’s obsession, family dysfunction, and a woman’s need to understand the full story. I had previously read a review but didn’t pick the book up until I read @Anne_Glasgow ‘s thoughts on the book posted here on BookBrowse. Now, I am back to War & Peace.
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Hope you enjoyed Kutchinsky’s Egg. It kind of reminded me of Family of Spies. A new generation comes along and digs up all the family secrets.
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What I’m reading right now isn’t great literature, and I thought I’d hate it, but I don’t really: THE LIES I TELL by Julie Clark. The book I read before this,THE CARETAKER by Ron Rash, was so good and so well written I thought it would make me dislike whatever I read next. And it sort of did at first. But it’s not bad. It’s also not a 5-star book.
I did enjoy Kutchinsky’s Egg. I was impressed with how dogged the author was in her research. And, you are right it is similar to Family of Spies in the next generation wanting to understand more about their family history.
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Kim - I love learning that you were a violinist!! And, I’m right with you on the upcoming Kingsolver book. She’s giving a talk in Pittsburgh (about an hour away for me) and I would love to go but we already had plans to be out of town (a visit that includes hearing concert pianist Bruce Liu!)
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Go As A River is the only book from last week that I’ve read and I loved it. I’m still listening to Yesteryear which sadly I don’t care that much about. I read an old book for a book club, Isabel Allende’s The House of Spirits and loved it. I read an advanced reader copy of The Translator by Annabelle Marx which I enjoyed. It will be published next month. And I finally read Remarkably Bright Creatures and loved it.
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A few weeks ago, I finished reading The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop by Lewis Buzbee. Actually, it was the third time I’ve read it because I thoroughly enjoyed the way he described working in bookstores and then as a publisher’s rep. When Buzbee describes walking the aisles of a bookstore and inhaling the scent of new books mixed with the smells coming from the cafe, I imagine myself right there with him. Even though a do a lot of my book purchasing online these days. I’d greatly like to talk books with this author.
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This past week I read a long novel and a short novella, both about Queens
THE PIRATE QUEEN by Ariel Lawhon
This is an historical fiction inspired by the life of Grace O’Malley also known as the O’Malley chieftain; She commanded many ships and controlled the Irish seas in the 16th century. The bookʼs plot alternates between her timeline as maiden, mother, and matriarch. The three timelines are threaded in the book based on the Trinity Knot. It is a triangular symbol made to symbolize the life spans of a woman. This was a long read but it kept my attention. The author used some of the folklore and tales passed down through generations.
UNCOMMON READER by Alan Bennett
An amusing short story about how Queen Elizabeth II developed a passion for reading when she was in her sixties. As she becomes more interested and sophisticated in her reading than with the duties of her monarchy, this becomes a challenge and discomfort to her staff and advisers. The author portrays the Queen as being witty and sharp as she starts writing her thoughts on paper. For example a favorite of mine is a note that she wrote: “You don’t put your life into your books. You find it there.”
I just finished The Ghost of the Mountains: Unraveling the Secrets of the Snow Leopard by Kulbhushansingh Suryawanshi and I really liked it! It lagged a tiny bit here and there and there were times I wish he had stuck to a more linear timeline but other than that it’s a wonderful, well-written book! It’s perhaps tied with The Dragon From Chicago by Pamela D. Toler for my favorite nonfiction of the year thus far.
One interesting (to me anyway) highlight:
Over the years, I have learned that snow leopards avoid stepping onto patches of snow if they can. Sometimes they go to a lot of trouble to avoid deep, wet snow. When they’re forced to walk over powdery snow, their long tails leave a snaking impression between their pugmarks, but their magic trick is walking over hard snow, where their wide paws don’t leave any marks. I have seen snow leopards and then searched in the place where they stood minutes before without finding any pugmarks.
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Thanks for reporting @Lisa_B3. I think I want to read about the Snow Leopard. Now I’m off to learn about your other favorite. Thanks!
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This week I’m reading Hollow Bones by Jodi Piccoult and After the Betrayal by Roberta Kagan. Light upon you was well researched but told from the perspective of a church mouse and a Lar which I thought was ridiculous.I did like Find me by Kate Bold
I just finished reading Speaker for the Dead, the sequel to Ender’s Game, which is one of my favorite books. I’m allay reading Shadow of the Hegemon and Verdant Cave. Also the first Game of Thrones and Host of Earth and Blood.
Kat!
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I’ve just started The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino. I am not far enough a long to comment on anything, yet. It’s highly rated, so I am optimistic. I’ve heard it has a unique premise so I am looking forward to it.
LAST WEEK: I read Big Little Truths by Liane Moriarty. It was a satisfying sequel, but I thought the prior book was a better read. It was interesting to see the primary characters from the original book 15 years later, and what had become of them in the aftermath of Perry’s death in book one. I like to immersively read (read and listen to the audiobook simultaneously). The audiobook did not add anything to this experience, and actually detracted from it. One or two of the voices the narrator used I found so grating, it was like an annoying earwig I couldn’t shake. The story started off with a compelling plot point, but then it stalled in the middle of the book. Whilie it eventually got wrapped up with an emotionally satisfying payoff, I was left wanting midway through the book.
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I loved War & Peace. I read it because I thought I “should” but ended up just loving it
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I’m reading Lily King’s Heart the Lover as I enjoyed Writers & Lovers and someone mentioned in this thread that they were connected. And I’m hoping to pick up a copy of Emily St. John Mandle’s Exit Party this week. I rarely buy books but I can’t wait to read it, so I may just splurge instead of waiting for a library copy.
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This summer I read Malice and Newcomer by Keigo Higashino, which have a different main detective. I thought they both were extremely well written but also very easy to read. I plan to read Devotion of Suspect X soon too.
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I read Flesh as well a few weeks ago, and I just felt sad after finishing the book. I understand why it was highly acclaimed, however, I don’t feel that it enriched my life in any way by reading it.
Good to hear, Amanda. I will check those other two titles out. Do you give star ratings to your reads? If so, do you recall what these were for you?
I really admired it and the discussion was really good also. There were people on both pro and con sides so we could all look at it from different perspectives.