What Fiction are you reading this week, January 20, 2019?

[hermetic]

Last edited Tue Jan 22, 2019, 12:31 PM - Edit history (1)

Books can take you away to incredible places.


I'm currently journeying across Wyoming on a old steam train with a young deputy Walt Longmire in The Western Star. I always enjoy Craig Johnson's mysteries and how he beautifully describes the western landscapes. This tale hurtles Walt into a head-on collision of past and present, placing him and everyone he cares about squarely on the tracks of runaway revenge. Good story.

Same for Anne Hillerman, whose Rock with Wings I am listening to on OverDrive. The title refers to an iconic rock formation in the New Mexico desert and her descriptions really take me back there. I can almost smell the pinyon. "Under the guidance of their mentor, retired Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn, Jim Chee and Bernadette Manuelito navigate unexpected obstacles and confront the greatest challenge yet to their skills, commitment, and courage."

What literary lands are you visiting this week?

Sorry I didn't get around to answering all your replies last week. I did read them but my time got eaten up by making this poster and then planning and joining the local Women's March which was a terrific and empowering experience.

[TexasProgresive]

1. Thanks for the thread.

I am just begining one of Ian Rankin's "other novels" The Flood. I am nearly finished with Robet Jordan's The Great Hunt book 2 of the Wheel of Time series but I left it at my office and I won't be back until Wednesday.

[hermetic]

5. Oh wow

This is the very first published novel by Ian Rankin. I had to dig a bit to find when it was published (2005) and see that first edition copies are selling for $500-1,000!

[at140]

2. Death by Hollywood by Steven Bochco

"Death by Hollywood heralds a devastatingly funny new voice in fiction. Bochco takes us on a twisty and dark murder investigation, hitting producers, writers, actors, and cops squarely below the belt...this is a book you can't put down.".....review by Srephen J, Cannell

"A vulgar sex filled romp--in the best sense; good, nasty fun"......review by Kirkus Reviews

[hermetic]

6. This sounds

like great fun. Thanks.

[Arkansas Granny]

3. Full disclosure: I listen to audio books these days instead of actually reading.

That being said, I'm currently listening to "Good Omens" by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. Sometimes I feel like something silly.

[hermetic]

7. That's cool

I always have an audio book on the go for when I'm working in the kitchen. Then I read physical books at night or when I travel. Good Omens is one of my 5 most favorite books. I read it again and again.

[Arkansas Granny]

11. I recently learned that my granddaughter had never read any Terry Pratchett books so

I gave her "The Colour of Magic" for Christmas. I hope she enjoys it.

[hermetic]

14. I should think so

Pretty much everybody loves/d Terry. He was a wonderful guy.

[Arkansas Granny]

15. Not many authors can make you laugh out loud like he could.

[yellowdogintexas]

23. Good Omens was a great read n/t

[Ohiogal]

4. Awesome sign and good for you joining the local march!

I just started "Snow Falling on Cedars" by David Guterson. I'd bought this book at a rummage sale two summers ago!

[hermetic]

10. Thanks!

I live in a very conservative area and was so happy that we got around 100 participants. Some older people asked what ITMFA stood for. When I told them they were like "oh my" but then said "yeah, it really is getting that bad, isn't it." So, points for our side.

I really should read Snow Falling on Cedars some day. A masterpiece, I believe.

[Ohiya]

18. I read that a few years ago.

It was very good.

[Ohiogal]

31. Thanks for the recommendation, Ohiya!

[Ohiya]

33. You're welcome!

For me, this was a very memorable book.

[violetpastille]

8. The Secret Life of Bees

I'm somewhere around Chapter 5. It's really tropey. But my daughter is enjoying it, so I have to keep quiet about the telegraphing the author did in the initial chapters.


For pleasure I'm reading two non-fiction books about dying.
A memoir "The Bright Hour" about a woman with terminal breast cancer and the other an audiobook "Die Wise".

[hermetic]

13. Highly

recommended mother/daughter reading there.

[murielm99]

9. I just finished "The Plague of Doves,"

by Louise Erdrich. It is a powerful book.

I will be reading a Joe Hill book next, "Strange Weather."

Is Anne Hillerman related to Tony Hillerman? I used to love his books. And some of the same characters are featured in her books? Wonderful. I will have to look for those. So many books, so little time.

On edit: I just googled her. I will look for her books.

[hermetic]

12. Yes!

She does a wonderful job of carrying on with her father's traditional style, and characters.

[Cuthbert Allgood]

24. Love both Erdrich and Hill.

If you are in Minneapolis, Erdrich's bookstore is worth an hour or two (and all of her books there are signed).

Don't know if you like comics, but Hill's Locke & Key series (I 6 trade paperbacks with some single shot comics) is awesome.

[Little Star]

16. I'm meandering my way through....

the last four books in Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plumb series but I have The Western Star on my book shelf. I like and have that whole series too.

[TwistedTinkerbelle]

17. I really enjoyed the Stephanie Plumb series.

I've read them all save for the spin offs, I may get around to those later. I'm reading the first of a series by Faith Martin-- Murder on the Oxford Canal. I've been on a bit of a cozy mysteries kick lately, I have the latest in Gretchen Archer's Davis Way Crime Capers waiting on me.

[Ohiya]

19. I read the first twelve..

I almost died laughing when I read the first one!

[hermetic]

22. I'm embarrassed to say

when Janet came up a few weeks ago, I had her confused with the late Sue Grafton. Then I read my first Stephanie Plumb novel and really enjoyed it and discovered my confusion.

[Ohiya]

20. I'm going to Japan!

In my reading, that is!

Just got back from Russia, (A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles) and Ireland, (The Ruin by Dervla McTiernan) and I'm currently in Canada, (A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny).

Gentleman was very good.

The Ruin is McTiernan's first novel and some compare her to Tana French. I actually liked this book better than Tana French's latest - The Witch Elm.

I'm enjoying Grace, (started yesterday, halfway through, probably finish tonight).

As soon as our Snow Emergency is over I'll make it to the library to pick up The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino.

Oh, and I love your poster! Very clever!

[hermetic]

21. Thanks

Well, you sure have been all over the map with your reading.

Hope your snow emergency ends soon with zero damage. Stay warm and cozy.

[yellowdogintexas]

25. for a different take on Japan, try these"

Two different detective mystery series set in historical periods:

1. I J Parker's series Sugawara Akitada Mysteries (link to chronological order https://www.librarything.com/series/Sugawara+Akitada+Mysteries+-+chronological+order These mysteries are set in 11th century Japan About Sugawara Akitada:
His noble family fallen on hard times, Sugawara Akitada works as a minor official in the Ministry of Justice in Heian Kyo, capital of Japan in the 11th century. The post is boring, but there are bills to pay, servants to maintain and a diminished estate to keep up as best he can. However, Akitada also has a sharp mind and an inquisitive nature, both of which get put to the test as he unravels murders and mysteries that carry him from the depths of the most common peasant hovels to the sacred halls of the Imperial Palace itself. Bound not only by his sense of decency and honor, but the strict codes and social structure of Ancient Japan, Akitada must step carefully while gathering clues to solve the puzzles before him.

2. Laura Joh Rowland's Sano Ichiro Mystery Series (link to chronological order and her other books)

https://www.bookseriesinorder.com/laura-joh-rowland/ These books are set in late 17th century Japan during the Shogunate years.

Both series are very well written and evocative of their respective eras. Lots of details about Japanese society . Good characters

[Ohiya]

34. Thanks for the tips.

[yellowdogintexas]

26. currently reading Royal Institute of Magic - Elizabeth's Legacy

author is Victor Kloss.

Invisible Nations, Magic, lost parents, etc

Kind of formulaic but still fun.

[yellowdogintexas]

29. before that one, I read The Game of Shadows one in a long series by Ernest Dempsey

High adventures in archaeology and lost artifact discovery with the requisite villains and heroes.

These are fast moving and fun to read. Like the 3 main characters, Sean, Adriana and Tommy.

the first book is The Secret of the Stones.

[hermetic]

37. Those do

sound really good. I like archaeology and lost artifact stories. Thanks!

[Cuthbert Allgood]

27. Still working on The Twelve (The Passage book #2)

Last week was finals week, so that took most of my time.

So far I'm liking The Twelve. It's a lot more tightly written than The Passage. Enough so that I'm wondering if he got a new editor that didn't put up with all the bloat he seemed to like to write.

This past week was one of those weeks where 4 different books come up from the holds I placed. So I have the following to get through in 3 weeks (I do Kindle holds when possible for easy of keeping the books with me on my phone):
American Pastoral (Roth's Pulitzer winner)
Leah on the Offbeat (sequel to Simon and the Homo Sapiens Agenda--became the movie, Love, Simon)
She Rides Shotgun (young adult novel highly recommended by another English teacher)

Plus I am working through I'll Be Gone in the Dark for nonfiction.

Just typing that makes me feel like I'm not going to make it through all that in 3 weeks. Challenge accepted, I guess.

[hermetic]

38. You can do it!

I just saw the movie Love, Simon which was so wonderful.

[Cuthbert Allgood]

43. I have not seen the movie. The book is fantastic.

Very sweet and gives a gay male love story in young adult literature that is just a solid love story.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

28. Kristin Lavransdatter.

It's a classic that I should have read years ago, but the translation was so stilted and difficult and fake-medieval that I never did. But there's a new translation that's clear and clean, and now it's a wonderful book.

[hermetic]

39. That sounds great

Glad to hear it's more accessible now.

Stay safe and warm over there. I saw some places in MN got -40 now.

[Number9Dream]

30. Finished "Ancients" by David Golemon

This was an action, page-turner in the same vein as James Rollins or Clive Cussler. It had to do with Atlantis, and a device which could cause earthquakes. It was just OK... not as good as Mr. Rollins or Mr. Cussler. I have a library hold on the new James Rollins. We lost power for four hours this morning due to the winter storm through PA, but we still got down to feed and water the 9 barn cats.

[Ohiya]

35. I was just thinking of Japanese fiction...

and literally just a minute or two ago I was thinking of David Mitchell's book Number9 Dream. Mitchell is English, but lived in Japan for a while. It's a good book, I've read it twice, but I've read almost all of David Mitchell's books twice!

[hermetic]

40. Glad you stopped by today!

First: thank you for your kitty care.

Did you see above, Death by Hollywood by Steven Bochco. When I saw that I thought that might be one you would enjoy. Stay safe and warm!

[Runningdawg]

32. I just got home from the library

I haven't started it yet but the next book is The Blood Gospel, first in a trilogy by James Rollins. here's the first sentence from the inside cover -
After a shocking discovery in Masada, Israel, Sergeant Jordan Stone, Father Rhun Korza and Dr. Erin Granger, racing against time to recover a book written by Christ's own hand, must contend with a force of ancient evil with impossible ambitions and a secret sect within the Vatican called the Sanguines.

[hermetic]

36. That

sure sounds good. Let us know later how much you liked it.

[Timewas]

41. Still reading

The Joe Dillard series, at #8 now..

[pansypoo53219]

42. re-reading jane eyre.

[pscot]

44. Thanks for what you do, Hermetic

That's a beautiful sign.

I read Uprooted, by Naomi Novik and I'm finishing Crosstalk by Connie Willis. Uprooted is about a magical world where the trees have been taken over by an evil ghost bent on revenge. Very well written, imaginative plot; it felt a bit brittle to me but I'm not the audience she's writing for.

I'm about 60 pages from the end of Crosstalk and I'm not sure where Willis is taking me. For Willis, confusion is a feature rather than a defect but this one seems more scattered than any of her others.

I plan to restore order this week with a big biography of Frederick Douglas by David W. Dwight. Cheers.

[hermetic]

45. Aw, thanks

I put a lot of work into it. Many people took pictures of it and there are three pictures in the local newspaper that show me marching, but you can't read the writing. A little too controversial, don't you know. But that's okay. I know a lot of people saw it and it spoke to them. So, it was totally worth the effort. And I had a really memorable day. Cheers to you, my friend.