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hermetic

(8,622 posts)
Sun May 2, 2021, 11:43 AM May 2021

What Fiction are you reading this week, May 2, 2021?



Harewood House, England


Reading Troubled Blood by "Robert Galbraith" who is actually J. K. Rowling. I wonder if she called herself that for J. K. Galbraith. hmmm. Anyway, it's been a long time since I last read a 1,000-page book and I am terrified of dropping it on my foot. It's really captivating, though. Just sails right along.

Listening to The Blessing Way, the very first Joe Leaphorn Mystery by Tony Hillerman from 1970. Also fascinating. I figured I had already seen this story on the TV series, but it would have lacked the marvelous prose Mr. H was so famous for. So I am really enjoying it.

What books are delighting you this week?
31 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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What Fiction are you reading this week, May 2, 2021? (Original Post) hermetic May 2021 OP
The Dutch House, cilla4progress May 2021 #1
I liked that one a lot, too hermetic May 2021 #2
Thank you! Psyched to see this "map"! cilla4progress May 2021 #4
All her books are great! bif May 2021 #25
Cool! cilla4progress May 2021 #26
That's the beauty of her writing. bif May 2021 #28
Wow - excited! cilla4progress May 2021 #29
Actually, "Bel Canto" isn't about opera. bif May 2021 #30
Oh funny! cilla4progress May 2021 #31
I just finished The Dutch House! cilla4progress May 2021 #27
Just finished "Wrong Side of 40 " by DeLeon SheltieLover May 2021 #3
Ooooh.... cilla4progress May 2021 #5
You will love it then SheltieLover May 2021 #8
That one does sound like a lot of fun hermetic May 2021 #6
She is really talented to work across genres this way! SheltieLover May 2021 #9
"A Decline In Prophets" by Sulari Gentill The King of Prussia May 2021 #7
HAPPY DAY AFTER YOUR BIRTHDAY! hermetic May 2021 #10
It's a lady! The King of Prussia May 2021 #11
That is awesome! hermetic May 2021 #12
Happy belated bday! SheltieLover May 2021 #18
Thank you! The King of Prussia May 2021 #19
Yw! SheltieLover May 2021 #20
Formerly a reader now a listener. TexLaProgressive May 2021 #13
That certainly sounds like an incredible journey hermetic May 2021 #14
Will do but there's stuff piled up in front of his. TexLaProgressive May 2021 #17
Kazuo Ishaguro's Klara and the Sun is waiting for me at the library Ohiya May 2021 #15
Isn't retirement great? hermetic May 2021 #16
Sure is, but there are still too many books that need to be read! Ohiya May 2021 #21
I'm working my way through the Robert Galbraith books myself! Staph May 2021 #22
Try to see the BritishTV version! PennyC May 2021 #23
I'm reading Tyrant, a historical adventure series, pscot May 2021 #24

cilla4progress

(25,901 posts)
1. The Dutch House,
Sun May 2, 2021, 11:46 AM
May 2021

Ann Patchett.

Fascinated to see where it's going...about 1/2-way through. Her writing really works for me! Have been struggling to find a fiction writer I can latch on to. So far so good!

hermetic

(8,622 posts)
2. I liked that one a lot, too
Sun May 2, 2021, 12:00 PM
May 2021

The magic literature map says you might also enjoy Alice Munro, Anne Tyler, Elizabeth Strout, Sue Monk Kidd and Carol Shields. https://www.literature-map.com/ann+patchett Just a thought.

cilla4progress

(25,901 posts)
4. Thank you! Psyched to see this "map"!
Sun May 2, 2021, 12:07 PM
May 2021

My daughter strongly recommends Where the Crawdads Sing, which I will read next, for fiction.

I like to have one fiction and one non-fiction going at the same time!

I think I'll start writing notes, too, when I'm done. Like taking pictures, it will spur memories. I tend to forget books (and films) after I finish them!

bif

(23,973 posts)
28. That's the beauty of her writing.
Sat May 8, 2021, 11:54 AM
May 2021

Every book is totally different. Most from different perspectives. They don't even feel like they're written by the same author. I feel most writers have one good novel in them. After they write that, they keep writing endless variations of the same book. Ann Patchett is just the opposite. That's why I enjoy her so much!

cilla4progress

(25,901 posts)
29. Wow - excited!
Sat May 8, 2021, 12:19 PM
May 2021

I just "opened" Bel Canto. I see it is about opera (title should have given it away )!

Hating the platform, though - Overdrive, through my library system. Dutch House was on Hoopla, also from my library, but much better interface.

Going to see if I have Kindle on my notebook.

bif

(23,973 posts)
30. Actually, "Bel Canto" isn't about opera.
Sat May 8, 2021, 12:43 PM
May 2021

I won't give it away. It was the first book I read by her and it got me hooked.

cilla4progress

(25,901 posts)
27. I just finished The Dutch House!
Fri May 7, 2021, 11:45 PM
May 2021

Reminded me of John Irving's writing - The World According to Garp.

Very, very moving.

Wrapped up a bit quickly at the end. But I got her point and it was beautiful and touching! Loved the characters.

SheltieLover

(59,599 posts)
3. Just finished "Wrong Side of 40 " by DeLeon
Sun May 2, 2021, 12:03 PM
May 2021

Outstanding feminist read! Very unique, a tad paraormal, with some mythological connections.

Now working my way through her Mudbug series, also well written.

Wow! DeLeon is really a prolific author and quite talented.

SheltieLover

(59,599 posts)
8. You will love it then
Sun May 2, 2021, 12:15 PM
May 2021

As well as her Mudbug series which is also a bit paranormal. I suggest starting with Trouble in Mudbug, the 1st in the series. I read them out of order as they came available in e-form through library & that works too.

DeLeon is really proficient across the cozy genres. One of my fav authors since Wrong Side of 40, and she seems to write several per year!

Wrong side of 40 is said to be the firstin a new series as well!

Enjoy!

hermetic

(8,622 posts)
6. That one does sound like a lot of fun
Sun May 2, 2021, 12:13 PM
May 2021

DeLeon shows 48 titles on her list, so, yeah. I really gotta start reading some of those.

7. "A Decline In Prophets" by Sulari Gentill
Sun May 2, 2021, 12:15 PM
May 2021

An Australian thriller set on the RMS Aquitania in the early 1930's. A new author for me. Enjoying it so far!

I had a BIG birthday yesterday, so we took advantage of the bookshops being open. Bought about 30 (whoops!).

The covid thing continues to improve. Still no patients at all at our local hospital.

Confusingly, the only threat seems to be cases and variants coming in from abroad. Confusing because Brexit was supposed to be about border control, but that is one thing that Brexit Boris and his "government" seem unwilling to control. Far right governments, eh?

hermetic

(8,622 posts)
10. HAPPY DAY AFTER YOUR BIRTHDAY!
Sun May 2, 2021, 12:31 PM
May 2021

Great gift choice.

Mr. Gentill has written quite a few, with 2 not yet published. He seems quite popular. He has one, Crossing the Lines, which sounds really interesting: It's about the process of creation, a gradual undermining of the authority of the author as the act of writing spirals away and merges with the story being told, a self-referring narrative crossing over boundaries leaving in question who to trust, and who and what is true. Wow.

11. It's a lady!
Sun May 2, 2021, 12:40 PM
May 2021
http://sularigentill.com/about-me/

Quite excited, because she now follows me on Twitter. I think the BEST thing about social mediais that I can tell authors, musicians etc. how much I enjoy their work, and they get to see it - and nearly always respond.

I was a little bit grumpy about my birthday - but piles of books eased the pain.

TexLaProgressive

(12,285 posts)
13. Formerly a reader now a listener.
Sun May 2, 2021, 01:29 PM
May 2021

I finished C.S. Friedman's This Alien Shore. It was great. I mean what's not to like, humans that are alien with implanted brainware, hackers, soul sucking aliens, multiple personalities in one person on the run from who know who across the galaxy, corporate pirates, smugglers, political Byzantine plots all trying to get a head some with deep seated hatred. Anyway it was loads of fun. I will be listening to Ms Friedman's sequel This Virtual Night when I finish with Iona Whishaw's A Killer in King's Cove.

Someone I know just recommended Ben Aaronovitch's "Rivers of London" series. Described as police procedurals and crime thrillers revolving around a police unit that deals with magic and the supernatural with historical aspects as well.

hermetic

(8,622 posts)
14. That certainly sounds like an incredible journey
Sun May 2, 2021, 01:46 PM
May 2021

Aaronovitch has a bunch to choose from. He even wrote some Dr. Whos.

Keep us apprised.

TexLaProgressive

(12,285 posts)
17. Will do but there's stuff piled up in front of his.
Sun May 2, 2021, 02:48 PM
May 2021

Sounds good like a mix of reality, fantasy and detective work.

Ohiya

(2,429 posts)
15. Kazuo Ishaguro's Klara and the Sun is waiting for me at the library
Sun May 2, 2021, 02:06 PM
May 2021

I don't know too much about it other that it being about an artificial intelligence and a young girl, I think. It had some good reviews. I liked his books, The Remains of the Day, and Never Let Me Go, but I didn't care much for his last book, The Buried Giant.

I really liked the latest Galbraith book as well as the latest Ann Patchett book. I recommended The Dutch House to one of my patients and she hated it. I think that was because it was derogatory towards Trump! Ha, I'm so glad I'm now retired!

hermetic

(8,622 posts)
16. Isn't retirement great?
Sun May 2, 2021, 02:20 PM
May 2021


Klara and the Sun sounds great. "A thrilling book that offers a look at our changing world through the eyes of an unforgettable narrator, and one that explores the fundamental question: what does it mean to love?"

Ishaguro won the Nobel Prize In Literature in 2017, and the Nobel committee described his books as "novels of great emotional force and said he has uncovered the abyss beneath our illusory sense of connection with the world."

I look forward to your thoughts on it.

Staph

(6,345 posts)
22. I'm working my way through the Robert Galbraith books myself!
Sun May 2, 2021, 08:02 PM
May 2021

You're one ahead of me -- I'm currently reading Lethal White. Captivating is the right word. These books are completely different from the Harry Potter books, but in both cases, you are drawn into the universe of the book and the characters.

I'm waitlisted on Troubled Blood, so next up is Janet Evanovitch's The Bounty, the latest in the Fox and O'Hare series. Good fun!


pscot

(21,037 posts)
24. I'm reading Tyrant, a historical adventure series,
Sun May 2, 2021, 09:49 PM
May 2021

by Christian Cameron. Cameron's style and subject matter are like Bernard Cornwell's. Heroes in armor, fearless and dripping gore; one difference being that Cornwell's characters revel in it while Cameron's complain about all the killing, but, being Greeks, rationalize it with philosophy. Tyrant is set in the period after Alexander's death. War is a constant. Cameron is well versed in the weapons and tactics of the time and the series is broad in scope, ranging from Odessa to Alexandria. There are Amazons and elephants and some really nasty villains. All in all a ripping yarn. Highly recommended. My library only had the 1st of this series. I've bought 2 on Amazon for kindle.

Hi Hermetic

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