Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

hermetic

(8,622 posts)
Sun Aug 8, 2021, 11:37 AM Aug 2021

What Fiction are you reading this week, August 8, 2021?



I am halfway through The Winter King. This book has A LOT of words and you don't want to miss a single one. The pages are so very dense with text; a paragraph can last for an entire page, thick with details and descriptions. Cornwell does a very well- researched job in telling a story which just might have happened. I doubt we'll ever really know. He sure makes it feel real, though.

Listening to First Among Sequels, Book 5 of the Thursday Next Series by Jasper Fforde. The title is a parody of First Among Equals, which is the title of a Jeffrey Archer novel. The story is a parody of pretty much everything else in the modern world, and England in particular. So funny.

What fiction/alternative facts will you be enjoying this week?

22 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
What Fiction are you reading this week, August 8, 2021? (Original Post) hermetic Aug 2021 OP
Just finished Timewas Aug 2021 #1
Good stuff! hermetic Aug 2021 #3
Just started "A Well Behaved Woman" dhol82 Aug 2021 #2
Yes, so do I. hermetic Aug 2021 #4
I have been reading "Tubby Palooza," a nine book set rzemanfl Aug 2021 #5
Those sound like good stories hermetic Aug 2021 #7
Different publisher is what they say. n/t rzemanfl Aug 2021 #15
My local library system has the Katrina book in hardcover. I put a hold on it. rzemanfl Aug 2021 #20
My reading mojo has deserted me The King of Prussia Aug 2021 #6
Your shopping mojo hermetic Aug 2021 #8
It was a bit strange The King of Prussia Aug 2021 #9
"The Midnight Library" by Matt Haig. CrispyQ Aug 2021 #10
Ooooh, Sci Fi hermetic Aug 2021 #12
I have finally gotten used to reading on a device. CrispyQ Aug 2021 #16
Romance novels are like cheese puffs pscot Aug 2021 #11
Nice analogy hermetic Aug 2021 #13
p.s. hermetic Aug 2021 #14
Sometimes you need cheese puffs mainer Aug 2021 #21
I just started Susan Hill's, The Risk of Darkness. Polly Hennessey Aug 2021 #17
Looks good hermetic Aug 2021 #18
I don't how this author came my way, but I'm thrilled to find him and to know he has written japple Aug 2021 #19
Sounds like another winner hermetic Aug 2021 #22

Timewas

(2,291 posts)
1. Just finished
Sun Aug 8, 2021, 11:56 AM
Aug 2021

Ludlums Treadstone Exile and am starting Brad Thor's Black Ice, next on the list will be Grisham's The Guardians

hermetic

(8,622 posts)
4. Yes, so do I.
Sun Aug 8, 2021, 12:09 PM
Aug 2021

"The riveting novel of iron-willed Alva Vanderbilt and her illustrious family as they rule Gilded-Age New York...Alva also defied convention for women of her time, asserting power within her marriage and becoming a leader in the women's suffrage movement."

Sounds great.

rzemanfl

(30,288 posts)
5. I have been reading "Tubby Palooza," a nine book set
Sun Aug 8, 2021, 12:15 PM
Aug 2021

of Tony Dunbar's mysteries, set in New Orleans. The main character is Tubby Dubonnet, a lawyer who loves food, drink, fishing, and women. He gets into all sorts of scrapes with evil characters For some reason, Amazon had the whole Kindle set for free one day a few weeks ago. I've been enjoying it. The only drawback is the publisher does not have the rights to "Tubby Meets Katrina." I will have to read that one out of sequence someday.

hermetic

(8,622 posts)
7. Those sound like good stories
Sun Aug 8, 2021, 12:44 PM
Aug 2021

In New Orleans. And what a good deal you got. Seems odd about the Katrina one, though. It sounds like such a good story, where he has to stay in the Convention Center with thousands of other refugees from Hurricane Katrina. Then, in all the chaos, an escaped psychopath assaults and then stalks Tubby’s daughter. I'll be looking for that one.

6. My reading mojo has deserted me
Sun Aug 8, 2021, 12:17 PM
Aug 2021

Been reading "Murder on the Clifftops" by Betty Rowlands for over a week. Not halfway through it yet. It's not gripping.

Still have the book buying mojo. Visited Sedbergh which markets itself as "England's Book Town". Got quite a haul. Then, the weather being awful, went to Carlisle where there is one of the North's best bookshops. Another haul.

Even went to a gig. "The Drifters". Fantastic.

Stay healthy!

hermetic

(8,622 posts)
8. Your shopping mojo
Sun Aug 8, 2021, 12:52 PM
Aug 2021

seems to be intact. Good times. Have you ever read Fforde? I think you might find his stories most enjoyable.

The Drifters, eh? I'll bet that was a great time. Lots of singing along.

Getting harder to stay healthy around here but I'm working on it. Thanks.

9. It was a bit strange
Sun Aug 8, 2021, 01:11 PM
Aug 2021

Every tune was a sing along banger, but most people weren't quite sure what to do. Didn't really cast off the shackles until the encores.

I'll give Fforde a go. Thanks for the recommendation 😀

CrispyQ

(38,240 posts)
10. "The Midnight Library" by Matt Haig.
Sun Aug 8, 2021, 01:40 PM
Aug 2021

Very interesting premise. A little slow on the start, but I'm about 2/3 way through & find it engaging.

Last book was "Miss Benson's Beetle" by Rachel Joyce. I loved the cover. But the story? Meh. It was just so-so & I like beetles. I skimmed the last half of the book. It had kind of a nice ending, but overall, the characters didn't grab me.

hermetic

(8,622 posts)
12. Ooooh, Sci Fi
Sun Aug 8, 2021, 01:51 PM
Aug 2021
Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books, each one the story of another reality. One tells the story of your life as it is, along with another book for the other life you could have lived if you had made a different choice at any point in your life. While we all wonder how our lives might have been, what if you had the chance to go to the library and see for yourself? Would any of these other lives truly be better?


From 2020. Six awards. Must read!

CrispyQ

(38,240 posts)
16. I have finally gotten used to reading on a device.
Sun Aug 8, 2021, 02:11 PM
Aug 2021

When I signed up for it as an e-book, I was #423 on the list & I think there were 12 copies. It took about three months to get it.

pscot

(21,037 posts)
11. Romance novels are like cheese puffs
Sun Aug 8, 2021, 01:42 PM
Aug 2021

The nutritional value is pretty low, but you can't eat just one. I've been loafing on the deck all summer, reading the Bridgerton series by Julia Quinn. The writing improves as the series progresses and there was only one that I put down without finishing. I liked them better than I thought I would; no politics, no violence, no cloud of impending doom on the horizon.

Speaking of which, I'm also reading Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson. This is a rather optimistic view of our response to AGW, which pushes it into the realm of fantasy, but it's an interesting read about the doings of a UN agency tasked with protecting the interests of future humans. They even have a black ops unit.

I'm also reading Hitch-22, Christopher Hitchens memoir. I had hoped he would go on forever, like Noam Chomsky. The world is a poorer, less interesting place without him.

hermetic

(8,622 posts)
13. Nice analogy
Sun Aug 8, 2021, 01:58 PM
Aug 2021

Mmmm, cheese puffs....

I think I need to read Robinson's book. It's something I've been fretting about a lot lately.
"It is a novel both immediate and impactful, desperate and hopeful in equal measure, and it is one of the most powerful and original books on climate change ever written."

Thanks.

mainer

(12,179 posts)
21. Sometimes you need cheese puffs
Fri Aug 13, 2021, 02:50 PM
Aug 2021

A diet of nothing but broccoli (so healthy and virtuous) is a life of misery.

Polly Hennessey

(7,451 posts)
17. I just started Susan Hill's, The Risk of Darkness.
Sun Aug 8, 2021, 02:36 PM
Aug 2021

I am definitely ready for some more Detective Chief Inspector Simon Serrailler. I can even pronounce his name. 😌

hermetic

(8,622 posts)
18. Looks good
Sun Aug 8, 2021, 02:53 PM
Aug 2021

"The Risk of Darkness is truly the work of a writer at the top of her form." One reviewer says, "Susan's writing can be dark and creepy, then brilliant and joyous...much like life." I hadn't heard of her but she does sound like someone I would like to read. Not to be confused with the other Susan Hill who writes children's books.

japple

(10,317 posts)
19. I don't how this author came my way, but I'm thrilled to find him and to know he has written
Sun Aug 8, 2021, 08:25 PM
Aug 2021

several books. That Bright Land by Terry Roberts is just what I've been looking for. Another good North Carolina writer. The style reminds me a bit of Cold Mountain and the area he writes about is one that is near and dear to my heart.

In the Summer of 1866, Jacob Ballard, a former Union soldier and spy, is dispatched by the War Department in Washington City to infiltrate the isolated North Carolina mountain community where he was born and find the serial killer responsible for the deaths of Union veterans. Based on true events, That Bright Land is the story of a violent and fragile nation in the wake of the Civil War and a man who must exorcise his own savage demons while tracking down another.


Also dealing with sick kitties. It started with one of the fosters and has now spread to 3 others. Whole lot of sneezing going on! I thought their vaccinations were good for this stuff, but maybe it's a variant strain. At least they are all eating and don't seem to feel too bad.

Thanks for the weekly thread, hermetic. Hope all is well with you and your felines!

hermetic

(8,622 posts)
22. Sounds like another winner
Sat Aug 14, 2021, 11:07 AM
Aug 2021

Also sounds like some things never change: the story of a violent and fragile nation.

I sure do hope your fur babies are doing better now. Mine are fine and I just got two fosters added to the group. One is that mom who escaped the vet and came back here and the other is one of her babies, Kimmy. The shelter they were at recently got inundated with babies without mothers so they needed the space. These 2 were terribly shy and frightened so not ready for adoption yet and all other fosters here were busy. So, I got 'em.

As you know, it is always a joy to have a kitten around and Kimmy is no exception. She has really gotten over her shyness and is exploring everything. She's still hesitant of people but that's slowly getting better. Here she is, enjoying her little outside cage.



Her mom, Fuzzy, still spends most of her time in hiding. She's going to be a while warming up to folks, if ever. But, she's been feral for at least 2 1/2 years, so...

You take care, of yours and of you, too.

Latest Discussions»Culture Forums»Fiction»What Fiction are you read...