What Fiction are you reading this week, December 5, 2021?

[hermetic]

A stairway to haven.

I'm reading The Madness of Crowds, the "most anticipated book of 2021," by Louise Penny. The pandemic comes to Three Pines and brings some moral and ethical dilemmas, as well as death. A real page-turner, it's terrifyingly timely.

Listening to Need to Know by Fern Michaels. She has written over 160 novels but only a few are available in audio here so I'm starting with the oldest one I could get. DU'er yellowdogintexas has been reading this Sisterhood series for quite some time now and has piqued my interest in them. Not disappointed. I like the way these ladies work. And I thank that same DU'er for telling me about this website, which is a terrific place to learn more about Fern and the Sisters. https://www.fernmichaels.com/series/the-sisterhood-series/

What books are you liking this week?

[gab13by13]

1. Not fiction, well sort of,

The Books of Enoch.

[Mme. Defarge]

2. Just finished State of Terror

and thinking the ending might have suggested the possibility of a sequel. 🤞🏻

[hermetic]

5. Merveilleux!

I am so looking forward to reading that.

[Mme. Defarge]

13. Actually, I listened to the audiobook

and loved the reader. She had a broad mid-western accent and sounded a lot like Hillary!

[yellowdogintexas]

3. Hello Hermetic Glad you are enjoying your first Sisterhood book

Need to Know was a really good one. As always the "justice" is inventive and well deserved by the perpetrator.

I can't help you in the audio department, but these books are loanable in the Kindle format.

If you would like to start with #1, let me know and message your email to me. You will have the book for 2 weeks. I think all of them can be loaned.

These books are relatively short and very fast reads. They are longer than novellas,though. Ms Michaels covers her story very efficiently.

I loved her story on her website of the revenge suggestions her readers sent!

[hermetic]

9. Yes, that was so cool

What she said on her website. Hope others here will check that out.

Thanks so much for your offer. I don't have a Kindle, or any reader. I only listen to the audibles on my computer while I am working in the kitchen every afternoon. Nighttime is for actual books and the library does have a great many of hers. Since they are short I think I will just get one every time I go to pick up my latest order.

[jmbar2]

4. "Beloved" by Toni Morrison

I saw that some schools were trying to ban it, so figured it must be pretty good. It is.

[hermetic]

10. Cool

That is often my criteria for selecting a book, as well. If "they" don't want people to read it, it must be really worthwhile.

[murielm99]

27. Interesting.

I just read Sula. I picked up a copy among the free books at the senior center.

[japple]

28. If you can get the audioversion of Sula with Toni Morrison reading it, you will

be richly rewarded. I read the book many years ago, but when I had eye surgery in 2012 and had to forego reading for a period of time, I listened to the audiobook and was blown to kingdom come by the power of Toni Morrison. It was a beautiful experience.

[yellowdogintexas]

6. Sisterhood Book 15. Vanishing Act just started it last night..

In which the ladies of Pinewood receive a frantic phone call from Nikki’s fiancé, Jack Emery. Harry Wong–Yoko’s true love and a staunch supporter of the Sisterhood–has become the victim of a ruthless identity theft ring. Harry’s bank accounts have been closed out, his beloved dojo is being foreclosed, and he’s being evicted. Distraught, Yoko is about to rush down the mountain to Harry’s aid when the Sisters intercept her. A situation like Harry’s requires finesse, careful planning, and the Sisterhood’s distinctive brand of vigilante justice. . .

#13 Under the Radar the Sisters receive an urgent call from retired justice Pearl Barnes. Pearl runs an underground railroad to help abused and displaced women, and she’s just rescued fourteen pregnant teenagers who belong to a highly secretive and controversial polygamy sect. But keeping the girls safe will require the kind of help only the Sisterhood can provide—if they can band together and go it alone…

This one has some real moments of hilarity mostly involving the lack of a meticulously defined plan.

#14 Razor Sharp A Friend In Need…Needs The Sisterhood
When it comes to repaying a debt, the women of the Sisterhood—Myra, Annie, Kathryn, Alexis, Yoko, Nikki, and Isabelle—never forget. And now one of their allies needs help only they can give. A powerful attorney with a cut-throat reputation, Lizzie Fox has just taken on a high-profile new client—Lily Flowers, the Madam of a high-end bordello operating under the guise of a summer camp. ( I love Lizzie Fox!Ms Michaels has built a fabulous character with Lizzie)

The chips—a.k.a. the prominent Washington politicians who frequent the bordello—are stacked against Lily and her girls. But one phone call to the Sisterhood might just swing the vote. And soon, even the highest courts in the land will prove no match for seven fearless friends determined to ensure that real justice is served, Sisterhood style.

[hermetic]

11. Thanks for that!

Those are some very compelling descriptions.

[yellowdogintexas]

33. got them straight out of the descriptions in Amazon.

I figured I could fill in on the books I read during the week. I am about half way through the series.
I read 2 out of order; the one you are listening to and one other.

[yellowdogintexas]

7. I LOVE that staircase!!! nt

[Ziggysmom]

8. Re-reading Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman. I'm sad that the American Gods series ended after

Season 3.

[hermetic]

12. I agree

I love Gaiman's books so very much.

[Staph]

14. Just finished Go Tell The Bees I Am Gone, the latest Outlander book by Diana Gabaldon.

If you are an Outlander fan, the book is well worth reading!

Thanks for the mention of the new Inspector Gamache book! I hadn't heard about it, but I'm now number 11 waiting for the ten e-books at my library. That is another world that I love to escape into.

[hermetic]

15. I'm with you

I would so love to live there. I'll tell you though, this book will make you go

[ProudMNDemocrat]

16. The Water Is Wide by Pat Conroy

Fiction, yet biographical about his stint as a teacher on a remote South Carolina island where illiteracy runs rampnt.

[hermetic]

17. That sounds awesome

An extraordinary drama based on Conroy's experience–the story of a man who gave a year of his life to an island and the new life its people gave him.

[japple]

29. That book is a favorite of mine, having been born on coastal SC.

And the movie was brilliant even though it starred Jon Voight back in his younger days before he became a rightwing asshole. I love Pat Conroy!!!

[ProudMNDemocrat]

30. I loved PRINCE of TIDES as well.

The sea turtle stunt I remember well.

[SheltieLover]

18. Lorna Barrett's "Not the Killing Type"

Trish has found another murder victim. Shocking, right?

Just finished a few vy Vickie Delaney - cozies. Very easy reads, but quite predictable.

Looking for another series...

[bif]

19. "Life is Short but Wide" by J. California Cooper

Just good old fashioned storytelling.

[hermetic]

22. Good choice

Beloved author Cooper has won a legion of loyal fans and much critical acclaim for her powerful storytelling gifts. In language both spare and direct yet wondrously lyrical, LIFE IS SHORT BUT WIDE is an irresistible story of family that proves no matter who you are or what you do, you are never too old to chase your dreams.

[murielm99]

20. Now that is a cool bookcase!

I am glad to know that there is another Outlander book. I will look for it.

Currently I am reading The Ice Princess, by Camilla Lackberg. It is a mystery translated from the Swedish. It is the first in a series with a detective named Patrik Hedstrom. Apparently Lackberg is very popular in Sweden.

The book is very good. I went to the library and checked out the first three books in the series.

[hermetic]

21. She sounds like an author

worth looking into. Fans of Scandinavian great Stieg Larsson will devour Camilla Lackberg's penetrating portrayal of human nature at its darkest. Oh yeah....

[Number9Dream]

23. Finished "Squeeze Me" by Carl Hiaasen - Started "Bloodless" by Preston & Child

"Squeeze Me" was full of off-beat humor and bizarre situations. I found it very funny and politically enjoyable.

About 50 pages into "Bloodless". Another page-turner for Preston & Child... soooo good.

[hermetic]

25. Well, shades of D B Cooper

of all things. Wondering how that ties in with bloodless bodies being found in Georgia. "A case like no other in Pendergast's career." Guess that explains it. I am on the waiting list for that one.

[The King of Prussia]

24. Three Bedrooms, One Corpse

By Charlaine Harris.

Earlier in the week I read "Thunder Bay" by Douglas Skelton. First in a series featuring a scottish journalist. Pretty good. Looking for the next ones.

Covid booster tomorrow morning!

[hermetic]

26. Yay, you

Do keep on masking, though. Just to be the safest.

That's a good one from Charlaine. Thunder Bay got nominated for one of last year's best crime books. Sounds like a must-read. Thanks.

[japple]

31. Beautiful bookcase/library, but I'm wondering if I could climb those stairs in

10 more years!!! I finished reading Margaret Walker's 1966 book, Jubilee and it was a real eye-opener. I highly recommend it. Now, I am re-reading a book-club favorite from years ago, Linda Hogan's book Solar Storms

From Pulitzer Prize finalist Linda Hogan, Solar Storms tells the moving, “luminous” (Publishers Weekly) story of Angela Jenson, a troubled Native American girl coming of age in the foster system in Oklahoma, who decides to reunite with her family.

At seventeen, Angela returns to the place where she was raised—a stunning island town that lies at the border of Canada and Minnesota—where she finds that an eager developer is planning a hydroelectric dam that will leave sacred land flooded and abandoned. Joining up with three other concerned residents, Angela fights the project, reconnecting with her ancestral roots as she does so.

Harrowing, lyrical, and boldly incisive, Solar Storms is a powerful examination of the clashes between cultures and traumatic repercussions that have shaped American history

Thanks, hermetic, for being our weekly host. Happy reading everybody.

[hermetic]

32. Thank you, sweetie

That book sounds awesome.