What Fiction are you reading this week, November 6, 2022?

[hermetic]

Arthur Conan Doyle Room, Toronto

Two books about the murder of an orchestra conductor:
Reading Curiosity Thrilled the Cat by Sofie Kelly, the first Magical Cats Mystery. This is so cool; the organization that runs the shelter I volunteer to foster for is called Magic Cats. I used to live in Minnesota, the story's location. And this book is absolutely delightful. So, an all around winner.

Listening to Murder at an Irish Christmas by Carlene O'Connor. I was on the list to get this one and it came up. So, I'm gearing up for Christmas early this year. As a snowstorm strands the O'Sullivan clan in a lavish farmhouse on a cliff, Siobhán had better pick up the tempo before a killer orchestrates another untimely demise...

Wishing one and all a safe and satisfying week. May Democracy prevail.

[SheltieLover]

1. "Point Blank," Fern Michaels - Guys of Sisterhood

Exceptional!

Hold the vision for a huhe, Blue tsunami this midterm!

Ty for thread!

[yellowdogintexas]

12. I just love those guys!

Hoping to get a discounted book 5 soon!

[SheltieLover]

13. I love them, too!

Good luck getting 5!

[berniesandersmittens]

2. I'm Not Scared by Niccolo Ammaniti

Have not begun to read it yet. It's short and looks like a good "one sitting" book.

I was driving around Friday and found a random book sale in a garage. I found a few Grisham hardbacks, an M.C. Beaton shorty, and the one I'm about to read.

[SheltieLover]

6. Good hunt, BSM!

Sounds like an early Christmas from the Universe!

[berniesandersmittens]

15. It is!

Some days are just good!

[SheltieLover]

17. For sure!

[hermetic]

7. Nice find!

All those books!

"A widely acclaimed international bestseller, I’m Not Scared is a spine-tingling novel that combines a coming of age narrative with a satisfying, enthralling story of suspense."

Enjoy!

[bif]

3. About to finish "Crossroads" by Franzen

I'm finishing it out of obligation. It's not bad, just a bit dedious. And it's full of characters I don't really care about. But after 584 pages, I might as well finish it.

[KPN]

5. Haha. Yeah, might as well at that point. Done that a few times myself. My rule

of thumb now is if I’m not into by page 50, time to move on.

[bif]

9. That's my rule as well!

I was on the fence when I hit the ol' 50 page mark. He's a good writer, so I thought I'd slog through it.

[CrispyQ]

28. That's my magic number, too!

I wanted to like The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa, but it just moved too slowly for me. It has a tone of good reviews.

[KPN]

4. Went back to an old favorite author this time: "The Lovers"

by John Connolly. Can’t believe I hadn’t read it earlier. Not quite finished but it seems to pull the whole Charlie Parker series together in one tidy book — well, Charlie Parker’s personal story at least. Good read — as expected.

[hermetic]

8. Hadn't heard of that one either

Haunting, lyrical, and impossible to put down, The Lovers is John Connolly at his best.

Sounds good.

[yellowdogintexas]

10. The Undying Viking first in a 3 book series.

The Undying Viking - An Arthurian & Greek Mythology Thriller (Merging Worlds Book 1)The Undying Viking - An Arthurian & Greek Mythology Thriller (Merging Worlds Book 1)

For over a century, the Vikings were the most feared fighting force the world had ever seen—none greater than Holger the Dane.

Having won all the wars of his time, the undefeated Viking warrior is said never to have died. Instead, legends say he sleeps, his body turned into a mighty stone statue residing deep within the casemates of Castle Kronborg. Clad in armor, with sword and shield at the ready, Holger remains in an enchanted sleep--ever with one eye open--and only to awake should danger ever rise again to threaten his beloved Denmark.

And on that day, stone will again turn to flesh—and the roar of the Viking will be heard and felt in all the lands of the world once more.

Modern-day everyman Markus Trygg lives and quite enjoys, a relatively routine and mundane existence. But that won’t matter one bit when he’s forced to take part in an investigation looking into a trail of inexplicable mass deaths happening throughout Denmark.

Enter Holger the Dane, a savage barbarian with whom Markus shares nothing in common—except that only Markus can understand him. Together, the unlikely pair will battle an undead scourge, hellbent on some dark murderous purpose—and one that seems to center around a lone—and extraordinary—survivor.

Eventually, the queso tt to save his world will take them to Avalon, the land of magic, where Markus will come face-to-face with beasts and monsters of myth and legend. In order to survive, the ever-reluctant Markus will have no choice but to accept some hard truths not only about the world he lives in—but himself, as well.

It is a fun read. Good characters and well written. I am looking forward to the rest of the series.

I was reading a different Viking story, to which I will return. It was more serious and taking a while to get going. This one popped up on my discounted Kindle sites, and after reading the sample I decided I needed something a little lighter than the other one. Good move.

[hermetic]

16. Oh my

That sounds most intriguing. And entertaining.

[Qutzupalotl]

11. Polls.

[SheltieLover]

14. Don't believe the corporate backed media.

They are simply attempting to project apathy onto Dems.

Hold the vision of a huge Blue tsunami as if it has ready happened!

[Qutzupalotl]

26. I'm on it!

[Bayard]

18. The Outsider

Stephen King.


Didn't get that high of reviews, but I was glued to it. Especially since couldn't do much else with a sinus cold.

[hermetic]

20. Hope you're feeling better

I think that one sounds pretty good. One of King's "most unsettling and compulsively readable stories."

It's on my list, for sure.

[Bayard]

29. Thanks!

[The King of Prussia]

19. "The Fatal Crossing" by Tom Hindle

A mystery set on a transatlantic liner bound for New York in 1924. Pretty good, but a little slow-paced - to be fair though, my ability to read is constantly hampered by the presence of a kitten.

A cat mystery? I'll make a note to look for that!

[hermetic]

21. Mysterious cats for the win

This one is the first in a series of 14, so far. Quite amusing.

My kittens like to bite the corners of my books when I'm reading.

[The King of Prussia]

25. We have a low rack with a few books on it

Russo uses the books like a scratching post.

[bahboo]

22. about halfway through "The Island of Sea Women,"...finally got around to it...

fantastic. Draws you in from the very beginning, and this unknown culture is fascinating....

[hermetic]

23. By Lisa See

A classic Lisa See story that introduces readers to the fierce and unforgettable female divers of Jeju Island and the dramatic history that shaped their lives.
This beautiful, thoughtful novel illuminates a world turned upside down, one where the women are in charge, engaging in dangerous physical work, and the men take care of the children.

Sounds marvelous.

[Jilly_in_VA]

24. Klara and the Sun

by Kazuo Ishiguri. I'm loving it. It's the story of an AI, an Artificial Friend, told from her viewpoint. I'm not very far in yet. I just finished The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit, which I had picked up on my Kindle not realizing it was written by Sara Loyster, who was one of my youngest brother's close friends in high school. It's a YA novel but quite good and very well written. Before that I'd slogged through The Afterlife of Alice Watkins by Matilda Scotney, all 733 Pages of it. Don't. When I got to the end I wondered why I'd bothered. I really hated the ending.

In hard copy I'm trying to read Annelies by David R. Gillham, which is an imagining if Anne Frank had survived the concentration camp. I'm finding it harder to read actual books these days. It''s just easier to read on Kindle.

[hermetic]

27. Ouch

733 pages and not worth it. That's painful. You just never know, though. Books can be full of surprises.

I do all my fiction reading in bed so I prefer the old fashioned kind.

[japple]

30. The highly anticipated masterpiece by Barbara Kingsolver,

Demon Copperhead will be my nightly reading pleasure for many days to come. This is better than Poisonwood Bible and I think it is her best work to date. How she developed this character is beyond me, but his voice is clear as can be. Sad, funny, relevant and totally engaging.

[hermetic]

31. Cool cool cool!!

I'm pretty jazzed about this one, too.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

32. The Mandibles: A Family 2029-2047.

by Lionel Shriver.

OMG! It was published in 2016, so very much pre-dates Trump and Covid. The underlying plot is that other countries have decided to create a new international currency to replace the dollar. The U.S. declines to be involved, and things go quickly from bad to worse to a whole lot worse. Jobs disappear. There are shortages of everything. People lose their homes. And this happens on a nearly universal scale.

The novel focuses on one family, the Mandibles, who'd had generational wealth, and the younger generation was pretty much waiting for the 97 year old patriarch to die. Well, when things go so horribly wrong that generational wealth completely disappears. I'm about half way through and at this point ten people are living in a small two-bedroom with basement and attic townhouse. And the patriarch lives on. Although had he died any time earlier, the inherited wealth would still have disappeared.

It's scary and fascinating. As I read, I feel desperately more poorer with each chapter, even though my own personal financial situation hasn't changed, certainly not to the point of destitution.

[hermetic]

33. Wow

How incredibly prescient. And scary.

Author's name should be Shiver.

[hippywife]

34. The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

Reading ebook edition. It's very long and wasn't sure if I'd get into it or not, but I'm enjoying it quite a bit.

Prior to that I finished the ebook edition of Under the Whispering Door by , TJ Klune. I did enjoy it, but not quite as much as The House in the Cerulean Sea.

[hermetic]

35. Epic high fantasy

The Priory... is about a world on the brink of war with dragons--and the women who must lead the fight to save it.
Sounds like a fun read, albeit rather long, over 800 pages.

[hippywife]

36. A long book is a bonus

when it's a good read. Some of my favorite books are that long, and even longer.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

37. Finished The Mandibles. Am now on to This Little Light.

Oh, my. Takes place in the near future, and Rory Miller is on the run with her friend Fee. They've been set up, made to seem the people who set off a bomb in a restroom of the exclusive Christian academy they attend the evening of the American Virtue Ball, where young women in wedding gowns promise their fathers they will remain virgins until marriage.

Really, really good.

I'm not sure in the end that I would recommend The Mandibles. It feels like the author greatly exaggerated societal changes that might be forthcoming, but of course that is exactly what needs to be done for a novel like that. She also seems to completely denigrate any kind of social services whatsoever, and admire a society where everyone is truly on their own, no safety net of any kind. Creepy. At least to me.