What Fiction are you reading this week, September 17, 2023?

[hermetic]

Lauriston Castle

Reading The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell It was a dark and stormy night, deep in the woods of Vermont and Grafton Manor. I like how the author employed this cliche to start the story. Then we jump back in time and meet the 6 contestants who were chosen to participate in the yearly Bake Week competition for America's Best Baker. Which takes place at the mansion. Where eventually someone is murdered. Fun characters with lots of secrets, sure to whet your appetite for more.

Listening to Forever Odd by Dean Koontz. "You're invited on an unforgettable journey through a world of terror and transcendence to wonders beyond imagining. And you can have no better guide than Odd Thomas." Just started this and so far it's actually funny. "Terror" along the lines of Beetlejuice, oddly enough. Love it.

What books are you enjoying this week?

[roscoeroscoe]

1. Joyland

by Stephen King

[hermetic]

2. Opinions vary on this one

I haven't read it but would give it a try as it's not really very long. 288 pages. Are you liking it?

[roscoeroscoe]

7. Yes indeed Hermetic

I mean, Stephen King writes as easy as breathing, I've always enjoyed his prose style. I noticed a few years ago he's started writing these little old school potboilers with pulp-style covers. I've always wanted to read one, so I picked this up through the library.

Fun to read

[Bayard]

22. I hadn't seen that one

I'll be looking for it. Thanks!

Sadly, I've been so busy, I haven't been able to get to my stack of new books.

[cbabe]

3. Alias Emma/Ava Glass as recd here.

I’m half n half. Spy-ish contemporary London. Brits vs Russians. We are aware how vicious Russians are. And how annoyingly cool the brits are.

Young female spy rescues adorable doctor in a midnight run across London. Big challenge to avoid ring of steel cameras and scary cars chasing them.

Serious themes but awkward, not funny but not too serious either. I think it would be more fun if I knew London so I could follow their adventures.

Ps loved the early Koontz/Odd books. Always thought he beat King hands down.

[hermetic]

8. Thanks for the honest appraisal

Helps us with future choices.

Me, too. Longtime Koontz fan.

[unc70]

9. Google Maps helps find my way around London and elsewhere

I find Google Maps very handy when learning the setting of books. I know London only as a tourist so I search the streets and look around with Street View; also click on and look up pubs and such to look at the pictures.

For 3D views, I prefer the Apple Maps for most places.

[northoftheborder]

4. Tom Lake, by Ann Patchett

Highly recommend Meryl Streep’s reading for Audible

[hermetic]

6. Sounds lovely

"...a rich and luminous story, told with profound intelligence and emotional subtlety, that demonstrates once again why she (Patchett) is one of the most revered and acclaimed literary talents working today."

[mentalsolstice]

18. My mom just called me after reading this

She went on and on about how great it is. It was already on my WTR list. Glad to read a 2d glowing review.

[unc70]

5. Just finished #19 in Duncan Kincaid & Gemma James series

Two London police officers who become a couple and marry, afterwards working separate but often related careers cases. Considerable focus on the ongoing blending of their families over time. Have read all 19 since June, interspersed with various lighter works like The Golden Spoon that you mentioned. I need suggestions for my next books and series. For fiction, I mostly read mysteries, usually set in the 20th and 21st centuries.

[cbabe]

10. Lists! I love lists!

A few in no particular order for a start:

James Lee Burke

John Sandford

Thomas Perry

Ann Cleves

Louise Penny
(and coauthor thriller with Hillary Clinton)

John Grisham

Mike Lawson

Michael Connelly

Tony Hillerman

Nevada Barr

Lee Child

Robert Crais

Dick Francis

Elizabeth George

Stacey Abrams

//

[hermetic]

21. Thanks!

That should keep 'em busy for a while.

[hermetic]

12. You're in the right place

Lots of suggestions to browse through here. Check out the "What are the BEST BOOKS you've read in ____?" posts for the last few years.
Lots of websites out there for suggestions, too. https://crimereads.com/category/features/reading-lists/
https://bookriot.com/best-detective-books/

[ExWhoDoesntCare]

33. For all of your mystery needs...

There's Stop, You're Killing Me!

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/index.html

They are the champions of mystery book info. They have an extensive catalogue of writers and their assorted series. They also provide lists of mysteries by lead character, location, historical era, protagonist vocation, diversity of lead(s), and all of the different genres (if you like cozy mysteries about food, for instance).

Since you enjoyed the Crombie partner series (if you've read any of these already, my apologies):

Agatha Chrisie – Poirot & Hastings
Michael Connelly – Bosch & Ballard (last 4 Bosch books)
Elizabeth George – Lynley & Havers
Tess Gerritsen – Rizzoli & Isles
Elly Griffiths – Galloway & Nelson
Reginald Hill – Dalziel & Pascoe
Tony Hillerman - Leaphorn & Chee
Chester Himes – Johnson & Jones
Arnaldur Indriðason – Flovent & Thorson
Joe Lansdale – Collins & Pine
Dennis Lehane – Gennaro & Kenzie (before Lehane was famous!)
Val McDermid – Hill & Jordan, but OMG every book is quite gruesome. This is ***NOT*** a light or easy series to read.
Andrea Penrose – Wrexler & Sloane
Ian Rankin. I suppose Rebus & Clarke are a duo, but only in the loosest sense of the word, given how bloody-minded Rebus is.
SJ Rozan – Chin & Smith
Karin Slaughter – Trent & Mitchell

Four of the Peter Wimsey books by Dorothy Sayers track his detective partnership with Harriet Vane, from their original (and of course contentious!) meeting until they turn their partnership into a marriage, too, LOL. The third of the four, Gaudy Night, is one of the most highly-regarded mystery novels of all time.

[Martin68]

11. I'm reading "Curious Toys" by Elizabeth Hand. Takes us into the world of a 1915 carnival troupe in

Chicago. In the midst of that fascinating and weird milieu, serial killings are taking place, requiring the attention of seemingly mad detective.

I just finished Richard Wright's "Black Boy," a brilliant account of the author's boyhood in the Jim Crow South and eventual escape to Chicago. With only an 8th Grade education Wright brilliantly describes both the events he encounters, but also his inner world. While life was incredibly dangerous for Black folk in the South at the time, the North proved to be as destructive and defeating in a different way. I came away with a much better understanding of how institutional racism is baked into our society in ways only African Americans understand because it is invisible to White people.

[hermetic]

13. That sounds quite awesome.

I like reading stories about Chicago, too. Have family there.

[Jilly_in_VA]

14. I am reading

Autumn Softly Fell by Dominic Luke. It's the story of a young girl, Dorothea, who is unceremoniously dumped off one night at the home of her father's brother, who married into wealth. I'd kind of hoped it would bear some resemblance to one of my favorite books, The Rising of the Lark (Ann Moray), and it does, but there are also echoes of The Secret Garden and R.F. Delderfield's Valley Saga. It's apparently book I of a family saga and I may have to buy sequels as I am finding is quite engrossing. Luke's ability to get into the mind of an 8 year old girl is astonishing.

Last week I read Nefertiti's Sister by Felicia Roche, a very interesting historical, and Good Kings, Bad Kings, by Susan Nussbaum. The latter takes place in a home for disabled young people in Chicago and each chapter is told in a different voice, some of the caregivers and others of the different kids living there. It was both sad and uplifting and I couldn't make up my mind about it.

On another note, yesterday I was talking with a young friend who is really into fantasy literature. When she said she hadn't even heard of Anne McCaffrey or Ursula LeGuin, my mouth fell open. They are foundational! So I gave her a list and promised to lend her some of my books.

[hermetic]

17. That was nice of you.

Set a good example.

Thanks for the write-ups, too.

[The King of Prussia]

15. Still on "Grey Mask" by Patricia Wentworth

Broke off to read "The Muse" by Jesse Burton for our book group. Gave up after 100 pages. Not for me at all.

[hermetic]

19. So you will not be attending

the next book group meeting? Just kidding. I guess one just says they didn't like the book and didn't read it. The Guardian has a big article about that one. Sounds kind of complicated.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/jun/25/the-muse-jessie-burton-review-novel

[The King of Prussia]

26. We mostly hate the selected books

I've read more of this than many we've had. This was just dull, and I spotted the big twist after about 80 of the 450 pages. So... meh.

[rsdsharp]

16. Just finished James Lee Burke's Every Cloak Rolled in Blood.

Probably the most autobiographical of his works, and by far the darkest; both probably prompted by the death of his daughter.

[hermetic]

20. Gosh, heavy stuff

"..a devastating exploration of the nature of good and evil and a deeply moving story about the power of love and family."

Had you read the previous 3 Holland Family novels?

[rsdsharp]

25. Not all, but a couple.

[mentalsolstice]

23. Double Delight by Rosamond Smith aka Joyce Carol Oates

So far I’m enjoying it. I finished Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell. It was a twisty suspense/thriller, and a fast read.

Happy reading everyone! 📚

[hermetic]

24. Hey, thanks

I didn't know she wrote under other names.

[japple]

27. After finishing David Joy's excellent (though depressing) book,

When These Mountains Burn, which was recommended by another DUer a few weeks ago, I felt like reading something a bit lighter. I'm now into a re-read of Steve Martin's The Pleasure of My Company. Very funny stuff.

Will be checking out other David Joy works as I really like his writing. BTW, Paulette Jiles has a new book out this week and I'll be looking for that as well as Ann Patchett's Tom Lake, mentioned above.

[Paper Roses]

28. The Judge's List by John Grisham.

Good so far but I wish it was a different font. It is a slow read. Light print, small font. A good read so far and I like the large size paperback.

[hermetic]

29. Grisham's most surprising, chilling novel yet.

That sounds really good.

I'm having a similar font problem with the book I've just started, The Starless Crown by James Rollins. I swear the font is 6 pt and even though it just came just came out last year, it seems really faded. At 560 pages I hope I can get through it as it seems it will be an amazing story.

[zanana1]

30. It isn't a new book.

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett. There are very few books that can take me out of my own life and transport me to a time and place I never dreamed of going. If you like the idea of jungle life, get this book!

[yellowdogintexas]

31. Still reading Thief's Honor (A Dak Harper thriller)

I am about 2/3 finished.

It is a good romp, I just have not had much reading time this week

[hermetic]

34. Hope all is well

You mentioned you were without power for several days and I was wondering if your food survived. That's a long time for a refrigerator to be off, as well as other things. Glad to know you have good books on hand.

[yellowdogintexas]

36. all is well. We were out of power from Friday night at

11 until Sunday afternoon at 1.
We put some big bags of ice in our fridge and freezer. There wasn't really much to worry about spoiling.

Fortunately my Kindles were all charged.
It's a good thing too since we did not get our internet back until Thursday.

[ExWhoDoesntCare]

32. Just got to Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, at long last.

Could not put it down. Luckily for me, I'm retired, so if I read all through my "night," then no biggie. That one was definitely worth it.

I'll wrap up some non-fic today, but I'll probably get to The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo tomorrow. Wanted to read it in the original Japanese, but my budget said the translation would have to do.

Is it okay to mention that I'll probably get in a few Edgar Allan Poe short stories along the way? I've made it a goal to read his oeuvre (even the letters and plays!) this year. I have to read him in small doses, though, because he's just too weird to read everything all at once. Or maybe I'm the only one who sees him that way. Getting a good workout with my dismal French and Latin skills with him, though, so there's that.

[hermetic]

35. That is a really good book

And now Lessons in Chemistry is going to be a series on Apple TV+ premiering Oct 13 and starring Brie Larson. Here's the trailer for the series:

?si=BYPhpHdEPUnPIfIF

I always enjoy reading Poe. His Wikipedia page is immense. A fascinating person.