What Fiction are you reading this week, July 21, 2024?

[hermetic]

Beam me up.

I want to escape into a good book.

Reading A Time of Love and Tartan. It is so funny. Good place to go. "Alexander McCall Smith's delightfully witty, wise and sometimes surreal comedy spirals out in surprising ways in this new installment, but its heart remains where it has always been, at the center of life in Edinburgh's New Town."

Listening to Mirror, Mirror by Kate Wilhelm. The last in the Barbara Holloway mystery/legal thriller series. A death in the family sets off a string of seemingly unrelated events, including two horrific murders. Sadly, award-winning author Wilhelm passed away in 2018. She left us many novels in the science fiction, mystery, and suspense genres, though.

Wishing everyone a day of peace and calmness. Goodness knows we need it.
What's your reading escape plan for the week?

[Blue Cape]

1. The New York Times

[The Blue Flower]

2. The Two Towers by JRR Tolkien

I love the trilogy but get very frustrated at his unending padding of the story with lengthy descriptions of topography.

[LisaM]

13. I sort of feel the opposite.

One thing that dismayed me about the Peter Jackson movies was how he seemed to think he'd read action novels. In reality, the books told of the drudgery of the quest, and how the quiet, homely things of everyday life were the things worth risking their lives for. And, after I read them (which I do frequently) I also want fresh bread with honey and butter and a side of clotted cream, with ripe berries.

[mentalsolstice]

3. Thanks for asking!

I’m reading All You Have To Do Is Call by Kerri Maher. It’s about the Jane Collective in Chicago in the late sixties, early seventies pre-Roe v. Wade. I’m sure I’ll be heartbroken at the end.

Have a good week everyone!

[Mira]

4. The Book Thief

by Markus Zusak----I can't put it down. The story is harrowing, and the language is like poetry. I am listening to the Audible narration. The narrator does a perfect job. He has to pronounce many German words and does it without any wrong inflection. I know because German is my first language.

[hermetic]

5. That is a great book

Loved it. Thanks for joining in.

[cbabe]

6. James Lee Burke/Every Cloak Rolled in Blood

The shining meets three pines.

Burke’s stunning prose. Ghosts and monsters and murders and corrupt cops in gorgeous Montana.

I was carried along through the end. And then thought: what was that?!

[japple]

7. I love the secret room in your OP. There are also a lot of nice hidey-holes for the kitties in

that library. I am still reading Marianne Wiggins' book, Properties of Thirst although I find myself struggling with the author's flights of fancy. I'm sure many readers love these, but I find them annoying. I'm 3/4 of the way through, so I should finish soon and on to something more my speed. Not sure what that will be.

Thank you for the weekly thread, hermetic!

[txwhitedove]

8. Sunny Sunday here with rain coming this week. Now for reading pleasure, the next in Chet & Bernie

series is Tender is the Bite by Spencer Quinn. Oh boy, fun with a mysterious woman, politics, neighbors in voting sign war, and a funky ferret.

Rec the Coyote Run series by Marta Acosta. Finished #2 Mad Dog Down the Road, "When Maddie “Mad Girl” Whitney rescues a half-dead “bait dog,” she doesn’t realize she’s discovered the key to revealing vicious criminals hiding in plain sight." Unique character, on the spectrum, quirky, charming, funny, and yes lots of dog. I like Dog stories and these are great. Why aren't these books in my library system?

[rsdsharp]

9. I'm reading The Jefferson Key by Steve Berry.

I’ve read a couple of his things before, but those were historical fiction. This is the first book I’ve read featuring his protagonist, Cotton Malone. This involves privateers who were granted letters of marque in perpetuity by Congress and President Washington in 1793. Andrew Jackson removed, and hid, the record of the Congressional vote after they tried to assassinate him in 1835. The location of the documents are protected by a code Thomas Jefferson thought to be unsolvable.

[hermetic]

11. That sounds

pretty intriguing.

[TexLaProgressive]

10. "Book of Souls" 2nd Inspector McLean by James Oswald

I'm reading the on my phone. I had to stop reading to do something and turned on the audio, whoops never again. I love audio books with talented readers, but this halting robot is not pleasant.

[hermetic]

12. Aw, sorry to hear that

[yellowdogintexas]

14. I love that series. It is the most humorous of Alexander McCall-Smith's series.

I have read 3 of them I think. Actually I love every book of his that I have read.

[yellowdogintexas]

15. The Secret, Book and Scone Society by Ellery Adams

My sister recommended this one and she was right: it is a fun read. It is also on Prime Reading so you can get it free and send it back when you finish it.

From Amazon: A quirky club in small-town North Carolina holds the keys to health, happiness, friendship—and even solving a murder—all to be found within the pages of the right book…

Strangers flock to Miracle Springs hoping the natural hot springs, five-star cuisine, and renowned spa can cure their ills. If none of that works, they often find their way to Miracle Books, where, over a fresh-baked “comfort” scone, they exchange their stories with owner Nora Pennington in return for a carefully chosen book. That’s Nora’s special talent—prescribing the perfect novel to ease a person’s deepest pain. So when a visiting businessman reaches out for guidance, Nora knows exactly how to help. But before he can keep their appointment, he’s found dead on the train tracks.

Stunned, Nora forms the Secret, Book and Scone Society, a group of damaged souls yearning to earn redemption by helping others. To join, members must divulge their darkest secret—the terrible truth that brought each of them to Miracle Springs in the first place. Now, determined to uncover the truth behind the businessman’s demise, the women meet in Nora’s cozy bookstore. And as they untangle a web of corruption, they also discover their own courage, purpose, and a sisterhood that will carry them through every challenge—proving it’s never too late to turn the page and start over…

“Adams kicks off a new series featuring strong women, a touch of romance and mysticism, and both the cunning present-day mystery and the slowly revealed secrets of the intriguing heroines’ pasts.”—Kirkus Reviews