What have you read recently? 2009 -2020

[Gotadimple]

Martha Grimes' Richard Jury mysteries. All set in Britain, with lots of plot twists.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Speaking of mysteries in Great Britain, I have always enjoyed Reginald Hill's Dalziel and Pascoe series. Also Elizabeth George and Ian Rankin. Right now I'm reading Jane Haddam's Living Witness, featuring Armenian retired FBI investigator Gregor Demarkian, set in Philadelphia.

Amazing how prolific some of these writers are!

 

[Dreamer]

I recently discovered Janet Evanovich 's books . They are the perfect beach book and I'm working on reading her whole series .

I have read her Stephanie Plum series and they are laugh out loud funny. I love books like those!

 

[M Paquette]

"Starfish", by Peter Watts. This is a seriously disturbing book, a work of dystopian fiction reminiscent of some of Robert Silverberg's work from the late 1960s and early 1970s. It maintains a claustrophobic sort of feel through the entire toboggan ride to disaster. This is not a particularly easy read, but can seriously kick-start thinking on the nature of people.

Great summer beach book...

 

[NW-Bound]

Last week, I read Chasing Cézanne by Peter Mayle. I have not read fiction in a while, and only picked up this up because I have read this British author's series of non-fiction books on life in Provence, France.

Just finished Travels with Charley in Search of America by John Steinbeck. Steinbeck is unlikely the first, but perhaps the most well-known RV boondocker who set out to see the US in a truck-camper with his dog Charley in 1960. I was drawn to it due to my recent interest in RV. It is a worthwhile read to see Steinbeck's description of the US as it was in 1960. However, he did not linger long in each locale to provide details like those I have enjoyed in some current blogs of RV nomads.

Near the end of the book, he observed first hand racism (Ruby Bridges) in New Orleans in 1960. Reading the account, it felt like yesterday yet it has been 50 years.

PS. I just searched this forum for the above title by Steinbeck, and unsurprisingly found that it is a popular book here.

 

[gary m]

Cadillac Man

After a slow thoughtful read of this book it is unlikely anyone on the forum will not feel blessed.

 

[Lsbcal]

Recently read Morality for Beautiful Girls by Alexander McCall Smith. One in his series on a lady detective agency in Botswana. Humerous and entertaining. In this book J.L.B. Matekoni who runs the automotive repair shop gets depressed. Mma Makutsi, the detective agency assistent, takes over the car shop and helps a client select a beauty contest winner.

The first book in this series was The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency. All the books in this series are short ones and so you don't have to invest a lot to read them.

 

[ChrisC]

Joe DiMaggio: The Hero's Life by Richard Ben Cramer -- a fascinating biography that I just finished. And I picked up some fiction the other day and I'm reading it fast: Run: A Novel by Ann Patchett.

 

[Moemg]

And I picked up some fiction the other day and I'm reading it fast: Run: A Novel by Ann Patchett.

I read that, a fast read . I am starting "Whistling in the Dark " and " Echoes " both fiction . This summer has been brutally hot in Florida so I've been spending a lot of time in the afternoon reading . I am really looking forward to cooler weather .

 

[IndependentlyPoor]

Just finished P.D. James' Innocent Blood, and my head is still spinning. It was one of the most unusually constructed books I have read. P.D. James' usual clear-eyed take on English class and society in a situation that unfolds rather than being reconstructed as it would have been in a whodunnit.

 

[Lsbcal]

Just finished P.D. James' Innocent Blood, and my head is still spinning. It was one of the most unusually constructed books I have read. P.D. James' usual clear-eyed take on English class and society in a situation that unfolds rather than being reconstructed as it would have been in a whodunnit.

Thanks IP, this is a P.D. James I was not aware of. Now have a request at the library for it. DW is interested in it too -- and she's a voracious reader so I better watch out and start turning the pages fast when it arrives .

 

[Meadbh]

Just finished Tuesdays with Morrie, by Mitch Albom. Very sad, but inspirational.

 

[BanDit1]

Probably get grief over this one, but I decided that this summer I would read all the Harry Potter books (need to keep up with the nieces and nephews, and have something to talk about with them). I'm on number 4 now, To my surprise, I'm having a lot of fun, and that's what counts.

 

[Sue J]

I'm another one who only reads non-fiction, mostly biographies.

Someone a few pages back mentioned "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls. I loved that one, read it when it first came out. I also love Jon Krakauer's books.

I'm currently reading Larry King's, "My Remarkable Journey". I'm enjoying it a lot.

Before that was "How I helped O.J. Get Away With Murder", by Mike Gilbert, his former agent. I had mixed feelings about reading about someone helping OJ but I learned a lot about the man, the crime and the recent aftermath that finally got him some prison time. The author seemed upfront and sincere and had great remorse about the role he played.

Another good one was "The Gardner Heist", by Ulrich Boser about a large, unsolved art theft.

Frank McCourt was one of my favorite authors, I was sad to hear he died. After reading Angela's Ashes I had such cravings for fish and chips!

 

[Ronstar]

I started reading "Your Money or Your Life" again. Hopefully with winter coming, I'll be able to read my books on Lincoln, the Pony Express, and a few Clive Cussler works

 

[Kronk]

Probably get grief over this one, but I decided that this summer I would read all the Harry Potter books (need to keep up with the nieces and nephews, and have something to talk about with them). I'm on number 4 now, To my surprise, I'm having a lot of fun, and that's what counts.

The Harry Potter books are fantastic. Anyone who would give you grief over reading them is a literary snob. And they probably never read the books themselves.

There are plenty of non-fiction readers on this site, but I'm not one of them. I started Your Money or Your Life and haven't finished it because I got too bored midway through.

I'm currently re-reading Regency Romances written by Georgette Heyer. Kind of like Jane Austen with more romance and less social commentary. Might disturb my manly image, but I enjoy them. I'm also reading a martial arts book written by a guy I periodically train with. Does that restore some of my macho cred?

 

[NW-Bound]

A few days ago, I finished Paper Money by Adam Smith, a pseudonym of George Goodman. I have read his The Money Game many years ago and wanted to read his other books, but kept forgetting about it. By luck, I ran across a hardcover copy of Paper Money donated to the library and offered for sale by the latter for $1.

Published in 1980, this book talked about the contemporaneous economic issues then, namely the inflation, the housing bubble in California, the oil crisis of the 1979-1980, and how the father of OPEC was not an Arab but a Venezuelan lawyer named Alfonso. More than intending to protect Venezuela's interests, as early as the 1940s Alfonso realized that oil was a finite resource and wanted higher prices as a means to reduce wanton waste - oil was as low as 10c/barrel in the 1930s.

An interesting read, this book is a keeper for me.

 

[donheff]

I just read a couple of novels by a new, young author named Nick McDonell. Twelve, is sort of a Less Than Zero style story about 17 year olds from the upper east side of New York. Pretty amazing work given he wrote it when he was 17. An Expensive Education, is a thriller about Harvard students drawn into the CIA. Both are worth a read and McDonell is worth keeping an eye on.

 

[ls99]

Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach. Like to re-read it every few years. The pain and pleasure of perfecting travel to the instantaneous.

Now let's begin Level Flight..........

 

[DangerMouse]

I'm another one that read all the Harry Potter books, had to have them on the first day they were released and wouldn't leave the house until it was read. I love the way they call on your imagination.

I've just finished a light-hearted book Vroom With A View by Peter Moore. If you like Italy you will like this one. Basic premise of the book is the 40 yo author travels to Italy and buys a 40 yo Vespa he names Sophia and proceeds to ride it from Milan to Rome. It's all about his adventures and if after finishing this book you are not ready to jump on a plane to Italy and buy a Vespa and do the same journey I will be surprised.

 

[vicente solano]

My current Trashy Novel is Jeffrey Archer's "A Prisoner of Birth". I'm on page 100 of a 600 page book and so far it's got me interested in the plot. It's a whodunnit based around a murder trial and if I know Jeffrey Archer, the innocent guy who's likely to be convicted for the murder will get his revenge in the end. Archer spent time in jail for fraud and had plenty of time to do literary research there!

Meadbh: I listened to it as an audiobook. To tell you the truth I found it disppointing, too predictable. And I am your regular best seller reader!

 

[vicente solano]

I know he's an old timer, but I just discovered Ken Follett and love it. Big John LeCarre fan. Anything by Updike.

Got a Kindle 2 for my recent b'day and loading it up. Keep the suggestions coming.

Does that Kindle thingy allow you to listen to some books?

 

[vicente solano]

I'm reading "Run for your life " by James Patterson . It really holds your interest and keeps me turning the pages . Much better than Grisham's new book which I thought was slightly boring.

Which Grisham´s new book? It it´s The Appeal I totally agree with you.

 

[Gail]

Other good spy fiction is Daniel Silva's books with Gabriel Allon as a Mossad agent. Daniel Silva - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I am reading Moscow Rules today.

I am currently reading "Prince of Fire", while my husband has finished all of them. Silva is a terrific writer.

 

[happy2bretired]

I just started Curious? by Todd Kashdan. I believe that this book was mentioned by someone on this forum, but, can't remember for sure. Downloaded it to my Kindle yesterday just before taking my doggy for a day trip to a nice quiet state park.