What have you read recently? 2009 -2020

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"A few of the girls " . It is a collection of short stories by Maeve Binchy. It started slow but it got better as the book progressed .
 
The Girls, a debut novel by 25 year old Emma Cline, was very good. It is primarily set in 1969 and loosely based on the Manson Murders. The book doesn't quite capture the flavor of the 60s (but why would a current 25 y/o really "know" that tumultuous decade) but she writes beautifully and captures the soul and voice of a troubled 14 year old girl. Or at least captures it well for this old guy. I will leave it up to you ladies to tell me whether that is correct. The newspaper reviews were glowing: brilliant, mesmerizing, seductive, and on and on. I agree with all of those accolades. A few of the Amazon reviews dis it for rehashing an event we all know about but I think they miss the point - the novel isn't about a murder it is about why a young girl might be drawn in by destructive personalities. Good read.
 
Don, I'm impressed by the range of your reading materials. I probably would have passed on such a young author. Good that you have an open mind on this.
 
Lsbcal said:
Don, I'm impressed by the range of your reading materials. I probably would have passed on such a young author. Good that you have an open mind on this.
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In this case my 30 yo daughter brought the book by last week and suggested I might like it. But, in my eclectic defense, it was already in my library online holds list where I am #93 in line for an ePub version. I read a review a while back and had independently decided to read it. :)
 
Reading my way through Ann Leckie's Ancillary series: Ancillary Justice, Ancillary Sword, about to start Ancillary Mercy. Justice was excellent, Sword was interesting but not as amazing, looking forward to seeing what Mercy does to wrap things up.
 
Moemg said:
"A few of the girls " . It is a collection of short stories by Maeve Binchy. It started slow but it got better as the book progressed .
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I'm reading this, too. I'm so sorry that there won't be any more books from her.


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Ally said:
I'm reading this, too. I'm so sorry that there won't be any more books from her.
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Why not? Louis L'amour died in 1988, and he's still releasing books. And Robert Parker died 6 years ago, and his characters are still going strong.

And James Patterson, while still possibly alive, releases about 42 books a year, most of which he's never read.

Death shall have no dominion over the profit levels of publishing houses.
 
harley said:
Why not? Louis L'amour died in 1988, and he's still releasing books. And Robert Parker died 6 years ago, and his characters are still going strong.

And James Patterson, while still possibly alive, releases about 42 books a year, most of which he's never read.

Death shall have no dominion over the profit levels of publishing houses.
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Somehow, I don't think it would be the same as the original author.😉


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Dark Watch - Clive Cussler

Good title. The greed is high and the cost is higher. Piracy on the high seas. Slavery. The body count is in the hundreds. Good stuff!
 
Just finished the second in Justin Cronin's The Passage series. Can't wait for book three to come up at the library! Reminded me a lot of Steven King's The Stand, a favorite from my teen years. Long books and the audio version is great. Post apocalyptic fiction with an interesting vampire angle, which I would normally not like at all, but worked in these.
Definitely good, long reads/listens for those who need a distraction (like me) on long commutes!
 
Ah yes, The Stand, remember it well, very good. Send out "the eye"

I will set you to burn. Idiot burned down his own house - :)

My ultimate Steven King is Duma Key, I swear he was channeling Poe when he wrote that little goodie. Shivered my timbers!
 
All is Not Forgotten, by Wendy Walker, is a good new mystery. The narrator is a messed up psychiatrist who is helping a rape victim recover her memories after she was subjected to memory suppressing treatments after the rape. Some surprising twists and turns.
 
The Frontiersmen, by Allan W. Eckert. I'm looking foward to reading more in the "Winning of America" series. A shame just the first two are on Kindle - this will limit my reading for sure.

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I just read "The Danish Girl " for book club . It was better than I thought it would be .It really held my interest .Of course I was on back to back flights when I read it .
 
I started reading Scott Pratt fiction a few weeks ago. Enjoying his characters Joe Dillard and Leon Bates. So far they are all taking place in Tennessee which I find interesting as well. So far I'm up "Conflict of Interest" which I started last night. Pretty much police and lawyer mysteries with some home spun family life thrown in. Some good action and twists and turns. With Prime I was able to get a couple of these for free and the others have only cost me $3.99.
I liked the Passage series by Justin Cronin and lots of the Patterson Novels but I backed down a bit from paying $10.00 a read lately.
 
Defending Jacob by William Landay

Nicely done psychological thriller about an assistant district attorney whose son is accused of killing a fellow student.


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urn2bfree said:
Defending Jacob by William Landay

Nicely done psychological thriller about an assistant district attorney whose son is accused of killing a fellow student.

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I just finished "Defending Jacob" by William Landay and thought it nicely done too.
 
I just finished Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. It was reasonably good, considering it is a play and was written by others based on a story by JK Rowling. I think watching the play would have been more fun.


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Jack of Spades by Joyce Carol Oates

Another take on the unreliable narrator - this one within the psychological thriller genre.
Well done fun.


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Secret Lives of the Tsars. Just got back from St Petersburg. Wish I'd read it before I went.

Spoiler alert: They don't come across as very nice people......


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Graham Phillips' new book on the search for the historic King Arthur's burial site, which led to Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People (something I've been meaning to read for years).
 
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