Saturday’s Community Book Tasting at the Canal Winchester Public Library was as enjoyable as ever. I’m not so sure about the December one, the last program before the Columbus Metropolitan Library opens the new much larger branch. The books selected for December sound depressing. I haven’t even heard of these titles. Has anyone read any of them? These are the four books.
The Favorites by Layne Fargo
To the world, they were a scandal. To each other, an obsession.
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • An epic love story set in the sparkling, savage sphere of elite figure skating, starring a woman determined to carve her own path on and off the ice.
She might not have a famous name, funding, or her family’s support, but Katarina Shaw has always known that she was destined to become an Olympic skater. When she meets Heath Rocha, a lonely kid stuck in the foster care system, their instant connection makes them a formidable duo on the ice. Clinging to skating—and each other—to escape their turbulent lives, Kat and Heath go from childhood sweethearts to champion ice dancers, captivating the world with their scorching chemistry, rebellious style, and roller-coaster relationship.
Until a shocking incident at the Olympic Games brings their partnership to a sudden end.
Valentine: A Thriller by Elizabeth Wetmore
Written with the haunting emotional power of Elizabeth Strout and Barbara Kingsolver, an astonishing debut novel that explores the lingering effects of a brutal crime on the women of one small Texas oil town in the 1970s.
Mercy is hard in a place like this . . .
It’s February 1976, and Odessa, Texas, stands on the cusp of the next great oil boom. While the town’s men embrace the coming prosperity, its women intimately know and fear the violence that always seems to follow.
In the early hours of the morning after Valentine’s Day, fourteen-year-old Gloria Ramírez appears on the front porch of Mary Rose Whitehead’s ranch house, broken and barely alive. The teenager had been viciously attacked in a nearby oil field—an act of brutality that is tried in the churches and barrooms of Odessa before it can reach a court of law. When justice is evasive, the stage is set for a showdown with potentially devastating consequences.
Count My Lies by Sophie Stava (Definitely not for me. I don’t like books about liars, and didn’t finish Gone Girl.)
A read-in-one-night suspense thriller narrated by a compulsive liar whose little white lies allow her to enter into the life and comfort of a wealthy married couple who are harboring much darker secrets themselves. For the millions of us still chasing those gone girls, this is perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, Lucy Foley, and Laura Dave.
A Family Matter by Claire Lynch
A young wife following her heart. A husband with the law on his side. Their daughter, caught in the middle. Forty years later, a family secret changes everything in this “quietly heart-scorching” (Barbara Kingsolver) debut novel.
1982. Dawn is a young mother, still adjusting to life with her husband, when Hazel lights up her world like a torch in the dark. Theirs is the kind of connection that’s impossible to resist, and suddenly life is more complicated, and more joyful, than Dawn ever expected. But she has responsibilities and commitments. She has a daughter.
2022. Heron has just received news from his doctor that turns everything upside down. He’s an older man, stuck in the habits of a quiet existence. Telling Maggie, his only child—the person around whom his life has revolved—seems impossible. Heron can’t tell her about his diagnosis, just as he can’t reveal all the other secrets he’s been keeping from her for so many years.
Yikes! They do all sound depressing. And possibly disturbing. Sorry, I’ve not heard of any of them, but I’m sure curious to see which one you choose. None of them seem festive at all, considering Christmas is coming up soon. I’m no help at all!
I’m going for Valentine, Lindy. They do all sound depressing. We’ll see if I actually read one of them. You’re right. I think it should be something a little lighter for December.
I haven’t read any of them, so I’m also no help–and, like you, I thought GONE GIRL was an awful book. Plus, I need to like people in what I’m reading. I’d pick A FAMILY MATTER, which sounds like it COULD have a satisfying resolution at the end and is praised by Barbara Kingsolver, most of whose books I think are terrific.
I’m not sure I’ll read any of them. Most of the books for November were depressing. And, we’ll see what happens in the new year. The system is opening a new library, and it will probably be March or April before there’s another discussion. And, it will probably be different librarians. So, we’ll see.
Ditto on GONE GIRL. There is zero chance I would ever read one of these. This is a classic example of why I would never join a book club where they tell you what to read – too many of the books sound like these.
Hard pass.
I’m feeling about the same. And, this book group isn’t so bad, Jeff. These are suggested titles by the staff. And, we get to discuss whatever books we’re currently reading. We don’t HAVE to read these. I’ve only been going since September, and I read books I might not have read. That’s okay. But, this month just sounds depressing, so I’m not sure I’l read any of those titles.
I do believe I have only thrown one book in my whole life – and it was Gone Girl (which I threw across the room and then into the trash!) I have checked out The Favorites from the library but I just could not become invested in the story. I did give it my “50 page rule” but it was just not the right fit. To be truthful, I am not a fan of family dramas and it appears that all of these seem to fit that theme. Like you, I guess these are not for me.
The only book I ever threw across the room was my biology book in college, Gaye. Unfortunately, I couldn’t throw it in the trash. But, I get a lot more out of novels than I ever id out of the biology book. And, I don’t think these books are for me.
I’m going to be very interested in learning which of these (if any) you choose and what you think.
Kaye,
I picked Valentine, but we’ll see if I read it.
I liked the Favorites by Layne Fargo, and Count My Lies by Sophie Stava is on my tbr. A Family Matter by Claire Lynch is a sad but beautifully written book. It gives you all the feelings and so much to discuss.
Katherine, You’re more of a literary reader than I am since you read two of the books and have a third on your TBR list. We’ll see if I read any of them.
I have Valentine and Count My Lies.
(Don’t all mysteries – whether cozy, police procedurals -have a liar in them.)