This week, I’m finishing a book recommended by two people, columnist Connie Schultz, and my friend, Kaye Wilkinson Barley. Elizabeth Catte is a writer and historian from East Tennessee. She holds a PhD in public history. Her nonfiction title, What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia, is an alternate view in opposition to J.D. Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy. The author writes of Appalachia with its 700,000 square miles, and says it cannot be defined as one ethnicity, one political view, one history. Vance’s book is a memoir. Catte’s book is history and an analysis.
What are you reading this week? I’m finishing my nonfiction book, and I have several fiction titles waiting. We’re all curious as to what you’re reading or listening to.
I bet your book is interesting. Sounds like I one I should put on my list. I have one friend that keep trying to get me to read Hillbilly Elegy, but I haven't as yet.
I'm reading Laura Oles' Agatha nominated book, Daughters of Bad Men. It's set in fictional Port Alene, TX (based on Port Aransas). Our mystery group has a 'staycation' theme for August and so we are all reading books set in Texas. I'm still in Naples, Italy on the listening side of things – reading the 3rd book in Elena Ferrante's Naples Quartet – Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay. I'm so surprised that I'm enjoying these. I never expected to get past the first book. Just goes to show…you never know what will grab you.
Wow, sounds a little heavy, if interesting.
Just about finishing (should be done today), Jim Butcher's BRIEF CASES. I like the stories with humor (despite the violence). Also reading Edward D. Hoch's SHERLOCK HOLMES STORIES, which are certainly readable but not – in my opinion – close to the caliber of his Doctor Sam Hawthorne stories or his other best work. I have a collection of Alice Munro stories to read next, so we'll see if they catch my fancy this week. And I'm closing in on finishing Lorrie Moore's 400 page collection of "Essays, Criticism, and Commentary," SEE WHAT CAN BE DONE.
I also finished Linda Castillo's A GATHERING OF SECRETS, which I know you'll be reading soon, and read the light CRAP AT MY PARENTS' HOUSE by Joel Dovev, where he takes pictures of stuff they have never thrown out, with amusing captions.
I have the new Megan Abbott book, GIVE ME YOUR HAND, ready next.
This week has gotten away from me. I finished THE LOST VINTAGE by Ann Mah which was very good. I hope to finish THE Lido by Libby Page today. Thanks for the recommendation Margie. I am loving it.
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We had a 91st birthday party for my Mom last weekend so I didn’t get much reading done this week. I finished a non-fiction book SAVING SADIE by Joal Derse Dave’s. It’s the story about how she rescues a dog that was shot twice and left for dead and everything she goes through rehabbing the dog.
I also read an ARC of CRY WOLF by Annette Dashofy. It’s the next book in her Zoe Chambers mystery series and it kept me guessing right to the end.
I’m about halfway through TURBULENCE by Stuart Woods which is just OK but I’ll finish it
I finished :
Devil of Delphi ( book 7) by Jeffrey Siger
I am now reading:
Santorini Caesars (book 8) by Jeffrey Siger
Desert Shadows (book 3) by Betty Webb
Bitter Bones ( book 3) by NC Lewis. ~~ set aside to read library books that are checked out.
I liked the following statement and liked it:
You can’t buy Happiness but you can buy Books and that’s kind of the same thing.
📚📚📚📚📚📚☕️
I hadn't read a Barbara Delinsky book in a while, so I tried her new Before and Again and enjoyed it. Mackenzie has built a new life for herself as a makeup artist and sculptor–no one in her Vermont town knows she is on probation for an auto accident that killed her 5-year-old daughter and ended her marriage. When her friend's teenage son is accused of a cybercrime, she risks exposure if she becomes involved, and she also has to deal with the sudden reappearance of her husband and brother. Much of this was hard to read (because of the child's death), but her masterful writing made it worthwhile.
With a Little Bit of Blood is the latest in D.E. Ireland's Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins Mysteries. It takes place mostly at a hunting party at the estate of Eliza's boyfriend Freddy's sister and her new husband. An American entrepreneur is shot and killed during the first hunt, and most of the attendees had a beef with him. Freddy, meanwhile, is diverted by a beautiful young movie star. This is my least favorite in the series, but a breezy tale still worth a "a little bit" of your time.
In Little Big Love by Katy Regan, 10-year-old Zac is bright and loves collecting facts, but he is bullied at school because of his weight. Fortunately, he has a doting single mom and a best friend, Teagan. He doesn't understand why his mom has never explained to his satisfaction why his dad abandoned them before his birth, so he and Teagan go on a quest to find his father against the wishes of his family, especially his grandparents, who lost their beloved only son at about the same time that his dad departed. Is there a connection? An engrossing character study with a satisfying, albeit too slick for my taste, ending.
Kay, If you're going to read one of them, I'd read this book, and her comments may influence whether or not you choose to read Hillbilly Elegy. She doesn't think much of it.
I like that "staycation" idea for a book club!
Jeff, Lorrie Moore's book doesn't sound lightweight. Yes, this small book is a little heavy reading, which is why it's taken me so so long to read 132 pages. That's normally 2 hours worth. I need to get back to Jim Butcher, and lighten up some.
Sharon, Good to see you liked both books. They're both on my radar.
Sandy, At least you can talk to your boyfriend, then, about Turbulence. Fabulous that your mother is 91. I hope she's still in good health.
Love that statement, too, Charlotte. I'm not familiar with NC Lewis.
I'm afraid none of those titles really attract me, Margie. Good luck on your reading for next week!
Rules of Engagement by Elizabeth Moon; Feminist military sci fi.
True History of the Ned Kelly Gang by Peter Carey; about the (only?) famous Australian outlaw. I saw the movie with Mick Jagger, and the one with Yahoo Serious.
Target America by Scott McEwen; Someone detonates a small nuclear device in a tunnel underneath the border. Much shooting ensues.
George Washington's First War by David A. Clary; about Washington's experience in the French and Indian War.
Children of the Night by Dan Simmons; A combination of medical thriller and vampire novel set during the immediate post communist days of Romania.
Plus some others I don't really want to think about.
Glenn, How was The True History of the Ned Kelly Gang? Just curious.
Sorry about those ones you don't want to think about! Ha!
Lesa, I felt Ned Kelly was a very self conscious book, written in a clunky fake Dickensian prose. I felt like the author was trying too hard to be artistic.
Not nearly as good other books I've read about similar social bandits.
Thanks, Glen. I was curious because I know Carey wins all kinds of awards in Australia. Thanks for the answer.
Just started Dear Mrs. Bird…Donald Hall's A Carnival of losses – notes nearing 90 is very small print and so it's slow going. Blindsided by Fern Michaels, and The trauma cleaner : one woman's extraordinary life in the business of death, decay, and disaster also small print.
I just added the Appalachia book to my Want to Read list! Currently, I'm reading Stranded (a story of frontier survival) by Matthew P. Mayo.
Gram, I'm sorry about the small print in those books. Not yet nearing 90, but I don't like print that small either – trifocals.
Patricia, I'll be interested to see what you think about Appalachia. My review runs on Saturday.
I recently finished LESS by Andrew Sean Greer, which won a fiction Pulitzer. On someone's recommendation I bought Jon Meacham's history, THE SOUL OF AMERICA because my friend said it is somewhat reassuring to see that we have survived fractious eras not unlike this one.
And, we certainly need reassurance right now, Susan.
I am currently reading A Siege of Bitterns by Steve Burrows. The first in a series about a Canadian detective who is now a DCI in the Norfolk region of England. It tends toward being more of a literary read with lots of bird information. It is a slower than normal read but I am enjoying it. I was a little bit hesitant at first to DNF it but have stuck with it.
Newly appointed police inspector Domenic Jejeune doesn’t mind ruffling a few feathers. Indeed his success has elevated him into a poster boy for the police. The problem is Jejeune doesn’t really want to be a detective at all; he much prefers watching birds.
Recently reassigned to the small Norfolk town of Saltmarsh, located in the heart of Britain’s premier birding country, Jejeune’s two worlds collide with the grisly murder of a prominent ecological activist. His ambitious police superintendent foresees a blaze of welcome publicity, although doubts soon emerge when Jejeune’s best theory involves a feud over birdwatching lists. A second murder does little to bolster confidence.
Jejeune must call on all his birding knowhow to solve the mystery and deal with unwelcome public acclaim, the mistrust of colleagues and his own insecurities. For, in the case of the Saltmarsh birder murders, the victims may not be the only casualties…
Previously finished The Night Searchers by Marcia Muller for a book club read. A typical McCone book – like reuniting with old friends.
Listening to Candice Fox's Crimson Lake – very intense and pretty hard boiled. She is an Australian writer who has also collaborated with James Patterson in one of his series which I have not read.
Next up is probably going to be The Other Woman by Daniel Silva – a library book that will not be able to be renewed.
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