What Fiction are you reading this week, December 9, 2018?

[hermetic]

Can we celebrate yet?

Yes, that's cake. Sweet!



Also sweet is that Louise Penny brought Inspector Gamache out of retirement last year for Glass Houses, perhaps her best story yet. She "shatters the conventions of the crime novel to explore what Gandhi called the court of conscience. A court that supersedes all others." Totally mysterious and I read a bit every chance I get. Can't wait to see what happens next! A cool thing is that the "monster" is a real thing. I looked it up and they exist and all the facts about them are in this book.



Listening to Jo Nesbo's The Son, "an electrifying stand-alone novel set inside Oslo’s maze of especially venal, high-level corruption." Just started it. I always thought Norway was supposed to be such a nice place. Guess there's corruption in all governments. Hopefully we'll be seeing the end of the worst of ours real soon.

What sweet books are you reading?

[LiberalArkie]

1. Daemon by Daniel Suarez followed by Freedom(tm)

[hermetic]

2. From 2009

An underground sensation, a high-tech thriller for the wireless age that explores the unthinkable consequences of a computer program running without human control--a daemon--designed to dismantle society and bring about a new world order.

Sounds like a book I read last year though I cannot recall the title right now. Pretty sure it wasn't this one...

[LiberalArkie]

22. It reads like it might have been written about 5 years from now about current events.

Freedom is part2 of Daemon.. I enjoyed the audiobooks, especially the reader a lot.

[Liberty Belle]

3. Trump's Twitter feed?

[murielm99]

4. Lovecraft Country,

by Matt Ruff.

What if you are a black person who likes science fiction, and yet it is full of racist stereotypes?

This book is set in 1954. The worst monster in it is the hate and bigotry.

When I finish this, I need to pick up an interesting book my daughter sent me for Christmas. It is called Little Beast. It is by Julie Demers, a Canadian author. My daughter lives in Toronto and likes to send me books by Canadian authors.

[hermetic]

9. Sounds intense

A brilliant and wondrous work of the imagination that melds historical fiction, pulp noir, and Lovecraftian horror and fantasy, Lovecraft Country is a devastating kaleidoscopic portrait of racism--the terrifying specter that continues to haunt us today.

I have a fondness for Canadian authors. "It’s 1944, and a little village in rural Quebec sits quietly beside an aging mountain and an angry river. Beside that river an eleven-year-old girl lives with her parents. Her mother is very sad, and her father has vanished because he can’t bear to look at his own daughter. You see, this little girl has suddenly sprouted a full beard." I look forward to hearing what you think of it.

[duforsure]

5. trump's tweets.

[hueymahl]

8. Beat me to it!!

[sagesnow]

6. Just finished Eggshells by Caitriona Lally

In Eggshells, Lally weaves a story illustrating the wonderful Irish talent of denying Tragedy by using comic Blarney. Lally's first novel makes for a fun, quirky and wistful read. Vivian, whose sister is also named Vivian, believes she is a Changeling and spends much of her day searching for the doorway to the Otherworld that she really belongs in. For me this was a great psychological examination of the mind of a borderline psychotic woman living in Dublin. It was a laugh out loud and also deeply sad novel. Eggshells is a lovely cracked-egg smash.

[hermetic]

10. That one is on my list

of must-reads. Sounds quite unique.

[cyclonefence]

7. Little Women

if you can believe that. As some of you know, I read aloud to my husband, and when we (I) read something about Bronson Alcott's failed utopian community, he mentioned that he'd never read any of her books. To my amazement, he's loving it.

I really shouldn't be so surprised. My husband is a real Boy Scout type, and the moral underpinnings, as well as the *order* in the March family's lives, are very appealing to him.

Any men here read Louisa May Alcott? Did the women read every book of hers they could get their hands on? I did.

[hermetic]

11. You guys

are so cool.

I enjoyed Little Women but I think that was the only one I read. I was more into mysteries and sci fi. I do, though, have a favorite quote from her:

She is too fond of books, and it has turned her brain.

[Runningdawg]

19. My name is Jo

I wonder how many people male or female read it these days, as I continually have to correct people who want to add an "E" to my name or those who believe I have misspelled my own name.

[dameatball]

12. "You Suck" by Christopher Moore

[hermetic]

14. Fun!

I got my boyfriend Noir for Christmas.

Are you on Twitter? Moore is and he is always funny.

[dameatball]

15. Nope. I have never been on Twitter and got off of Facebook a couple of years ago after some

screwball got elected (sort of) President.

[hermetic]

17. I understand

I'm rather new to Twitter but I find it much more entertaining than FB.

[shenmue]

13. Heart of Europe, Peter Wilson

It's about the Holy Roman Empire.

[hermetic]

16. Big book!

1024 pages.

The Holy Roman Empire lasted a thousand years, far longer than ancient Rome. Its continuity rested on the ideal of a unified Christian civilization. As Peter Wilson shows, the Empire tells the story of Europe better than histories of individual nation-states, and its legacy can be seen today in debates over the nature of the European Union.

[Runningdawg]

18. The Lucifer Chord by F.G. Cottam

I'm not very good at descriptions of books without rambling on about the plot, so here is a snippet from the jacket.

Researcher Ruthie Gillespie has undertaken a commission to write an essay on Martin Mear, lead singer and guitarist with Ghost Legion, the biggest, most decadent rock band on the planet, before he disappeared without trace in 1975.

I will say that I have been totally drawn into the story and as soon as I finish here I am going to pick it up again.

[hermetic]

20. It's new

just out in September. I like stories about rock bands. Will for sure have to check it out. Thanks.

[northoftheborder]

21. 11-22-63 by Stephen King

brain straining!

[hostalover]

23. Two books:

(I'm always a little slow to respond to this post each week!)

Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage. An OK book. Concerns a sociopathic 7-yr-old who tries to do away with her mother in order to have her father all to herself. I thought it was a bit tedious, and I knew how it would HAVE to end, which it did.

The Color of Water by James McBride. "A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother" Really liked this book! It is a memoir by a man who's a member of a 12 children family which moved around a lot in the northeast, mainly in New York. The mother is fabulous. Practically penniless most of the time, she manages to send all 12 of her children to college and they all prosper. It is a quick and enjoyable read.

[hermetic]

24. No big deal

This is meant to be a kind of ongoing discussion about current faves. Add whenever you want. I try to acknowledge promptly but that doesn't always happen either. But it's all good. Our goal here is to encourage reading.

[hostalover]

25. I think you are amazing! You pretty much single-handedly keep this friendly

group going! I've gotten so many good recommendations from our fellow readers. It's a challenge to keep up! Have a good rest of Tuesday night!

[hermetic]

34. TY

[50 Shades Of Blue]

26. Listening to "Dombey and Son."

Read it many years ago, but had forgotten a lot of it.

[hermetic]

35. Ah, Dickens

Not familiar with that one.

"..an interesting departure from Dicken' preceding works in that he places his story at a higher social level than in his previous novels. Here, for the first time, the author displays his concern with, and sympathy for, the upper middle classes and aristocracy. The result is a felicitous presentation of moving drama played against a richly textured background of social and material well-being."

Sounds worth a read.

[PoorMonger]

27. The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

Vermont, 1950. There's a place for the girls whom no one wants—the troublemakers, the illegitimate, the too smart for their own good. It's called Idlewild Hall. And in the small town where it's located, there are rumors that the boarding school is haunted. Four roommates bond over their whispered fears, their budding friendship blossoming—until one of them mysteriously disappears...

Vermont, 2014. As much as she's tried, journalist Fiona Sheridan cannot stop revisiting the events surrounding her older sister's death. Twenty years ago, her body was found lying in the overgrown fields near the ruins of Idlewild Hall. And though her sister's boyfriend was tried and convicted of murder, Fiona can't shake the suspicion that something was never right about the case.

When Fiona discovers that Idlewild Hall is being restored by an anonymous benefactor, she decides to write a story about it. But a shocking discovery during the renovations will link the loss of her sister to secrets that were meant to stay hidden in the past—and a voice that won't be silenced...

[hermetic]

36. Cool

[hostalover]

39. I just started this one! Not very far in, but it looks to be interesting.

[handmade34]

28. "True Places"

also...
Non-Fiction
Heavy
-Kiese Laymon

In Heavy, Laymon writes eloquently and honestly about growing up a hard-headed black son to a complicated and brilliant black mother in Jackson, Mississippi. From his early experiences of sexual violence, to his suspension from college, to his trek to New York as a young college professor, Laymon charts his complex relationship with his mother, grandmother, anorexia, obesity, sex, writing, and ultimately gambling. By attempting to name secrets and lies he and his mother spent a lifetime avoiding, Laymon asks himself, his mother, his nation, and us to confront the terrifying possibility that few in this nation actually know how to responsibly love, and even fewer want to live under the weight of actually becoming free.

[hermetic]

32. True Places?

By Sonja Yoerg? That's not due out until next month. Did you get an advanced copy? Sounds fascinating...

"True Places is a beautiful reminder that though we may busy ourselves seeking what we want, what we need has an uncanny way of finding us.”

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

29. Lethal White by Robert Galbraith.

It's the fourth Cormoran Strike novel, and each one is noticeably better than the last.

[hermetic]

33. Nice

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

37. I have just finished it.

Overall it's good and well written, but POSSIBLE PLOT SPOILER AHEAD!!!

























At the end there is a very lengthy conversation between Robin, Comoran's assistant, and the true villain of the piece. I won't name that character, I'm not that much of a plot spoiler. But everything gets explained, although for me the actual underlying causes of the various events and mysteries of the novels, simply aren't sufficient.

Even so, I enjoyed it and I'll read the next one when it comes out.

[yellowdogintexas]

30. The Phantom Tree by Nicola Cormick

English setting
Two young women who are being raised together at a manor home in the Tudor period.

One of them (Mary) sees visions of the future, and has telepathic communication with a young man.

The other one (Alison) walks out of a tavern and into the 20th Century. She travels back and forth a few times but eventually gets stuck in modern times.

Alison has an illegitimate son who was taken by the father; she has made Mary promise to find him. Mary leaves clues in a portrait of herself, which Alison sees in an antique store in London.

I am to the point where Alison is beginning to solve the riddles left by Mary.

The storyline alternates between the two women; Mary is always in Tudor England, while Alison is in both worlds.

I am enjoying this book quite a lot.

[hermetic]

31. Sounds good

Getting bunches of great reviews. "...a provocative alternate history of rivals, secrets and danger, set in a time when a woman’s destiny was determined by the politics of men and luck of birth. A spellbinding tale..."

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

38. That looks really good.

I just put it on hold at my library.