What are you reading for August?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have occasionally posted about Nordic Noir in the book forum in the past… now reading book 3 of the Koerner and Werner mysteries, “The Harbor” by Katrine Engberg. They are set in Copenhagen and translated from Danish. This series is well written and the mystery part is gripping, but overall the tone is less bleak than other Nordic Noir (a la Wallander and Arnaldur Indridason’s Erlendur Sveinsson mysteries). With Engberg, I find myself actually laughing once in a while.

I've been interested in getting into Nordic Noir. Any favorites you'd recommend?

Start with the Wallander series by Henning Mankell, which is considered one of the classics of the genre. The series is based in Sweden and is translated from Swedish. The actual crimes Wallander works on solving aren't hard to figure out - sometimes the perp is readily apparent from the start of the book. The emphasis is equally on Wallander himself, his thought process and character development, and his place (as well as the role of the police force) in a rapidly changing Sweden.

After Wallander, I got into Yrsa Sigurdardottir (Iceland), Karin Fossum (Norway), Engberg (Denmark) and Arnaldur Indridason (also Iceland). I liked these series for different reasons. Engberg is the most accessible IMO and her characters are the most relatable. Indridason in particular is relentlessly bleak (seriously, no one cracks a smile in his novels, ever) and the crimes are quite graphic, so if that's not your cup of tea, I'd skip over him.

Jo Nesbø (Norway) is also considered one of the foremost writers in the genre, but I couldn't get into his stuff... others have raved about him though, so definitely worth a try.

Thank you! Will definitely give these a try!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone read "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay?" I read it long ago and loved it. I'm thinking of reading it again with my sons (6 and 4) but I wonder if it's age appropriate. I know it's long, but I'm not worried about that. I just don't want it to be too scary or have profanity.

I would not. Some adult themes.

[Anonymous]

The Wager by David Grann. Highly recommend. It’s being made into a Scorsese movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio. It’s a tale of shipwreck, mutiny and murder.

[Anonymous]

Currently reading Chain Gang All Stars—taking a bit to get into the flow of the story.

Up next is Mr. B about George Balanchine and the New York City Ballet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Currently reading Chain Gang All Stars—taking a bit to get into the flow of the story.

Up next is Mr. B about George Balanchine and the New York City Ballet.

Also—just read True Biz—fiction about a school for deaf people and the controversy about cochlear implants and teaching sign. Completely, completely fascinating. The ending is a smidge bizarre but I learned a ton.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone read "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay?" I read it long ago and loved it. I'm thinking of reading it again with my sons (6 and 4) but I wonder if it's age appropriate. I know it's long, but I'm not worried about that. I just don't want it to be too scary or have profanity.

I would not. Some adult themes.

Ok. I'm going to continue looking for something on the origins of comic books that's kid friendly but also a multiple night read, like 200-250 pages hardback.

They've been asking me a lot of questions and I explained it as I heard it told in this book explained it as best I can remember it. And what I really liked about it is that it really parallels a lot of other industries in America from farmers markets or recent music with hip hop.

It was cool dinnertime conversation but I ruined if I was just telling lies. So I wanted to (a) reread the book and (b) find another book that actually tells the story of comics in America.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Currently reading Chain Gang All Stars—taking a bit to get into the flow of the story.

Up next is Mr. B about George Balanchine and the New York City Ballet.

Also—just read True Biz—fiction about a school for deaf people and the controversy about cochlear implants and teaching sign. Completely, completely fascinating. The ending is a smidge bizarre but I learned a ton.

I loved True Biz. I "read" it as an audio book, and they used sound effects to convey the signed dialogue, which reviewers said was printed in a special way in the actual book. It was very well done.

True Biz is a little polemical at times and the writing is so-so. But I learned so much from it that I did not mind. Overall, I give it 4.75 out of 5!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Currently reading Chain Gang All Stars—taking a bit to get into the flow of the story.

Up next is Mr. B about George Balanchine and the New York City Ballet.

Thanks for the Mr. B rec - I've not heard of this book before, but I am very interested in ballet and the world of professional dancers. I can't dance myself (DH says I'm worse than Elaine Benes and that's honestly being too kind, lol), but I'm fascinated by people who can. I started reading NYCB ballerina Georgina Pazcoguin's memoir "Swan Dive" but DNF... her writing style got on my nerves, which is unfortunate because she does have an interesting story to tell as the first Asian American soloist in NYCB history. I will check out the Balanchine book.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Currently reading Chain Gang All Stars—taking a bit to get into the flow of the story.

Up next is Mr. B about George Balanchine and the New York City Ballet.

Thanks for the Mr. B rec - I've not heard of this book before, but I am very interested in ballet and the world of professional dancers. I can't dance myself (DH says I'm worse than Elaine Benes and that's honestly being too kind, lol), but I'm fascinated by people who can. I started reading NYCB ballerina Georgina Pazcoguin's memoir "Swan Dive" but DNF... her writing style got on my nerves, which is unfortunate because she does have an interesting story to tell as the first Asian American soloist in NYCB history. I will check out the Balanchine book.

Yes, I had missed that Jennifer Homans had a new book out. I loved her book, Apollo's Angels, which is a history of ballet - France focused, of course.

[Anonymous]

The Kind Worth Saving by Peter Swenson, it's the sequel to The Kind Worth Killing.


I couldn't put down the first book, but this second one is s-l-o-w.

[Anonymous]

Reading Midnight News by Jo Baker. I’ve loved all her books that I’ve read, and this is no exception.

[Anonymous]

I read Under the Influence by Noelle Crooks. It's a quick, easy read about a woman who takes a job working for a lifestyle blogger. After reading the book I looked up the author and discovered she used to work for Rachel Hollis which makes the book even more entertaining.

[Anonymous]

Foxglove by Adalyn Grace came out today. I thought I was so quick on Libby, but I'm 3rd in line.

[Anonymous]

I listened to a cozy mystery called "Beaches, Bungalows and Burglaries" by Tonya Kappes.
I thought it was poorly written, poorly edited, and I didn't care for the narrator.
It is book one in a series of 30 plus and counting.
The premise is good --A 30 year old woman married a guy 30 years her senior. Turns out he had been ripping people off with ponzi schemes the woman knew nothing about. He went off to jail and all their assets were seized except for a run down campground in Kentucky. She moves to the campground, makes some friends, solves a murder, pulls some weeds and suddenly the campground is booked up a year in advance.

I looked up the author. She published 24! books last year.

[Anonymous]

I haven’t read much worth recommending in August, but as the month is drawing to a close, I think I found a good one!

I’m 60% through The Centre by Ayesha Siddiqi and so far it’s good! I look forward to digging back into it each day because the story is suspenseful and the main character/narrator has a rich, complex perspective/ inner monologue. So far it feels a tad muddled with some subplots and characters that seem extraneous, but perhaps they will all come together in the end. Even if every end doesnt get tied up, it’s a compelling story.