March 2025 - What are you reading?

[Anonymous]

How did you hear about the book?
What is it about?
Are you enjoying it?

[Anonymous]

I'm reading "The Mighty Red" and really enjoying it so far. I love Louise Erdrich and it's been on my reading list for a while. It's about life in a rural town in North Dakota. Highly recommend!

I'm also reading Where the Red Fern Grows with my kids. I'm not at the really sad part yet. I'm not sure I'll be able to get through it.

[Anonymous]

There are rivers in the sky (audio). Rec’d by a friend. Yes, enjoying it.

Same As It Ever Was. March book club book. Only a few pages in, but enjoying it so far.

[Anonymous]

Re-reading East of Eden. It is a very epic Steinbeck novel that is inspired by the Cain and Abel story.

I read it in my early 20s, then read it again in grad school at 40, then got a tattoo of "timshel" when my grad school mentor who taught the book passed away.

Yesterday at work, for only the second time in over 10 years, someone knew my tattoo was from the book. So I'm reading it again.

[Anonymous]

I've started reading Olivia Manning's The Balkan Trilogy, written in the 1960s. It's about a newly married British couple that are ex-pats in Romania during WWII. It's taking me a while to get into it, but I've heard rave reviews from several friends so I'm pretty excited about it. The Balkan Trilogy includes 3 books and the Levant Trilogy is another 3 that follows the same couple. Pretty interesting insights into marriage and tons of insight into WWII life.

I'm also reading a nonfiction book called Triangle about the Triangle Waistshirt Factory fire that happened in NYC in the early 1900s. It's very interesting.

[Anonymous]

"Leaving Atlanta" by Tayari Jones.

The protagonists are children living in Atlanta in the time of the child murders. I've just started it, but so far it's good. It's coming on the tails of a book I enjoyed immensely ("A Gentleman in Moscow"), so I'm trying hard not to compare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Leaving Atlanta" by Tayari Jones.

The protagonists are children living in Atlanta in the time of the child murders. I've just started it, but so far it's good. It's coming on the tails of a book I enjoyed immensely ("A Gentleman in Moscow"), so I'm trying hard not to compare.

All of Tayari’s books are so much better than “A Gentleman in Moscow.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"Leaving Atlanta" by Tayari Jones.

The protagonists are children living in Atlanta in the time of the child murders. I've just started it, but so far it's good. It's coming on the tails of a book I enjoyed immensely ("A Gentleman in Moscow"), so I'm trying hard not to compare.

All of Tayari’s books are so much better than “A Gentleman in Moscow.”

Perhaps. I have a soft spot for 20th Century history, so that book really appealed.

[Anonymous]

“One day, everyone will have always been against this.” By Omar El Akkad. Nonfiction look at the last 20 years in America and how BIPOC are treated by the west under the guise that they are the “good ones.” Highly recommend.

[Anonymous]

Black River by Nilanjana Roy. It popped up on my Amazon recommendations. So good!

[Anonymous]

I just got Show Don’t Tell from Curtis Sittenfeld, which is her new short story collection. I love her writing so it’s very good and I forgot how much I enjoyed short stories - it’s nice to read one when I have a little bit of a break instead of scrolling on my phone. There’s a story that follows up with Lee from her first book Prep too which I am looking forward to.

[Anonymous]

The Many Lives of Mama Love. Have been wanting to read it. She is the co-author of The Sun Does Shine, an amazing book and amazing life story.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How did you hear about the book?
What is it about?
Are you enjoying it?

I just finished listening to "Sylvia's Second Act".

It is about a 63 year old woman who relocated with her husband to a retirement community in Florida. After they had been there about a year, she walks in on her husband having sex with a neighbor. He tells her he's so sorry but he was upset after finding out he made bad investments with all their retirement money and they are now broke and the neighbor lady was "comforting" him.
Sylvia decides she has had enough of her husband, and Boca, and putting herself last. She leaves him, moves to NYC and gets a job as a wedding planner.

I liked it. It had a lot of humorous parts.
I saw the book available on my library website and it looked fun so I downloaded it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just got Show Don’t Tell from Curtis Sittenfeld, which is her new short story collection. I love her writing so it’s very good and I forgot how much I enjoyed short stories - it’s nice to read one when I have a little bit of a break instead of scrolling on my phone. There’s a story that follows up with Lee from her first book Prep too which I am looking forward to.

I’m so excited for new Curtis Sittenfeld! Finally a bright spot in this terrible 2025!

[Anonymous]

I am reading Just for the summer by Abby Jimenez. It's the third book in a series, and I already read the first two, and I wanted to read something light. I mentioned this last month, but I finally just got off the hold list for Onyx Storm so I'll read that after I finish Just for the summer.

I started kind of reading one audiobook and one kindle book at the same time. On audiobook, I am listening to Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell. I like it. I liked Tipping Point, Blink, and Outliers, also.

I read my first Curtis Sittenfeld book - Romantic Comedy - last year and liked it. Do you all recommend another book of hers to read next? I don't generally love short stories, so I am not necessarily rushing to read her new one next...