What are you reading for October?

[Anonymous]

just started none of this is true. it's a pretty quick and easy mystery but I have to admit that I like it so far.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Two books by Anne Tyler -- "French Braid" and "Redhead by the Side of the Road".
They were both the usual Anne Tyler fare, about families that are disconnected from each other and interconnected with each other.
French Braid spanned five generations. Redhead mostly focused on one year in a man's life.
I liked them both, but I liked Redhead a little more.

I am a huge Tyler fan. I've read everything she's written, even the patchy early novels. I thought Redhead was good but the Braid book, I literally couldn't get through it. Awful.

I am the person who recently read the two Anne Tyler books. I liked French braid, but there were a lot of characters. After a while I gave up on trying to figure out which grandkids and great grandkids belonged with which parents.

It seems to me that the books I have read that are obvious the author wrote during the pandemic seem to go on and on and on. Like, since we were all stuck at home, the author didn't know what to do with herself so she went back to manuscripts she was almost done with and added more details. Details about their pets and their neighbors and their dishes and their porch, etc. This one felt that way, and the Liane Moriarity book about the family that played tennis felt that way also.

That’s an interesting observation and I definitely felt that way about LM’s tennis book. I had attributed it to an author getting too successful and editors stepping back. That book needed to be chopped!

[Anonymous]

The little old lady who broke all the rules.

[Anonymous]

I've started a couple books I can't get into lately, including Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow which I know, everyone loved, and I am just not into it yet.

Anyway, I happily read two thrillers I really enjoyed, The Housemaid, and The New Mother. Not great works of literature but they were great for weekend reading.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Two books by Anne Tyler -- "French Braid" and "Redhead by the Side of the Road".
They were both the usual Anne Tyler fare, about families that are disconnected from each other and interconnected with each other.
French Braid spanned five generations. Redhead mostly focused on one year in a man's life.
I liked them both, but I liked Redhead a little more.

I am a huge Tyler fan. I've read everything she's written, even the patchy early novels. I thought Redhead was good but the Braid book, I literally couldn't get through it. Awful.

I am the person who recently read the two Anne Tyler books. I liked French braid, but there were a lot of characters. After a while I gave up on trying to figure out which grandkids and great grandkids belonged with which parents.

It seems to me that the books I have read that are obvious the author wrote during the pandemic seem to go on and on and on. Like, since we were all stuck at home, the author didn't know what to do with herself so she went back to manuscripts she was almost done with and added more details. Details about their pets and their neighbors and their dishes and their porch, etc. This one felt that way, and the Liane Moriarity book about the family that played tennis felt that way also.

That’s an interesting observation and I definitely felt that way about LM’s tennis book. I had attributed it to an author getting too successful and editors stepping back. That book needed to be chopped!

Also agreeing. I thought Anne Tyler said a book ages ago was going to be her "last book" - Noah's Compass I think (it was excellent). I do think sometimes they push themselves to keep writing when it's time to quit. Unlike Philip Roth who just said he was done - was done and then died.

[Anonymous]

I just finished a couple of non noteworthy books. But this month’s reading highlights for me:

The Office of Hsitorical Corrections: I thought this was just great. Held up through the end too.

People collide, Isle McElroy: a husband and wife switch bodies. It’s how they make their way in the world and relate to their families. Really enjoyed (and a great ending—a theme!)

Being Mortal, Atul Gawande. I didn’t want to read this right now, but it came up on my waitlist so i went ahead. It’s terrific. Triggering (my mom is dying of Alzheimer’s), but he’s a wonderful writer and unsparing in his clarity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm reading King of Torts by John Grisham and learning a lot about tort law. I'm looking forward to The Rosie Project next.

I am listening to a Louis L'Amour book, Down the Long Hills, and it's fascinating. Not an author or genre I ever thought I would be reading but I got it cheap on Chirp and the description sounded interesting. Here it is:

Everyone was dead. Indian raiders massacred the entire wagon train. Only seven-year-old Hardy Collins and three-year-old Betty Sue Powell managed to survive. With a knife, a horse, and the survival lessons his father taught him, Hardy must face the challenges of the open prairie. Using ingenuity and common sense, he builds shelters, searches out water, and forages for food. But as he struggles to keep them alive, he realizes that their survival will depend on his ability to go beyond what his father was able to teach him.

I loved the Rosie Project when I read it years ago. It’s a trilogy so there are more books if you like that one!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Trying to get through Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow but 2/3 thru and I fear I can’t go on.

It’s about children of Asian immigrants who find success creating video games and have intricate relationships. There’s a lot of technical stuff about video games and the creative process or maybe I’m just so ignorant that it seems technical to me.

It’s boring - like an even more boring vapid version of The Secret History maybe? I feel many young writers want to be Donna Tartt.

Just like “Lessons in chemistry” I keep waiting for something interesting to happen- but nothing does. Not even a talking dog in this one!

Really need a good book rn.

I got halfway thr Tomorrow and Tomorrow and now just feel poised midway, not sure whether to go on or quit. I quite liked the first 100 pages of childhood/ early game developmt or so but then just got so annoyed by the plot and main two characters and silly romantic tropes. And I heard the second half is worse so not sure what to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm reading King of Torts by John Grisham and learning a lot about tort law. I'm looking forward to The Rosie Project next.

I am listening to a Louis L'Amour book, Down the Long Hills, and it's fascinating. Not an author or genre I ever thought I would be reading but I got it cheap on Chirp and the description sounded interesting. Here it is:

Everyone was dead. Indian raiders massacred the entire wagon train. Only seven-year-old Hardy Collins and three-year-old Betty Sue Powell managed to survive. With a knife, a horse, and the survival lessons his father taught him, Hardy must face the challenges of the open prairie. Using ingenuity and common sense, he builds shelters, searches out water, and forages for food. But as he struggles to keep them alive, he realizes that their survival will depend on his ability to go beyond what his father was able to teach him.

I loved the Rosie Project when I read it years ago. It’s a trilogy so there are more books if you like that one!

I'm halfway through it and liking it very much. My daughter has the other two so I'm looking forward to reading those as well.

[Anonymous]

About 2/3 of the way through Hello, Beautiful.

I enjoy it, I generally look forward to getting back into it, but it's a little slow for me. There are times when I swear it's been an hour but not much of anything has happened, which is fine for a family saga but I find myself wishing it were a bit tighter overall.

I also find some things hard to reconcile because sometimes facts about people don't seem to mesh with the general story that has been told about them, so I'm questioning some of the character development. I'll also note that it's a bit odd that I'm this far into a pretty long book and I still feel like I barely know some of the characters. Usually at this point they'd feel like people you've known for awhile.

We'll see how it ends, but I imagine I'd end up telling people to read it if you like generational stories. I just finished Tom Lake before this, and I like that family a lot more and felt much more invested in them so maybe I'm just comparing the two too much.

[Anonymous]

I just finished Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young and it was incredible. I read her YA books and enjoyed them, but her adult books are fantastic.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59559145-spells-for-forgetting

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:About 2/3 of the way through Hello, Beautiful.

I enjoy it, I generally look forward to getting back into it, but it's a little slow for me. There are times when I swear it's been an hour but not much of anything has happened, which is fine for a family saga but I find myself wishing it were a bit tighter overall.

I also find some things hard to reconcile because sometimes facts about people don't seem to mesh with the general story that has been told about them, so I'm questioning some of the character development. I'll also note that it's a bit odd that I'm this far into a pretty long book and I still feel like I barely know some of the characters. Usually at this point they'd feel like people you've known for awhile.

We'll see how it ends, but I imagine I'd end up telling people to read it if you like generational stories. I just finished Tom Lake before this, and I like that family a lot more and felt much more invested in them so maybe I'm just comparing the two too much.

Unlike most people I did not like Hello, Beautiful. I did finish it but then felt like I had wasted the time.

[Anonymous]

I’m hooked by Grain Brain, by Dr David Perlmutter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:About 2/3 of the way through Hello, Beautiful.

I enjoy it, I generally look forward to getting back into it, but it's a little slow for me. There are times when I swear it's been an hour but not much of anything has happened, which is fine for a family saga but I find myself wishing it were a bit tighter overall.

I also find some things hard to reconcile because sometimes facts about people don't seem to mesh with the general story that has been told about them, so I'm questioning some of the character development. I'll also note that it's a bit odd that I'm this far into a pretty long book and I still feel like I barely know some of the characters. Usually at this point they'd feel like people you've known for awhile.

We'll see how it ends, but I imagine I'd end up telling people to read it if you like generational stories. I just finished Tom Lake before this, and I like that family a lot more and felt much more invested in them so maybe I'm just comparing the two too much.

Unlike most people I did not like Hello, Beautiful. I did finish it but then felt like I had wasted the time.

I'm the PP. I finished the book. I actually like it less now and probably wouldn't recommend that a friend read it, mostly because I didn't like the lack of character development (especially for such a long book!) and I felt overall unsatisfied once it was over. So, like you, I kind of feel like I wasted my time, except that I didn't dislike it while I as reading it, mostly just now that I look back I didn't find it fulfilling at all.