| Miracle Creek by Angie Kim. Local author. |
+1 I’d ease back in with readable page-turners that nevertheless have substance and a lot of food for thought. Hence my recommendation above for Angie Kim’s books |
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I usually reread a Jane Austen novel when I'm in a slump.
It sounds like you have been reading books that are a little too easy/accessible. Maybe you need to mix it up with something that's a little challenging or requires some work and concentration. Then going back to the more fun and easy page turners feels rewarding. Or maybe too much of the same style of book? Here are a few that are off the beaten path that I really liked. In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden - it's about nuns, but really it's about relationships in a closed community. I loved it. A Month in the Country by J.L. Carr - a quiet book about a ma post-WWI who goes to uncover a mural in a small town The Book of Ebenezer Le Page - quirky book about a man telling about is life on the island of Guernsey Excellent Women by Barbara Pym - if you like Jane Austen, try this 1950s British author. |
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Get a book off your shelf and find the audiobook version on Libby. Read along while listening to the audio until you get hooked into the story.
Write a list of the characters on a piece of paper and use that as a bookmark to keep track of them all in the beginning. |
| It ends with us by Colleen Hoover. Daisy Jones and the Six or Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. Read something easy, not Tolstoy! |
| Eleanor oliphant is absolutely fine as |
| I have some questions for you - Rebecca Makkai; Matrix - Lauren Groff; Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver; Lady Tans circle of women - Lisa See; Let Us Descend - Ward; The School for Good Mothers - |
Daisy Jones and the Six is BEST accessed as an audiobook. LOVED it! |
This was my first thought after reading the OP! Winds of War was so great and the sequel War and Remembrance was just as good! I read both many years ago and I have listened to the audio versions as well, each time I get more out of them. Highly recommend. |
I could not put Circe down! OP, have you read it? |
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A quick second for "Circe" by Madeleine Miller! I actually RE-READ it and I haven't re-read anything except Jane Austen and a few political essays for ages!
I think COVID did a number on our brains. Here are two suggestions: 1. A short book--maybe 70 pages--called, "The English Understand Wool." It starts quietly, but then there are twists. 2. If you like politics, "How Not To Be A Politician," by Rory Stewart (UK) is a hoot. 3. I enjoyed the Invisible Life of Addie LaRue--romance, a bit of many histories (time travel), and quite different! Tell us more about what you like! |
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Don't read this: On Earth We Are Briefly Gorgeous
Ocean Vueng |
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I gave 5 stars to the following books this year:
The Secret Life of Flora Lea(Patti Callahan Henry) Olga Dies Dreaming (Xochitl González) The Book of Everlasting Things (Aanchal Malhotra) Small Worlds (Caleb Azumah Nelson) Lessons in Chemistry (Bonnie Garmus) Biography of X (Catherine Lacey) The Measure (Nikki Erlick) Dust Child (Nguyen Phan Que Mai) She is a Haunting (Trang Thanh Tran) Swimming Lessons (Claire Fuller) Night of the Living Rez (Morgan Talty) Like Water for Chocolate (Laura Esquivel) A Map for the Missing (Belinda Huijuan Tang) Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe (Fannie Flagg) The Man Who Could Move Clouds (Ingrid Rojas Contreras) |
| I also recommend Circe! Another good one is Shark Heart by Emily Habeck. It’s beautifully written and a really unique read, in story and style. Perfect for getting out of a slump |
| Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner. |