February 2025 - What are you reading?

[Anonymous]

I just finished The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo and really liked it. It takes place in 1930s Malaysia and depicts how several characters (a young orphaned servant boy, his dead identical twin, a young woman who works at a dance hall, her brother, and a foreign doctor) are all tied together through deaths, dreams, and missions (to return a severed finger to the grave of its dead owner). Local mythology plays a big role as well (Night Tiger).

I've also been enjoying listening to Darynda Jones's series on Sheriff Sunshine Vikram and a local cast of characters in Del Sol, New Mexico (A Bad Day for Sunshine, A Good Day for Chardonnay, A Hard Day for a Hangover). The premise is that she has returned to her hometown as sheriff (even though she didn't officially run) with her 15-year-old daughter whose origins are a mystery (Sunshine was abducted/assaulted at 17 and has memory loss). There's humor, crime, mysteries, and relationships.

My latest DNF was Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik. It's supposed to be a play off Rumpelstiltskin. It started strong but then dragged on. This is another story involving mythology, this time of demons and icy Staryks. The main character is Miryem, who out off necessity learns how to "spin silver into gold" and has many characters who are trying to get themselves out of bad situations. The story switches between a lot of viewpoints and I found it engrossing to a point.

[Anonymous]

I just finished the Blueberry Pickers. 5 stars!

[Anonymous]

"There are rivers in the sky" by elif shafak.
Beautifully written

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm reading to The North Woods by Daniel Mason, a booker finalist for other works. It's the story of a cabin/house in rural western Mass and the stories of the inhabitants over 300 years. Really wonderful, especially since I grew up in a similar house in Vermont.

The North Woods was a DNF for me.

I did finish it, but barely. I could not get into it. The ending was preposterous.. like reading a different genre.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm reading to The North Woods by Daniel Mason, a booker finalist for other works. It's the story of a cabin/house in rural western Mass and the stories of the inhabitants over 300 years. Really wonderful, especially since I grew up in a similar house in Vermont.

Unlike the PPs who disliked it, I think North Woods is a masterful, magical book. I liked it a lot on the first read and loved it on the second. The creativity in this novel is just unmatched and so clever. It's packed with quiet, subtle gems. It's like Daniel Mason trusted his readers to be intelligent, thoughtful readers instead of spelling everything out and hitting us over the head.

I am new to commenting on North Woods and appreciate this. I like when things are spelled out and it’s probably why I prefer non-fiction. But my goal is to try and read fiction more deeply and challenge myself, but sometimes it’s hard to keep going.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm reading to The North Woods by Daniel Mason, a booker finalist for other works. It's the story of a cabin/house in rural western Mass and the stories of the inhabitants over 300 years. Really wonderful, especially since I grew up in a similar house in Vermont.

Unlike the PPs who disliked it, I think North Woods is a masterful, magical book. I liked it a lot on the first read and loved it on the second. The creativity in this novel is just unmatched and so clever. It's packed with quiet, subtle gems. It's like Daniel Mason trusted his readers to be intelligent, thoughtful readers instead of spelling everything out and hitting us over the head.

Love the underlying diss to the previous PPs lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm reading to The North Woods by Daniel Mason, a booker finalist for other works. It's the story of a cabin/house in rural western Mass and the stories of the inhabitants over 300 years. Really wonderful, especially since I grew up in a similar house in Vermont.

Unlike the PPs who disliked it, I think North Woods is a masterful, magical book. I liked it a lot on the first read and loved it on the second. The creativity in this novel is just unmatched and so clever. It's packed with quiet, subtle gems. It's like Daniel Mason trusted his readers to be intelligent, thoughtful readers instead of spelling everything out and hitting us over the head.

Love the underlying diss to the previous PPs lol

yup, basically you have to have a superior IQ to like a book...uhhm..ok

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm reading to The North Woods by Daniel Mason, a booker finalist for other works. It's the story of a cabin/house in rural western Mass and the stories of the inhabitants over 300 years. Really wonderful, especially since I grew up in a similar house in Vermont.

Unlike the PPs who disliked it, I think North Woods is a masterful, magical book. I liked it a lot on the first read and loved it on the second. The creativity in this novel is just unmatched and so clever. It's packed with quiet, subtle gems. It's like Daniel Mason trusted his readers to be intelligent, thoughtful readers instead of spelling everything out and hitting us over the head.

Love the underlying diss to the previous PPs lol

lol she probably thought the diss was so sophisticated that it went over our heads. Like the book.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm reading to The North Woods by Daniel Mason, a booker finalist for other works. It's the story of a cabin/house in rural western Mass and the stories of the inhabitants over 300 years. Really wonderful, especially since I grew up in a similar house in Vermont.

Unlike the PPs who disliked it, I think North Woods is a masterful, magical book. I liked it a lot on the first read and loved it on the second. The creativity in this novel is just unmatched and so clever. It's packed with quiet, subtle gems. It's like Daniel Mason trusted his readers to be intelligent, thoughtful readers instead of spelling everything out and hitting us over the head.

Love the underlying diss to the previous PPs lol

It wasn't meant to be a diss honestly. They admitted to choosing not to finish the book, so I wasn't referring to them as readers of the book.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm reading to The North Woods by Daniel Mason, a booker finalist for other works. It's the story of a cabin/house in rural western Mass and the stories of the inhabitants over 300 years. Really wonderful, especially since I grew up in a similar house in Vermont.

Unlike the PPs who disliked it, I think North Woods is a masterful, magical book. I liked it a lot on the first read and loved it on the second. The creativity in this novel is just unmatched and so clever. It's packed with quiet, subtle gems. It's like Daniel Mason trusted his readers to be intelligent, thoughtful readers instead of spelling everything out and hitting us over the head.

Love the underlying diss to the previous PPs lol

yup, basically you have to have a superior IQ to like a book...uhhm..ok

It's not about having a superior IQ. The magic in North Woods is in the Easter eggs, the through lines between all the vignettes that are often only connected by a single line or cursory reference. I said I read it twice; I myself missed half of the special moments on first read. I think you have to be in a certain reading mood to appreciate North Woods. If you're in the mood for something plot or character-driven that is more straight-forward entertainment, it's not going to be the book for you at that moment. Not to say it's not entertaining, it's a very funny book.

What's the point of book discussion if we can't say more than "I liked" or "I didn't like" a book?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm reading to The North Woods by Daniel Mason, a booker finalist for other works. It's the story of a cabin/house in rural western Mass and the stories of the inhabitants over 300 years. Really wonderful, especially since I grew up in a similar house in Vermont.

Unlike the PPs who disliked it, I think North Woods is a masterful, magical book. I liked it a lot on the first read and loved it on the second. The creativity in this novel is just unmatched and so clever. It's packed with quiet, subtle gems. It's like Daniel Mason trusted his readers to be intelligent, thoughtful readers instead of spelling everything out and hitting us over the head.

I am new to commenting on North Woods and appreciate this. I like when things are spelled out and it’s probably why I prefer non-fiction. But my goal is to try and read fiction more deeply and challenge myself, but sometimes it’s hard to keep going.

I read a lot, and honestly I don't see the point of pushing yourself to read what you don't enjoy. For me, reading is for pleasure. That's why, the opposite of you, I almost exclusively read fiction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"There are rivers in the sky" by elif shafak.
Beautifully written

I’m about halfway through, and I think I like it even better than “The Island of Missing Trees,” which I loved. I think I can see where the separate plots are potentially going to meet, but I’m enjoying the trip along the way (and will be happy to admit I was wrong if things don’t go where I think they are headed).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm reading to The North Woods by Daniel Mason, a booker finalist for other works. It's the story of a cabin/house in rural western Mass and the stories of the inhabitants over 300 years. Really wonderful, especially since I grew up in a similar house in Vermont.

Unlike the PPs who disliked it, I think North Woods is a masterful, magical book. I liked it a lot on the first read and loved it on the second. The creativity in this novel is just unmatched and so clever. It's packed with quiet, subtle gems. It's like Daniel Mason trusted his readers to be intelligent, thoughtful readers instead of spelling everything out and hitting us over the head.

Love the underlying diss to the previous PPs lol

yup, basically you have to have a superior IQ to like a book...uhhm..ok

It's not about having a superior IQ. The magic in North Woods is in the Easter eggs, the through lines between all the vignettes that are often only connected by a single line or cursory reference. I said I read it twice; I myself missed half of the special moments on first read. I think you have to be in a certain reading mood to appreciate North Woods. If you're in the mood for something plot or character-driven that is more straight-forward entertainment, it's not going to be the book for you at that moment. Not to say it's not entertaining, it's a very funny book.

What's the point of book discussion if we can't say more than "I liked" or "I didn't like" a book?

I’m in the camp of loving North Woods, but I agree that you probably have to be in the right frame of mind or maybe just the right place in your life to “feel” it rather than appreciate it on a purely intellectual level. I will probably get jumped all over, but I never “got” Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. I was glad other people found it so engaging and brilliant, but I wasn’t in the right place to see that for myself.

[Anonymous]

Finally started reading The Change by Kirsten Miller. Really liking it so far. Also looking forward to reading her new book - Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books. I'll probably wait until it's in paperback.

The Change was a DCUM rec and it is fully meeting my expectations!

[Anonymous]

Just finished The Friday Afternoon Club by Griffin Dunne, the actor and son of Dominick Dunne, the famous writer who chronicled infamous crimes for Vanity Fair. It's really great--juicy Hollywood stories, family tragedies, life-long friendships. It's really good--and I'm generally not a memoir reader.