December - what are you reading this month?

[Anonymous]

Finished “Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead.” Wow, I loved it. It also intersected with some things about me so I strongly empathized with the main character.

Onto “Bunny” by Mona Awad.

[Anonymous]

Long Island Compromise by Tiffany Brodesser Akner. I usually don’t enjoy contemporary books like this - but I’m loving it. Fantastic writer and sense of humor.

[Anonymous]

I’m reading Life after Life, Kate Atkinson. I began it on audiobook... do not recommend this medium as it (of course) jumps around and I did NOT follow what was going on even though I knew the main conceit of the book going in. Gave up. Then found a physical copy in a neighborhood little library... and started up again, enjoying it much more in book form. (That said, I’m pretty tired of the whole WWI-WWII setting, so we’ll see...)

[Anonymous]

I finished Demon Copperhead and am now reading James. (Yes, I'm a bit behind everyone else on this...)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Listening to Lydia Millet's We Loved It All. She's pretty genius, able to weave together disconnected ideas in a way that feels effortless. Every other minute, there's some spark of insight that I'd never considered in quite the way that she presents. That said, the book about animals, and our relationship to them, and there have been a couple of moments (not too many, she's quite careful, but I'm 2 hours in and there have been a couple) that have been painful to listen to.

Just bought a copy of Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout - I read Olive Kitterage last month, and was so moved, so I'll return to Crosby Maine this month, too.

Olive Kitteridge is my favorite book. I find it the perfect study of the most important thing fiction can do -- teach us about empathy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just finished The Road by Cormac McCarthy and enjoyed it. It was bleak, but that seems about right given the political climate.

I went through a phase where I was a bit obsessed with McCarthy. All the Pretty Horses was my favorite. Then I read something of his recently and wanted to throw it out the window halfway through. He's an intense writer.

The Crossing is my favorite.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Finished “Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead.” Wow, I loved it. It also intersected with some things about me so I strongly empathized with the main character.

Onto “Bunny” by Mona Awad.

Halfway through “Bunny” and really enjoying it. It reminds me of a wackier and trippier “The Secret History.” I’ve read a few books that try to evoke the cult classic but this one is the most successful (so far).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Long Island Compromise by Tiffany Brodesser Akner. I usually don’t enjoy contemporary books like this - but I’m loving it. Fantastic writer and sense of humor.

I read Fleishman is in Trouble last month, and thought it was great. Although it begins very lightly in a pop fiction kind of way — newly divorced dad wading through an endless flow of risqué DMs in his dating apps + some shrewd commentary about the competitive uber-wealthy of the upper east side. But by the final pages, it had become something else entirely. It actually left me a little slack-jawed.

She is really, really smart. BTW of all the extensive Eras Tour articles released into the world, hers was the smartest and funniest: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/12/magazine/taylor-swift-eras-tour.html

[Anonymous]

Just finished Martyr! Favorite book I’ve read this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just finished Nicked by MT Anderson. It's so good, after the fall of the Roman Empire, but Byzantium is still in full swing. Characters want to steal the corpse of St Nicholas because saint relics are so popular. Every church needs a body part or two to attract pilgrims!

Next in the pile is "Hope this finds you Well" but I have some "started" books that I may try to get through first.

Did you ever read this, PP? I kept trying to like it but ultimately I found the main character to be pretty unlikeable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Finished All the Colors of the Dark this morning and really did not like it at all and was almost a DNF. Started The Wedding People and am enjoying it so far.

I read this last month and loved it!

I’m reading First Lie Wins and am about halfway finished. It’s been pretty meh and I’m debating whether I want to stop.

I wish I had given up on that one. I didn't think it got any better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Change by Kirsten Miller.

LOVED THIS!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Finished All the Colors of the Dark this morning and really did not like it at all and was almost a DNF. Started The Wedding People and am enjoying it so far.

I did a double take and thought maybe I had posted this!

I also didn't like All the Colors of the Dark but I did enjoy The Wedding People, and I read them both in close proximity as well, how weird!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just finished The Road by Cormac McCarthy and enjoyed it. It was bleak, but that seems about right given the political climate.

I went through a phase where I was a bit obsessed with McCarthy. All the Pretty Horses was my favorite. Then I read something of his recently and wanted to throw it out the window halfway through. He's an intense writer.

defenestrate

It's a very specific word so you can't use it all that often, but it means exactly what you said so I try to pull it out the one time a year or so that I want to say that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just finished Nicked by MT Anderson. It's so good, after the fall of the Roman Empire, but Byzantium is still in full swing. Characters want to steal the corpse of St Nicholas because saint relics are so popular. Every church needs a body part or two to attract pilgrims!

Next in the pile is "Hope this finds you Well" but I have some "started" books that I may try to get through first.

Did you ever read this, PP? I kept trying to like it but ultimately I found the main character to be pretty unlikeable.

I'm a different poster but I read it this year and found it eh. It felt like it was trying too hard to be clever.