I just finished Train Dreams which...wow. I'm not quite sure how to describe it other than a loose biography (?) of a railway worker in the american west. That feels very inaccurate but it was a really interesting read. Now starting Mrs. Dalloway because I've never read it and it's referenced so often (I see you, PP who recently finished the Wedding People!).

Just finished The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett - loved it. It reminded me so much of the parts I loved about Little Miss Sunshine movie!

Anonymous wrote:Bleak House.

My favorite Dickens, it's been a long time since I dipped back into his writing. I love his style.

My favorite Dickens as well. It's fabulous. And long.

Anonymous wrote:I started "Happy Wife" last night.
It is about a 28 year old woman who marries a 46 year old divorced dad of a teenage girl after a short courtship. He disappears the day after she throws him a big birthday party. It is set in Winter Park Florida.
I am not very far into it but enjoying it so far.

I finished Happy Wife. It was good. I guess. Meh. I looked up the author and she is writing a sequel that will come out this summer. I will probably listen to the sequel. I hope there is a better narrator for the second book. I don't usually have much of an opinion about the narrators for audiobooks but I felt like this one went through much of the book like she was calling a 9-1-1 operator to report an emergency.

Anonymous wrote:I just finished Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth. Very different from her usual style of writing.

Did you like it?

I just finished Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth. Very different from her usual style of writing.

I just finished Graceling by Kristin Cashore. I would rate it 3 stars. Two people with certain specific superpowers (called grace) travel to kill the antagonist who is also graced and is using his grace to torture people.

Currently reading “A lady’s guide to Fortune Hunting” by Sophie Irwin which seems heavily inspired by Georgette Heyer’s “Frederica”.

Anonymous wrote:Cold Comfort Farm. I was expecting to love it, but it’s slow going so far.

Different poster / I was also expecting to love it but I found it too slow and gave up.

I'm about to start I who have never known Men, which has been mentioned a bunch these past few months. It's about a group of women kept prisoner for a long time underground. If not described here I doubt I would have picked it up myself, so fingers crossed.

I love the mystery series Ernest Cunningham by Benjamin Stevenson. Just got the 4th book - Everyone in this Bank is a Thief - so hoping it's as good as the others.

Last month I read on a whim An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good which is a physically small book with a charming cover and inside is a diabolical old lady sociopath murderer. So I grabbed the next one - An Elderly Lady Must Not be Crossed.

And finally - heavy on mysteries, I've decided to read all the Poirot mysteries in order and I'm up to #3 - Poirot Investigates.

I feel like i need something more literary this month, to cut through all the mysteries, but I'm still in the 200s on hold for Theo of Golden, and in the 300s for Yesteryear.

I'm reading the new Michael Pollan book about consciousness. A World Appears. Just started it, but it's good so far. I mean, it's Michael Pollan, so it's going to be good. The subject matter gets dense though, of course, and even though I'm super interested I'm already finding it a bit tedious.

Bleak House.

My favorite Dickens, it's been a long time since I dipped back into his writing. I love his style.

I just finished The Woman in Suite 11 by Ruth Ware. It was fine - just as expected.

I am reading Seascraper by Benjamin Wood which I found on the Booker list.

For nonfiction I'm reading Indigenous Continent which looks and the founding of the U.S. through an indigenous lens. I'm really enjoying it. Trying to read some nonfiction that looks at the founding of our country in less traditional ways in this anniversary year.

I am also listening to YesterYear because this forum was talking about it. (Thank you friends I don’t know!). I’m about 30% in and enjoying it enough, but I can see where some might find the book flatter than what they might be expecting from such an interesting premise.

I’m also reading Sorrow and Bliss. Quite witty, but not a page turner. I’m moving slowly. But I do enjoy the one liners she throws in. Meg Mason has another book coming out which they are promoting a lot, so I thioghy I would read this one advance. I think I will try to get the new one on audiobook if I can.

And I just finished The Wedding People. (Late to the game.) that was a very fun, light novel (despite its subject matter).

Next up: Kevin Wilson’s Run for the Hills. I’ve loved everything he has written, so looking forward to it.

The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer - couldn't connect with the main character and found the writing a bit trite. DNF.

Clover is a death doula, who became intrigued by death after her kindergarten teacher died in front of their class. The story is her 36 year old present life woth frequent memories of her path. Could not relate to her perspectives and handling of her experiences, all felt very immature.

Anonymous wrote:I just finished Strangers, by Belle Burden, on audiobook. I really enjoyed it; I found opportunities to listen at times I don’t usually have my AirPods in! It is a memoir of a very wealthy woman whose husband left her very suddenly, but well written and insightful. Before that I listened to the often recommended The Husbands and enjoyed that a lot as well. This is the book about the new husbands that keep coming out of the attic. It was sharper and wittier than I expected. I am reading Bel Canto by Ann Patchett, about a group of many nationalities being held hostage in South America and also enjoying the beautiful writing, though I admit I have taken a break from it for about a week. Looking forward to digging back in this weekend.

I loved this book