Erasure, which is the book American Fiction is based on. Super interesting so far.

Anonymous wrote:Hello Beautiful
Heaven and Earth Grocery Store

God I hated Heaven and Earth Grocery Store. A huge slog for me. Poorly edited is the kindest I can say about it

Hello Beautiful
Heaven and Earth Grocery Store

Day, the new book by Michael Cunningham, which focuses on the same day in three consecutive years in the life of a family. I’m enjoying the keenly observant writing. He is the author of The Hours, which won the Pulitzer back in 1998.

Just read Anita demonte Laughs Last—amazing depiction of relationships and jealousy/rivalry with a touch of magical realism. I don’t normally like dual timelines but it really worked for me here.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just read The Gifted School, which was ok. Readable and not very demanding. Which is sort of what I needed after being in a little bit of a reading lull. It is about yuppie parents in a fictionalizes Boulder, Colorado, freaking out about trying to get their 11 year olds into a new magnet school for gifted children.

I absolutely loved this book! Don’t know why I just got completely absorbed in it.

I am reading I have some questions for you by Rebecca Makkai.

It’s all right, but I’m not totally sucked in yet.

I’m back to say I finished “I have some questions for you” and did get totally sucked in. Really liked this book and would recommend it.

It’s about a writer/Podcaster who returns to her boarding school 25 years later to do a short teaching stent. During her senior year, her roommate died/was murdered. So she ends up revisiting that whole thing, and she’s always felt uneasy about who went to jail for it.

It reminded me a lot of Prep by Curtis Sittenfield, if you like that book. A lot of revisiting about what it’s like to be a teen girl in high school in the 90s.

Anonymous wrote:Beyond That, the Sea- I enjoyed this coming of age story about a 11 year old English girl who comes to live with an American family during the war. She stays with a wealthy Boston family becomes part of their family.

I put this on my list because of recommendations from this forum. I'm about 3/4 of the way done and I love it so far. The only thing I don't like is the use of italics instead of quote marks. I find italics harder to read and it's also more difficult to figure out when it transitions between speakers because there aren't paragraphs or end quote to denote it. Odd choice, to me, but the book itself is delightful. I got it on my Kindle and I'm pretty sure it was free as part of Kindle Unlimited (although I get so many books I sometimes get confused). I've been looking forward to reading it every night and I'll be sad when it's over.

To add to PP's description, the book starts with the years she lives with the family but then jumps ahead multiple times to later points in life. Each chapter is sort of from the point of view of a single character, and there are many but they're not hard to keep track of and the story is cohesive so it doesn't feel like you're jumping around. I like the book enough to see if the author has written anything else because I like the style.

Just finished Caste by Isabel Wilkerson. A very powerful writer. Fascinating to learn about the anthropologist Allison Davis, pitcher Satchel Page, Ambedkar (the Indian anticaste leader). As well as Einstein's principled support for black civil rights.

Anonymous wrote:I’ve started Middlemarch. Never too late to read some of the classics I missed in school!

I read middlemarch a few years ago and while it took a lot more “work” for me than usual, it was well worth it. I still reflect on some lines and themes from it.

I just finished The Woman with No Name, a lightly fictionalized account of Yvonne Rudellat, a middle aged explosives expert who worked for the British in a terrorist cell in occupied WWIi France. It was fantastic.

I am now reading The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen.

Anonymous wrote:Currently reading Maame, by Jessica George.

Me too!

I’ve started Middlemarch. Never too late to read some of the classics I missed in school!

Anonymous wrote:On Earth, We Are Briefly Gorgeous
Fabulous
Ocean Young author

Yeah he is an amazing writer. Have you also read his poems?

On Earth, We Are Briefly Gorgeous
Fabulous
Ocean Young author

Currently reading All the Sinners Bleed based on a NY times list. It’s ok but very dark.

On tap is Chain Gang All Stars and Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. All my library holds are coming available at once and it’s stressing me!