Anonymous wrote:17:07 here.

One more: The Guest by Emma Cline.

This is about a young woman who gets into a fight with her much older boyfriend at his beach house. She can't go back to the city because she owes someone something big. She goes from person to person, place to place, thinking all she needs to do is make it to the boyfriend's Labor Day party where they will make-up and all will be well.

The feel of this narrative is quite different from what I normally read so I appreciated the change of pace, but I'm not sure if I liked it.

I thought it was interesting but I didn't like it, if that makes any sense.

Anonymous wrote:I'm starting The Displacements, by Bruce Holsinger

The premise sounds good, but I'm having a hard time getting into it. Has anyone read it? Thoughts?

Meanwhile, according to Goodreads, I read and liked one of his earlier books (The Gifted School), though that was five years ago, and I can't seem to remember anything about it now . . . not a great sign?

This looks good! The gifted school is one of my favorite books. Which surprised me as I typically lean more toward women writers these days.

I just finished Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil, by VE Schwab, and enjoyed it. An Amazing review described the storyline as “messy lesbian vampire drama,” which was accurate. Vampires aren’t normally my thing, but I enjoyed The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue so figured I’d give it a shot. Overall, it’s just a good yarn. Very readable. I got bogged down a few times in Addie LaRue but less so here, even though it was over 500 pages.

Before that: Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead. Loved it.

Hotel Iris by Yoko Ogawa. Mesmerizing writing but an awful storyline about sexual abuse of a 17-year-old girl (with her somewhat willing participation, but still).

So then Christina Lauren’s Twice in a Blue Moon as a palate cleanser. Not my favorite of their books, but I don’t think they’re capable of writing a truly bad book. Their books are always a pleasant read.

Anonymous wrote:An ARC of “A Beast Slinks Towards Beijing” by Alice Yang, to be published early next year. It’s sort of magical realism about several generations of a Chinese family during WWII, the cultural revolution, and then immigrating to States. I like it a lot, though parts of the narrative (particularly during the war, and then later on during the cultural revolution) are really, really horrific and hard to read.

Ooh, I love a good magical realism and will be all over this! I read Lisa See’s Shanghai Girls (which had some of the lead up to WWII as well as immigration to the US) and its sequel (which covered the Cultural Revolution), so I definitely hear you on the “horrific” parts. A fascinating time in history, though.

Based on a review in the article below I just finished:

The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons.

“Siddons conjures anxiety from the ordinary in this slow-burn, Southern Gothic thriller — one of the best haunted house tales of the last century. The book’s narrator, a wealthy Atlanta woman, is living a picture-perfect suburban life, until someone builds a house on the vacant lot next door. It quickly becomes clear that there is something malevolent about the new build, which infects anyone who enters it with scandal, suffering and, ultimately, death.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/books/paranoia-thriller-books.html?unlocked_article_code=1.jU8._RPN.upBzXBSCOu8X&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare


Partway through I realized I had read it before (came out in the 1970’s) but continued to read because my memory was fuzzy and I was enjoying it. Great story that kept me engaged throughout.

I just finished Buckeye by Patrick Ryan. It is about a woman in Ohio around WWII and her relationships with family and some friends. It was nicely written, but really slow. Very historical.

I am now reading Homeseeking by Karissa Chen. It is about a man and woman who grew up together in China during the war and reunite in California in modern times. Beautifully written with lovely characters. Also slightly slow.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Stout. I just started it, and so far so good. I loved "Olive Kitteridge" and am really looking forward to reading this.

Reading Olive Kitteridge and loving it so far. Grabbed me from the first page. Maybe I'll read Tell Me Everything next.

NP. I just finished Oliver Kitteridge. Wow, she is a great writer. Definitely will read more of hers.

I am reading Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. I have mostly liked it but it is such a downer right now at this point in the book.

I am in the mood for something good but happy if anyone has any recs for what to pick up next?

I liked Atmosphere! I’m a bit of a science nerd and I love a female protagonist. It’s about the first women in the space shuttle program and their relationships.

Anonymous wrote:Just started Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Same--got a skip the line copy from Libby.

Has anyone read any of this month's Amazon Prime First Reads?

Just started beautiful ugly seems interesting so far.

I just finished Flush by Virginia Woolf. It's told from the perspective of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's cocker spaniel, Flush. I thought it was sweet and had a bit more to it than I was expecting. Recommended for Woolf completists.

I just finished "I hope this finds you well" by Natalie Sue. It is about a woman who works in admin for a chain of stores. Through an IT glitch, this woman is accidentally granted permission to see all her co-workers emails. It is set in Calgary Canada, and the protagonist is 33 years old.
I liked it. I read 6 cozy mysteries last month and was rather tired of people getting murdered, so this was something different for me.

17:07 here.

One more: The Guest by Emma Cline.

This is about a young woman who gets into a fight with her much older boyfriend at his beach house. She can't go back to the city because she owes someone something big. She goes from person to person, place to place, thinking all she needs to do is make it to the boyfriend's Labor Day party where they will make-up and all will be well.

The feel of this narrative is quite different from what I normally read so I appreciated the change of pace, but I'm not sure if I liked it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Names by Florence Knapp - the story of an abused woman, Cora, and the three different paths her life takes based on what she names her second child. Her abusive husband insists that he be named Gordan (his name, and the name of his father). Their 9 year old daughter suggests another name, and Cora likes a third name. It seems like an innocent premise, but it's a very powerful book, and really shows how abuse permeates generations.

It's not sappy enough for SAPtember, but is a September read nonetheless.

This book annoyed me because it wasn't really about 3 different names influencing the track of someone's life. I was about three different abuse patterns/outcomes prompted for one moment by a name. I was hoping for more of an exploration of how different names could actually affect both how others see you and how you see yourself.

Yes, I thought it would be more the latter. I stopped reading about 1/3 through - just too depressing.

Water Moon by Samantha Sotto
- Really enjoyed it. It's about a search for family through an alternate universe in Japan, a bit philosophical in nature.

Love, Lists, and Fancy Ships by Sarah Grunder Ruiz
- Average novel about a woman taking care of her nieces for the summer and recovering from the death of their brother (her nephew) with some romance thrown in. It was ok, just didn't love.

Good Morning, Monster by Catherine Gildiner
- Liked it. Psychoanalyst's retelling of five patients who overcame great odds. These individuals have been through a lot. It's interesting to read how they gain insight and change (over long periods of time). She also talks about her own growth as a therapist.

The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose
- Good read. I read the first book, The Maid, quite a while ago but it was fun to revisit the main character and go along for the ride as she solves the mystery.