Anonymous wrote:Did anybody see the Irish language film The Quiet Girl? It’s an adaptation of a novella by Claire Keegan called Foster.

I just read the first short story in her new collection, So Late in the Day: Stories of Women and Men

It’s brilliant and I couldn’t recommend it more highly.

I have not seen this but Claire Keegan was recommended by a client of mine and I think she is terrific.

I am reading Women by Kristin Hannah and I am not loving it. I enjoyed three of her other books. Anyone else reading it? Need some encouragement to finish it.

Anonymous wrote:Just finished Dune. Taking a break before reading the next in the series.

Started reading “The Housekeeper and the Professor” by Yoko Ogawa. Interesting so far.

I loved, loved, loved Dune (and the sequels) as a kid. Probably read it ten times. I’m thinking of going back to read it as an adult but I’m almost afraid to— in case it doesn’t quite hold up!

I am reading a Vera book, Ann Cleeves' The Glass Room. Its the only one of the Vera books not made into the TV show and I wanted to see why. It's also great, a real page turner.

Anonymous wrote:Just finished Dune. Taking a break before reading the next in the series.

Started reading “The Housekeeper and the Professor” by Yoko Ogawa. Interesting so far.

NP and I just got Dune from the library- thoughts before I start?

Anonymous wrote:

Keep some tissues handy for The Housekeeper and the Professor. I read it last year and thought it was very good (and sad).

Thank you for the heads up!

Anonymous wrote:Just finished Dune. Taking a break before reading the next in the series.

Started reading “The Housekeeper and the Professor” by Yoko Ogawa. Interesting so far.

Keep some tissues handy for The Housekeeper and the Professor. I read it last year and thought it was very good (and sad).

North Woods by Daniel Mason

I really love it. It takes place over time following all the residents of a house in New England

Just finished Dune. Taking a break before reading the next in the series.

Started reading “The Housekeeper and the Professor” by Yoko Ogawa. Interesting so far.

Finally reading The Nightwatchman!

ARC reader here. It's been a while since I shared the books I've read that come out in March. Here's my list...

Murder Road by Simone St. James - She's got the paranormal thriller formula down pat. This one isn't ground-breaking and there's a very convenient helper in the mystery, but it's yet another solid entry in her catalog. I personally preferred when she set her books in the 1920s-1940s. Now that she's using the 80s and 90s, they make me feel old.

Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle - Two books with the same premise came out within a couple months of each other and they are both well done. Every time a woman starts a relationship, she gets a note with it's expiration date on it. Like "John, three weeks" or something along those lines. The first half was light and fun, but the second half is heavier. There's a happy ending, though.

Sisters of Fortune by Anna Lee Huber - This actually came out at the end of February, but I think it's worth mentioning. It's about the Titanic voyage, focusing on the women in the Fortune family and other Canadians who were on the ship. Most of the characters are real and I don't think it's a spoiler to say that most make it (it's be a pretty depressing book otherwise!) It's does a great job of developing the characters of three sisters. The shipwreck is as scary and tense as you'd expect, but the aftermath is satisfying.

Bride by Ali Hazelwood - I think Ali's agent or publisher is just asking her to pull abandoned stories because almost everything she puts out makes money. This was a pretty average vampire/werewolf romance. I think she should stick to her "women in STEM" formula, which works for her.

What Feasts the Night by T. Kingfisher - sequel to a book based on The Fall of the House of Usher. Fine, but not scary. Missing the humor I expect in T. Kingfisher books.

The Love Remedy by Elizabeth Everett - This is another author who gets the "women in STEM" thing down, but her books are all set in the 1800s. Victorian era apothecary discovers a cure for croup, but her work is stolen. She hires a private inquiry agent to track down the thief and of course, a relationship develops.

My copy of the new Deanna Raybourn book arrives today. Can't wait to hunker down this weekend and read it. Any other Veronica Speedwell fans?

The Latecomer, by Jean Hanff Korelitz

It was recommended on this board, and I'm really enjoying it. Interesting setup and characters, and I like how the story shifts about midway through the book, just when I was getting restless. (I'm getting to the end now, but I don't want to let it go . . . . )

I read one of her earlier books (Admissions), which I liked but didn't love. The Latecomer is far more interesting to me.

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

Oh I've been thinking about reading this because I LOVED American Fiction. Glad to hear the book is good!

I quickly read Annie Bot by Sierra Greer. It's not a long book, and it moves quickly.

It's like a Klara and the Sun for grown ups. There are artificial bots that provide services to humans, they basically come in three models - cuddle bunny (sex & companionship), stella (basic cleaning model), and nanny. Annie is a cuddle bunny, advanced model, so she has no visible seam, and appears human. The auto-didactic models are able to learn as they go, so they become more real, and more in tune to their owners needs.

There is a lot of steamy sex scenes, but there's also a current of independence and feminism as Annie learns to become an individual, coping with very human emotions. This isn't a robots revolt and take over the world story (at this point anyway). There is a ton to discuss in a book club, as the relationship issues that Annie and Doug experience are real life difficulties. I could go on, but I don't want to spoil anything.

It's worth the read.