Our latest RECOMMENDATIONS & DISCUSSIONS

grammypeg said:

Just finished "A Terrible Country" by Keith Gessen. He tells the story of going back to Russia in about 2009 to help care for his grandmother. He was born in Russia and emigrated to the US when he was 6 and became fully "Americanized". His older brother at 16 did not make the transition well and returned to Russia. It is a first person account of daily life in Russia and very interesting.

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I shall definitely look out for this one. Is his mother a writer too? I think I have a couple of books on my To Read list.

I'm reading my second Wallander. Not the plan, but my husband is in hospital waiting for an angiogram. I needed something not too challenging.

Thanks for your good wishes. It’s a couple of books by Masha I plan to read. I heard an interview on the radio.

My husband is fine. Thank you for asking, Val. No stent and no bypass. More visits to cardiologist to find out what's Causing the problem.

I’ve just finished The Fifth Woman by Henning Mankell. The Wallander stories are set in the 1990s and the commentary on Swedish crime is quite interesting and somewhat prescient. I like his writing and the gradual revealing of the story.

Started Nora Webster by Colm Tóibín ( I think I’ve spelled it correctly.). It’s for Book Group. Next week is busy so I hope I’ve left myself enough time to read it.

Sorry to hear about the house sale, Sally. What a nightmare. Happened to friends in Cornwall twice!

Don’t let what I said get you down. I think it’s time for England to change the way houses are sold. Here when you make an offer, it’s subject to conditions like being able to get the mortgage or an inspection. There’s also an expiry time on the offer. If you, the vendor, don’t respond, the buyer can start again. Once the conditions are fulfilled, that’s it. Things go much more smoothly and more quickly. At least in my experience.

I read The Book if ******* by Lawrence Hill a few years ago and really enjoyed it. It was in CBC as well. I don’t know if you can find it on Netflix or somewhere similar because it was well done. I haven’t read any of his other books.

I’ve just finished A Good Wife by Samra Zafar. She was from Pakistan and was married at 17 to a man she didn’t know. He lived and worked in Canada and promised that she could continue her education. He abused her for several years. It’s about how she escaped the marriage. She makes the point that her story isn’t unique to her and her culture. Abuse exists in all cultures and the escape is difficult for everyone. It’s a hard story to get your head around if you haven't been in that position.
I found it quite a quick read.

I loved A Gentleman in Moscow as well. I’ve also read the first of the series by Nicci French. I enjoyed it, but I wasn’t intrigued enough to read more yet.

Currently reading The Crying Tree recommended on here. I’m not sure about it yet.

I gave up on The Crying Tree. I didn’t take to the characters and that was making it difficult for me to continue. Last night I finished Carmen bin Ladin’s ‘Inside the Kingdom’ about her years in Saudi Arabia as the wife of one of the Bin Ladin brothers. Some of her observations about the society were very interesting but probably a little out of date now as she left in 1985. I bought this at a book sale for a library in BC and will return it there in a couple of weeks. Third book off my shelf to be re-donated. On to number 4 ‘Origin’ by Dan Brown. It’ll be another quick read. I’m only reading it because we own it. I might take this one to the secondhand bookstore and see if they’ll take it.

It’s taken me about 4 years to get round to reading all these, but it feels good to be reducing the pile. And I’ll feel less guilty about buying books at the sale in July. Well, it’s for a good cause!

Just back from the library. Picked up the new Jackson Brodie. Think I was on the waiting list even before the book was added to the library stock.

Have to finish Origin first which seems a little slow. Anyone else read it?

Okay, I’ve now finished Dan Brown’s Origin. I still found it slow. It doesn’t have the tension or excitement of the Da Vinci Code. I never really became invested in the story. I think I’ve read all his Robert Langdon ones and I find that they get less interesting as you read them because he has a race against time theme to each of them. That theme was very weak in this one. I do like the way he incorporates a lot of real controversies though.

Yes, started it last night. This one is set in Yorkshire and we’re already following at least 2 stories. As I read the earlier ones a few years ago, it’s taking a little while for some of Jackson’s story to come back to me.

I finished Big Sky by Kate Atkinson and I’d be interested to hear what others think. I don’t want to influence anyone! I’ve started Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield, author of The Thirteenth Tale which I raced through. I’m not sure I've bought into her atmosphere yet.

Too many books piled up. I’m spoiled for choice!

Yes, there is a hint of disappointment. I read all three of the earlier books fairly close together I think, so it was a few years ago probably after the third one came out. I didn’t remember that Jackson had such a complicated personal life is one thing. There seemed to be a lot of characters in the first few chapters and it was difficult to work out the connections. The story itself was very topical.

I don’t know why it’s called Big Sky either.

Yesterday, about a chapter in, I abandoned the book for my book group. No interest in reading it. I’m also unsure about Once Upon a River. Must be my mood. So now I’ve started Paris Echo by Sebastian Faulks. Already I’m finding it more interesting. Fingers crossed!

Actually, it’s set in Yorkshire on the coast. Here Big Sky Country would be Montana; it’s on their number plates. Alberta also has big skies. I’m hoping someone can explain the title to me.

I enjoyed The Comfort of Home. I’m still enjoying Paris Echo as well, not reading it quickly as we’re busy, but enjoying it.

Finished Paris Echo by Sebastian Faulks just now. It’s 2 intertwined stories. One is of Tariq who smuggles himself into France from Morocco, and the other is of Hannah an American post-doctoral student in Paris to do research into the lives of women during the years of German Occupation. The theme of the book is how history is all around us and echoes in our lives today. Some interesting insights into the Occupation, and I'll have to do yet more reading to find out how fact-based it all is. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

I finished Where the Crawdads Sing. It keeps you reading. But I found parts of it quite distressing, mainly in the early part. I also found the ending a little disappointing, but I don’t want to say why as I know many of you are planning to read it. Part of it reminded me of To Kill a Mockingbird.

I’ve now started The Milkman, but I don’t think I’ll have time to finish it. I decided to abandon Once Upon a River. I give up on books more easily these days. At one point in my life I was determined to finish any book I started, now not so much. The last year or two of my reading has seen several books abandoned.

I have Dear Mrs Bird out of the library waiting it’s turn. A friend recommended it.

smasha12 said:

I have Dear Mrs Bird out of the library waiting it's turn. A friend recommended it.

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Sorry, autocorrect added the apostrophe to its when it really doesn't belong!

The Reader said:

I believe the movie as referenced is not based on the recommended book. Same name, but 2 different stories. I'm finding more and more books with similar or the same names; makes it confusing sometimes when searching for a specific book.

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I'm finding the same thing. I'm reading The Runaways by Fatima Bhutto. When I went there n the library website, there was also a book called Runaways. Very tricky!