Book Club

[SWEET]

Just finished a wonderful nf/memoir.  Heart of A Stranger by Angela Buchdahl.  She's the first Asian-American Rabbi at a large synagogue in New York/Manhattan.  Her mother is Asian and her father is Jewish. She was never accepted as Jewish I guess you can say.  

[sandy53]

Today I finished The Widow, the newest book by John Grisham.  This is the first Grisham book I have read in many years and I highly recommend it.  The writing is straight-forward and flows very smoothly with short chapters.  The plot starts simply with a widow who needs a new will, then it involves lots of deception, a murder, and a trial.  I won't say more for fear of spoilers.  It's a good one.  

[beckyb1012]

Fun For The Whole Family, by Jennifer E. Smith.  Four very close siblings, two of which are twins find themselves as adults three years into practically no communication whatsoever. Where they went from attending all the events in each others lives, such as one brother's professional soccer games to one sister's award winning movies. 

These two brothers and two sisters grew up with two parents, a very hard working father and very fun filled mother.  Then one day they come home from school and their mom is gone, just packed up and left.  Only to return every year at the end of summer for road trip adventures for a month.  The goal is to visit all fifty states if they can. 

After many years of these trips a fire brings it all to halt and they never see their mother again.  An award winning novel written by another of the siblings telling their story puts the walls up between them all along with other secrets they are all carrying. 

One day they receive a text "can you meet me in North Dakota this weekend?"

[Judaline]

@sandy53 The writing is straight-forward and flows very smoothly with short chapters

Because of what you said, I will check this out (and maybe out of the library, lol). Grisham was always too descriptive, etc. for me to get into his books. I think I might like this one.

[sandy53]

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@Judaline wrote:

@sandy53 The writing is straight-forward and flows very smoothly with short chapters

Because of what you said, I will check this out (and maybe out of the library, lol). Grisham was always too descriptive, etc. for me to get into his books. I think I might like this one.

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Grisham must be a foodie because there are lots of descriptions of food/meals in this book.

[icezeus]

I finished Ocean Prey (Lucas Davenport, #31) by John Sanford.  This one was a joint story with Virgil Flowers. 

I have a fear of drowning, so all of the underwater storytelling sort of creeped me out. 

[smoky22]

The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia.  The story follows three women in three different timelines dealing with dark forces.  I'm a huge fan of this author, and although this book is not my favorite, I enjoyed it. 

The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer.  It started as an essay in a magazine and is not much longer here.  She uses the serviceberry as an example of a plant that gives so much to humans, birds and wildlife and embodies a giving economy.  

Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher.  This my first book by this author, and some have described it like wrapping yourself in a warm blanket in front of a cozy fire.  A good book for the winter holidays.    

[SWEET]

Finished Cassondra Windwalker's The Gardener's Wife Mistress.  Nothing special.  It was only 205 pages.  I would usually finish it in one day but for some reason it took me longer than usual. 

[walker]

To all readers here....thank you for book reviews and recommendations.  Although I don't post very often, I check in frequently to get new book suggestions.  I just finished a book I don't think has been mentioned...

Theo of Golden by Allen Levi .... people, relationships, friendships...first book by author and, I think, well written.

I felt like I was "in the book" with characters and relationships.  Easy reading.  The book is part of Book Club selections here.

[teganslaw]

I'm reading "A Thousand Ships"by Natalie Haynes. An historical novel about the women during the Trojan war. The book features the Amazon princess who fought Achilles, Penelope waiting for Odysseus' return, Helen, the Muse Calliope and various others. 

Well written, it's an intriguing characterization of the female view during the fall of Troy. I'm about 100 pages into the book.