Community Chat

[Honeybit]

I just finished Burial Rites by Hannah Kent, which was selected by our book club for later this year. The book jacket says it is about the last woman to be publicly beheaded in Iceland in 1829. The blurbs describe it as "gorgeous", "gripping", and "mythic". It also got a lot of high praise on Amazon. My reaction is that it may well be the most depressing book I've ever read, and that it has no redeeming virtues -- not even extraordinary writing. The story is as dark as the searing climate of Iceland in winter, and I couldn't find one character I liked or admired. I am baffled by why the author even chose to write about the subject, much less do a tireless amount of research among historical documents. I've always thought of myself as a book lover, but obviously I'm out of step with today's Finer Literary Thinking. (Did I mention there was one character who was constantly hacking up clots of blood?)

[Judaline]

Wow, I'm going to run out and get that one, honeybit, hahaha.

[Sagal]

On 6/3/2014 SWEET said:

Finished The Mourning Hours by Paula Treick DeBoard. Loved this book. Read it in 3 days. I'm a sucker for family stories and this one hit the spot. I won't spoil it, but it surprised me the way it "turned out."

Onto Scratched (nf) by Allen Salkin which is about the Food Network. I love the channel and my niece works there so have to read it.

Hi Sweet, so glad you loved The Mourning Hours - one of my favorite books from last year!

[Sagal]

On 6/8/2014 Linders Back said:

On 6/7/2014 SAgal said:

Hi Mrs Sweetie Bear -

I just finished GARDEN SPELLS and loved it - thanks! Now I'm reading SWEET WATER by the author of THE LAST ORPHAN TRAIN and it's great too!

Just for clarification: Christina Baker Kline book is just "Orphan Train" . There are quite a few books out there about the orphan trains, but that was her novel. It was a wonderful book so I'll check out here Sweet Water. Thanks.

Thank you for the correction - I don't know where I came up with that title!

[Judaline]

On 6/11/2014 SAgal said:

On 6/3/2014 SWEET said:

Finished The Mourning Hours by Paula Treick DeBoard. Loved this book. Read it in 3 days. I'm a sucker for family stories and this one hit the spot. I won't spoil it, but it surprised me the way it "turned out."

Onto Scratched (nf) by Allen Salkin which is about the Food Network. I love the channel and my niece works there so have to read it.

Hi Sweet, so glad you loved The Mourning Hours - one of my favorite books from last year!

Yes, I liked it, too. In the same genre as Goodnite, Nebraska- at least I think that was the title.

[blessed10]

On 6/11/2014 Judaline said:

<br />

<br />

Yes, I liked it, too. In the same genre as Goodnite, Nebraska- at least I think that was the title.

Judaline, I could not find a title matching "GOODNITE, NEBRASKA". Do you know the author of the book you were speaking of? Thanks in advance!

[smoky22]

I finished The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin. A wonderful book. It's interesting that in Australia, the book is called The Collected Works of A. J. Fikry, which is also a very apt title. As A. J. says in the book, "We are not quite novels. We are not quite short stories. In the end, we are collected works." I really enjoyed reading this book.

[Judaline]

blessed, sorry I didn't spell it correctly.

http://www.amazon.com/Goodnight-Nebraska-Tom-McNeal/dp/0375704299

[Vamp]

Just finished and enjoyed The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty. It's set in Australia and is the story of three women whose lives are turned upside down and how their lives intersect.

Now I'm going to start The Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline.

[Vamp]

On 6/11/2014 blessed10 said:

On 6/11/2014 Judaline said:

<br />

<br />

Yes, I liked it, too. In the same genre as Goodnite, Nebraska- at least I think that was the title.

Judaline, I could not find a title matching "GOODNITE, NEBRASKA". Do you know the author of the book you were speaking of? Thanks in advance!

Is it Goodnight, Nebraska by Tom McNeal?