I read The Great Gatsby last month for I believe only the second time which was largely delightful. Currently re-reading A Moveable Feast and enjoying it even more now I'm in France!
I read Daniel Mason's North Woods to humor a friend who wanted to discuss it. Going in, I didn't know anything about the it. After the first chapter, I was wishing I hadn't agreed to it, but by the third, I was engrossed. Totally different book and my favorite for October.
I decided to take a break from nonfiction and of the fiction I read The Correspondent by Virginia Evans was the best. I like epistolary novels and this was one I couldn’t put down. I highly recommend it. What a story.
Thank you so much for your lists. For me, Josephine Tey's A Daughter of Time, God and Churchill (Jonathan Sandys and Wallace Henley), The Lost Tomb (Douglas Preston), The Gathering Storm by Churchill. I'm now in the middle of Their Finest Hour and plan to read the whole 6 books in this series.
I'm in an Orthodox writing group (St. Basil's) and recently in a group discussion we were talking about what we are currently reading. Someone asked why I'm reading Churchill (and as you know, we are talking about a tremendous investment of time to do so) and I told them that as an author, I want to continue to travel down the neural pathways that the nobility of his writing (both content and style) creates. He was like all men flawed but I don't think it's saying too much to say he saved Western Civilization -- "Christian civilization" as he often termed it -- and I am most grateful to him.
Yes, absolutely! His writing has such energy and moral force to it — it's a pretty incredible reading experience. He won the Nobel for Literature, after all! Doesn't mean everything, but it definitely means something.
I’m flying to London next month and visiting the new John le Carré exhibit so I’ve been binging spy novels. His most autobiographical novel, A Perfect Spy, was amazing
A close tie for me between “Wolf at the Table” by Adam Rapp and “To Smithereens” by Rosalyn Drexler. “Wolf” tracks a family through generations and its encounters with mental illness. “Smithereens” follows a woman through 1970s wrestling. Both are quite good.
I actually took a cue from the short-lived idea for the book club for this page & read "American Scary" by Jeremy Dauber. And wrote a review of it for a local alternative weekly. I enjoyed it well enough, but not whole-heartedly. Like Stephen King's "Danse Macabre" & David J. Skal's "The Monster Show," recency bias takes hold concerning stuff discussed towards the end of the book. Those sections assume a familiarity with material under discussion, so stuff is kinda glossed over. & The book's focus on American horror unfortunately precluded a discussion of horror in video games, the majority of the stories for which are developed in Japan.
I enjoyed BLACKOUT by Connie Willis, a funny time travel story about future historians going back to observe World War II, and ROSE/HOUSE by Arkady Martine, an ominous mystery/thriller about an AI-powered house.
I haven't read that one yet, but it's in my TBR! Her books are a lot of fun. TO SAY NOTHING OF THE DOG is great also (and then I had to read Jerome K. Jerome's THREE MEN IN A BOAT, which inspired it).
I had the opportunity to take a vacation last week and used it to get some much needed R&R which included a few books.
For those who grew up jamming blink-182 songs, I can't recommend enough Farenheit-182 by Mark Hoppus. It was an easy read with lots of photos and history of the early days of blink, their rise to superstardom, the breakup and reuniting of the band, and up through his cancer diagnosis. I thoroughly enjoyed it and the silliness of his stories.
What Stands in a Storm by Kim Cross is an excellent account of a tornado outbreak in 2011, focusing on what happened in Alabama. A good portion of the book deals with the aftermath and how people rallied to help each other. Very moving. My other favorite book was Rebecca by Daphne duMaurier. So well written and quite riveting. Thanks to Jeremy for both books.
Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman. It fit into the horror themes of the month but also transcended being "just" a horror book with fantastic characters and world building.
I read 10 books in October and my favorite was AJ Pearce’s Dear Miss Lake. WWII fiction that manages to pull at all the heartstrings, and yet still be a cozy read. It’s the 4th and final book in a 4 book series. All of the books in the series are favorites of mine. Happy Reading in November. Excited to see what your family enjoys next!
I'm enjoying "Bel Ami" by Guy de Maupassant. But I laughed at your comment, "I don’t love it, but it could be much worse." I remember looking forward to reading aloud to my daughter when I was pregnant. When she was about two (btw, she just turned 30!), I did not think I could read "Baby in a Car" one more time! Nowhere in the parenting books did it say little ones will want infinite repetitions of their favorite books!
haha exactly! It's the endless repetition that gets a little grating! I think we're approaching the end of that phase, so I'll try to relish it while I can. :)
I read The Great Gatsby last month for I believe only the second time which was largely delightful. Currently re-reading A Moveable Feast and enjoying it even more now I'm in France!
Fitz and Hemingway! Two of the all-time greats. Just recently read Moveable Feast for the first time myself — loved it.
The chapter where the two of them are hanging out in Lyon and Fitz is convinced he’s dying! Incredible times.
I read Daniel Mason's North Woods to humor a friend who wanted to discuss it. Going in, I didn't know anything about the it. After the first chapter, I was wishing I hadn't agreed to it, but by the third, I was engrossed. Totally different book and my favorite for October.
Interesting, I've heard *really* mixed reviews of North Woods. Glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Recursion by Blake Crouch
That was a great one!
So good.
I decided to take a break from nonfiction and of the fiction I read The Correspondent by Virginia Evans was the best. I like epistolary novels and this was one I couldn’t put down. I highly recommend it. What a story.
I bought this one recently and am hoping to get to it before the end of the year. Everyone who has read it seems to love it!
I haven't heard of it, but I'll certainly look it up!
Thank you so much for your lists. For me, Josephine Tey's A Daughter of Time, God and Churchill (Jonathan Sandys and Wallace Henley), The Lost Tomb (Douglas Preston), The Gathering Storm by Churchill. I'm now in the middle of Their Finest Hour and plan to read the whole 6 books in this series.
What a coincidence, I'm halfway through Gathering Storm myself! I also plan on reading the whole series. His writing is so stirring.
I'm in an Orthodox writing group (St. Basil's) and recently in a group discussion we were talking about what we are currently reading. Someone asked why I'm reading Churchill (and as you know, we are talking about a tremendous investment of time to do so) and I told them that as an author, I want to continue to travel down the neural pathways that the nobility of his writing (both content and style) creates. He was like all men flawed but I don't think it's saying too much to say he saved Western Civilization -- "Christian civilization" as he often termed it -- and I am most grateful to him.
Yes, absolutely! His writing has such energy and moral force to it — it's a pretty incredible reading experience. He won the Nobel for Literature, after all! Doesn't mean everything, but it definitely means something.
I’m flying to London next month and visiting the new John le Carré exhibit so I’ve been binging spy novels. His most autobiographical novel, A Perfect Spy, was amazing
Oh awesome, I've read a handful Le Carre novels and have really enjoyed all of them.
A close tie for me between “Wolf at the Table” by Adam Rapp and “To Smithereens” by Rosalyn Drexler. “Wolf” tracks a family through generations and its encounters with mental illness. “Smithereens” follows a woman through 1970s wrestling. Both are quite good.
Interesting, never heard of either of them! I'll look 'em up.
Is "Smithereens" fiction or non-fiction?
Fiction. First published in the 70s and recently reprinted
Ah. A la Robert Meyer's superhero satire "Superfolks" about twenty years ago now.
I actually took a cue from the short-lived idea for the book club for this page & read "American Scary" by Jeremy Dauber. And wrote a review of it for a local alternative weekly. I enjoyed it well enough, but not whole-heartedly. Like Stephen King's "Danse Macabre" & David J. Skal's "The Monster Show," recency bias takes hold concerning stuff discussed towards the end of the book. Those sections assume a familiarity with material under discussion, so stuff is kinda glossed over. & The book's focus on American horror unfortunately precluded a discussion of horror in video games, the majority of the stories for which are developed in Japan.
Interesting, glad to hear your review of that one!
I enjoyed BLACKOUT by Connie Willis, a funny time travel story about future historians going back to observe World War II, and ROSE/HOUSE by Arkady Martine, an ominous mystery/thriller about an AI-powered house.
I've read one Connie Willis novel and really enjoyed it (Crosstalk); I certainly want to read more.
I haven't read that one yet, but it's in my TBR! Her books are a lot of fun. TO SAY NOTHING OF THE DOG is great also (and then I had to read Jerome K. Jerome's THREE MEN IN A BOAT, which inspired it).
I had the opportunity to take a vacation last week and used it to get some much needed R&R which included a few books.
For those who grew up jamming blink-182 songs, I can't recommend enough Farenheit-182 by Mark Hoppus. It was an easy read with lots of photos and history of the early days of blink, their rise to superstardom, the breakup and reuniting of the band, and up through his cancer diagnosis. I thoroughly enjoyed it and the silliness of his stories.
Oh nice, I was definitely a bit curious about that one.
What Stands in a Storm by Kim Cross is an excellent account of a tornado outbreak in 2011, focusing on what happened in Alabama. A good portion of the book deals with the aftermath and how people rallied to help each other. Very moving. My other favorite book was Rebecca by Daphne duMaurier. So well written and quite riveting. Thanks to Jeremy for both books.
Glad you enjoyed them both, Paula!
Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman. It fit into the horror themes of the month but also transcended being "just" a horror book with fantastic characters and world building.
Cool, haven't heard of that one!
My daughter LOVED the Mr Lemoncello books…ALL of them! Led her to some other puzzle-plot books (she’s now 16!).
I finally finished The Let Them Theory in October. Mel Robbins is the best! Such down to earth advice!
I've seen it on every list but haven't read it myself. Glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Oh awesome, that's great to hear!
I read 10 books in October and my favorite was AJ Pearce’s Dear Miss Lake. WWII fiction that manages to pull at all the heartstrings, and yet still be a cozy read. It’s the 4th and final book in a 4 book series. All of the books in the series are favorites of mine. Happy Reading in November. Excited to see what your family enjoys next!
Wonderful, I'll look up that series. Thanks!
I'm enjoying "Bel Ami" by Guy de Maupassant. But I laughed at your comment, "I don’t love it, but it could be much worse." I remember looking forward to reading aloud to my daughter when I was pregnant. When she was about two (btw, she just turned 30!), I did not think I could read "Baby in a Car" one more time! Nowhere in the parenting books did it say little ones will want infinite repetitions of their favorite books!
haha exactly! It's the endless repetition that gets a little grating! I think we're approaching the end of that phase, so I'll try to relish it while I can. :)