New Book Recommendations

 More book possibilities from my reading list.

The Henna Artist by Joshle.  Core to the book is the role of women in India following it's independence from Britain. A peak into a cultural experience.

The Lost Girls of Paris by Jenoff.  WWII women intelligence gatherers, their stories, tied to present day. Jenoff has written several other books but this one is my favorite. Her others include The Orphan's Tale, The Ambassador's Daughter, The Diplomats Wife, The Kommandant's Girl.

The Silent Patient by Michaelides. I am still contemplating much about this book. I purchased it when it first came out and somehow never got to it. Still it kept appearing on various lists so I started reading and was hooked.Would love to discuss this book with someone.

The Last Mrs. Parrish by Constantine.  This book is a tribute of sorts to Patricia Highsmith. Careful whose identity you wish to assume.

The Woman in the Window by Finn.  The book was made into a movie that I could not even get into as it was so weird...and unless you had read the book it was quite confusing. Don't bother with the movie but do enjoy the book. Did she or did she not see someone murdered in the house across the way? Or is she just a mentally confused agoraphobic?

In Five Years by Serle. Having her organized perfect life's best day invites a restful night of sleep. However when she wakes up it is 5 years later and she is in bed with a man she does not recognize but he assumes she is his wife.

Enjoy and I do hope one of my many reads will end up a Book Club discussion.

Updating Book Club following year of Pandemic

 As of this month, May 2021 it has been a year since I have posted on the Blog. Too, Josue will be taking over as chair of the group.  I will continue to attend and plan to keep up with the Blog. Included are comments on some of my recent reads.

Here is a list of some of the most recent:

While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrahms. (yes, the politician; an excellent political thriller).   What happens when a justice is incapacitated during the term, there is an important vote and the president wants him to retire so he can replace him with one of his appointees. His law clerk is caught in the middle.

Marjorie Morningstar - Wouk.  I read this in high school when it was forbidden. Rereading it I wonder what was so scandalous. Premarital sex and challenging customs was all I could recognize on rereading.

The Wife's House - Richmond. This psychological thriller with a twist was difficult to set aside to clean house.

Agatha Christie: Murder on the Orient Express, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, The Murder on the Links.   It is always such fun to read a Christie novel. They are quick reads for the most part and quite satisfying.

The Mystery of Mrs Christie - Benedict.  Loved this book that speculates on the missing days in Agatha Christies' life. It is also told in Christie style.

The Midnight Library - Haig What happens when you are given the opportunity to change things you regret. 

The Santorium - Pearse. This is one I set aside for awhile but once I picked it up it was difficult to put down. It is a modern story loosely following Christies's And Then There Were None.  Setting is the Swiss Alps.

Win - Coben  Antihero and detective.  Made into a Netflix drama: The Stranger

Red White and Royal Blue - McQuiston. Hilarious and great one for Pride month.  The son of the U.S. President falls in love with the Prince of England. How do the two countries and the two mothers cope with such a "scandal".  I loved this book and it is a quick read.

Black Buck - Askaripout. An wonderful satire.  Sometimes it was had to believe it was fiction.  Written almost like a business self help book it skewers the token black male in the white corporate world.

The Signature of All Things - Gilbert. Same author of Eat, Pray, & Love.  An epic story of a young intellectual woman in a time when intelligence in women was not appreciated.

The Last Flight - Clark.  A page turner, switched identities to escape abuse and drug dealers.

This brings things up to date to mid May.  Next post will include a few more suggestions from me.

Future of Book Club

In talking with Tasha, the Club has plans to open in June. Whether it be early or mid-June it does not impact our Book Club.

We will begin our list with Michelle Obama's book, Becoming. From there, our list will continue as follows:

The Hidden Life of Trees
Daughter of Molokai
A Little Paris Bookshop
Calypso
American Spy
The Library Book
Art of Happiness

With social distancing in place we will not be in the Sefton of Wine rooms, but the Board Room which will accommodate about 8, I believe.  We will then use Zoom or some other form of video conferencing to enable a larger group to attend. This will also provide those who are less willing to personally attend to still participate. When making reservations, I encourage you to designate your choice.

There will be no buffets or passed food. We will, however, be able to order food from the bar or dining menu.

Reading while sheltering in Place

Since we never have time to read and discuss those lengthy books - over 450 pages I put together a list of longer books that I would recommend. Googling for such lists is interesting, but I know nothing about who put them together. So I made my own list which is here.

Mary’s Recommended Readings

Outlander Series

Harry Potter Series

Lord of the Rings Series

Don Winslow’s Border Trilogy

The Stand – King

100 Years of Solitude or Love in the Time of Cholera – Marquez

Count of Monte Christo

War and Peace

Anna Karenina

The Gulag Archipeligo

The Tin Drum

Shogun

A Suitable Boy

The Goldfinch

Rutherfod city series

Michener

Gone with the Wind

Woman in White

NONFICTION

Blowout – Maddow (oil industry)

Bottle of Lies – Eban (generic drug industry)

Catch & Kill – Farrow (Weinstein)

Educated – Westover 

The Only Woman in the Room – Benedict (Heddi LaMarr)

Front Row at the Trump Show – Karl

The Splendid and the Vile – Larsson (Churchill’s 1^st yr as PM)

Russians Among Us – Corera (the source for the series The Americans)

Know My Name - Miller

She  Said - Kantor & Twohey

Will the Cat Eat my Eyeballs

The Kiss of the Sweet Scottish Rain - McWilliams

Shout - Anderson

I have read several. others that are political in nature such as: 

Threat - McCabe

Apprentice - Miller

Seige - Wolf

Factfullness - Rosline

Short but worth reading!

Things Fall Apart - Achebe

Woman at Point Zero - El Saadawi

Recent Reads and Recommendations

Some books I have read recently and recommend:

Blowout by Rachel Madow.  about the oil industry + fracking
The Bottle of Lies - Eban - the generic drug industry
Catch and Kill - Farrow. - about H Weinstein et al
She Said - Canor and Twohey - another "me too"
The Silent Meow - Gallico.  for cat lovers

If you like thrillers, I have discovered, at the recommendation of my daughter in law the series by Estelle Ryan. What I love about these books is that the protagonist has high functioning autism, a Ph.D. in nonverbal communication (my area of interest) and works for a high-end art insurance company.  There are several other characters, each with their own unique skills and issues. The author portrays autism with such sensitivity.

Book List for 2020

January
Where the Crawdads Sing

February
The Only Woman in the Room

March
Siddhartha

April
Becoming


May
The Hidden Life of Trees

June
Daughter of Molokai

July
A Little Paris Bookshop

August
Calypso

September
American Spy

October
The Library Book

November
Art of Happiness

July - Gide and Camus; book recommendations

Great turnout and enjoyed the discussion about The Stranger and Tjhe Immoralist. Both short books addressing deep issues via existentialsim and absurbist.

Time for input for recommended books.
So far the following have been recommended:

It Can't Happen Here - Sinclair Lewis
The Book of Forgiving - Desmend Tutu
Where the Crawdads Sing -
Hidden Life of Trees
Daughter of Molokai - Brennert
Asymmetry - Halliday
A Little Paris Bookshop - Nina George
Mango Bride - Marivi Soliven (possible live auther series)
The Silent Patient - Alex Michaelides
Becoming - Michelle Obama
Ficciones or The Aleph and other stories - Borges
Animal Farm - Orwell
Slaughterhouse Five or Catch 22 - Vonnegut
Midnight's Children - Rushdie
Hemingway
Fulkner
Fitzgerald
Quiet - Cain
Siddharta - Hesse
The Art of Happiness in a Troubled World - Dali Lama
The Dali Lama's Cat and the art of Meow - Michie
Stumbling on Happiness - Gilbert
The Prince - Machiavelli
The Canturbury Tales
Robinson Crusoe - Defoe
Candide - Voltaire
The Castle - Kafka
Notes of a Native Son - Baldwin
Lie Down in Darkness - Styron
Black Boy - Richard Wright