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Post by alias123 on Jul 21, 2017 23:48:38 GMT
I realized I haven't been posting this thread for a few months. So I thought I would today and see what you all have been up to.
Right now I am reading the excellent, The Plot Against America by Philip Roth. It was published 2004 but seems scarily prescient . It's about what would have happened if Charles Lindbergh became president instead of FDR winning another term.
A few other recent winners that I've recently read are:
- Everything I Never Told You- Celeste Ng.
- Born a Crime- Trevor Noah
- The Boys in the Boat- Daniel James Brown
On the diet front, I read and found informative - The Whole Foods Diet- John Mackey - Eat to Live - Quick and Easy cookbook- Dr. Joel Fuhrman
What have you been reading ?
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Post by 100gone on Jul 22, 2017 0:46:43 GMT
I absolutely loved The Plot Against America.
I recently decided to reread all the Harry Potter books since it's the 20th anniversary and I never reread the later books. Just started book 4.
I also started reading The Grapes of Wrath. I've never read it.
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Post by MarieL on Jul 22, 2017 0:57:23 GMT
I had been disappointed by the last few novels I have read. I just finished "The Stars Are Fire" by Anita Shreve. I really liked many of her books and this one was great. Marie
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wildcat
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Post by wildcat on Jul 22, 2017 1:06:07 GMT
Grapes of Wrath is possibly my all time favorite book - I can't even count how many times I've read it.
Born a Crime was really good.
I recently read "Evicted" by Matthew Desmond, about the cycle of eviction and what an impact is has on every aspect of a person's life. It is one of the best books I've read in a long time. It was so eye-opening, but it's unbelievably sad and frustrating, so be warned.
I also re-read Handmaid's Tale to prep for watching the Hulu series - that's always a good, though terrifying, read.
Right now I'm reading "Theft by Finding" by David Sedaris - funny and worth the read, but not as good as his stuff usually is. Up next is "Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud: The Rise and Reign of the Unruly Woman" by Anne Helen Petersen. I heard her interviewed on NPR and it sounded really interesting so I'm looking forward to that.
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Post by alias123 on Jul 22, 2017 13:29:58 GMT
I absolutely loved The Plot Against America. I recently decided to reread all the Harry Potter books since it's the 20th anniversary and I never reread the later books. Just started book 4. I also started reading The Grapes of Wrath. I've never read it. Wow ! It's hard to believe it's the 20th anniversary. Where does the time go? Grapes is in my top 5 classic books of all time that I love. The Plot Against America-- I am about 100 pages in and I love everything about it. I love the writing and the plot has me holding my breath at times. Unfortunately it seems prescient. Which is why there has been a resurgence in people wanting to read it.
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Post by alias123 on Jul 22, 2017 13:33:28 GMT
I had been disappointed by the last few novels I have read. I just finished "The Stars Are Fire" by Anita Shreve. I really liked many of her books and this one was great. Marie I like her books. I came to hear about this author when Oprah selected her for her club.
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squid
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Post by squid on Jul 22, 2017 13:37:59 GMT
I finished "Hillbilly Elegy" by J.D. Vance a few wks. ago. I could definitely relate to the author and his experiences on several fronts. My mother grew up in Appalachia, and I went to a college there. I'm also familiar with the Dayton/Middletown area of Ohio where Vance's family migrated to from KY.
Roz
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Post by alias123 on Jul 22, 2017 13:38:30 GMT
Grapes of Wrath is possibly my all time favorite book - I can't even count how many times I've read it. Grapes of Wrath is possibly my all time favorite book - I can't even count how many times I've read it. ===== Me, too ! I think Grapes and A Tale of Two Cities are my two favorite classics. I recently read "Evicted" by Matthew Desmond, ==== I'll have to check it out. Thanks ! I also re-read Handmaid's Tale I've never read this one. I should check it out. Right now I'm reading "Theft by Finding" by David Sedaris ==== I was disappointed in the last one I read. Diabetes with Owls. Though I do want to read his journal one, Theft by Finding. I'll be interested in your thoughts on it as a whole when you are done.
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Post by sullicat1 on Jul 22, 2017 14:32:09 GMT
Just finished America's First Daughter (Alias, did u recommend this?) which I totally enjoyed and Springsteen autobiography, Born to Run.
Had trouble reading Hillbilly Elegy so I may go back to it now while I'm reading a mystery by Tami Hoag. Someone suggested The Outlander, but again I couldn't get into it. My brain must be on vacation.
I know I read The Grapes of Wrath. Sounds like I should reread it.
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Post by furrville2 on Jul 22, 2017 15:21:47 GMT
Right now, I have two I'm reading. Alternate days. Usually I can read a book in a day or day and half but since I've been feeling better I've been neglecting my books.
1. The Thirst by Jo Nesbo (if you have never read his books...amazing...crime/mystery novels. He is an author from Norway and I have read all his Harry Hole novels) If you just pick one to read, read The Snowman) 2. Turbo Twenty-three by Janet Evanovich
I'm really big into mystery/medical/crime novels. My all time fave would have to Patrica Cornwell, Jo Nesbo and Stephen King. Also Karin Slaughter's Grant County novels were really good. I read one, and ended up going to the used bookstore the day after and buying all they had and read them in order.
Finished the Handmaid's Tale in April, very good book and have watched the series.
I love to read, not big into non-fiction.
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Post by MarieL on Jul 22, 2017 15:59:44 GMT
Furrville you would probably like Susan Hill and Louise Penney mystery novels. I have read them all - really good!
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Post by furrville2 on Jul 22, 2017 16:02:07 GMT
MarieL, I will have to check them out. I really love a good mystery novel with good plots and twists!!
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wildcat
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Posts: 952
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Post by wildcat on Jul 22, 2017 18:29:53 GMT
There were some good points made in Hillbilly Elegy, but I couldn't really enjoy it because I could never get past the fact that the author grew up in Dayton yet claimed to be Appalachian. A good portion of Ohio is in the mountains, but Dayton is not one of those parts. Simply having a grandmother from Appalachia and spending a few summers in the mountains doesn't qualify him. If he had just identified as growing up poor and white rather than tying himself to a region, I'd have been less annoyed.
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squid
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Post by squid on Jul 22, 2017 18:50:24 GMT
I see your point, WC. I'm friends with a married couple I met in college in PA, and they've spent their entire post-college life in Dayton. In Dayton/Cincinnati, those who migrated from KY are referred to as "briars", a term I don't care for. They're looked on as a sub-culture.
What I related to in Vance's book was that feeling I get when I'm around rich people (which isn't that often!). If I had gone to an Ivy League, I would have felt really out of place and uncomfortable, regardless of my academic achievements. I didn't go to an exclusive private high school , spend my junior year in Europe, and I assure you that no one in my neighborhood in Pittsburgh had a weekend country house.
Thanks to everyone who posted - you gave me some ideas to check out at the library.
Roz
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Post by keshet51 on Jul 22, 2017 19:02:36 GMT
Alias, so glad you started this thread again. I was just thinking I really need a couple of new books and then I came here and saw this. Did you like the books you listed and do you recommend them? I don't think I could bear the Philip Roth book. Too much reality in my life right now...
I second the Louise Penny recommendation - I read the entire series and loved all of them, especially the last one. I understand another one is coming out soon. A friend even gave me a cafe au lait mug with 3 Pines on it. We've become Penny groupies a few of us.
I just finished Miller's Valley by Anna Quindlen and really liked it. Also the newest book, The Chalk Pit, by Elly Griffith. Great mysteries set in England with a forensic archaeologist as the protagonist. Also read nonfiction Malcolm Gladwell's David and Goliath, about the unexpected or unforeseen advantages that the less powerful or successful have. Thought provoking but too long. I got the idea after the first half of the book...
I enjoyed Hillbilly Elegy if only because it helped me understand how people could vote for, and support, politicians and a political party that seem to directly oppose their interests. I found it really disheartening, but then I find a lot disheartening right now.
Anyway, I'll keep reading here, looking for more recommendations. Some of the best books I've read recently have been recommended by folks here.
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