Looking for a good book to read? Me too! It's so exciting that we met each other here. This is going to work out just fine.
How's it goin' eh? (I couldn't resist)
Raise your hand if you like to read! Now take that hand and slap yourself in the butt because that's the last time you're going to have any feeling in it for the rest of the winter. The holidays are over, the house is cleaned up and it's January. Put your furry slippers on, the official month of slothing has begun.
It's time to revel in the fact that you have no lawn to cut, no garden to weed and no gutters to clean. Unless you're renovating your house or spending 5 nights a week taking tap dancing lessons, chances are you have time to whump your ass down on the couch and read.
I mean, I can't do that, I just fall asleep when I try to do that, which is why I only read before I'm going to bed. But YOU might have the rare talent of being able to open a book on the couch and read more than 3 sentences before waking in a pool of your own spittle. I do not have that talent.
Over the past few months I've made my way through a classic Agatha Christie novel, an adult fairy tale, a slavery novel and did NOT make it through an American classic, American Pastoral by Philip Roth.
Based on the description of American Pastoral, including the fact that it won the Pulitzer Prize, I thought I was going to really like it but within the first few pages I was drowning in a pool of my own spittle and I wasn't even asleep. I boredom drooled through the first chapter or so before I abandoned it. Life's too short for books you don't like.
The Agatha Christie classic, And Then There Were None (formerly named something I can't even type for fear Google will flag my site for racist language and also because ... well I just can't.) was good, but I wouldn't call it the greatest mystery of all time. Which incidentally is what it's considered. You can click here to read about it's original title on Wikipedia if you like.
I really liked the slavery novel The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead which also won the Pulitzer Prize. Unlike the Philip Roth novel, Whitehead pulled me into the story with his extraordinary writing as opposed to pushing me away from it. Whitehead's writing seemed effortless, Roth's seemed like he was doing everything he could to prove to me HE WAS A GOOD WRITER DAMMIT.
And My Mrs. Brown by former Vogue editor and society page columnist William Norwich is a quick, fairytale-esque book about a plain, older woman who decides to save up for a $7,000 dress. It's a really easy, silly read but is also enlightening.
So those are a few I've gone through recently. For January (the official month of slothing) I'm going to be cracking open these books. Or at least one of them ...
Good Books to Read
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson is a book I've been reading on and off for a couple of months. It isn't a novel so it's something I feel like I can pick up and put down. I put it down a LOT, not because it isn't great but because it's terrifying. Not voodoo, horror show terrifying, but HOLY CRAP terrifying. It's exactly what it sounds like. A short history of nearly everything, starting with how the universe was formed. If you ever want to sort of understand how inconceivably vast the universe is and how inconceivably insignificant WE are ... read about how the universe was formed.
Benediction by Kent Haruf is one I've been holding off on. It's the third and final book in a series of books by the late author. I know when I finish it, it will be done. Haruf's writing is poetic in the most subtle way. The first two books in the series are Plainsong and Eventide so look at those two first if you're thinking of reading the series. And you should.
Tin Man by Sarah Winman is going to be a complete surprise to me. Someone I follow on Instagram raved about it so I bought it immediately. I have ZERO idea what it's about. And I'm going to keep it that way because sometimes it's fun just to not have a clue. Unless you're performing surgery, in which case ... that's just irresponsible.
The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware is the third novel of hers I'll have read in the past year. It's your basic suspense novel but I like them. Ruth Ware novels that is, not necessarily suspense novels. I didn't like Gone Girl for example and I HATED The Girl on the Train.
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain. I still don't know if I'll be able to read this. I bought Kitchen Confidential as a Christmas present for my mother 2 years ago intending to read it after she did. Before I got to it, Anthony Bourdain committed suicide and I couldn't bring myself to read it. I, like a lot of people really liked Anthony Bourdain and was hit hard by his suicide. Definitely harder than I should have been considering I've never met the man. For instance, at least once a week I mutter "You f*cking asshole" to him in my head for one reason or another. It may not be this month, but some time this year I will read this book because more than an interesting character, a good chef or irreverent tv personality - Anthony Bourdain was a truly exceptional writer.
Lay it on me! What are you reading right now? Give everyone the name and a short description of what kind of book it is in the comments and before you know it we'll all be slothing our way out of winter and into spring.
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Susan Claire
After re-reading The Wheel of Fortune by Susan Howatch I am re-starting her Starbridge Series.
I LOVED Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train.
Karen
I am (re)reading the Exit Unicorns series by Cindy Brandner. They are so good...she is self-published so I don’t know if you can find her in a bookstore, but I read mine on my Kindle app. I highly recommend these - about Ireland during the “Troubles”.
Marilyn Meagher
My brother loaned me kitchen confidential , haven’t started it yet but I am anxious to get into it. I received a new kobo for Christmas and I love it ..so easy to borrow books from the library! I love books but because of arthritis and sore elbows and arms it’s difficult and painful to hold a book for too long. Reading is easy and painless once again!
Karen
I'll convert to a Kobo once all my bookcases are officially full. ;) I started Kitchen Confidential last night and I think I'll be able to get through it. ~ karen!
Jane S
I'm rereading Louise Penny's Gamache books in order. Great mysteries set in the eastern townships of Quebec. The stories are good but the character development from book to book is amazing. And she's still writing.
susang
do you get the feeling that the latest book is the last of the series?
Denese
If you go to Louise Penny's website, you can sign up for her newsletter. In the January 2019 letter, she mentions finishing the second draft of the next book. Also, for those worried that 'Kingdom' would be the last book, she expresses her intention "to keep writing as long as she can peck away at a keyboard".
Denese
If you go to Louise Penny's website, you can sign up to receive her newsletter. Or just read all of them there. For those concerned that "Kingdom of the Blind" is the last one in the series: in the newsletter for Jan 2019, she mentions that she has just finished the second draft of the next book. Also, that she hopes to keep writing "as long as I can peck away at a keyboard." Good news indeed.
I do so enjoy reading about all the recommended books. I recently learned the word 'panoply' and I think it applies here. (Also, I am grateful to have the opportunity to work it into a conversation.)
Molly
I just finished 9 Perfect Strangers, by Liane Moriarty, it's extremely entertaining, not hugely cerebral, but who needs that after the holidays? Don't get me wrong, there is nothing cerebral about my holidays, but I just need to ease my brain cells back into function - no need to shock them. But my all time favorite, go-to book, when I'm between books, is Ex Libris, by Anne Fadiman. It's a book of essays for people who love to read. It's a great item to have to just pick up and randomly re-read an essay. I cannot say how much I LOVE this tiny book!
Donna
Something in the water by Catherine Steadman, who you might know as the actress who played Mabel Lane Fox in Downton Abbey, Lady Mary’s competition for one of her admirers. The book starts with a young wife digging her husbands grave, which sounds like a typical murder mystery, but it is not! It is an examination of how small seemingly small decisions can totally alter your life. The Witch Elm by Tana French very different from her previous books, which I love, but very interesting. I read a lot of books and always have, in Fact I’m sure I spend more on kindle than I do on clothes,shoes, make-up, I’m afraid to check.
susan
I read so many books that the best thing in my retired and poor life is finding out that the library is on line and you can download books for 3 weeks to read on your tablet. My sister got me hooked on Louise Penny and her Inspector Gamache series and there just aren't enough! I usually avoid Canadian writers but she's as good as any mystery writer I've ever read and that would be just about all of them. Another Canadian I stumbled over accidentally is Eden Robinson and her Monkey Beach. A little deeper than my usual but I couldn't put it down.
Janine Samuelson
Just finished Washington Black by Esi Edugyan - she is a Canadian Writer - she also won the Giller prize for an earlier book Half Blood Blues. Highly recommend both books.
Jen
Books aside, I am still not over Anthony Bourdain's death. I cannot watch his series anymore (certainly not the last one) and the books of his I have on my shelf are hard to see. And yes, I never knew him either but he was a huge influence and I always thought we could be friends. So sad. Dammit, Tony.
Monique
I second Eleanor Oliphant
A Man Called Ove
Then She Was Gone
Beartown
The above are my recent faves.
The Glass Castle
My Name Is Lucy Barton
We were Liars
Love and Other words
Every Note Played
The Lonely Hearts Hotel
The Alice Network
The Lilac Girls
The Child
Penny
Oh, yes, A Man Called Ove is wonderful! I cried, but then I am a sloppy old slush-bucket.
I've also enjoyed
The Betrayals by Fiona Neill
Chinese Whispers by Peter May and
To Catch a Rabbit by Helen Cadbury
and I read and endured
All the Single Ladies by Jane Costello
none of these books are particularly recent, but I take part in something called Bookcrossing ( check out Bookcrossing.com) which means a constant supply of free books with no worries about library overdue fines.
I'm liking all the suggestions for 'ones to watch for' in the coming months.
Ann Marie
It is a bit old but if you need a cry A Light Between Oceans by M.L.Steadman did the job for me. Took me forever to work up to seeing the movie. The book was written before the movie of course. It is rare when it is the other way around.
carol
I adored Michael Ondaatje's Warlight: full of quirky characters, humour, and moody nostalgia. Growing up an orphan in post war London.
On another note: Karen, can you tell me where you got that lovely red and blue printed pillow beside you in the picture? I want it.
Karen
Hi Carol. I got that pillow at Terra Greenhouses 2 years ago. They carried it as recently as last year but I'm not sure if they would still have it now. ~ karen!
Roxana
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. A memoir so unbelievable that I had to check a couple of times to make sure it was not fiction.
Betsy Leggat
I loved EDUCATED by Tara Westover. A great book club book as her life is absolutely unfathomable. And I just finished WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING by Delia Owens, a novel about a girl growing up on her own in a marsh in a small town in North Carolina. This book will keep you up as you will want to know what happens next. BORN A CRIME by Trevor Noah. Hmmm - a theme is emerging of stories of difficult childhoods and highly resilient and creative characters. Another favorite - not on the childhood theme is RULES OF CIVILITY by Amor Towles, as well as A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW. I also love all of Paula McLain's novels about historical figures - THE PARIS WIFE about Ernest Hemingway's first wife Hadley, CIRCLING THE SUN about aviator/adventurer Beryl Markham. I am about to read her book on Hemingway's third wife, called LOVE AND RUIN. And two of my all-time favorites are THE ELEGANCE OF THE HEDGEHOG by Muriel Barbary and ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE by Anthony Doerr. There are so many great books to read!
Terry
I just finished The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce, I was very good. She also wrote The Unlikeley Pilgramage of Harold Fry and The Love Song of Miss Queenie Henessey which were both great stories.
I'm also hooked on anything by Jean Grainger, an author you can only get through Amazon Kindle.
Lynda Johnston
Help! I read a few books by a Canadian author a year or so ago and I CANNOT remember his name or the titles. They are police procedurals that take place in a fictitious town north of Toronto and the police force is the Dundas Police Department. Anyone??
Valerie
Do you mean the Inspector Gamache series, set in Montreal and Three Pines? The author is Louise Penny -- and if you didn't mean that series, you should read it anyway! Fabulous!
Margo Goffin
I agree! I love Louise Penny’s books! Best if read in order, because of the character development.
NinaMargo
Valerie - just what I was thinking! Love Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache series, hope she never stops writing them!
MarciaT
This series is what we are now working through, on audiobooks from our library. Really intellectual detective series, with artists and poets and bookstores, oh my! Love them!
Karen
I believe this is what you're looking for Lynda - https://amzn.to/2RPfObT ~ karen!
Tanis
Inger Ash Wolfe? Hazel Micallef Mysteries
Beth Kowalski
The Power by Naomi Alderman. It's the flip side of the The Handmaid's Tale.
Dawn
Was so excited to see a list of potential reads. I ❤️ to read. Then I saw you hated Gone Girl, I love all things Gillian Flynn 😢. Ah well, I’ve also tried Phillip Roth and have struggled. So, just completed People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks, for bookclub. It was great - the basics without giving anything away - really old Jewish book found and the history of those that were involved with the book are revealed. BUT - is the book real or fake?? Rich Jewish history and wonderfully told. Enjoy.
MaryG
‘Educated’ by Tara Westover. Exceptional. I could not put it down.
Teri
I agree. Equally un-put-downable is Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. A not dissimilar theme without the side of fundamentalism. Spent two lost days with my nose in that book.
Noreen McKechnie
Both of these books are unforgettable however the glass castle is my favourite.
MaryG
I will read ‘Glass Castle’ as soon as I finish one of Alan Brady’s Flavia De Luce books I have started😁
Teresa
Half broke horses is also really good by the author of the glass castle!
p
I was going to add Glass Castle if nobody else did. GOSH it was shocking however I do and have known similar people and living conditions here in Ky.
Karen, I'm in the middle of Road to Little Dribbling- Bill Bryson :D
but have to say Peter Mayle is still my fav author.
Beebs
Educated... my favorite book on 2019
Janet
LOVED 'Educated.' Another excellent one is "North of Normal' by Cea Sunrise Person.
Angela
My first thought when I saw Kitchen Confidential in the photo was 'No, I can't'. I read it and Bloody Raw years ago and loved them both, but when I tried to go back and reread it after his suicide, it tore me to pieces. I don't think I got even 2 chapters in before I removed it from my Kindle app so that I could pretend it doesn't exist.
As someone who struggles with depression, who knows what is in the book, and then knows how his story ends, it was just too much. Maybe now, since some time has passed and I'm in a healthier place, but probably not quite yet.
Separate subject- I made vanilla using the recipe (and the beans and bottles) you posted, but I'm scared to try it because you taught me that the internet lies.
Eileen
I have made and used vanilla this way for years and I'm not dead (yet)....
Of course maybe I'm lying too.
: )
Karen
I did do that didn't I? Well, although the Internet lies, generally speaking, I don't. LOL. :) The vanilla will be good. Trust me. As for Anthony, I actually started to read it last night. I'm a few chapters in and I'm doing O.K. I can handle it. But I know what it's like to be in a place where you *just* can't read something because of circumstance or what's going on in your life so just wait. ~ karen!
NanTee
I loved, loved, loved Radio Girls by Sarah Jane Stratford. Set in London, pre WW II, follows the story of a Toronto girl working for BBC Radio in its infancy in London. Second audiobook I'd ever heard because I hadn't planned well for the weekend with real books.