I read A Gentleman In Moscow a while ago about a man sentenced to live the rest of his life in a hotel in Moscow. It was sad but he made the best of it. Well there is a TV series about it. I watched part of the first episode. It looks beautiful but I couldn't watch it all for the deliberate abuse the government heeped on him.
I may try later episodes as some of the story in his later years was easier to read.
The book was really good. Somehow watching it acted made it more real.

Quite enjoyed it. Is it on Brit Box or BBC? Does it have a different title? I'd like to see it some day.

Is on Showtime in the US, and Paramount+ for streaming and international viewing. Amazon has a 7 day free trial to watch all 8 episodes of the series, if you're not averse to binging.

Grateful for eBooks on tablet when power out. Just finished The Last Sister, book 1 in Columbia River series by Kendra Elliot. Great atmosphere, characters and story made this a page turner for me. "Emily, Tara and Madison thought they had an idyllic childhood in Bartonville, Ore., until their house burned down and their father's body was found hanging in the backyard... The past is eerily repeated 20 years later...."

Also read Ursula LeGuin's The Word for World is Forrest, a classic.

Lost count, but another Chet and Bernie myster, Paw and Order. Then a stand alone also by Spencer Quinn, The Right Side, more serious and totally wonderful story.

Three sisters' secrets collide in a shocking novel of suspense.

And, The Right Side: Enthralling, suspenseful, and psychologically nuanced, it introduces one of the most unforgettable protagonists in modern fiction: isolated, broken, disillusioned -- yet still seeking redemption and purpose -- LeAnne takes hold of you and never lets go.

Thanks!

don’t have piles of cash so don’t know what the criminals hope to accomplish.

Shut down two weeks and counting.

Back to my home shelves and Dick Francis comfort reading.

I had the good fortune to hear Ursula le Guin speak. Amazing.
Otherworldly. Just herself and nobody else. Clear. Smart. Did I mention she’s a hero of mine?

Recommend ‘Earthsea Trilogy’. YA but not really.

Hope they catch the bastards.

Yeah, I love Ursula, too. Would love to see her sometime.

It must have been a bad one, because they're still trying to clean up that mess, all these months later.

Last edited Wed Jun 12, 2024, 06:19 AM - Edit history (1)

Daphne du Maurier – Rebecca
Do I really need to spell out the plot for this renowned classic that of course became the inspiration for the Hitchcock film? It’s on literally every list for greatest mystery novel, either at the top or very close to it. Also has one of the most famous opening lines of all time, the title I used for this post. I’ve watched the film dozens of times, but I’d never gotten around to reading the book. Very much looking forward to this one.

Richard Flanagan – The Narrow Road to the Deep North
The title comes from a volume of haiku by the legendary Japanese poet, Bashou Matsuo. The poems center around Bashou traveling away from the material world, in pursuit of spiritual enlightenment. Flanagan’s work is about the experiences of an Australian POW in a Japanese camp. I’m curious how the twain shall meet. Booker Prize winner.

I had planned to read Demon Copperhead next year, but so many keep talking about it that I might move it ahead to this year, if I can squeeze it in. But maybe I'll save it after all, and pair it with a re-read of David Copperfield, something I haven't read since a dreary primary school winter when I was so ill that I couldn't attend classes from the winter holiday break until sometime around Easter. When I wasn't in hospital getting tested yet again to find out what was wrong with me, I was reading or working ahead with maths. I've blotted out so much of that in the intervening years to the point that most of that time is a generic haze now. But that's what one does with a traumatic experience, I suppose. Anyway, I only remember the Dickens because the book was like lead in my lap, and sometimes bruised my legs from digging in from its weight.

Sounds awful. The Demon story is a tale of survival. And talk about heavy: I got the large print edition and it's 883 pages. I have to keep it propped up on a pillow. Only 500+ for the normal size.

Is why I'm now a fan of ebooks and digital audiobooks. I can carry a whole library of door stoppers, and they never weigh more than my Kindle. I also like how I can adjust the font to what suits my needs. And then the white on black... No more eye strain for me!

I'm about 2/3 through and enjoying it.

love Milo Sturgis. Just finished the latest one, Ghost Orchid...

He's a great writer. And prolific. Around 60 titles.

"The Occasionally Disgusting Adventures of Brian and Sprig" by Myriad Sprite
Loving this book. I would describe the humor as exuberant and surprising. I am hoping this author has other books. I would rush thru this book (45% done) but I don't want it to be over.

"Burr: A Novel" by Gore Vidal. Finding this much easier to get into then the later books in his series, which I plan to revisit after finishing this one.

"Blood Meridian" by Cormac McCarthy. People keep putting this in their lists of the greatest American novels. The violence and bloodshed is not so shocking as I expected it to be, probably because I've read so much history of what Europeans did in North, Central and South America since their invasions. Some of the prose seems hallucinogenic to me and he definitely makes up words (on my Kindle I can underline the word but dictionary.com and wikipedia return no results). This book offers nothing to me, except perhaps a lesson that writers need not be limited to real words or coherent descriptions, ie., that impressions are enough. To someone unfamiliar with American history it might have an impact. I'm halfway thru it and don't plan to finish any time soon.

"Moby Dick" by Herman Melville. My third attempt to read what is often hailed as one of the greatest pieces of American literature, I am not finding it hard going at all, like in my previous attempts. Having fun discovering his sly humor. 14% of the way in so far.

"Ask The Dust" by John Frante. Writers, and Amazon, hold this novel in high regard ("is a virtuoso performance by an influential master of the twentieth-century American novel&quot . I can see why writers like it, he has an interesting, direct, plain-spoken writing style. We'll see if the subject matter ends up engaging my interest. So far (8% in ), no.

"American Psycho" by Bret Easton Ellis. Another novel claimed to be among the greatest. I'm gonna have to give it more time, only %5 in so far, but at this point all it is is a constant stream of designer name brand name dropping. I'm hoping there is more to this novel so I'll persist.

"You Dreamed Of Empires" by Alvaro Enrique. I am enjoying this book so far, although the prevalence of Aztec (?) names has made it a little hard to keep track. Reviewers have much praise for this book, most of which I join.

"The Judge Hunter" by Christopher Buckley. I absolutely love all his books. How such a politically insightful author could be the offspring of the thoroughly repulsive William F. Buckley, Jr. is beyond me. This book takes place in colonial America. If you haven't read any of his books, "Thank You For Smoking" is even better that the movie is was made into, and "Florence Of Arabia" is great fun, but you can't go wrong with any of his books.

Thanks for all that info. Some new things to look for. I really liked Thank You For Smoking. Quite funny.

I'm serious, read all of Christopher Buckley's books if you like to laugh.
Donald E. Westlake so funny love his books most of all comedic writers I've ever found (sorry Voltaire not to worry you're an also-ran)
Terry Pratchett series of books known as Discworld series. Cataloged as science fictions but of course he's talking about us humans.
Carl Hiaasen, again, all his books. "Razor Girl" might be a good jump start

Pratchett and Hiaasen. Great reading. Will be looking for more of the other two. I'm a mystery and thriller fan but must have a good laugh out loud every month.

it's the funniest writing I've ever found
he has a character named Dortmunder, a very pessimistic fellow for whom everything goes wrong, then gets worse from there. Don't worry, that's not a spoiler.

He was very successful in his writing career starting in the 1950s and several of his books were made into movies with mainstream actors (please don't judge Westlake by those movies, they're OK but not nearly as good as his books). Though seeing financial success he continued to write about a book a year for decades to come. I would get kinda pissed when I finished a new book of his because that meant I had to wait a whole year for another one! And then when he died I was really upset there would be no more.

Somebody Owes Me Money

You just know that the book will be crazy, from that title alone.

I read his God Save the Mark...last year? I think it was last year. The protagonist is the most gullible person ever. Then he inherits a fortune. Every creepazoid in NYC is now gunning for him. It's all nuts from there.

It is going to be good.

I am jumping back and forth between two books:
Still working with The One Hundred Years of Ellie and Margot - it's not that I don't like it I just haven't been reading much.
My other read is an Ebook version of "Neverwhere" by Neil Gaiman. This is my reading in bed book; I am really enjoying it. Side note: I read somewhere that the second season of "Sandman" is going to drop soon.

Published in 1997, Neil Gaiman’s darkly hypnotic first novel, Neverwhere, heralded the arrival of a major talent and became a touchstone of urban fantasy.

It is the story of Richard Mayhew, a young London businessman with a good heart and an ordinary life, which is changed forever when he discovers a girl bleeding on the sidewalk. He stops to help her—an act of kindness that plunges him into a world he never dreamed existed. Slipping through the cracks of reality, Richard lands in Neverwhere—a London of shadows and darkness, monsters and saints, murderers and angels that exists entirely in a subterranean labyrinth. Neverwhere is home to Door, the mysterious girl Richard helped in the London Above. Here in Neverwhere, Door is a powerful noblewoman who has vowed to find the evil agent of her family’s slaughter and thwart the destruction of this strange underworld kingdom. If Richard is ever to return to his former life and home, he must join Lady Door’s quest to save her world—and may well die trying.

I was reading some of the reviews on Goodreads and one reader said she was going to have to read it twice because she kept stopping to chastise herself for not reading Gaiman before!!! "Why did no one ever tell me about this author!!!? "

Just happened to notice it on the end row display in a bookstore one day.

I'm now enjoying Season 2 of Good Omens on Amazon.

Gaiman and Pratchett seem very different to me, although obviously they got along.

I have not read all of Sir Terry's books but have read enough to be a good fan. Mr YD has read them all more than once. He just finished a marathon binge read of our entire collection.

As for Gaiman, I have enjoyed every one of his books

Don't like Moby Dick. The first 14% is quite good. After that, Melville makes a fatal mistake: He spends too much time telling not showing, and it takes the reader away from the rich characterizations, and the theme of the book itself.

The fix would have been easy enough: Melville needed to fold all of the data about whales and ships into Ishmael's training as a newcomer to whaling. Show him getting first hand experience with the different kinds of ropes and their purposes, rather than telling us about it. Complete amateur hour mistake.

That's why I found it a dreary and annoying read, because it not only feels like the most boring non-fiction book ever, but also because much of the so-called science is flat-out wrong. I'm not even a marine biologist, and I knew a bunch of what he was claiming as fact was utter tosh.

I was mad when I finally finished it--from the long hours of drudge reading that laid waste to a fantastic story of obsession gone mad and the unlikely but lovely (and near-homoerotic) friendship with Queequeg. Those parts make a classic of the book, while the constant tangents into arcane and wrongheaded details almost destroy it all.

now I'll speed read thru those passages guiltlessly

might explain why I found it a slog on previous attempts

I just refuse to even consider it. I think the reading of "Bartleby the Scrivener" in freshman Lit class ruined me.

I would rather read the Yellow Pages; at least I could make up silly stories about the various weird business ads

I find it quite amusing and playful, especially given its era. Victorians often annoy me with their fussiness and dour outlook, but you can feel how much fun Melville had with writing it.

But the British in me enjoys stories that brim over with snarky humour.

Seems like fun so far and I'm liking the characters.

2021 This "quirky first book in the Black Orchid Enterprises Mystery series contains two complete crime stories. If you like big-hearted heroes, diverse casts, and endearing animals, then you'll love M. R. Dimond's double-fun page-turner."

Sounds delightful. Will definitely be looking for this. There are three others, as well. Newer.

Bit of a spoiler alert: your question will not actually be answered, as such. You'll just come to realize that what happened is the Democrats did not win. The bad guys did. And this is obviously what it will be like. Scary. So, this book is a warning. But it is also a tale of bravery and perseverance. Which we're gonna need.

Did you know that Lief used to be a reporter for NPR? That might make his political sensibilities more clear. Our future is really on the line these days. And he knows it.

a lot, though, the turn of civilization towards the dark side, which has already been hinted. I didn't know that Lief Enger was a reporter for NPR. As a boomer, I'm one of those who still supports public radio & PBS news. It's the only way we get good political news coverage in GA.

So I'm glad Hermit did. No, you never get a firm idea of what happened for the world to wind up as it does in ICR. It just is. Science fiction and magical realism sometimes require a bit more suspension of disbelief, for their worlds to make sense. Sometimes you never get the backstory, just roll with it. Sometimes you have to put the book aside and let the implications of what went wrong roll over you. ICR is the latter type of sci-fi, as Hermit makes clear.

I thought it had a great deal to say about the enduring power of human connection and our ability to band together to help one another in the face of a world gone mad.

It's one of the books the Easton Press sent to me thirty-plus years ago as one of their Masterpieces of Science Fiction series. I didn't read it then, but I found it in a box of old books recently when I was looking for something new to read. I just started it and it has grabbed me already. It won a Hugo or a Nebula award, I forget which.

-- Ron

The spellbinding story of an isolated post holocaust community determined to preserve itself, and civilization, through a perilous experiment in cloning. Sweeping, dramatic, rich with humanity, and rigorous in its science, Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang is widely regarded as a high point of both humanistic and “hard” SF and won SF's Hugo Award and Locus Award on its first publication. It is as compelling today as it was then.

Enjoy.

n/t

It's by Amor Towles. He also wrote A Gentleman In Moscow.

I'll be reading Gentlemen in Moscow later in the year.

The Lincoln Highway, has me hooked so far.