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hermetic

(8,593 posts)
Sun Aug 18, 2024, 10:32 AM Aug 18

What Fiction are you reading this week, August 18, 2024?




Kibbitznest Books, Brews & Blarney: Chicago

Reading Eruption by Michael Crichton; James Patterson. "The biggest thriller of the year: A history-making eruption is about to destroy the Big Island of Hawaii. But a secret held for decades by the US military is far more terrifying than any volcano."
Originally started by Crichton, his wife Sherri held back his notes and the partial manuscript until she found the right author to complete it: James Patterson. This is a terrific book. It feels so real and I'm amazed how lucky I was to get a hold of it already.

Listening to 12 Months to Live by James Patterson. The first of a Jane Effing Smith series; there's only two so far. Murder, courtroom drama, and a cancer diagnosis. Jane has a lot to deal with.

What books were you lucky to find this week?

34 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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What Fiction are you reading this week, August 18, 2024? (Original Post) hermetic Aug 18 OP
Covenant of Water terip64 Aug 18 #1
Author Abraham Verghese hermetic Aug 18 #6
Thank you! terip64 Aug 19 #22
Greg Iles cbabe Aug 18 #2
That would be too dark for me! biophile Aug 18 #5
True. To an extent. I used to listen to cbabe Aug 18 #8
Not my cup of tea, either hermetic Aug 18 #7
Recursion by Blake Crouch FalloutShelter Aug 18 #3
That sounds good... hermetic Aug 18 #9
Read Recursion also. Interesting subject. Polly Hennessey Aug 19 #23
Still reading Bruno Chief of Police series biophile Aug 18 #4
Sounds lovely hermetic Aug 18 #10
I've almost finished Horse by Geraldine Brooks Zoomie1986 Aug 18 #11
We Both Loved "Horse," The Roux Comes First Aug 19 #29
Thanks for sharing. Finished 2 good ones this week. mentalsolstice Aug 18 #12
I read Tom Lake earlier in the year Zoomie1986 Aug 19 #26
I got so bored with it that I gave up about 1/2 through. japple Aug 25 #34
"Eruption" sounds good. Bayard Aug 18 #13
"Hyperion" by Dan Simmons Jeebo Aug 18 #14
Well... hermetic Aug 18 #15
Read that one last year Zoomie1986 Aug 19 #25
I am re-reading a book that I first read about 60 years ago in high school. japple Aug 18 #16
I loved that story hermetic Aug 18 #17
Still one of my favorites Jilly_in_VA Aug 19 #31
I read that in high school also (which was also 60 years ago, roughly) yellowdogintexas Aug 23 #33
They made it into a WONDERFUL movie in 1945. Jeebo Aug 18 #21
There's a time warp Zoomie1986 Aug 19 #27
Just finished "Arkangel" by James Rollins... excellent Number9Dream Aug 18 #18
Cool hermetic Aug 18 #19
Only partly fiction The King of Prussia Aug 18 #20
Interesting story hermetic Aug 19 #24
The Extinction Cycle - Boxed Set ravjav Aug 19 #28
Hi! Welcome to DU hermetic Aug 19 #30
I'm actually not, for once Jilly_in_VA Aug 19 #32

hermetic

(8,593 posts)
6. Author Abraham Verghese
Sun Aug 18, 2024, 10:55 AM
Aug 18

"...a stunning and magisterial epic of love, faith, and medicine, set in South India, following three generations of a family seeking the answers to a strange secret."

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt is a story I loved, too. A widow's unlikely friendship with a giant Pacific octopus.

cbabe

(4,085 posts)
2. Greg Iles
Sun Aug 18, 2024, 10:45 AM
Aug 18

Tried some of his Natchez county titles.

Page turners dense in family histories and southern landscape.

But extremely dark. The klan still rides with impunity. Vicious and violent.

Way too close to what we know about three percenters, proud boys, and all.

Had to quit after a hundred pages testing the waters.

biophile

(314 posts)
5. That would be too dark for me!
Sun Aug 18, 2024, 10:54 AM
Aug 18

But there is that old saying -“Know thine enemies!” When it comes to those kind of people, it’s best to be aware and not put our heads in the sand to their existence and potential dangers they pose.

cbabe

(4,085 posts)
8. True. To an extent. I used to listen to
Sun Aug 18, 2024, 10:57 AM
Aug 18

right wing hate radio for that reason until I realized it was making me sick.

Iles is a great writer. Too bad about his choice of subject.

hermetic

(8,593 posts)
7. Not my cup of tea, either
Sun Aug 18, 2024, 10:57 AM
Aug 18

Got too much of that crap IRL these days. Glad you told us about it, though.

FalloutShelter

(12,688 posts)
3. Recursion by Blake Crouch
Sun Aug 18, 2024, 10:48 AM
Aug 18

Sci-Fi- with echoes of Phillip K. Dick and Total Recall, but scarier and more near-future bio space.

hermetic

(8,593 posts)
9. That sounds good...
Sun Aug 18, 2024, 11:03 AM
Aug 18

"a relentless thriller about time, identity, and memory. Reality is broken. At first, it looks like a disease. An epidemic that spreads through no known means, driving its victims mad with memories of a life they never lived..."

biophile

(314 posts)
4. Still reading Bruno Chief of Police series
Sun Aug 18, 2024, 10:50 AM
Aug 18

On the next book in the series since the last time you asked! I’ll be sad when I’m done but might go back and re-read them to better follow the involved histories and the food recipes! 🤔

hermetic

(8,593 posts)
10. Sounds lovely
Sun Aug 18, 2024, 11:07 AM
Aug 18

Until militants from the anti-immigrant National Front show up.

Love books with recipes.

 

Zoomie1986

(1,213 posts)
11. I've almost finished Horse by Geraldine Brooks
Sun Aug 18, 2024, 11:27 AM
Aug 18

What's not to love in a book about horses and science and art (Oh my!)? Very much enjoying it so far, so well-written and yet so easy to read as well.

After I'm done, I have a door stop book, The Love Songs of WEB DuBois by Honore (sp?) Jeffers. 800 pages. Good thing it's on Kindle, or my neck and arms would be aching for days from hefting that one.

The Roux Comes First

(1,525 posts)
29. We Both Loved "Horse,"
Mon Aug 19, 2024, 03:56 PM
Aug 19

And it led me to author's husband Tony Horwitz's final book, "Spying on the South," which is also terrific and highly recommended.

Right now it is Alsup's "The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald" that is scratching my fiction itch.

mentalsolstice

(4,505 posts)
12. Thanks for sharing. Finished 2 good ones this week.
Sun Aug 18, 2024, 11:31 AM
Aug 18
The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O’Farrell, no chapters with changing POVS. Challenging but good.

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett.

Now I’m reading The Great Santini by Pat Conroy. I dated a Marine helicopter pilot for 3-4 years, so I wanted to see what I may have missed out on. As they say “There goes I but for the grace of God.”

Have a wonderful week everyone!
 

Zoomie1986

(1,213 posts)
26. I read Tom Lake earlier in the year
Mon Aug 19, 2024, 03:30 PM
Aug 19

It's the kind of book my mother would enjoy. Thought the daughters were annoying and rude in wanting to know every single detail of only one part of their mother's life, as if nothing else she'd ever done mattered.

japple

(10,280 posts)
34. I got so bored with it that I gave up about 1/2 through.
Sun Aug 25, 2024, 11:40 AM
Aug 25

I have really enjoyed a number of her previous works, esp. Bel Canto.

Bayard

(24,078 posts)
13. "Eruption" sounds good.
Sun Aug 18, 2024, 11:36 AM
Aug 18

By two of my favorites. Just ordered the hardback for $13. Thanks, Hermetic!

I finished, "Zero Hour," by Clive Cussler, and, "The Survivor's Club," by Lisa Gardener. Both suspenseful thrillers that I enjoyed.

Jeebo

(2,214 posts)
14. "Hyperion" by Dan Simmons
Sun Aug 18, 2024, 11:38 AM
Aug 18

The Easton Press sent it to me as part of their Masterpieces of Science Fiction series, so I'm giving it a chance. It's supposed to be a classic of that genre. I've just barely started it, though, so I can't comment on it yet.

-- Ron

hermetic

(8,593 posts)
15. Well...
Sun Aug 18, 2024, 11:51 AM
Aug 18

with over 1,000 5-star reviews, I'll bet it's going to be pretty good. And, "A stunning tour de force filled with transcendent awe and wonder, Hyperion is a masterwork of science fiction that resonates with excitement and invention." Enjoy!

 

Zoomie1986

(1,213 posts)
25. Read that one last year
Mon Aug 19, 2024, 03:27 PM
Aug 19

Same reason. I hope you enjoy it more than I did, because I found it a slog. I'll let you finish before saying more.

japple

(10,280 posts)
16. I am re-reading a book that I first read about 60 years ago in high school.
Sun Aug 18, 2024, 12:58 PM
Aug 18

Betty Smith's A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I don't remember much of it, so it's almost like reading a new book. I am thoroughly enjoying it now, though I'll bet I thought it was kind of boring back in 1965.

Thanks for the weekly thread, hermetic.

hermetic

(8,593 posts)
17. I loved that story
Sun Aug 18, 2024, 01:12 PM
Aug 18

Read it when I was 30 something, expecting to be bored. Instead I found it absolutely delightful.

Jilly_in_VA

(10,795 posts)
31. Still one of my favorites
Mon Aug 19, 2024, 04:43 PM
Aug 19

It should be required reading in about 9th grade, I think. Forget Holden Caulfield. You can learn more from Francie Nolan.

Jeebo

(2,214 posts)
21. They made it into a WONDERFUL movie in 1945.
Sun Aug 18, 2024, 08:49 PM
Aug 18

One of my favorite movies ever. The scene at the little girl's graduation just chokes me up every time I watch it. I've never read the book, but wow, what a beautiful movie. You can watch it on YouTube.

&t=119s

-- Ron
 

Zoomie1986

(1,213 posts)
27. There's a time warp
Mon Aug 19, 2024, 03:32 PM
Aug 19

I read that back in the 80s, I think. Sort of hazy about it now, so I might re-read it when I get the time.

Number9Dream

(1,638 posts)
18. Just finished "Arkangel" by James Rollins... excellent
Sun Aug 18, 2024, 01:27 PM
Aug 18

Thanks for the thread, hermetic.

This is the newest book in the Sigma series. The amazingly prolific Mr. Rollins hits another homerun. This is another excellent blend of science, zoology, history, archaeology, cartography, & geo-politics with plenty of action sequences. Another couldn't put it down book. One of the members of the Sigma team works with two highly trained Belgian Malinois dogs. There are a few passages in this book which are from the perspective of the dogs... very unique and interesting.

ravjav

(44 posts)
28. The Extinction Cycle - Boxed Set
Mon Aug 19, 2024, 03:51 PM
Aug 19

By Nicholas Stansbury Smith.

I love apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction and science fiction. Listen to audio books most of the time.

hermetic

(8,593 posts)
30. Hi! Welcome to DU
Mon Aug 19, 2024, 04:12 PM
Aug 19

And to the Fiction Group. Glad to have you onboard. We start a new discussion here every Sunday and learn about all sorts of fiction members are reading, and listening to, old and new.

Jilly_in_VA

(10,795 posts)
32. I'm actually not, for once
Mon Aug 19, 2024, 04:57 PM
Aug 19

I'm reading Age of Secrets, by Gerald Bellett. It's non-fiction, it's long, and it's taking me forever, but it's pretty fascinating. It's about, basically, a guy named John Meier, who was tangled up with both Howard Hughes and Richard Nixon, and it gets into Watergate and all sorts of things. Hard going but interesting. I'm only halfway through, so it's going to be a long slog. Nixon hasn't resigned yet.

Before I started that, I finished Learning to Fly Alien Spacecraft, by Fay Abernethy. It's the second in the Shantivira series, and the author promises a third in the works (The first was The Cleaner, The Cat, and The Space Station). These are delightful sci-fi, a notch above YA but not hard sci-fi. One of the main characters is a shape-shifting space demon, another is a Sudanese refugee who was trafficked to the UK and was working as a cleaner when whe ended up on the space station (don't ask). I'm going to need something like that when I finish what I'm reading now.

To the guy who was reading Greg Iles and just couldn't hack it---you should really hang on, because, like with Grisham, the good guys win in the end.

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