Christine

This was edge-of-my seat good. Even though I had looked up what happened to this man, I still found myself anxious about his safety. This would be a great book for a long car ride, especially because it's written such that a number of people, personalities, and genders would enjoy it together. I learned a few things and found myself fulling engaged. Although I read it (listened to it) alone, I told my spouse all about it each evening.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. So good for my mental health because the mystery kept me thinking about the characters and who did it. It was a lot of talking, as some readers complained, but that didn’t bother me, maybe partly because I was listening. I’m ready for the next one!

What an amazing achievement! I’m stunned by the way Chin is able to tell her family stories in a way that reads like a page turning novel, spans over 100 years, and incorporates so much detailed and solid history. I wish that I could create something like this with my family history and documents, and I know how difficult a task this would be.

This book is also so important for understanding American history better. Chin brings to life the determination, patience, love, and humanity of people who so often are forgotten in the telling of American history. And the immigrant story could not be more relevant today. Highly recommend. I wonder who else I might encourage to read this.

Creative and full of life. I enjoyed this, and started listening. Then I switched to skim the rest of the book because I find I need more of a regular narrative these days. I would read more by Evaristo.

This was an impressive riddle inside a riddle mystery. It wasn't as cozy as some that I've read recently, and I didn't find myself feeling warm and fuzzy about the characters, but I was definitely hooked into the narrative and the twisty turns. There is something about a smart whodunnit (and this is very clever) to draw me in and keep my mind occupied -- something that is good for my mental health. I do recommend for that.

Because I enjoyed his Thursday Murder Club books so much – and the Happier in Hollywood podcast women chose this for their book club – I was eager to jump in to this new mystery. At first, I was disappointed not to find the cozy vibe of the retirement community, and it took a bit to warm to these characters, but I did. It was fun and funny, smart and engaging. I highly recommend if you want a take-me-away sort of mystery. (As usual, I listened to this.)

Not my usual read (listen), but a good book friend recommended it. I loved the atmospheric feel – rainy, windy, dark Halloween on a remote island – plus the plot twists & turns. The characters were unlikable, which usually bothers me, but the book was a welcome distraction & entertaining.

I love reading a classic with my book club and then throwing myself into the history, the author (whom I had not yet read, in this case), and the relevant movie adaptations. This did not disappoint, especially because we read Zadie Smith's On Beauty beforehand, which I highly recommend. Pairing them was brilliant and satisfying.

Giving myself permission to put this one down for a while. I'm about half way through, and listening has been powerful. The book is brilliant – smart, moving, descriptive, funny, important. But there is a heaviness to Richard Powers because his messages are serious and urgent, and it's just too much for my sensitive self right now, in light of recent events. I will return to this sometime, hopefully soon.

Oh, Elizabeth Strout. Thank you for giving me a little escape when I really needed it. I love being in Crosby and Shirley Falls and NYC with these characters, listening to their honest and realistic dialog, and absorbing their wisdom about love, loss, friendship, and change. I listened to this one and highly recommend.

I want to move to Cooper's Chase to be with these characters.

Erik Larson has an effective formula, and readers of both popular and professional histories may find useful stories here. This was mostly review material for me, but I appreciated how he brings the history to light and to life.

My hubby & I listened to this over several long car trips, and it is a good one for that – much detail, draw dropping twists & turns, and good history. It is exhaustive, though. I say “though” because it felt like too much by the end. I was eager to complete it not because I was still enjoying it, but because I am a completist. I recommend it to others nonetheless.

I flew through this audiobook, and it was fun, fresh, relevant for a woman of my age and place in life. I get the complaints that others made, and they are mostly fair. But it was still enjoyable and interesting. I appreciated the mother-daughter relationships she captured, as well as the somewhat idealized, but pleasant depiction of a mid-life marriage.

A number of little character stories along the way to solving a bigger ones. This was a good airplane book for me.

This was a fun mystery recommended by a friend, and I enjoyed it. It's not a Louise Penny or even the Thursday Murder Club. There were a few too many coincidences in the narrative. But I liked Flavia a lot. She's a fun and clever young detective, and some of her dialog is laugh out loud funny.

Perhaps I will write more about this later after my bookclub discusses the novel, but I really enjoyed this! Smart, funny, insightful, mostly believable. The book is about so much: family, academia, marriage, culture wars, politics, religion, art, gender, class. I'm impressed with Zadie Smith, and eager to read more by her. I enjoyed listening to this, and then reading sometimes too.

This is a beautiful book with Amy Tan's lovely drawings. She is so talented! And the day by day diary entries about her bird visitors is charming, if a bit too detailed for a normal sit-down-and-read-this- whole-book – at least for me. I found myself jumping and skimming around, but found the details and images delightful. Perhaps if I had more patience ... which is what one needs to enjoy the fruits of backyard birding.

This was outstanding, and it's clear to me why it has been so acclaimed. The details and story telling make it a page-turner, and I learned a great deal more about King because of the depth and breadth of this biography. As a writer and historian myself, I'm so impressed with Eig's ability to recreate day by day minutia, as well as dialog, to create a rich and full picture of King's life as well as his family members' and friends' too.
This was an excellent listen, by the way. The narrator has King's cadence down.
Finally, in the final section of Q & A, Eig talks about the way that we have “hollowed” King and how we must see him as a real man. I have long felt this also, and this book helps us see King's complexity, his rage, and his sadness toward the end of his life. I have told my students that we have sort of made King into a “teddy bear” of sorts, and the reality of his depression, his sense that he might be killed, and his frustration with the movement actually make his greatness greater. There is also comfort here in our own often-depressing and scary time.

A sweet and moving story of a young Catholic girl in an abusive home, but with loving family and important friends nearby. I enjoyed the love story, and the way that faith sustained Jenny ... and the novel. The author has put such care into all the details.

This was a slow burn – taking its sweet time, just like the river Thames, which is kind of its own character in this magical, cozy, and a bit Jane Eyre-esque story. By the end, I was so pleased that I had read it, and think it will stick with me for a while. It had a compelling mystery, a bit of a love story, lots of family drama and dynamics, a love for storytelling within the story, and strong women (& a couple of men). It was a nice summer read, but with the chilly weather, rain, floods, and general darkness (outside and in some characters) in the story, it might have made for a good winter break read by the fire. I would like to find more by this author now.

This book was a beast. Brilliant and complex, dense and bleak. I'm so glad that I had my smart and scholarly women's book club to help me unpack it. It's a masterpiece, and I'm glad I read it, but it demands a lot. This would be difficult for most readers to take on alone, but with the right group, it's revealing.

I recommend this book to anyone who needs a little palate cleanser after a heavy or serious book. This is a sweet story of an older gentleman and a little girl, and the ways that books and friends help them navigate life's difficulties. There's lots of humor and a satisfying ending, as you would expect, The dark section did have me a little distressed, but I was propelled to see the resolution. Also, it was fun to read a book that was originally published in German, and clearly takes place in Europe today. This a nice summer read or break from more difficult novels.
I listened to most of this, and the narrator was excellent.

I enjoyed this one, too. It was a nice continuation from the previous book, and I appreciated the opportunity to read Indian characters. It left me eager to get to the next book.

This was my first Elly Griffiths, and I plan to read more. This reminded me of the Thursday Murder Club series with the mature and lovable characters. I do enjoy stories with cross-generational friendships. I appreciated the setting also.