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Post by lillielangtry on May 30, 2021 6:15:47 GMT -5
#29 Richard Osman, The Thursday Murder Club Several people here have already read this, I know... I didn't actually need to as I'd listened to the BBC adaptation, but a colleague lent it to me, and it is very nice and amusing and keeps the pages turning nicely.
#30 Agatha Christie, Death in the Clouds Poirot audiobook. As with almost all Christies, I think I haven't read it but then part-way through things start seeming familiar and I have at least seen a TV adaptation of it.
#31 Carolina de Robertis, Cantoras De Robertis is Uruguayan-American and this book is a fictionalised account of lesbian history in 1970s Uruguay onwards, basically. It's focused on a group of 5 friends ("cantora", singer, was slang for a lesbian at a time when living in the closet was pretty much the only option) and the growth of a small beach town called Cabo Polonio that became something like Uruguay's first LGBT "resort". This novel is really nice, my only reservation was a bit of a feeling that some sections had been inserted to teach the reader about the political context a bit obviously. I guess it is hard to avoid this, because it's about a small country and how many people really know much about its history?! But it felt a bit forced at times - possibly because I knew quite a lot about the Argentinian dictatorship so didn't totally need the introduction. But in general, this is a really different, interesting story with good characters.
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Post by Oweena on May 30, 2021 9:25:17 GMT -5
Jane's Ellroy - The Big Nowhere. Part of this crime noir writer's "LA Quartet" along with The Black Dahlia, LA Confidential, and White Jazz. I thought the Dahlia was great, and also really liked LA Confidential. Couldn't read White Jazz. This one is quite good, and was worth reading- but I think it also will be my last Ellroy. I don't like his dark '50s world of corruption, violence, racism, and homophobia. Maybe it's depressing because it's still too much like that, but I just don't want to go there anymore. Anyway, the book follows a few policemen and associates working on uncovering Communists in the entertainment industry as part of a grand jury investigation, and it keeps brushing against a murder investigation one of the cops is also working on, that most people don't care about because it was only gay lowlifes who were killed. There are really bad guys, medium bad guys, and a few good guys who all have some very dark parts and/or have done some very bad things. scrubb I haven't read any of Ellroy's fiction but I read his memoir My Dark Places. It covers his life and the unsolved murder of his mother in 1958 when he was 10. I think Ellroy does live in the dark places of his fiction. He didn't come off as likeable or sympathetic and I'm guessing in real life he's similar to a few of the characters in his books.
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Post by Oweena on May 30, 2021 9:39:16 GMT -5
Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers At age 28 the main character has just finished a doctorate in Astronomy and has a bit of a life crisis when she can't decide on the next step. Much soul searching commences after she meets a woman in Vegas and within 12 hours she's gotten really drunk and married this "unknown" woman. The book follows her over the next few months as she gets to know her wife and sorts her mental health issues. This book would probably appeal to someone decades younger than me. I'm well past questioning who I am, it all felt trivial and self-indulgent.
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Post by Liiisa on May 30, 2021 10:22:48 GMT -5
Yeah that sounds irritating Oweena.
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Post by scrubb on May 30, 2021 13:10:41 GMT -5
Connie Willis - The Doomsday Book. Set in 2054, time travel has been figured out but it's tricky and not widespread. A student goes back to the 1300s, aiming for 1320. There are problems with how it works out, and she's accidentally sent to 1348 when the plague arrives in the Oxford area.
The story has 2 timelines, the 1348 one, and the people in 2054 who are going through an epidemic (with references to the Pandemic, and lots of protocols in place for dealing with outbreaks and potential epidemics, so very timely!). I actually read this book about 30 years ago and I'd forgotten the 2054 timeline almost completely.
The author is considered a science fiction writer - but aside from the future/time travel elements, it didn't really fit the genre. It's more like historical fiction, and it's very good. I liked it a lot and thought it was very well done.
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Post by riverhorse on May 30, 2021 13:27:29 GMT -5
I'm really pissed off with myself that after making such a great start earlier in the year with reading far more books than I'd done for many years, at the moment my fucking job is once again sucking the life out of me and I haven't read anything for weeks.
However I have downloaded a few things to hopefully get round yo reading this week so I'll see you on the June thread!
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Post by tzarine on May 30, 2021 13:47:37 GMT -5
the berlin stories by isherwood great look @ the night creatures, gangsters & moneymen of the weimar republic
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Post by Liiisa on May 30, 2021 14:18:25 GMT -5
I'm really pissed off with myself that after making such a great start earlier in the year with reading far more books than I'd done for many years, at the moment my fucking job is once again sucking the life out of me and I haven't read anything for weeks. However I have downloaded a few things to hopefully get round yo reading this week so I'll see you on the June thread! river, that was me in February! I'm doing better now that my job is less insane, so hopefully you'll have the same experience and snap back into reading shape once yours improves too.
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Post by ozziegiraffe on May 30, 2021 18:20:36 GMT -5
I'm really pissed off with myself that after making such a great start earlier in the year with reading far more books than I'd done for many years, at the moment my fucking job is once again sucking the life out of me and I haven't read anything for weeks. However I have downloaded a few things to hopefully get round yo reading this week so I'll see you on the June thread! I totally get you. The end of the school year is always draining, and the complications of the last year or so probably triple that for you.
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Jun 3, 2021 4:15:29 GMT -5
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