August 2017 What We're Reading

I am enjoying getting to know more about....
Tom Thomson An Introduction to His Life and Art by David P. Silcox.

I've started a WW2 thriller: Assignment in Brittany, by Helen MacInnes.

I'm also reading about Tsunami: The Newfoundland Tidal Wave Disaster, by Maura Hanrahan.

Just finishing Oblivion by Arnaldur Indridason. Good to read about Iceland when the temperatures are soaring here. Always a good page turner!

>1 mdoris: - sounds interesting. I was recently at the Art Gallery of Ontario and spent some time reacquainting myself with the Group of Seven and Tom Thomson. I was surprised to read that he essentially founded the group but never had a chance to officially join before his death. For some reason, I thought that they wouldn't let him in!

Still here. (Back). Been dealing with 'stuff'. I haven't been keeping track of my reading, but it remains my most valuable tie to sanity in this crazy world.
I just finished "Do Not become Alarmed". What!? I seem to have forgotten how to create a touchstone! Well, obviously, been gone too long.

Two mystery/crime fiction novels finished this week (too hot at 38 deg to even hold a book some days this week, esp. with no air conditioning in my house!): The Funeral Boat by Kate Ellis and The Broken Teaglass by Emily Arsenault

I've finished Ellen in Pieces by Caroline Adderson and have started The Poe Shadow by Matthew Pearl.

>2 rabbitprincess: Oh, I hope you're liking "Tsunami"!

I do hope to get to at least one Canadian book this month, likely Small Beneath the Sky / Lorna Crozier.

There's also a book by Deborah Willis, but so many holds at the library. Our f2f book club is having her at our group this month (and we are inviting other people in the neighbourhood; it's a neighbourhood book club, and apparently the author has recently moved into our area!), so if I can't get it through the library, I might have to see if any of the other book club members have it available for me to borrow. The book: The Dark and Other Love Stories

>8 LibraryCin: I liked learning about the tsunami, but some of the dialogue felt fictional or "As you know, Bob." I had assumed that the conversations were coming from the historical record, rather than being reimagined.

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Probably going to spend part of my evening with The Checklist Manifesto, by Atul Gawande.

I'm reading Night Road by Kristin Hannah

I just finished His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet

I'm reading Coal: A Human History by Barbara Freese.

Starting Queens' Play, by Dorothy Dunnett, even though I still haven't read the biography of Mary Queen of Scots that I'd wanted to read first.

I'm reading The Brothers Carburi by Petrie Harbouri.

I'm reading Disobedience by Jane Hamilton.

i'm reading Autumn by Ali Smith and bits and pieces of Words are my Matter by UrsaulaK. Le Guin. In the later one she has some wonderful book reviews and I want to zoom to the library and get the books she is reviewing.

Guilty pleasure read of the week: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. I started reading this series when it first came out in the early 1990's but lost interest after the 3rd or 4th book. I found the TV series on Netflix Canada a couple of weeks ago, though, which I really enjoyed, so I thought I'd tried rereading a couple of the books. Good summertime reading fare.

Also finished my lunchroom read at work, an older Rebus novel: Resurrection Man by Ian Rankin

I'm celebrating Canada's 150th with A Number of Things: Stories About Canada Told Through 50 Objects by Jane Urquhart.

The Dark and Other Love Stories / Deborah Willis
3.5 stars

This is a book of short stories. Some of the stories include two girls/friends at camp who would sneak out of their bunk at night; two girls/friends who would break into neighbourhood houses when no one was home; a little boy who’s father lived with him and his mother when he was 9 – they had a memorable Halloween; a man who survived a concentration camp as a child moves to Canada and rarely speaks, while a girl of 18 moves away from home to work for a small town newspaper; a man shares his new apartment with a crow… and more.

Usually, a book of short stories will get a 3 star rating from me: I like some of the stories, I don’t like some, and some are ok, so the book, as a whole, averages out to about 3 stars (ok). In this one, however, I can say that I liked almost all of the stories, so it’s getting a 3.5 rating. So, one of the better collections I’ve read.

I'm reading Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right by Jane Mayer for a book club.

I'm reading Mister Nightingale by Paul Bowdring, a Canadian author I've not read before.

More guilty pleasure reading to while away my days while I'm off my feet due to a bout of plantar fasciitis: Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon

I've been reading quite a bit, but currently I'm trying to read a bit from the Booker 2017 Longlist. My last read was Exit West, which was fairly good, and I'm really enjoying Home Fire at the moment.

Another book I really enjoyed this summer was Eleanor Oliphant by Gail Honeyman. Really worth the read for something different, a wee bit quirky with an underlying dark tone. Overall , a very enjoyable and thoughtful read. Great for an antidote to a heavy read.

I'm about to start One Native Life by Richard Wagamese for a book club discussion next week.

I'm reading Run by Ann Patchett