What are you reading right now?

Maryland Congressman Jamie Raskin's book Unthinkable, about the suicide of his son and the week of Jan 6th. I must say there is SOOOO much I didn't know about the electoral process. One for instance is that prior to 1913 the senators were elected by the legislature. Who knew? This book has been an education, and on the level of losing a child to suicide, just amazing.

I've been reading Lisa See's Red Princess mystery series and finished the third book last night; as well as an interesting mystery the books deal with the conflict between the Chinese and American cultures. Although the author seems to have done a lot of background work I'm not sure how reliable her cultural knowledge is, but it certainly makes for interesting and insightful reading.

"Shores Beyond Shores" by Dr. Irene Butter
An excerpt explains why in America free people should not want to be stopped in the streets to show their papers, even vaccine passports.

"But finally, in America, I had choices and could exercise my free will. There were no restrictions. No yellow stars on clothing. No men with guns stopping people to see papers. Only opportunity.
Now, 75 years later, I see something I never imagined: echoes of the Nazis and their regime. What happened in Washington, DC, on January 6, 2021, was an attempted coup of our government and an unraveling of the democracy that protects all of our rights. I saw a T-shirt with the words "Camp Auschwitz," as well as other anti-Semitic symbols and slogans used by the rioters."

I just finished a book that is considered as children literature. It is called Kafka and the travelling doll. I did enjoy it and I think it is a good book for grown ups too.

"South of Broad' by Pat Conroy. Hoping it picks up pretty soon--although I have loved everything he's written.

The Men In My Life: A Memoir Of Love And Art In 1950's Manhattan

Or for caregivers “My Life Rearranged”

I’d like to recommend Aging with Agency by Sandi Peters. The author takes a friendly approach to the process of maturing with an emphasis on the development of the inner life for optimal living.

That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis

My DH is getting ready to read this book.
I asked him what he was editing on his computer.
He is editing out the punctuation and grammatical errors.
Why?
So they won't distract him when he does read it.

Getting ready to start Cloud Cuckoo Land. Has anyone else read this? The author is Anthony Doerr, wrote All the Light We Cannot See which won the Pulitzer for Fiction in 2015.

gershun - I read forewards too. and am impressed with the amount of research a good author does.

dseag - I watched the news (which I rarely do) when that rescue took place. I found it most interesting - scary for the people involved but interesting. I would like to see the film.

I love reading on Kindle as I can so easily search locations, or whatever, as they come up in the books I am currently reading. Seeing images of the cities or landscapes, even checking out the foods mentioned, enhance my reading experience.

I am reading the series "Dark Yorkshire Crime Thrillers" by JM Dalgliesh who also wrote the "Hidden Norfolk series" which I have already read. I am enjoying them. Kindle unlimited is saving me a lot of money.

Bridger, I'd appreciate your insights as you progress through the book.   The WWII  events are obviously of interest and concern, and although I've read a few (one required for a lit class), they're also very upsetting.  I'm wondering if I should even try to get through something this emotional.

I'm not yet reading anything after finishing Sisters in Arms (WWII Black Womens' Corps) but am looking for my James Herriot books.    I read the All Creatures Great and Small 4 book series  a few times decades ago,  but later discovered 2 more books (Every Living Thing and If Only They Could Talk).  

In addition the turmoil in the US and actually throughout many parts of the world motivates me to read something positive, amusing, healthy, and well written, and totally apolitical.

Only problem is that I might be tempted to get a cat and/or dog for company, and I'm not really in a position to care for animals at this stage of life.

Finished the Coulter book. It was pretty good. Started “The Warsaw Orphan. About life in Warsaw, Poland ghetto during WWII.

dseag2, thank you for the info on the tv series. I’ll check it out.

I shortened the long url to: https://tinyurl.com/v9bm5ab5.
I copied and pasted the long url and went to tinyurl.com and pasted the url in the box and clicked on “make tinyurl”. The short one popped right up.

Since I retired in June 2020 I've been reading self-help books on how to be happier and (yes) how to control anger. They have made me much calmer and, overall, a better person in the crazy world we live in.

I also schedule Friday movie days where I try to watch something fulfilling that takes me away from the everyday worries of having a mother close to the end of her life. I know this is about books, but I saw "The Rescue" last Friday, which is about the 15 Thai boys that were rescued from the caves several years ago. It was inspirational and enlightening and put things into perspective for me.

Hallah, I believe this book has been made into the ABC TV series Big Sky so you may want to check it out after you finish the book. There is a Cassie Dewell in the series.

https://www.google.com/search?q=big+sky&sxsrf=AOaemvLZ_Qv-ywgkksU3drFf1hkhA2PppQ%3A1635560087364&source=hp&ei=l6p8YYq1Et-wqtsPw5CgwAU&iflsig=ALs-wAMAAAAAYXy4p5L-WFZVbTtLXcVdaTlsBxYvmMRM&gs_ssp=eJzj4tVP1zc0zDI2Kc9OSqo0YPRiT8pMVyjOrgQAV8kHWg&oq=Big+Sky&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAEYADILCC4QgAQQsQMQkwIyCAgAEIAEELEDMggIABCABBCxAzIICC4QgAQQsQMyBQgAEIAEMgsIABCABBCxAxCDATIICAAQgAQQsQMyCwguEIAEEMcBEK8BMg4ILhCABBCxAxDHARCvATIICAAQsQMQgwE6BAgjECc6BQgAEJECOg4ILhCABBCxAxDHARCjAjoICC4QsQMQgwE6EQguEIAEELEDEMcBEKMCEJMCOgsILhCxAxDHARCjAjoFCC4QgAQ6CAgAEIAEEMkDOgUIABCSAzoLCC4QgAQQsQMQgwE6DgguEIAEEMcBEKMCEMkDUL8bWIooYN40aABwAHgAgAFkiAGFBZIBAzYuMZgBAKABAQ&sclient=gws-wiz

Now I’m reading “The Bitterroots” by C.J. Box.
Former sheriff’s investigator Cassie Dewell is trying to start her life over as in private practice. She’s her own boss and answers to no one, and that’s just the way she likes it after the past few tumultuous years. All that certainty changes when an old friend calls in a favor: she wants Cassie to help exonerate a man accused of assaulting a young woman from an influential family. 

So far an interesting read.

Some time back I read one of Baldacci’s books and thought he must have co-authored with someone. It definitely was not one of his best. I searched for the name of the other writer but David was the only one. Don’t ask me the title; I don’t remember!

James Michener wrote a lot of books with historical information. Texas, Hawaii, Centennial are examples of his work. I was saddened by his passing.

I hear ya Willie. You know I've always thought I'd like to be a writer but when I think of all the research that it would involve I get daunted by the task.

I always read the foreword of all books and when I see how many people the author thx for research they provided I wonder where I would ever find these people for myself if I wanted to write an accurate book. Plus I find the books that are the most enjoyable to me are the ones where they provide a lot of historical information about the area etc. So I could never justify writing a non accurate depiction of anything.

Oh these were blatant to me Gershun, that's why they annoyed me so much! I'll accept a lot of that when it's peripheral to the story but not when creating the atmosphere and the back story is fundamental.

Willie, good for you for spotting errors. I tend to just gloss over them when I'm reading unless they are blatant.

I just finished Black Irish by Stephen Talty that could have been good but between the glaring inaccuracies (including going to gamble in the "Indian" casino in Niagara Falls ON in the late 70's/early 80's, and a character with Alzheimer's who managed to write a multi page confession) and the nonsensical ending it fell flat.
If an author is going to make the setting of their book a big part of the story line I expect them to at least try to be accurate, I learned a lot of history and geography from well researched fictional books over the years.

GA, The Coulter book is good. Fairly fast paced.

Bridger, thanks for sharing info on Coulter's new book.  I've never read any of her works, but this one sounds like a real page turner.   I think I'll get it.

Hallah, Baldicci's novel also sounds like a good candidate, especially for the rainy days we're getting now and the soon (or maybe not) winter storms.

I saw James Patterson and Bill Clinton pushing this book on a talk show and just the interview bored me so I'm not surprised the book wasn't good.

Started new Catherine Coulter book “Vortex”. Seems okay. The James Patterson/Bill Clinton book wasn’t very good. Patterson should stick to writing by himself-much better that way.

If any of you are into crime/thriller drama novels, I highly recommend David Badacci’s “Total Control”, if you can find it. I just finished reading it today. As Gershun mentioned in her original post above, it’s a crime/thriller drama. It definitely held my interest. Possibly, IMO, one of Baldacci’s best.

What wonderful question! 😊

I'm reading The Magic, by Rhonda Byrne.

I'm also reading The Honeymooner, by Melanie Summers

Golden, “shoveling clay” describes
”The Moonstone” perfectly.

Golden, I am just reading “The Woman in White” right now! I wanted something with dark undertones to go with the time of year! So far the menace is building and I’m enjoying it.