What are you reading right now?

The Brainwashing of My Dad is available as a documentary on YouTube, I've bookmarked it!
(I think it's worth mentioning that this was published in 2015)

Currently reading The Brainwashing of My Dad by Jen Senko, who also did a documentary film on this. It's about how her Dad got enmeshed in right wing political thinking (exposure to relentless right wing media) and how her Mom got him back to his normal self (cut back on the right wing media input). Easy to read and understand, with historical explanation of the goals of right wing media.

Juse finished "Motherland" by Elissa Altman. Hopefully most can count blessings if reading this book.

Good to know MJ. Thank you!

@Gershun, if you like big fat historical fiction, the members of the HF group I belong to on Facebook highly recommend anything by Edward Rutherfurd (yes, spelled with a U). His books are massive, but I haven't read any of them as I don't buy books and the library won't let me keep them long enough to finish.

Just finished Barbara Kingsolver's "Demon Copperhead," a modern-day (well, in the 1990s-2000s) telling of "David Copperfield" set in rural Virginia. It was excellent, but not exactly ubpbeat and cheery.

Lessons in Chemistry was another recent read and pretty good, too.

Just finished The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah. Set in Alaska with themes of the rugged wilderness, family dysfunction, mental illness, alcoholism, domestic violence, young love, small town neighbors, it’s a long lot of story. Great beginning and like so many books kind of goes on too long, but a good read overall. Supposedly is being made into a movie

There are a lot of so called children's books that are very good reading, The Secret Garden comes to mind, or Anne of Green Gables. When my mom got books from the CNIB library they were almost all young adult stories because she wanted no sex, no violence.

As a former English teacher, I am embarrassed to say that I am now always too exhausted to focus on a "serious" book. Instead, I am revisiting some children's books and just read again Because of Winn Dixie. I enjoyed the quirky characters and their stories, the rescued dog, and the gentle reminder that we need to look beyond the surface before we make judgements about people. I also recommend the movie based on the book.

I'm reading a real yawner right now. I might just hurl it when I'm done. It's called The Hideaway. I don't even remember the author's name offhand. I'll finish it though cause I have this thing where I have to finish a book even if it's a stinker.

CWillie. I read two of the Rabbit books. They were terrible. Wouldn't read anymore.

CW, Dorothy Parker was a wise woman and a great reviewer: "this book should not be cast aside lightly, but hurled with great force."

I never mind a true, juicy villain but Rabbit is just tiresome. Try the Flashman novels instead.

I started Rabbit, Run by John Updike last night and it was tough going so today I've been looking for a synopsis and reviews on line. I'm finding there are others that felt pretty much what I do - horrible person has a horrible life, and the synopsis tells me he learns nothing. And bonus! there are even sequels where the protagonist continues being a horrible, unlikable d**k, and he never does learn or grow into anything. I'm not sure I have the stomach to keep trying, this may be one of those books that I never finish.

Due to an overabundance of snow I could not get my recent choice home from the library! It has caused quite a stir down there in town as my choice is an inter- library loan and only available to me, the requester, for a short time. The snow is available in my driveway for an extended visit apparently!

So I hit my own bookshelves, looking for something I haven't read in some time. Decades ago for The Caine Mutiny, but it's just as good this time as last time. A classic! Has anyone read it, or watched the movie lately! I have the dvd waiting until after the book!
The book I requested, for those with inquiring minds, is Stone 588, a story about a miracle cure for almost anything in the form of a small stone! Couldn't we all wish to have that for real in our hands! God bless, and stay strong, Caregivers!

I finished the latest V.I. Warshawski novel by Sara Paretski last night....fitbit says I nodded off around 12:30 so not overly late!
The author writes a good story but I with the latest novels I really have trouble reconciling the flaws in her character's time lines. Wiki says Paretsky bumped V.I.'s birth date up to 1957 because she was aging out of her more athletic exploits, but IMO she's still too resilient for belief and many of her other mainstay characters - especially the dogs! - are much too hale and hearty for their supposed histories.

David Baldacci wrote "Wish You Well".
Loved it in the movie format. Beautiful scenery.
I am the type of reader who reads until done, and I cannot take that much time away from activities of daily living.

Yes, but I am groggy from lack of sleep most days. Nothing to do with reading. I don't seem to be able to sleep much more than 5 hours at a stretch and these day I am not going back to sleep to get the extra couple of hours in the am to make a good nights sleep. However, I usually get a good nap in the daytime. Whatever works, I guess. I've finished it now. As predicted the good guys are OK or will be, two bad guys will be locked up for life and the orphaned child will be adopted by a large loving lady. I wouldn't call it heart warming as a few not so bad guys got rather gruesomely killed along the way. but the two main characters are interesting. I have one more book in the series to read.

Better to reach that point at 9:30 am than later at night, I've been hung over from lack of sleep many mornings!

9:30 am and I am still in bed finishing a mystery and I think I'm going to stay here till I'm done. It's at that nail biting point. I know the bad guy will be brought down and the good guys will all likely survive, although possibly with injuries And the hero(ine) rides off into the sunset on his/her white horse. lol Love that predictability. It's not great literature for sure but it's good escapism for me.

BOOK BLURBS GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Enchanting.................................there's a dog in it
Heart-warming.........................a child and a dog
Moving ........................................child dies
Heart-rending............................dog dies
Thoughtful..................................mind-numbingly tedious
Haunting.....................................set in the past
Exotic...........................................set abroad
Audacious.................................. set in the future
Award winning........................ set in India
Perceptive............................... ..set in north London
Provocative............................... infuriating
Epic........................................... ..editor cowed by the author's reputation
From the pen of a master... same old same old
In the tradition of....................shamelessly derivative
Spare and taut.........................under researched
Richly detailed......................... over researched
Disturbing................................. author bonkers
Stellar ........................................author young and photogenic
Classic........................................author still hanging in there
Vintage .....................................author past it

The Cloisters, finished. It was very good, I recommend it. Basis of story, researchers trying to complete a deck of renaissance era tarot cards and write a paper on the significance of tarot.

Just finished an inspirational and heart warming book about broken trust, regained trust, survival against the odds and how one person can make a difference by being a caregiver.

The Elephant Whisperer
My life with the herd in the African wild

By Lawrence Anthony and Graham Spence

It is a great read and all the things I described above.

Definitly keeping this in my library for future reading.

Have you seen illustrations of the Plague Doctors? Face mask, inc eye covers, gloves, leather coat, & a long stick to maintain distance. Amazingly similar to our modern PPE.

Wonder what future students will be reading The Covid..?

Got my book pack this afternoon for my next literature class. European literature. I've read several of the books in the past and a couple of the plays. No really big fat books. Starting with The Plague.

haha gershun :)

imagine someone says, “can you please, pleeeease, stop suggesting all these awesome books. remember i asked for BAD big fat books!”

I did say they have to be good big fat books. Trust me, I don't have the patience for a bad big fat book.

My problem with big fat books is they often seem to be slow moving and repetitive and I'm left thinking that the editor fell asleep on the job because the story would have lacked nothing important if they'd have cut out a few hundred pages. The only big fat book I can name that I liked and felt worth it is Tolkien's LOTR... and he had the courtesy to divide it into three.

Gershun, I just completed a Russian literature graduate class. Never again will I say I like a big fat book. I suffered through War and Peace. I like big fat books like The Thornbirds or Gone With the Wind.

Evanmar, im watching Avila on HBO Max. It’s HBO Latin America productions, so they own it. If you know how to bit torrent or have a kid who does (lol) they can download it for you.

fwiw sometime when I’m searching for something foreign language I know is on my streaming service and it flat will not come up, it’s because it’s on the search engine under its translation and not its original name or vice versa. Like “Umbre” the Romanian crime series, is “Shadows” in the search even tho it displays under Umbre. Had this happen with couple of seasons of “Spiral”, like they came up under Engrenages. Even tho all the others were Spiral S. 1, Sprial S. 2.

Depending on how funded of a library system you have, you might be able to download a lot of the foreign films for free. Like everything on Criterion Collection & Janus Films. If so, & you haven’t seen Sorrentino’s The Great Beauty (2013) please watch it. Stunning.

Hey Willie,

I prefer the big, thick books. The longer the better...........if they're good that is. :)