Another good year with book club as well as additional titles I was able to fit in. Book club options noted with* (I only missed There, There this year which was supposed to be quite good) and mostly listed in order read.
- Rules of Civility* by Amor Towles – A great way to start the year we all really enjoyed this tale of a woman’s life in NY taking a turn in the year of 1938, many went on to also enjoy A Gentleman in Moscow.
- The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware – Underwhelming if entertaining enough mystery.
- Pachinko* by Min Jin Lee – Very enjoyable Korean drama starting in 1910 in a small Korean village and through into Japan and beyond.
- The Heart’s Invisible Furies* by John Boyne – A little uneven but overall engaging look at 1940s to present day Ireland through the life of an adopted boy and his surrounding ‘family.’
- Moonglow by Michael Chabon – Enjoyed the latest fictional autobiography as he listens to his grandfather’s story.
- Exit West* by Mohin Hamid – Really pulled into this magical realism story of two young lovers who meet and are swept up by unrest in their city and escape through doors to other places.
- Euphoria by Lily King – Three young anthropologists in the ’30’s caught me up in both their study of other cultures but their love triangle that threatens more than their work.
- A Manual for Cleaning Women by Lucia Berlin – I can’t believe I had never ready any of her work, the stories gathered here are compelling and heart breaking and humorous.
- Maps & Legends Reading and Writing Along the Borderlands by Michael Chabon – This collection of essays goes a little more in detail on subjects that are clearly favorites of the author’s but maybe not for everyone.
- Elmet* by Fiona Mozley – This was one of two books we picked this year that we questioned the balance of good to bummer as the story of a family living basically off the grid in Yorkshire and let’s just say it doesn’t go well.
- Eileen* by Ottessa Moshfegh – This was the other but bummer, and it’s making us a little dubious about My Year of Rest and Relaxation getting lots of buzz for this last year.
- Less* by Andrew Sean Greer – I’ve mostly enjoyed the rest of Andy’s work I’ve read but this latest really pulls it all together as a struggling author travels the world to avoid a wedding is mostly amusing in its mishaps but also a little poignant.
- How I Became a Famous Novelist by Steve Hely – Slacker decides to game the system mostly to get back at an ex has some amusing areas but a little too turned off by the protagonist.
- The Good Girl by Mary Kubica – Ditto The Woman in Cabin 10.
- All the Birds, Singing by Evie Wyld – A woman’s present and past are told with a bit of sheep shearing has some interesting aspects but overall might not add up to a whole lot.
- Manhattan Beach* by Jennifer Egan – While overall I enjoyed this book it covered a lot at maybe some expense and our discussion turned more toward the three versions of the book we might have liked better.
- Floating in My Mother’s Palm by Ursula Hegi – Another on my Hegi backlog this was a lovely story of the characters of small town in Germany where we met many in Stones From the River.
- Not That Kind of Girl by Lena Dunham – This collection was a gracious gift from my City Arts & Lectures attendance but I enjoyed hearing her speak more than I enjoyed the personal essays.
- Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan – I loved the idea of the culture, food, and fashion that make up the ingredients of this book but overall the story and characters didn’t make it for me.
- This is My Best: Great Writers Share their Favorite Work – Fun to ready a bunch of stories from a wide range of authors, not all my favorites but a lot of great gems.
- Sourdough* by Robin Sloan – A fun fictional look at food and culture though maybe not as satisfying as a loaf of sourdough.
- The Man Who Fell In Love With the Moon by Tom Spanbauer – This book wasn’t quite my jam as we followed a western feeling group of whore house protagonists.
- The Perfect Nanny* by Leila Slimani – Not everyone loved the book for various narrative and nonfictional reasons but some good ingredients for a good discussion.
- News of the World by Paulette Jiles – Recommended to me by lovers of this book from page one, and while it took me a bit to get into I ended up won over by this Civil Wartime reader of the news and his goal to reunite a young orphan with her fam after being raised by Indians.
- The Witches of Eastwick* by John Updike – I’m technically still not quite done with this and most of our group didn’t finish this tough to get into lengthy descriptions.
We’ll keep our eye on Lithub list as these come out in paperback and for a more comprehensive list of best book lists you can check Large Hearted Boy.
What were your favorite picks?
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