What Are You Reading Now?

[PaloAltoCougar]

The antivaax movement is testing my own belief in unrestricted speech.

That movement and QAnon are two scourges that have flourished only because of social media.

[SeattleUte]

I finished Libra. Loved it, but the real genius of the novel is the portrayal of Oswald. There's an argument for paring down the novel just to that, and leaving out the conspiracy stuff with the CIA and mob. it's all enjoyable, however. By the way, American Tabloid by James Elroy is a favorite of mine and it centers on the conspiracy. These are the two great JFK assassination novels.

I read "Intimacies", a novel by Katie Kitamura. Ugh. Highbrow chick lit. Pretentious philosophical digressions against genocide, dictators and certain kinds of men. There were some promising plot turns that only teased and never went anywhere. Lots of stuff like lingering on a painting of a nineteenth century prostitute and expounding on the oppressive conditions. The writing overall is clean but not memorable. Boring. The courtroom and other legal scenes are flat. Fortunately, a short novel. Goes to show you that if your politics are right, even an unremarkable novel can get you longlisted for the National Book Award.

[Pelado]

I finished Libra. Loved it, but the real genius of the novel is the portrayal of Oswald. There's an argument for paring down the novel just to that, and leaving out the conspiracy stuff with the CIA and mob. it's all enjoyable, however. By the way, American Tabloid by James Elroy is a favorite of mine and it centers on the conspiracy. These are the two great JFK assassination novels.

I read "Intimacies", a novel by Katie Kitamura. Ugh. Highbrow chick lit. Pretentious philosophical digressions against genocide, dictators and certain kinds of men. There were some promising plot turns that only teased and never went anywhere. Lots of stuff like lingering on a painting of a nineteenth century prostitute and expounding on the oppressive conditions. The writing overall is clean but not memorable. Boring. The courtroom and other legal scenes are flat. Fortunately, a short novel. Goes to show you that if your politics are right, even an unremarkable novel can get you longlisted for the National Book Award.

Too many depositions.

[bluegoose]

The Life We Bury - Thriller/mystery novel about a young college student who gets to know a convicted rapist/murderer who is dying of cancer and insists he is innocent. Recommended.

I did this one on audiobook last year. I really enjoyed it.

[BigPiney]

I have too many to books to read right now. Good problem to have, but sometimes I squirrel them away on my kindle and forget about them and them and that can be disappointing. Just got Harlem Shuffle by Whitehead and Bewilderment by Powers from the library, but need to finish book 2 in the Bobiverse series first and

I just read The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman. Fun british mystery. A bunch of fogies in a retirement village get together weekly to solve mysteries. Osman's first book, but he is always on british panel shows and I saw him recently on season 2 of Taskmaster. Which reminds me, if you haven't watched Taskmaster, you really should. A bunch of seasons are free on youtube and my family really enjoys them.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I did this one on audiobook last year. I really enjoyed it.

Yeah, the narrator was great. I should have mentioned that.

[SteelBlue]

Finally took on House of Leaves by Danielewski. Wow, that was some work. Still thinking about it.

[chrisrenrut]

Yeah, the narrator was great. I should have mentioned that.

His portrayal of the autistic brother stuck with me. Probably not the hardest voice to do technically, mostly just monotone, but it’s the voice I hear in my head when I think of that book.

[bluegoose]

His portrayal of the autistic brother stuck with me. Probably not the hardest voice to do technically, mostly just monotone, but it’s the voice I hear in my head when I think of that book.

Yes, that role was fantastic on the audio.

[falafel]

I just downloaded the audiobook based on these recs. Thanks fellas.

[BigPiney]

I just downloaded the audiobook based on these recs. Thanks fellas.

same. It jumped to the top of the queue.

[chrisrenrut]

same. It jumped to the top of the queue.

The author has some other books that branch off this story. They have the same tone and writing quality, but the stories aren’t quite as compelling. Still entertaining reads though.

[SteelBlue]

I like to read horror in October. After I finished House of Leaves I read Mexican Gothic, a highly touted 2020 offering. I hated it. Currently re-reading David Mitchell's Slade House. Highly recommend.

[LiveCoug]

Just finished The Life We Bury based on the recommendation here. Pretty solid thriller. I liked it a lot. Doing a little research, it looks like this book is actually the first book in a series. At this point there are currently three Joe Talbot books. Look forward to listening to the next one. It's called "The Shadows We Hide"

[Scott R Nelson]

Amazon doesn't seem to recognize either Jot Talbot or The Life We Bury. How does one get this book?