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hermetic

(8,663 posts)
Sun Dec 10, 2017, 01:49 PM Dec 2017

What are you reading this week of December 10, 2017?

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Happy Hanukkah!

I really enjoyed Michael Connelly's The Concrete Blond. It's not often I tear up at the end of a Mystery/Police Procedural.

Now I am listening to Future Home Of The Living God by By Louise Erdrich. Wow. Written in the form of a letter to an unborn child, this is an eerie pregnancy journal and persecution chronicle combined. Something weird is going on. Banks are running out of money; the internet becomes unreliable; the government seizes the cable companies, etc. hmmm

Interesting to know that Erdrich began the novel in 2002, then abandoned it until the end of 2016, when she found it newly urgent to finish, for all the obvious reasons, and reworked it. A little too quickly, perhaps, but it's still worth reading, IMO. It has lots of amusing lines that will keep you chuckling all the while it becomes clear that something is going very wrong for humanity.

I just watched Foyle's War, the first season, which is four stories by Anthony Horowitz. Wonderful. Totally loved it. Can't wait to see more.

What are you loving this week?

46 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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What are you reading this week of December 10, 2017? (Original Post) hermetic Dec 2017 OP
I'm thinking of watching Julius Caesar, since it's so topical.... OnDoutside Dec 2017 #1
No, not yet hermetic Dec 2017 #3
Dream indeed ! One other I would really recommend are the OnDoutside Dec 2017 #5
While I love to watch, I am actually binge watching the 2nd avebury Dec 2017 #2
Shoot! I wrote a reply hermetic Dec 2017 #8
Death in the Air, Kate Winkler Dawson shenmue Dec 2017 #4
Hot off the press, that one hermetic Dec 2017 #7
Not finished yet shenmue Dec 2017 #15
Several matt819 Dec 2017 #6
Aww, don't give up hermetic Dec 2017 #10
Actually just finished An American Family yesterday. onecaliberal Dec 2017 #9
So sad... hermetic Dec 2017 #11
Indeed. Even more so when you read their story. onecaliberal Dec 2017 #12
I love Erdrich. murielm99 Dec 2017 #13
Yes I have hermetic Dec 2017 #14
I almost FORGOT hermetic Dec 2017 #16
Oh no. murielm99 Dec 2017 #17
Ain't that the truth? hermetic Dec 2017 #25
A while back I started Roddy Doyle's "The Commitments" And then I fell into Connelly. TexasProgresive Dec 2017 #18
Hooray! hermetic Dec 2017 #19
Its really odd about the snow TexasProgresive Dec 2017 #20
Sadly I dont read much anymore benld74 Dec 2017 #21
You should stop by here hermetic Dec 2017 #26
Thanks for the thread, hermetic. I finished Bill McKibben's japple Dec 2017 #22
I love mysteries hermetic Dec 2017 #27
The Language of Bees by Laurie R. King PennyK Dec 2017 #23
Cool! hermetic Dec 2017 #28
Oh, and this! hermetic Dec 2017 #33
The Dark Flood Rises - by Margaret Drabble Ohiya Dec 2017 #24
Neither have I hermetic Dec 2017 #30
I just discovered American Gods Runningdawg Dec 2017 #29
Oh yes hermetic Dec 2017 #31
The Midnight Line by Lee Child, PoindexterOglethorpe Dec 2017 #32
We all love Jack hermetic Dec 2017 #37
The Orientalist defacto7 Dec 2017 #34
By Tom Reiss? hermetic Dec 2017 #38
Yes... Reiss. It's quite an adventureous life. defacto7 Dec 2017 #42
No probs... hermetic Dec 2017 #44
Dombey and Son cyclonefence Dec 2017 #35
True enough hermetic Dec 2017 #39
For October and November Break time Dec 2017 #36
Wow! hermetic Dec 2017 #40
As you can see Break time Dec 2017 #41
Wonderful hermetic Dec 2017 #45
Lots of Connelly here this week getting old in mke Dec 2017 #43
Nice hermetic Dec 2017 #46

OnDoutside

(20,672 posts)
1. I'm thinking of watching Julius Caesar, since it's so topical....
Sun Dec 10, 2017, 01:59 PM
Dec 2017

Aside from that, enjoy the rest of Foyle's War, it was a great show. Anthony Horowitz also does fantastic kids book series such as Alex Rider, and the Diamond Brothers.


Have you seen Midsomer Murders ?

hermetic

(8,663 posts)
3. No, not yet
Sun Dec 10, 2017, 02:18 PM
Dec 2017

Foyle is my introduction to Horowitz. A bunch of us meet up here every week to talk about what we are reading and one member is a big Horowitz fan, which has got me interested now in reading and watching all of his stories. Really enjoyable stuff.

Certainly some parallels with old Julius and true it is that the Ides of March will be here soon. Dolt 45 would do well to realize that Caesar was then stabbed some 23 times by a group of rebellious senators. Oh, a girl can dream, right?

OnDoutside

(20,672 posts)
5. Dream indeed ! One other I would really recommend are the
Sun Dec 10, 2017, 02:24 PM
Dec 2017

Inspector Morse books by Colin Dexter, which were made into the wonderful series starring John Thaw, and Morse's follow on, Lewis. Top quality shows.

avebury

(11,083 posts)
2. While I love to watch, I am actually binge watching the 2nd
Sun Dec 10, 2017, 02:07 PM
Dec 2017

Season of The Crown on Netflix this weekend. I have three more episodes to go.

hermetic

(8,663 posts)
8. Shoot! I wrote a reply
Sun Dec 10, 2017, 02:45 PM
Dec 2017

Don't know where it went, though. Hate when that happens.

What I said was there are sure a lot of episodes of The Crown. It looks really enjoyable. Next up in my queue is House of Cards, the British version. Really looking forward to that.

hermetic

(8,663 posts)
7. Hot off the press, that one
Sun Dec 10, 2017, 02:39 PM
Dec 2017

AND, The True Story of a Serial Killer, the Great London Smog, and the Strangling of a City. Interesting.

Did you finish The Echo Man, and was it, indeed, a stunning surprise? Inquiring minds.....

matt819

(10,749 posts)
6. Several
Sun Dec 10, 2017, 02:30 PM
Dec 2017

Just finished listening to Two kinds of Truth by Michael Connelly. Excellent.

Listening to Charlatans by Robon Cook. If the good guys don’t start tuning the tide, I’m going to give up.

Reading Paradox Bound by Peter Clines. If you have trouble with the paradox of time travel, this book won’t help. Creative take on the genre, though.

hermetic

(8,663 posts)
10. Aww, don't give up
Sun Dec 10, 2017, 02:56 PM
Dec 2017

We need us. Tides always turn, eventually (see Julius Caesar above ^ ).

That's Connelly's newest isn't it? He's an amazing writer.

Love that comment, "...this book won't help." I read a lot of time-travel stories. I love them but don't try to really grasp the mechanics.

onecaliberal

(36,332 posts)
9. Actually just finished An American Family yesterday.
Sun Dec 10, 2017, 02:53 PM
Dec 2017

A memoir of hope and sacrifice - Khizr Khan

murielm99

(31,522 posts)
13. I love Erdrich.
Sun Dec 10, 2017, 03:50 PM
Dec 2017

I have read the Love Medicine series.

Have you read LaRose? It is such an odd, beautiful book.

I think I will look for Future Home of the Living God. Thanks.

hermetic

(8,663 posts)
14. Yes I have
Sun Dec 10, 2017, 04:01 PM
Dec 2017

Also The Master Butchers Singing Club and Love Medicine.

I would like to read The Antelope Woman, the updated edition of her National Book Award-winning and New York Times bestselling 1998 novel. I think she is such a wonderful, gifted writer.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this new novel.

hermetic

(8,663 posts)
16. I almost FORGOT
Sun Dec 10, 2017, 04:55 PM
Dec 2017

I am also 1/3 of the way through Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas Preston. While the technology stuff and stories of how politics had to be dealt with are interesting, my heart is crying out, "Let's go!" I want jungle stories. I want to know what they actually find there. Get on with it, already.

I'm sure my patience will soon be rewarded.

murielm99

(31,522 posts)
17. Oh no.
Sun Dec 10, 2017, 05:29 PM
Dec 2017

I haven't read his stuff in awhile. Don't get me started on another author.

So many books, so little time.

hermetic

(8,663 posts)
25. Ain't that the truth?
Tue Dec 12, 2017, 01:55 PM
Dec 2017

I gotta tell ya, tho....

Back in 2015, Douglas Preston got to join an expedition into the Honduran jungle to find a mythical ancient city and this is the book he wrote about it. It is quite the tale of adventure, and it's all true. I HAD to slip it in to my very long list of other books I wanted to read. Not sorry.

TexasProgresive

(12,333 posts)
18. A while back I started Roddy Doyle's "The Commitments" And then I fell into Connelly.
Sun Dec 10, 2017, 05:35 PM
Dec 2017

Anyway I am back into it and enjoying it immensely. I am trying to local the middle book of the Barrytown trilogy, The Van but no luck so far. I have 1 and 3.

Looks like a lot of us at DU are reading - trying to escape- hey!

Note to hermetic- I saw the doc Monday and he's okayed me to ride my bike again. So the weather turned ugly. I did get a short ride yesterday- it felt so good.

hermetic

(8,663 posts)
19. Hooray!
Sun Dec 10, 2017, 06:06 PM
Dec 2017

Happy for you. I was wondering if you got some of that snow.

Yeah boy, being able to escape into a good book can be quite well appreciated these days.

TexasProgresive

(12,333 posts)
20. Its really odd about the snow
Sun Dec 10, 2017, 07:02 PM
Dec 2017

We got just light flurries but 25 miles to the south got 5 inches. The further south the more snow.

benld74

(10,018 posts)
21. Sadly I dont read much anymore
Sun Dec 10, 2017, 08:34 PM
Dec 2017

Times would have me go through 12 books during summertime. Went through all books from certain authors.
I don’t know if I burned out?
Couldn’t find authors I enjoyed any more
Not sure really

hermetic

(8,663 posts)
26. You should stop by here
Tue Dec 12, 2017, 02:02 PM
Dec 2017

now and then. Group participants are reading all sorts of things and I know I sure have learned about new, and old, authors that really are enjoyable to read. As far as I'm concerned, reading is the greatest gift we have. Even if it's just listening to books on CDs. Here's hoping you find your way back.

japple

(10,388 posts)
22. Thanks for the thread, hermetic. I finished Bill McKibben's
Mon Dec 11, 2017, 09:26 AM
Dec 2017
Radio Free Vermont--A Fable of Resistance and highly recommend it, esp. to those who need a bit of laughter and fun in these dark political times. NY Times gave it a nice review: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/08/books/review-radio-free-vermont-bill-mckibben.html

Though I am not usually drawn to mysteries, I downloaded Ivy Pochoda's book, Visitation Street after reading a review of her latest book, Wonder Valley which I will download once it hits my library's e-book collection. I must say that she is an amazing writer and Visitation Street sucked me in right away.

A blurb from amazon:

Chosen by Dennis Lehane for his eponymous imprint, Ivy Pochoda’s Visitation Street is a riveting literary mystery set against the rough-hewn backdrop of the New York waterfront in Red Hook.

It’s summertime in Red Hook, Brooklyn, a blue-collar dockside neighborhood. June and Val, two fifteen-year-olds, take a raft out onto the bay at night to see what they can see.

And then they disappear. Only Val will survive, washed ashore; semi-conscious in the weeds.

This shocking event will echo through the lives of a diverse cast of Red Hook residents. Fadi, the Lebanese bodega owner, hopes that his shop will be the place to share neighborhood news and troll for information about June’s disappearance. Cree, just beginning to pull it together after his father’s murder, unwittingly makes himself the chief suspect, but an enigmatic and elusive guardian is determined to keep him safe.

Val contends with the shadow of her missing friend and a truth she buries deep inside. Her teacher Jonathan, a Julliard School dropout and barfly, wrestles with dashed dreams and a past riddled with tragic sins.

PennyK

(2,314 posts)
23. The Language of Bees by Laurie R. King
Mon Dec 11, 2017, 01:41 PM
Dec 2017

Last edited Mon Dec 11, 2017, 07:43 PM - Edit history (2)

Next one in the series. Holmes and Russell are back home in Sussex and receive a visit from Holmes' son (gasp!), asking for help in locating his missing wife and child.
I am looking forward to Foyle's War but I think we'll go through Midsomer Murders before we dive in.
I just got a young neighbor all excited about the Holmes and Russell series, and she's going to ask for the first three books for Christmas!

hermetic

(8,663 posts)
28. Cool!
Tue Dec 12, 2017, 02:09 PM
Dec 2017

Yeah, I shall be on the hunt for those Midsomer Murders. Need some fun new stuff to watch next year after they take the internet away from us. Dayum, can't believe I had to say that. Well, sure hoping for the best with this week's vote.

hermetic

(8,663 posts)
33. Oh, and this!
Tue Dec 12, 2017, 02:20 PM
Dec 2017

Have you seen this yet? I didn't realize Spielberg was doing it. Looks like great fun.

Ohiya

(2,463 posts)
24. The Dark Flood Rises - by Margaret Drabble
Tue Dec 12, 2017, 05:46 AM
Dec 2017

This was listed in the New York Times Book Review's 100 Notable Books of 2017.
I have not read anything by Drabble before.

" This masterly novel follows its 70-something heroine on a road trip through England." - NYTBR description

hermetic

(8,663 posts)
30. Neither have I
Tue Dec 12, 2017, 02:12 PM
Dec 2017

Sounds good, though. As an almost 70-something heroine myself, I would adore taking a road trip through England.

Runningdawg

(4,630 posts)
29. I just discovered American Gods
Tue Dec 12, 2017, 02:10 PM
Dec 2017

First on Netflix, then the book. As usual, the book is SO much better!

PoindexterOglethorpe

(26,845 posts)
32. The Midnight Line by Lee Child,
Tue Dec 12, 2017, 02:17 PM
Dec 2017

the most recent Jack Reacher novel.

I like them a lot. Plus, they go fast. I'll finish up later on today.

hermetic

(8,663 posts)
38. By Tom Reiss?
Tue Dec 12, 2017, 03:35 PM
Dec 2017

"Part history, part cultural biography, and part literary mystery, The Orientalist traces the life of Lev Nussimbaum, a Jew who transformed himself into a Muslim."

Sure sounds like an interesting story.

defacto7

(13,646 posts)
42. Yes... Reiss. It's quite an adventureous life.
Tue Dec 12, 2017, 09:39 PM
Dec 2017

Reiss doesn't pretend to portray this as a perfect history. But considering his exhaustive research there's no one who could know as much as he about the life of this amazing genius who wrote some great material under multiple aliases and survived from a child by morphing into different personalities. Blood and Oil in the Orient by Essad Bey, one of Nussimbaum's aliases, is still available (not the new one by M. Klare)

In my opinion The Orientalist is one of the most underrated books I've ever come across. It gave me a perspective on the early 20th century I would not have had otherwise. Extremely well researched and well written.

BTW, sorry for crashing the fiction group with non fiction. I just saw the heading. NF isn't as popular unfortunately.

hermetic

(8,663 posts)
44. No probs...
Wed Dec 13, 2017, 05:01 PM
Dec 2017

We often discuss NF here. It's just good that people are reading and I do everything I can to encourage that. Whatever the genre. Your participation is most welcome.

cyclonefence

(4,894 posts)
35. Dombey and Son
Tue Dec 12, 2017, 02:32 PM
Dec 2017

Alternate Dickens with some nonfiction--just finished Bill Bryson's Made in America (a little disappointed; are there no editors nowadays?). Dickens seems right for wintertime.

hermetic

(8,663 posts)
39. True enough
Tue Dec 12, 2017, 03:38 PM
Dec 2017

Dickens in winter.

I hate finding errors in books, being an editor myself. I could use the work!

Break time

(195 posts)
36. For October and November
Tue Dec 12, 2017, 02:41 PM
Dec 2017

I went through, Lee Childs Midnight Line, Baldacci's End Game,Patterson's The People VS Alex Cross,Brad Taylor Ring of Fire, John Sandfords Deep Freeze... now reading Ace Atkins(does Parkers stuff now plus his own)and have Grisham The Rooster Bar on the list as next in line...Also somewhere in there did Connelly's Two Kinds of truth..

Break time

(195 posts)
41. As you can see
Tue Dec 12, 2017, 05:40 PM
Dec 2017

I do read a lot, use a tablet and cold days and nights and being retired I have plenty of time to read and do enjoy it..

hermetic

(8,663 posts)
45. Wonderful
Wed Dec 13, 2017, 05:05 PM
Dec 2017

Retired myself, as are several other regular participants here. Reading is what we do and we do it well. And often. Welcome.

getting old in mke

(813 posts)
43. Lots of Connelly here this week
Wed Dec 13, 2017, 12:39 AM
Dec 2017

Excellent choices...

If you like Bosch & Co, and haven't yet, go check out Robert Crais as well.

He shares the same Los Angeles with Connelly. Their characters sometimes cross-over, unnamed but obvious from the descriptions, into each others books from time to time.

http://harrybosch.wikia.com/wiki/Elvis_Cole covers one direction. I don't remember off the top of my head which Crais book Bosch appears in.

Connelly and Crais are buds. Lee Child, too, although he lives on the other side of the world. No Reacher sightings in the Connelly/Crais opus yet, though.

At Bouchercon several years ago, one of the most attended sessions was Robert Crais interviewing Lee Child. I asked the question they both kinda hate, because it is so common. But irresistible with them both on stage: "One on one, who wins? Jack Reacher or Joe Pike."

Child said, "Hard fought, but Reacher."

Crais said, "It would never happen. They would always be on the same side."

He then took a couple of beats and then mock-whispered to the 500 of us: "But Pike would win.

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