Billy Straight....Next in line is Patterson"The Chef"

by Gene Doucette.

I spaceship lands outside a small town in Massachusetts, and for the first three years just sits there. I'm about a third of the way in, and so far it's pretty good.

Since I am making a new list, that one is now on top.

The main character is a 16 year old girl named Annie Collins, and she's very savvy.

Just finished listening to Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. I think it took about as long as it took to build the cathedral in the story. Great story.

Also, just finished listening to The Test by Sylvain Neuvel. More of a short story. What a story, though. Describing it will create spoilers. It's something of a rollercoaster of a short story about a novel approach to becoming a citizen in the UK. It's short, but it will leave you reeling.

Will now finish up reading Jane Doe by Victoria Helen Stone. You know, sometimes you just need, and can enjoy, a good sociopath.

And, finally, just started listening to The Lost Man by Australian writer Jane Harper. I loved her first two books, the beginnings of what I hope will be a cop series. This one is standalone. She brings the Australian outback to life. If she hasn't actually lived it, she certainly has done her homework (or at least it seems that way - I have never been to Australia). She is wonderful at creating characters, dialog is smooth, relationships intense, and more. Add her to your must-read lists.

All new, except for Follett, of course. For sure will be looking for those others, though. Thanks.

I give it a 3 star, for anyone's consideration (a bit above mediocre). Parts of it are fascinating, parts totally boring.

I have The Lost Man on my listen lists. I really liked "The Dry" by same author.

all the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

My farm environment is mud mud mud, snow and ice and the work is hard for me at my age and size. I find that listening to these types of books while I work make me feel a little better at how much easier I have it than they did.

I had to give up the rural life and go back to where I no longer had to chop wood and carry water. Even though I really loved doing that. I agree that reading about how much harder it was back then makes it all seem easier now. Enjoy!

I wish my husband participated a little more, or at all, but the animals must be cared for and the crops (at least I do not have to do much there but manage it) need what they need. A hard but rewarding life.

Good reading. Kind of slow and easy and not rushing to a climax like so many other books I've read.
Country of the Bad Wolfes by James Carlos Blake

The first 200 pages covers generations of two families in a coastal village of Newfoundland when basically the only things going on were fishing, weather, religion, and sex. It was a bit of a slog. But then politics comes to town along with its inevitable changes. It gets pretty exciting and then the end just left me . Wow.

This past week I’ve had the worst cold ever. For days I did nothing but sit in bed, surrounded by tissues and tea cups, taking cat naps and reading. A LOT. Better now.

just shut down for a week. It took about a month for my hearing in left ear to recover.

Anyway, I hope you are back in the swing of things. I read River Thieves but have not read Galore. I downloaded it (at a BARGAIN for $3.99) and hope others will do the same. Michael Crummey is an author to be savored and celebrated.

Started feeling poorly last Sunday afternoon. My ears still pop and I cannot smell or taste anything. But at least my appetite is returning.

I'm so pleased you'll be reading Galore and look forward to your thoughts on it. When I finished it I wanted so badly to have someone to talk to. I'm happy enough to wait a bit, though.

by Jose Saramago, written 1984, translated 1991 from the original Portuguese ...
I picked this up ~6 months ago and 40 pgs or so put it down, one of those lucid, very lyrical steam of consciousness tomes that a paragraph last for 6-7 pgs, 2nd para 4-5... next chapter the same...
decided to take it on again and am finally enjoying it ...
from wiki.. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Year_of_the_Death_of_Ricardo_Reis

✌🏼️

The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny. We just watched the DVD of the movie made from her first novel, Still Life, we were hoping it was the start of a series, but it doesn't seem to be. Also, I just reread Newcomer by Keigo Higashino by flashlight during our windstorm-induced power outage.

I have had a hold on it and didn't necessarily need to read all three books this quickly, but the hold came up, so I'll polish off the trilogy. So far (about 15% in) liking it and the ending it seems to be going toward.

by Aldous Huxley. I needed some utopia .