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What are Divas reading?

santacruz skier

Angel Diva
The new Ann Patchett book, Tom Lake, just showed up in my library queue. Hmm
 

BlizzardBabe

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Just finished The Song of Achilles yesterday. By Madeline Miller. It is a retelling of the Iliad/Trojan War from the perspective of Patroclus. Excellent read and makes me want to go back and read the original again.

Ulysses (James Joyce) is turning out to be the long haul of long hauls for me. I took a break from the accompanying class but plan to pick it back up in October.
 

Lmk92

Angel Diva
So good !
I've just finished All The Broken Places by John Boyne and loved it. Its a follow up to The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas which I havent read yet but will.
I didn't care for the Boy in the Striped Pajamas. I felt that it was overly obviously emotionally manipulating (if that makes sense).

I love all the praise for Demon Copperhead! Definitely now on my tbr list, immediately following a reread of Copperfield. Guess the rest of my year is planned out
 

lisaski

Certified Ski Diva
"American Prometheus" - the story of Dr. J, Robert Oppenheimer. To me, this is a fascinating book as I was employed for many years at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as a computer scientist. It is also a thought provoking book. Nuclear weapons are horrid. The effect they have had to change human history is immeasurable. The reason they came into existence is because of Hitler's evilness. Who knows. If Hitler never came into power with all of his evils, the world might never have nuclear weapons.
 

Christy

Angel Diva
The new Ann Patchett book, Tom Lake, just showed up in my library queue. Hmm
I practically beat down the door of my neighborhood bookstore to get at that. It wasn't my favorite of hers, but it was engaging and worth reading for sure, and I found the end unexpectedly moving. It reminded me of Commonwealth in that way.
 

ski diva

Administrator
Staff member
I recently read William Kennedy's "Legs," and don't know what took me so long. It came out in 1975, and somehow I managed to avoid it. Anyway, it's absolutely amazing. Reminded me a lot of Robert Penn Warren's "All the King's Men," which has always been a favorite of mine.

Another really interesting book I read lately: "The Art Thief" by Michael Finkel. It's the true story of the world’s most prolific art thief, who accumulated a collection worth over $1.4 billion. He'd go into small museums right in the middle of the day and steal items while they were open. Just kept everything in his small attic apartment, without ever fencing anything. Fascinating how he managed to get away with it for so long.

Right now I'm reading Colson Whitehead's "Crook Manifesto." I loved his "Nickel Boys." Jury's still out on this one.
 
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DebbieSue

Angel Diva
"American Prometheus" - the story of Dr. J, Robert Oppenheimer. To me, this is a fascinating book as I was employed for many years at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as a computer scientist. It is also a thought provoking book. Nuclear weapons are horrid. The effect they have had to change human history is immeasurable. The reason they came into existence is because of Hitler's evilness. Who knows. If Hitler never came into power with all of his evils, the world might never have nuclear weapons.
This is on my list after seeing "Oppenheimer." My husband read it a few months before we saw the film. I think it helped him follow the plot better, with all the flashbacks and so on. Then I will probably have to see the movie again!!
 

santacruz skier

Angel Diva
Another really interesting book I read lately: "The Art Thief" by Michael Finkel. It's the true story of the world’s most prolific art thief, who accumulated a collection worth over $1.4 billion. He'd go into small museums right in the middle of the day and steal items while they were open. Just kept everything in his small attic apartment, without ever fencing anything. Fascinating how he managed to get away with it for so long.
Sounds a bit like Daniel Silva's books.....
 

VickiK

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I'm working through Tony Hillerman's Navajo detective books. Watching Dark Winds, the Ski Diva Taos trip, and my summer vacation to national parks in New Mexico spurred my interest.

I read Tana French's A Secret Place in between.
 

DeweySki

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Long haul reader here . . . Goldfinch by Tartt . . . Amazing. Do read it.
Anyone here get thru "The Last Chairlift" by John Irving? I recommended this earlier. Also falls in the long haul but worth it category.
I picked up an advanced copy of Last Chairlift at the American Library Association Conference last year... haven't even touched it because it's so intimidating! Is it worth it? Sounds like it's a "maybe?"
 

DebbieSue

Angel Diva
I picked up an advanced copy of Last Chairlift at the American Library Association Conference last year... haven't even touched it because it's so intimidating! Is it worth it? Sounds like it's a "maybe?"
Do you know that you like John Irving . . . if so it's a yes! I find his turns of phrase hilarious. There are a lot of inside jokes, like the screenplays that never got produced and writing tricks like referring to characters by multiple names, and then deeper themes, some of them common to his other books, about love, sex, lack of a father, etc. He writes female characters very well. There is quite a bit about skiing, teaching skiing, running lifts, etc. etc. But if you don't especially like John Irving or don't know if you like him, not the best of his work to start with. A Prayer for Owen Meany is his most widely loved booked and most translated I believe. That's a truly great book.
 
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geargrrl

Angel Diva
I will take a few minutes to update my list. It's been a while.
I am a sucker for well done space opera so I worked my way through 5 books of The Expanse /James S A Corey which was very well done. Netflix version rocks, too.

On my trip through Europe, I decided to reread Sharon Kay Penman's 5 book series on the Plantagenets:
When Christ and His Saints Slept
Time and Chance
The Devils Brood
Lionheart
A King's Ransom

I rode by bike through many of the French (Norman) areas where these books take place. She is one of my favorite historical authors. She does a ton of research and writes at a high level. IE, not supermarket "historical" that's really romance. This is the real deal, and real history. I think I will reread The Welsh Princes trilogy soon.

I recently picked up The Faded Sun by C J Cherryh, Omnibus edition. This is old stuff, but she IMSHO is one of the finest political sci-fi writers of our times. It always takes a while to get going, but her dissection of interaction between different species in the advent of humanity's jump into space is nothing short of spectacular.

I eagerly await #22 of the Foreigner Series by Cherryh, out in October.
 
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Jenny

Angel Diva
On my trip through Europe, I decided to reread Sharon Kay Penman's 5 book series on the Plantagenets:
When Christ and His Saints Slept
Time and Chance
The Devils Brood
Lionheart
A King's Ransom

I rode by bike through many of the French (Norman) areas where these books take place. She is one of my favorite historical authors. She does a ton of research and writes at a high level. IE, not supermarket "historical" that's really romance. This is the real deal, and real history. I think I will reread The Welsh Princes trilogy soon.
I love these books. Especially the Welsh Princes, but really I’m happy with anything she writes.
 

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