What are you reading this week of December 31, 2017?

[hermetic]

Here's hoping 2018 brings an end to our huge problem.

I am reading Death of the Demon (Ha!^) by Ann Holt, a thriller/mystery wherein a murderer might possibly be a 12-year-old boy. Unusual story, for sure.

Listening to Skylight Confessions by Alice Hoffman, a romance about a family so real, so tragic, so devoted yet really screwed up, and their quest for love and truth. Another odd story, not the usual fare.

What will you be reading to start out the new year ?

[Ohiogal]

1. Y is for Yesterday - Sue Grafton

actually I have been into it since last Tuesday.

Favorite Authors: Sue Grafton, Michael Connelly, CJ Box, William Kent Krueger, I'm sure if I think some more I'll come up with more.

Anthony Doerr. Nelson de Mille. Doris Kearns Goodwin. Any "Scandinavian noir" such as Jo Nesbo or the Dragon Tattoo series. Jussi Anders Olsen.

Who do you all recommend for crime/mystery/thrillers?

[hermetic]

6. Ann Holt

is a Norwegian writer of crime fiction, thriller fiction, and mystery. You might enjoy her work.

Check back here periodically for lots of ideas and suggestions on good reads.

[Ohiogal]

23. Thank you!

[spooky3]

2. Al Franken, Giant of the Senate

Oh sorry—I just realized the group is Fiction. This is mostly non fiction but with some comedy thrown in.

[hermetic]

7. No problem

Quite a few here have read and greatly enjoyed that book, and talked about it here. All are welcome.

[gopiscrap]

3. "Playing With Fire" by Lawrence O'Donnell

[hermetic]

9. aka

The 1968 Election and the Transformation of American Politics

Good stuff to know.

[gopiscrap]

25. yup

[yallerdawg]

4. I found these books under the tree!

Dan Brown's "Origin."

Stephen and Owen King's "Sleeping Beauties."

And Dean Koontz's new series starting with "The Silent Corner" and "The Whispering Room."

What a season for the Constant Reader!

Just an aside - the director of SK's "Gerald's Game" on Netflix would like to do "Lisey's Story" and "Doctor Sleep." Please!!!

[hermetic]

11. Good Santa!

I need to read Dr. Sleep one of these days.

[murielm99]

14. Dr. Sleep is a good one.

It is not as good as "The Shining," which is one of the scariest books I have ever read. But Dr. Sleep completes the story and is valuable for that. I always wondered what happened to the characters. This is a good conclusion and a good read.

Happy New Year!

[yallerdawg]

19. When I got a copy of "The Shining"...

I was staying in an old hotel in downtown Miami.

I had about 24 hours of sleepless can't-put-it-down or get-out-of bed terror!

Stephen King is one of the very few who can scare me with a BOOK.

[Ohiogal]

24. I think "The Shining"

is one of those rare times that the book and the movie were equally as good.

[ClarendonDem]

28. The Shining

Is the scariest book I've read. And I loved It, The Stand, Salem's Lot and lots of The Dark Tower (though not the ending). I think Salem's Lot is the best vampire novel ever, though Let The Right One In is also very good.

[yallerdawg]

31. Just as "Salem's Lot" was a genre-bender at the time...

"Let the Right One In" took 'vampirism' into another genre-bender with a lot of thought-provoking psychological issues - a really, really interesting spin.

Anne Rice falls in there somewhere.

I really enjoy books and movies that bite back!

[hermetic]

20. Yeah, that's what I've heard

I really loved The Shining, too.

Thanks.

[yallerdawg]

16. "Dr. Sleep" is SO great!

Really - King created a whole new sub-genre of horror figures AND a credible circle back to "The Shining!"

He is without a doubt The Master!

[hermetic]

21. Yep

Agreed.

[Cuthbert Allgood]

39. I got to see King and son in Milwaukee for their book tour.

It was a great hour. We got a hardcover of the book with the ticket price. I got one of the 400 they signed! Have yet to read it but it's on the short list after a few things I need to do for school.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

5. Just finished "The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen, Age 83 1/4".

It's awesome.

Now reading "The Close Encounters Man" about J. Allen Hynek, UFO researcher, by Mark O'Connell. I have read many, many books about UFOs over the years, and this is excellent.

[hermetic]

12. Oh neat

I, too, have read a great deal about UFOs. I still believe.

[hermetic]

22. Coincidentally

There is a post in the Lounge right now about UFOs: America's First UFO Sighting

Interesting.

[area51]

8. "The Whole Cat and Caboodle"

by Sophie Ryan

[hermetic]

15. That sounds fun

I love a good mystery where a cat helps the investigative team. Got my official "Crazy Cat Lady" patch from my sister for Christmas, so Imma bona fide. ^;^

[Number9Dream]

10. Finished "H.M.S. Surprise" by Patrick O'Brian

The terrific naval battle toward the end was worth the somewhat slow build-up. I did have to have a dictionary next to me as I read to look up words I wasn't familiar with. His style takes getting used to, but well written.

[hermetic]

17. Hiya,

A true swashbuckling adventure.

Hope you didn't get too much snow there.

[Number9Dream]

38. Hi back at ya

It's been so cold that the Christmas eve ice is still around. Not above freezing for two weeks. This stinks!

[hermetic]

43. Oh, I agree

And I hate to say this but I've just read that it's going to get worse before it gets better. I am SO sorry for you and others while I am enjoying 40-50 degrees here every afternoon. This is not normal, of course, but I'm enjoying it. Hang in there.

[murielm99]

13. I just finished the

two early Dennis Lehane novels, where he introduces Kenzie and Gennaro. They are "A Drink Before the War," and "Darkness, Take My Hand."

I have two Alice Hoffman books in my bag. I will get to one of them later this evening or tomorrow. They are, "The Red Garden," and "The Museum of Extraordinary Things."

I received "What Happened" for Christmas, from my daughter. I have a $50.00 gift certificate to our local independent bookstore, which is owned by a good Democrat.

If I purchase books, they are mostly nonfiction.

Happy New Year and happy reading.

[hermetic]

18. Nice gift!

Looking forward to seeing what you and others decide to read next year.

[ClarendonDem]

27. Thought Darkness, Take My Hand

Was outstanding. Dark and violent, but outstanding.

[murielm99]

29. Yes, dark indeed.

But Lehane is soo very good, an outstanding writer.

[ClarendonDem]

30. Aboslutely loved

Gone Baby Gone. Wish they'd make a movie out of Darkness.

[ClarendonDem]

26. Still working through

1776 by David McCullough. Also reading the Wars of the Roses by Dan Jones.

[TexasProgresive]

32. Been too busy with family and stuff

So I am still reading now and then The Van by Doyle. During my reading time I just watched 3 episodes of season 3 "Miss Fisher Mysteries." Has any here read the books?

The temperatures are pretty low here maybe I'll do more reading.

[hermetic]

34. Just finished watching

Season 3. Quite an ending. I see there will be a movie now, picking up where Season 3 left off, coming out in late 2018 or, more likely, 2019.

Miss Fisher plans don't end with a movie, though. They also have a prequel TV spin-off in mind focused on a younger version of Phryne on some of her first mysteries. The show is tentatively titled: Miss Fisher's First Murder Mysteries, and it already has author Kerry Greenwood's blessing. Eagger explains the rough synopsis of the show:

That will be a younger Phryne Fisher. She is 18, her family has come into money, and she’s in the UK at a finishing school. She gets word that her best friend from Melbourne is charged of murder and is heading for the gallows. She escapes [from the finishing school] and comes back [to Australia] to save her friend ... On the run is where she learns a lot of her [sleuthing] skills.

So, stay tuned!

I have not read any of the books but I see my library does have the very first one, Cocaine Blues, so I will most likely pick that up soon. Ms Greenwood has written a whole bunch of other books, as well.

Happy cycling in 2018!

[TexasProgresive]

36. Too cold to cycle even for me- we're up to 30 with wind.

I will give the young one a chance, but how can anyone live up to Essie Davis' Phryne? She is so Miss Fisher.

I like strong, smart women and Phyne Fisher is one. I am impressed how she has enabled Dot Williams to grow into one as well.

[hermetic]

37. Oh, I agree

Watching Dot come into her own has been a real pleasure.

[Bayard]

33. James Patterson

The husband brought home a whole stack of them from his mom.

Have not read Dr. Sleep yet, but been a huge fan of Steven King since nailing my crawlspace shut after reading Salem's Lot.

[hermetic]

35. That is great

Nothing like a stack of free books, James Patterson's at that!

Nailed your crawlspace shut, huh? Love it!

[Cuthbert Allgood]

40. Uncommon Type by Tom Hanks

It's a short story collection. I coach the speech team, so I'm hoping there is something in there we can use. And I'm hoping Hanks is a good writer. Just going to crack it open in a bit.

[Cuthbert Allgood]

41. also Her Body and Other Parties

Another short story collection. Both are due in two days at the library and both have holds so I can't renew. Gotta burn through some short stories!

[PoorMonger]

42. Girl In Snow by Danya Kukafka

“From its startling opening line right through to its stunning conclusion, Girl in Snow is a perfectly paced and tautly plotted thriller. Danya Kukafka’s misfit characters are richly drawn, her prose is both elegant and eerie—this is an incredibly accomplished debut.” —Paula Hawkins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Girl on the Train and Into the Water

WHO ARE YOU WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING?

When a beloved high schooler named Lucinda Hayes is found murdered, no one in her sleepy Colorado suburb is untouched—not the boy who loved her too much; not the girl who wanted her perfect life; not the officer assigned to investigate her murder. In the aftermath of the tragedy, these three indelible characters—Cameron, Jade, and Russ—must each confront their darkest secrets in an effort to find solace, the truth, or both. In crystalline prose, Danya Kukafka offers a brilliant exploration of identity and of the razor-sharp line between love and obsession, between watching and seeing, between truth and memory.

Compulsively readable and powerfully moving, Girl in Snow offers an unforgettable reading experience and introduces a singular new talent in Danya Kukafka.

[hermetic]

44. Is that

as good as it sounds? Cause it does sound like a must-read.

[PoorMonger]

46. Was really good!

At home not feeling the best so I read the whole book in two days. Very strong debut with believable characters.

[LWolf]

45. The Hate U Give

I just finished it an hour ago. I cried. Repeatedly throughout the book.

It was powerful, and I recommend it to any and every reader, and to those reluctant readers, as well.

[hermetic]

48. Sounds great

This YA Fiction by Angie Thomas is about a 16-yr-old girl whose life is upended when she witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend, who was unarmed, at the hands of a police officer. Certainly a timely and important subject. Thanks for sharing.

[PoorMonger]

47. Deadbomb Bingo Ray by Jeff Johnson

Crime. Vengeance. Love. Physics.

The infamous Deadbomb Bingo Ray is a high level fixer in the City of Brotherly Love. He’s the man you call when you’ve crossed the line into hopeless and there’s no way back to anywhere.

Three years have passed since Ray burned a hedge fund manager on behalf of a pool of retirees, and now the money man is back for revenge. While Ray unravels the plot and orchestrates some payback of his own, he unwittingly steps into the ultimate high stakes game. Falling in love with the beautiful physicist trapped at the edge of the burn was just bad timing.

When the fuse is finally lit, getting killed isn’t high on the list of the worst that could happen in this dark and stylish noir.

[hermetic]

49. Hey there

Hope you are feeling better today.

[PoorMonger]

52. Doing okay. Thanks

Had to blast whatever I got with antibiotics but I’ll be good to go by Monday I imagine.

[cyclonefence]

51. Moved on from Dombey and Son to Little Dorrit

[PoorMonger]

53. Fresh Complaint by Jeffrey Eugenides

The first collection of short fiction from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jeffrey Eugenides

Jeffrey Eugenides’s bestselling novels have shown him to be an astute observer of the crises of adolescence, self-discovery, family love, and what it means to be American in our times. The stories in “Fresh Complaint” explore equally rich­­―and intriguing­­―territory. Ranging from the bitingly reproductive antics of “Baster” to the dreamy, moving account of a young traveler’s search for enlightenment in “Air Mail” (selected by Annie Proulx for Best American Short Stories), this collection presents characters in the midst of personal and national emergencies. We meet a failed poet who, envious of other people’s wealth during the real-estate bubble, becomes an embezzler; a clavichordist whose dreams of art founder under the obligations of marriage and fatherhood; and, in “Fresh Complaint,” a high school student whose wish to escape the strictures of her immigrant family lead her to a drastic decision that upends the life of a middle-aged British physicist. Narratively compelling, beautifully written, and packed with a density of ideas despite their fluid grace, these stories chart the development and maturation of a major American writer.