What are you reading this week of July 10, 2016?

[hermetic]

I am halfway through Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich. Great book, beautifully written. I took Japple's note from last week to heart and drew up a family tree so I could keep track of who was related to whom. This is an epic tale tracing down several generations but it's not told chronologically. Not many writers could pull that off but Erdrich does.

My audible book right now is Capital Crimes by Jonathan and Faye Kellerman. It is comprised of two stories,
My Sister's Keeper: Berkeley and Music City Breakdown: Nashville. I'm almost through the first story, which is a highly-charged political murder mystery. I think this is my first encounter with the Kellermans and I look forward to reading more of their work.

What are you looking forward to this week?

[shenmue]

1. "The Second Deadly Sin," Asa Larsson

[hermetic]

2. Thanks!

I just did a quick look-up on that one and it sounds really good. Added to my list of must-reads.

[TexasProgresive]

3. I've doubled my time on the bike so when I sit down to read, I drop off.

This will probably be the pattern through October. It's tough when one obsession is taken over by another. You people who post here keep it up. I have found more great reads here than anywhere else. I think I need to do several trees to keep Zhivago people straight.

Love Faye and Jonathan.

[hermetic]

8. Pedal on, my friend.

I totally understand about the falling asleep. On those days when I have to walk a few miles for supplies, I am down for the count right after supper.

I'll just be happy to know you're still with us. Like stars, during the day. Don't see them but we know they're still there.

[TexasProgresive]

11. I love this group.

So I will drop by regularly to be tempted to buy more books. Hee Hee, You should scatter all your books around the house so it doesn't tip over.

Any luck on the bicycle lock? I wish I could come over with my bolt cutters. I would try a few things before resorting to major surgery. I had pretty good luck with balky pad locks at work. These locks were on outside equipment cabinets exposed to all kinds of weather. Sometimes they wouldn't get unlocked for a year. That's when I learned how to be more stubborn than the lock. When customers are out of service you do what you have to do.

[pscot]

4. Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier

And the Poldark saga continues, after a 10 year hiatus in the story, with The Stranger from the Sea.

[TexasProgresive]

12. What's next after "Dragonfly in Amber"?

[pscot]

13. Wrong series

I read Outlander and stopped. Gabaldon writes really well, but the story was simply not for me.

[TexasProgresive]

14. Thanks, I know that, but too much blood in the legs to think

I had just done a personal best since I started cycling again 42 miles in 3 hours 15. One shouldn't try to think after something like that.

I hope to pick up the 1st Poldark novel. I saw the televised version and really liked the story.

[pscot]

15. I've read 7 or 8 of the Poldarks so far

This is total immersion lit, and easily the best thing I've read this year. The story is interesting, but it's the vividly real characters that have kept me reading. I envy you. I haven't been on a bike in 20 years and I miss it.

[TexasProgresive]

16. It was close to 20 years for me.

When I retired I heard my bikes in the shed calling my name. it took a month of cleaning, replacing parts and adjusting to get me back on the road. My 1st ride was 1/2 mile up a very slight grade. Good thing is was slightly down hill to home. That was all I could do. That was 13 months ago and about 4,500 miles. It has done wonders for my overall health and well being. My doc doesn't understand whats going on with blood glucose control, lipid panel, blood pressure and heart rate.

Stop missing it, pscot, get back on your bike.

[Number9Dream]

5. Finished "The Cabinet of Curiosities" by Preston & Child

I'm catching up on the Pendergast series by Preston & Child, reading out of order. Fortunately, they're pretty much stand-alones. In addition to the usual action, page-turner, this one had some interesting historical details. Very creepy, about a 150 year old serial-killer.

Just started "Dance of Death" by Preston & Child. The sequel to "Brimstone" (which I finished a few weeks ago). So far, so good.

Anybody hear anything about Enthusiast?

[hermetic]

9. I so love

Preston & Child books. Such imagination! I've been a fan of creepy stories as long as I can remember. More than half a century! Schit...

[Shrike47]

10. Sadly, none of the later ones reach the heights of Relic. That was a great book.

[japple]

6. Hi everyone. Thanks for the thread, hermetic. So glad that you

like Love Medicine. Louise Erdrich is one of the finest writers in our generation. Her books are so full of beauty and wisdom.

I am still slogging through Julie Orringer's book, The Invisible Bridge, and beyond bored with it, but keep thinking that the pace will pick up for the moonstruck characters once WWII begins. I've been reading it for 2 weeks and just now 1/2 way through. I hate to abandon it, but might go on to something new this week if it starts losing its appeal.

I was reading Book Page and found a book that you might like, hermetic. It is Everything I Don't Remember by Jonas Hassen Khemiri. Remembering that you liked Scandinavian writers, this one is a mystery and winner of the August Prize, Sweden's most prestigious literary honor. It should be released this week. Here's a bit from amazon: Dazzling, inventive, witty: a writer pieces together the story of a young man's death in an exhilarating narrative puzzle reminiscent of the hit podcast Serial A young man called Samuel dies, but was it an accident or suicide? An unnamed writer with an agenda of his own sets out to piece together Samuel's story. Through conversations with friends, relatives and neighbours, a portrait emerges: the loving grandchild, the reluctant bureaucrat, the loyal friend, the contrived poser. The young man who would do anything for his girlfriend Laide and share everything with his friend Vandad. Until Vandad, marginalised and broke, desperate to get closer to Samuel, drives a wedge between the friends, and Samuel loses them both. Everything I Don't Remember is an enthralling tale of love and memory. It is also the story of a writer who, in filling out the contours of Samuel's life, is trying to grasp a universal truth - in the end, how do we account for the substance of a life? 'With its energetic prose and innovative structure, Everything I Don't Remember confirms that Jonas Hassen Khemiri is not only one of Sweden's best authors, but a great talent of our time' Vendela Vida, author of The Diver's Clothes Lie Empty.

Happy week of reading!

[hermetic]

7. Thanks, japple!

Yesterday I read the chapter with Gordie and the nun. That was so intense, I swear I kept forgetting to breathe. Whew! Then after that, the chapter called "Love Medicine" wherefrom the book gets its title. Wow.

Thanks for the tip on Everything I Don't Remember. That sounds really good. Perhaps by the time I get through the 15 books I just bought, that one will start showing up in used book stores. Or maybe even the library. I will track it down somewhere, though. Someday.

Hope you have a good week, too. The godawful heat here broke on Sunday so the temps have gone back down to normal. Great weather for working outside.