LUCY BURDETTE: Jenn and I were delighted to be included in one of Hank’s backroom events this week (https://bksp.org/)--what could be more fun than talking with eighty readers about books and writing? I loved hearing about what folks are reading, and whether our current pandemic reality is affecting their reading.
For me, I’m still reading less than I like, and I’m still reading lighter and often women’s fiction featuring strong women wrestling with their lives rather than straight mystery. Bonus points for books that take place in other countries without our toxic politics. Two I’ve enjoyed lately are WELL-BEHAVED INDIAN WOMEN by Saumya Dave, and THE SECRET RECIPES OF SOPHIE VALROUX by Samantha Verant. I'm addicted to books set in India. The Dave book takes place mostly in New York, but it’s loaded with issues about a woman’s place in traditional India versus the US. Verant’s book (which came recommended by our book pal Jean Lewis) features a disgraced chef who runs away to her family’s chateau in southern France--so much wonderful food and scenery and a handsome Frenchman! And how come my family doesn’t have a secret chateau??
RHYS BOWEN: oh gosh, I’ve hardly been reading at all for two reasons: deadline looming on not one but two books and such tension surrounding the election. So I’ve just read a biography of The prince of Wales and Mrs Simpson ( always good to have more input for my Royal Spyness books) and a couple of old Mary Stewart suspense novels. My TBR pile is growing rather large so I’m hoping for a time when I can sit on my patio in Arizona and binge read!
HALLIE EPHRON: Hank interviewed me, too, for her BOOK CLUB WITH STYLE group on Facebook. So much fun! If only all work were made that easy. Thanks, Hank!
I’m making my way through months of back issues of The New Yorker. There’s always some article I never would have thought I’d be interested in. More than a few of my novels were sprouted from something I read in The New Yorker. And the short stories!
I just finished E. O. Wilson’s TALES FROM THE ANT WORLD. He’s a brilliant writer and inquiring mind, all about how he got fascinated by ants (myrmecology) and his worldwide travels to study them.
JENN McKINLAY: After a mental hiatus from words or a small nervous breakdown, hard to say, I’ve finally gotten my reader groove back. Most recent books that I’ve loved were The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James, a creepy, suspenseful ghost story and fabulous mystery all in one. The Flip Side, a British rom-com by James Bailey, which was a delight, especially from the male perspective. These were after I blew through all ten of the Chronicles of St. Mary’s by Jodi Taylor, a time traveling historian adventure series set in England. So fun! And I’ve also read some non-fiction, my fave being Keep Moving by Maggie Smith. It’s a book of affirmations written by the poet to motivate -- even when it all seems fairly futile.
DEBORAH CROMBIE: Lucy, the Verant book is going straight on my list! And Jenn's The Flip Side, and the Chronicles of St. Mary's. All of those sound like huge fun, and I want fun. Scarily, the only mystery I've managed to get all the way through in months other than Hank's, Lucy's, Jenn's, and Rhys's, was Elly Griffiths' The Stranger Diaries, which I loved, too. Otherwise I've been reading women's fiction (British chick lit, really!) with lots of Jules Wake/Jenny Caplin titles, and rereading favorite fantasy series. Since the pandemic I've reread all my Ben Aaronovitch, all the Harry Potters, and am now on the third Deborah Harkness All Souls book. What is up with this? Oh, I read the new Charles Todd story, which is really more of a novella, A Hanging at Dawn, and really enjoyed that. So basically, I want happy endings, not too much tension (unless I already know the ending), characters I really like, and no politics. I have a new biography of Dickens by A.N. Wilson, and am going to order the Obama memoir.
HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: I tore through Ruth Ware's ONE BY ONE, and now am immersed in Gilly Macmillan's truly disquieting TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH. I'm ready for JT Ellison's new book--yikes, what's the name of it? I'm distracted by my envy for her idea: What if Rebecca hadn't died? AHHHH. Brilliant. And then the new Anthony Horowitz! (Am I too stuck in my ways?) And then the new Charles Todd novella! And oh, Hallie. The ant book. I LOVED IT. (a long time ago, right?) And please find THE FIFTH RISK. It's not a fictional thriller, the way it sounds. It's a real life political horror story. Truly. Read it.
LUCY: Our copy of Obama's memoir is on the way from RJ Julia in Madison CT. Can't wait for that! Reds, how is your reading, and what can you recommend?
