Just wondering ... what is everyone reading now?
- Thread starter pdswife
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A Woman of No Importance by Sarah Purcell. About the woman spy who helped us win WWII.
GotGarlic
Chef Extraordinaire
"Passing" by Nella Larsen. I haven't started it yet - it's for my book club meeting next week.
Bakersdozen73
Assistant Cook
I'm reading The Haunting of Brynn Wilder by Wendy Webb. Finished The Recipe Club by Andrea Israel and Nancy Finkelman and Miss Cecily's Recipes for Exceptional Women by Vicky Zimmerman.
Bakersdozen73
Assistant Cook
Oops! That last book should be Exceptional "Ladies...not Women. Sorry!
Cooking Goddess
Chef Extraordinaire
That one sounds interesting, PF. I've added it to my way-too-long list of TBR books. Might I suggest a book for you? Along the same line of women helping during war efforts, I was fascinated by the book "D-Day Girld: the spies who armed the resistance, sabotaged the Nazis, and helped win World War II"
Sounds good, I'll try it when I finish the other. The book I am currently reading is the first book I've been able to sit and read in a long time.
bbqcoder
Senior Cook
Just picked up two books.
Led Zeppelin - The Press Reports
Here’s the write up:
More than two decades' worth of press coverage for the rock phenomenon Led Zeppelin is compiled in this meticulous collection by a noted Zeppelin expert. From their first concerts in Scandinavia to their tragic dissolution in 1980, the history of the disciplined and unprecedentedly mediagenic band is traced from the perspective of hundreds of newspapers, magazines, and music tabloids from around the world
I’m also waiting the delivery of a coffee table book that just came out: Jimmy Page: The Anthology. Here’s the write up:
Now, in The Anthology, Jimmy Page is granting exclusive access to his archive for the first time, and telling the inside story of his phenomenal career.
In a new text of over 70,000 words, Jimmy Page guides the reader through hundreds of rare items, many of which are previously unseen, and others of mythic status, such as the Gibson double neck guitar, his dragon-emblazoned suit, his white embroidered poppy suit, and the outfit worn in the concert film The Song Remains the Same.
Also included are handwritten diaries, correspondence, rare vinyl pressings, previously unpublished photographs and much, much more. Jimmy Page has personally selected each piece to be photographed in this book, which has been created with his full participation.
Can you tell that I’m a LZ fan?
Led Zeppelin - The Press Reports
Here’s the write up:
More than two decades' worth of press coverage for the rock phenomenon Led Zeppelin is compiled in this meticulous collection by a noted Zeppelin expert. From their first concerts in Scandinavia to their tragic dissolution in 1980, the history of the disciplined and unprecedentedly mediagenic band is traced from the perspective of hundreds of newspapers, magazines, and music tabloids from around the world
I’m also waiting the delivery of a coffee table book that just came out: Jimmy Page: The Anthology. Here’s the write up:
Now, in The Anthology, Jimmy Page is granting exclusive access to his archive for the first time, and telling the inside story of his phenomenal career.
In a new text of over 70,000 words, Jimmy Page guides the reader through hundreds of rare items, many of which are previously unseen, and others of mythic status, such as the Gibson double neck guitar, his dragon-emblazoned suit, his white embroidered poppy suit, and the outfit worn in the concert film The Song Remains the Same.
Also included are handwritten diaries, correspondence, rare vinyl pressings, previously unpublished photographs and much, much more. Jimmy Page has personally selected each piece to be photographed in this book, which has been created with his full participation.
Can you tell that I’m a LZ fan?
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JoAnn L.
Master Chef
Reading all the traditional English mysteries by Jeanne M. Dams. Her Dorothy Martin series.
RCJoe
Senior Cook
If you are fond of books about the South, author Rick Bragg tells some excellent stories from his youth in the 1950's in Alabama & Georgia.
A Pulitzer Prize recipient from his days as a feature writer for the New York times, Bragg was assigned to the southern bureau of the NYT to write about current events in the southlands. He is intimately aware of the life, culture, and traditions having grown up there and it makes for reading that will keep you up well past bed time.
If you are fond of Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mocking Bird" told thru the eye's of Scout, Bragg explains the plight of the adults around her that she was simply too young, if not too well born, to understand.
Bragg comes highly recommended by Tom Brokaw, Larry McMurty, and Pat Conroy. Writers who would recognize his ability to create this work of art:
"Ava's Man"
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Ava%27s+Man&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_noss
A Pulitzer Prize recipient from his days as a feature writer for the New York times, Bragg was assigned to the southern bureau of the NYT to write about current events in the southlands. He is intimately aware of the life, culture, and traditions having grown up there and it makes for reading that will keep you up well past bed time.
If you are fond of Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mocking Bird" told thru the eye's of Scout, Bragg explains the plight of the adults around her that she was simply too young, if not too well born, to understand.
Bragg comes highly recommended by Tom Brokaw, Larry McMurty, and Pat Conroy. Writers who would recognize his ability to create this work of art:
"Ava's Man"
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Ava%27s+Man&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_noss
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GotGarlic
Chef Extraordinaire
My next book club read is "The Dutch House" by Ann Patchett.
Summary: The Dutch House is a mansion located in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. It was built in 1922 by the VanHoebeek family, a husband and wife originally from the Netherlands who made their fortune in the tobacco industry. Cyril Conroy, a self-made real estate mogul, bought the mansion in 1946 to surprise his wife Elna. Their children, Danny and Maeve, were raised in the Dutch House. Elna dislikes the Dutch House. When Danny is 3 and Maeve is 10, she falls ill and abandons the family to work with the poor in India, later relocating to New York City. After their father dies, the two siblings are forced out of their home by their stepmother, Andrea. Left with no one else, the two siblings rely on each other. Maeve discovers a scholarship trust and uses it to send Danny to Choate Rosemary Hall, Columbia University and to Columbia Medical School. He finishes medical school despite being uninterested in working as a doctor, hoping to please Maeve.
Summary: The Dutch House is a mansion located in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. It was built in 1922 by the VanHoebeek family, a husband and wife originally from the Netherlands who made their fortune in the tobacco industry. Cyril Conroy, a self-made real estate mogul, bought the mansion in 1946 to surprise his wife Elna. Their children, Danny and Maeve, were raised in the Dutch House. Elna dislikes the Dutch House. When Danny is 3 and Maeve is 10, she falls ill and abandons the family to work with the poor in India, later relocating to New York City. After their father dies, the two siblings are forced out of their home by their stepmother, Andrea. Left with no one else, the two siblings rely on each other. Maeve discovers a scholarship trust and uses it to send Danny to Choate Rosemary Hall, Columbia University and to Columbia Medical School. He finishes medical school despite being uninterested in working as a doctor, hoping to please Maeve.
Cooking Goddess
Chef Extraordinaire
Once again, I've been so busy reading that I forget to report in. Also, since I went over to the "dark side" on vacation, that is reading and checking out books with my tablet, it's just too easy to keep on reading. I'll have to have Himself steal the tablet away from me if I want to get anything done around here. 
On my tablet, I have two book series going. One, "Home Repair is Homicide" by Sarah Graves, is set in Eastport, ME. She's an ex-financial wizard who "escaped" Wall Street and moved to a quiet town in ME with her 14-year-old son to get away from a philandering ex-husband. While that series ended in 2013 (and I thought I would be done with it after Book #16), Ms. Graves resuscitated the two main characters in 2018 by having them open a bakery. Looks like mayhem will continue for a while!
The second ebook series is the "Books by the Bay" series written by Ellery Adams. Set in coastal NC, the main character is a child of her town who was raised by rich grandparents in France after the deaths of both of her parents by the time she turned 10. Around age 30, she returns to her home town filthy rich and determined to bring her town back to life by investing in property and businesses. Of course, along the way she keeps tripping over dead people because that's what happens in murder mysteries!
I tried reading three different autobiography/memoir books by Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, and Jenny Lawson. Too much vulgarity, too much (as my Dad would have said) navel-gazing. Guess I just can't read these kinds of books from "modern" women. *shrug* Every one was returned early.
I've also started up again with Margaret Truman's old "Capital Crimes" mystery series, large print for riding my stationary bike. Nothing cozy about these, but really interesting with all of the insider political intrigue that a daughter of a president would know of. What I find interesting is how much things really haven't changed in the 40 years since her first book. To wit, does this not sound like something ripped from today's headlines?:
"Name someone these days who's worth being called a hero, someone to look up to, to stand for something good in America. Athletes? That's a laugh. The only thing they've left kids to look up to are the size of their contracts. Movie start? Forget it. Politicians? Those that aren't under indictment, or taping illegally, are busy getting rich in payoffs from the folks that financed their election campaigns..."
My gawd, that was written in 1983! 
On my tablet, I have two book series going. One, "Home Repair is Homicide" by Sarah Graves, is set in Eastport, ME. She's an ex-financial wizard who "escaped" Wall Street and moved to a quiet town in ME with her 14-year-old son to get away from a philandering ex-husband. While that series ended in 2013 (and I thought I would be done with it after Book #16), Ms. Graves resuscitated the two main characters in 2018 by having them open a bakery. Looks like mayhem will continue for a while!
The second ebook series is the "Books by the Bay" series written by Ellery Adams. Set in coastal NC, the main character is a child of her town who was raised by rich grandparents in France after the deaths of both of her parents by the time she turned 10. Around age 30, she returns to her home town filthy rich and determined to bring her town back to life by investing in property and businesses. Of course, along the way she keeps tripping over dead people because that's what happens in murder mysteries!
I tried reading three different autobiography/memoir books by Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, and Jenny Lawson. Too much vulgarity, too much (as my Dad would have said) navel-gazing. Guess I just can't read these kinds of books from "modern" women. *shrug* Every one was returned early.
I've also started up again with Margaret Truman's old "Capital Crimes" mystery series, large print for riding my stationary bike. Nothing cozy about these, but really interesting with all of the insider political intrigue that a daughter of a president would know of. What I find interesting is how much things really haven't changed in the 40 years since her first book. To wit, does this not sound like something ripped from today's headlines?:
"Name someone these days who's worth being called a hero, someone to look up to, to stand for something good in America. Athletes? That's a laugh. The only thing they've left kids to look up to are the size of their contracts. Movie start? Forget it. Politicians? Those that aren't under indictment, or taping illegally, are busy getting rich in payoffs from the folks that financed their election campaigns..."
My gawd, that was written in 1983! 
Just Cooking
Master Chef
I've read too many "meh" books lately.
Currently reading an enjoyable one.
West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge
"An emotional, rousing novel inspired by the incredible true story of two giraffes who made headlines and won the hearts of Depression-era America.
"Few true friends have I known and two were giraffes..."
Woodrow Wilson Nickel, age 105, feels his life ebbing away. But when he learns giraffes are going extinct, he finds himself recalling the unforgettable experience he cannot take to his grave.
It's 1938. The Great Depression lingers. Hitler is threatening Europe, and world-weary Americans long for wonder. They find it in two giraffes who miraculously survive a hurricane while crossing the Atlantic. What follows is a twelve-day road trip in a custom truck to deliver Southern California's first giraffes to the San Diego Zoo. Behind the wheel is the young Dust Bowl rowdy Woodrow. Inspired by true events, the tale weaves real-life figures with fictional ones, including the world's first female zoo director, a crusty old man with a past, a young female photographer with a secret, and assorted reprobates as spotty as the giraffes.
Part adventure, part historical saga, and part coming-of-age love story, West with Giraffes explores what it means to be changed by the grace of animals, the kindness of strangers, the passing of time, and a story told before it's too late."
Ross
Currently reading an enjoyable one.
West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge
"An emotional, rousing novel inspired by the incredible true story of two giraffes who made headlines and won the hearts of Depression-era America.
"Few true friends have I known and two were giraffes..."
Woodrow Wilson Nickel, age 105, feels his life ebbing away. But when he learns giraffes are going extinct, he finds himself recalling the unforgettable experience he cannot take to his grave.
It's 1938. The Great Depression lingers. Hitler is threatening Europe, and world-weary Americans long for wonder. They find it in two giraffes who miraculously survive a hurricane while crossing the Atlantic. What follows is a twelve-day road trip in a custom truck to deliver Southern California's first giraffes to the San Diego Zoo. Behind the wheel is the young Dust Bowl rowdy Woodrow. Inspired by true events, the tale weaves real-life figures with fictional ones, including the world's first female zoo director, a crusty old man with a past, a young female photographer with a secret, and assorted reprobates as spotty as the giraffes.
Part adventure, part historical saga, and part coming-of-age love story, West with Giraffes explores what it means to be changed by the grace of animals, the kindness of strangers, the passing of time, and a story told before it's too late."
Ross
Cooking Goddess
Chef Extraordinaire
I just finished this book. What an amazing life! Every book I read about WW2 makes me admire my Dad more and more. Like many vets of WW2, he never spoke of his time there except for the love and adulation the French showered on the troops after liberation. I now realize the horrors he faced as a medical. He's my hero more and more.
Most of what my Dad did in the Air Force is still classified and he won't discuss it. I was too little to notice at the time, not that he brought it home. Most of his stories are about his daily life outside of what he was doing. Yep, he is a hero!
Just Cooking
Master Chef
International Book Giving Day
Is today.
https://bookgivingday.com/
What book have you given or received which stands out to you?
Many years ago, I gave my daughter the Little House on the Prairie set. She still reads them, yearly.
After moving to Missouri (2006) she visited us and the only thing she insisted upon was visiting Rocky Ridge Farm. https://lauraingallswilderhome.com
Ross
Is today.
https://bookgivingday.com/
What book have you given or received which stands out to you?
Many years ago, I gave my daughter the Little House on the Prairie set. She still reads them, yearly.
After moving to Missouri (2006) she visited us and the only thing she insisted upon was visiting Rocky Ridge Farm. https://lauraingallswilderhome.com
Ross
RCJoe
Senior Cook
"The Hospital"; Life, Death, and Dollars in a small American Town. By Brian Alexander. 2021
It describes the end of the line (the Hospital) that derives from poor health that derives from poor nutrition & eating practices, at the hand of food deserts created by highly profitable stores that have systematically exploited every channel from Government leniency to economic impoverishment. Set in northern Ohio just below Toledo.
There is a bounty of side story here, such as Menard's, and any chain store with "Dollar" in it's name. (Menard's page 116 to 119) and (Dollar stores pages 220 to 223)
The Hospital is about a small county Hospital and the struggle to avoid being bought out by the huge Corporations that buy up small Hospitals and do the same with them the food desert industry does with their supply practices.
A little over 100 years ago Upton Sinclair wrote "The Jungle". (about the meat packing industry in Chicago & exploitation of immigrants working there) This little vignette in Ohio takes on a much broader view of what has been happening in the USA since WW2.
Making America Great Again...so that 15% of the people can hold 90% of the wealth. Great....great for whom ?
https://www.amazon.com/Hospital-Death-Dollars-Small-American/dp/1250237351
It describes the end of the line (the Hospital) that derives from poor health that derives from poor nutrition & eating practices, at the hand of food deserts created by highly profitable stores that have systematically exploited every channel from Government leniency to economic impoverishment. Set in northern Ohio just below Toledo.
There is a bounty of side story here, such as Menard's, and any chain store with "Dollar" in it's name. (Menard's page 116 to 119) and (Dollar stores pages 220 to 223)
The Hospital is about a small county Hospital and the struggle to avoid being bought out by the huge Corporations that buy up small Hospitals and do the same with them the food desert industry does with their supply practices.
A little over 100 years ago Upton Sinclair wrote "The Jungle". (about the meat packing industry in Chicago & exploitation of immigrants working there) This little vignette in Ohio takes on a much broader view of what has been happening in the USA since WW2.
Making America Great Again...so that 15% of the people can hold 90% of the wealth. Great....great for whom ?
https://www.amazon.com/Hospital-Death-Dollars-Small-American/dp/1250237351
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Just Cooking
Master Chef
I've just finished "Tears of Amber" by Sofía Segovia -
Based on real people and events, “Tears of Amber” is a sweeping saga of two war torn families united by a storytelling giant. Ilse and Arno are just toddlers at the start of the story with little comprehension of the war looming around them. (Goodreads teaser)
A perspective I don't usually see in the WWII books I read.
Ross
Based on real people and events, “Tears of Amber” is a sweeping saga of two war torn families united by a storytelling giant. Ilse and Arno are just toddlers at the start of the story with little comprehension of the war looming around them. (Goodreads teaser)
A perspective I don't usually see in the WWII books I read.
Ross
JoAnn L.
Master Chef
I'm reading Elly Griffiths Ruth Galloway series.
