What are you reading in 2023?

[littlebittybobby]

Okay---Wow, that's interesting JV! I haven't seen anything about his medical condition that could've been a contributing factor. And, his brother. Guess I'll hafta continue more reading. But that's interesting. Yup.

[rosarugosa]

Catching up here:
One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin - This one got rave reviews, but I wasn't crazy about it. Sweet and maudlin in a depressing sort of way. It's about a friendship between two terminally ill people, one a teen and one a senior.
To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey - It took me some time to get into it, but I liked it once I did. This is by the author of The Snow Child, which Kay had recommended and I liked so much. I like the way the author skillfully blends a little touch of the supernatural into otherwise realistic fiction. The storyline is about an early explorer to Alaska and his wife who remains at home.
How Lucky by William Leitch - this was a really fast, enjoyable read. One reviewer called it a modern take on Rear Window, and I think that was a good comparison. The characters were really likeable, and I learned a lot about the awful diseases SMA.
I abandoned Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam not too far into the story. It sounded like a good plot premise, but I could not stomach the pretentious style of writing. "Look at me, I am a writer and I know so many words! Especially adjectives, lots and lots of adjectives! My characters are like little stick figures with no personality at all, but I can spend five minutes describing a bag of groceries." I felt a stronger connection to the groceries than to any of the characters.

[iris lilies]

Catching up here:
One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin - This one got rave reviews, but I wasn't crazy about it. Sweet and maudlin in a depressing sort of way. It's about a friendship between two terminally ill people, one a teen and one a senior.
To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey - It took me some time to get into it, but I liked it once I did. This is by the author of The Snow Child, which Kay had recommended and I liked so much. I like the way the author skillfully blends a little touch of the supernatural into otherwise realistic fiction. The storyline is about an early explorer to Alaska and his wife who remains at home.
How Lucky by William Leitch - this was a really fast, enjoyable read. One reviewer called it a modern take on Rear Window, and I think that was a good comparison. The characters were really likeable, and I learned a lot about the awful diseases SMA.
I abandoned Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam not too far into the story. It sounded like a good plot premise, but I could not stomach the pretentious style of writing. "Look at me, I am a writer and I know so many words! Especially adjectives, lots and lots of adjectives! My characters are like little stick figures with no personality at all, but I can spend five minutes describing a bag of groceries." I felt a stronger connection to the groceries than to any of the characters.

wow, you don’t abandon books easily, so it must have been pretty awful!

[rosarugosa]

It is true that I seldom abandon books, but when I do, I don't usually mention them here. For some reason it occurred to me this time that it was worth sharing how awful it was in order to spare others. Consider it a public service announcement of sorts!
I'm also trying to be quicker to abandon a book, especially if it's just popular fiction that isn't clicking for me. Life is too short for me to waste time on Leave the World Behind, but I'm willing to put in the work to get through a classic work like Lolita.

[Tradd]

wow, you don’t abandon books easily, so it must have been pretty awful!

IL abandoned the first book of Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern series. While I generally like her, I will never forgive her for that.

LOL

[iris lilies]

IL abandoned the first book of Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern series. While I generally like her, I will never forgive her for that.

LOL

Haha sorry! I do not think I will ever go back to it, either.

[Rogar]

I just listened to "Biohack Your Brain" by Willeumier as an audio book. I've been through enough health self-help books that lot of it was not new information, but it was entertaining, accessible and well read as an audio. The chapters went something like, eating (mostly plants as in Pollan), exercise and especially aerobic, supplements, stress and meditation, hydration and other beverages, limiting screen time and social media, brain games for cognition, etc. It's a little more than the average person is going to do, but some decent information and pointers with examples showing improvement in brain function by following some of the recommendations.

[jp1]

Just got ‘Frank Lloyd Wright’s Marin County Civic Center: commemorating 50 Years’ from the library. It’s mostly a picture book about his last commission. I’ve never been inside but have been outside to drop off my ballot and such. It’s quite a remarkable looking building.

[catherine]

Just got ‘Frank Lloyd Wright’s Marin County Civic Center: commemorating 50 Years’ from the library. It’s mostly a picture book about his last commission. I’ve never been inside but have been outside to drop off my ballot and such. It’s quite a remarkable looking building.

Very cool! Once you've read the book you should go check out the building--do they give tours?

Re Frank Lloyd Write, one of my early childhood memories is of running down the ramp of the Guggenheim--my uncle had taken me and my cousins there... the art was probably lost on us because that ramp was so cool.

I've also been to Taliesan West outside of Phoenix/Scottsdale. It is amazing. I was definitely old enough to appreciate that building!

[jp1]

I don’t think they give tours, at least not regularly. But the main branch library is on the fourth floor so I’m planning to go there and wander around the rest of the building. SO spent two weeks there on jury duty and thought it was really cool.