1. Virgil Wander by Leif Enger---Everyone in my book club loved this book. Enger has a way of putting sentences together that makes you want to read them aloud. (Grove Press, 2018)
2. Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Letham---I recently re-listened to this book in the audio format. It is a funny, quirky who-dun-it with a twist--the protagonist has Tourette Syndrome. I recommend this as an audiobook. (Viking Press, 1999; Recorded Books, 2001)
3. Inland by Tea Obreht---This is one of those books which sneaks up on you. At first you aren't sure if you will even finish it and then when you do you realize you love it and the author is brilliant. (Random House, 2019)
4. The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto by Mitch Albom---The narrator is music! That should tell you why I like this book so much. It is indeed magical. (Harper Collins, 2015)
5. Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan---This is the type of book I really enjoy--geeky, quirky, a bit of a mystery, off-beat characters. (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2012)
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6. Artemis by Andy Weir---Set on the moon, it is an action, adventure, mystery, plus is has all the technology you'd need to survive on such an inhospitable place. (Crown Books, 2017)
7. Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World by Penelope Bagieu---a graphic book aboutfamous and not-so-famous women who did remarkable things. I love the illustrations and I learned so much. This book won the 2019 Eisner Award for International Material (First Second, 2018)
8. News of the World by Paulette Jiles---I keep thinking of this book in contrast to the one I am reading right now, Lonesome Dove. This is also set in Texas in the late 1800s, includes lots of horses and cowboys, but this one is short. (William Morrow, 2016)
9. Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger---Described as part mystery and part meditation. Everyone in book club loved it for it's beautiful prose. (Atria Books, 2013)
10. We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson---If you were abducted by aliens and given the chance to push the button to destroy earth, would you? What if everyone was really awful to you, would you want to do it then? Thoughtful. (Simon Pulse, 2016)
What about you? What are some books you really like but you don't find yourself talking about much?
-Anne
I loved "Ordinary Grace," "Virgil Wander," and"Mr. Penumbra..." but didn't care for "Artemis" or "Motherless Brooklyn." I don't talk much about books that I enjoyed, but that I'm pretty sure that others wouldn't appreciate. Like many of my mystery series.
ReplyDeleteI never realized that William Kent Krueger had published so many books. Perhaps we should try another of his for book club.
DeleteGreat list! I honestly don't know if I've ever heard of any of these books, so I'll have to add some to my TBR!
ReplyDeleteOh Mr. Penumbra's! That was fun... :)
ReplyDeleteI reread it recently and had forgotten enough to be surprised by it again.
DeleteI think the only one I'm vaguely familiar with is We are the Ants. I love hearing about new to me books!
ReplyDeleteI've read three of these: Ordinary Grace, Mr. Penumbra, and News of the World. My book club liked Ordinary Grace very much and loved News of the World. I loved News of the World but I adore Lonesome Dove.
ReplyDeleteNow I shall be off to see what else from your list I can find as an ebook.
I hope you start with Virgil Wander. I think you will really like it.
DeleteI've been wanting to read Mr. Penumbra for a long time now, your summary makes it sound right up my ally. I also want to try Artemis, I really enjoyed The Martian and have a feeling I'll like the rest of Andy Weir's stories.
ReplyDeleteI remember hearing really good things about We Are the Ants when it came out, and the premise intrigues me too. I hope I'll get around to reading it some day!
ReplyDeleteMy TTT post!
I'm a little rusty on my YA selections. Now that I am retired I am not reading as much YA as before. This one is very memorable.
DeleteYou're making me pretty curious about Inland.
ReplyDeleteMy TTT.
It's not for everyone but I think you are a serious enough reader you might really enjoy it, too.
DeleteI had heard of Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore once before, but didn't look into it until reading your analysis. It sounds interesting!
ReplyDeleteI've read two books from your list: Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore and News of the World. And I really enjoyed both of them! :)
ReplyDeleteOf this list, I have only heard of Artemis. But Mr Penumbra sounds great, I'll have to check it out :)
ReplyDeleteMy TTT: https://www.traversingchapters.com/top-ten-tuesday-books-i-enjoyed-but-rarely-talk-about/
I haven't read any of these. I did really like Enger's PEACE LIKE A RIVER and I've been meaning to read more by him. His writing really is incredible.
ReplyDeleteHappy TTT!
That is why we decided to read Virgil Wander. We all liked Peace Like a River. Enger is such a nice writer.
DeleteI don't talk much about Gail Tsukiyama's books, but I have loved them all.
ReplyDeleteGuess I'd better read one or more of them.
DeleteWe Are the Ants was fabulous. I don't talk about it enough either.
ReplyDeleteI loved Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore and Artemis too, but I don't talk about them all that much either now that I think about it.
ReplyDeleteoh yes! . Mr. Penumbra's Bookstore --t hat was a quirky gem. I didn't know motherless Brooklyn was a book first -- I remember seeing the movie trailer a few months back.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE Brazen and We Are the Ants!!
ReplyDelete-Lauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net
So many interesting choices this week! I haven't read any of these, but I'm definitely checking out Brazen and Virgil Wander.
ReplyDeleteI've heard of Mitch Albom but don't think I've read any of his books. Glad you enjoyed this one you feature! Thanks for visiting my list in this meme, Anne. Appreciate it.
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