In May 2016, we are reading

After the daunting La Petite Fille qui aimait trop les allumettes, I'm reading a suspense novel Rue des Boutiques Obscures by Patrick Modiano about a man trying to recover his life after a strike of amnesia 10 years earlier.

Cecilturtle, I've just finished Paris Nocturne by Patrick Modiano. I thought it was a lot of work to try to deal with all the ambiguity given the ultimate resolution!

I'm reading The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy.

I'm in an exploration and discovery kind of mood: on the bus I'm reading A Burial at Sea, by Charles Finch, and at home I'm reading The Arctic Grail, by Pierre Berton.

I have two Canadian reads going on right now. I'm very slowly making my way through the stories in Margaret Atwood's Dancing Girls. I really disliked the last story I read, so my enthusiasm for this one is low. I'm also half-way through Infidelity by Stacey Mae Fowles, which I learned about from someone at this group -- LynnB probably. It's well written, although I don't like any of the characters.

I'm reading 59 Seconds: Change Your Life in Under a Minute by Richard Wiseman.

Finished The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway , a Canadian author. Not sure what is next , as of now.

#2 LynnB, I finished reading Meursault contre-enquête and feel the same way!

I'm on to L'incolore Tsukuru Tazaki et ses années de pèlerinage by Harukami Murakami - I love the flow of the story as a young man tries to understand why he was rejected by his closest friends in his early twenties.

I'm reading The Interloper: Lee Harvey Oswald Inside the Soviet Union by Peter Savodnik

I'm reading It Happened to Nancy.

I'm almost finished Blaming, by Elizabeth Taylor. This is the second book I've read by her, and again I'm finding her writing to be fabulous.

People of the Deer / Farley Mowat
3 stars

In the late 1940s, Farley Mowat spent a couple of years in Northern Canada (what would be part of Nunavut now). This recounts his time there, spent with the local Inuit. He tells the story of the people and also explains the habits of the “deer” (caribou).

I like Farley Mowat, but (no surprise) I definitely prefer his books when the focus is on animals. In this book, I really enjoyed the parts about the caribou, but the rest varied – some of it held my interest and other parts didn't. I was impressed with his suggestions to help the people at the end of the book, though (and it's sad to see some things still haven't changed).

I'm starting My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante as soon as I get back from hot yoga.

Finished the wonderful but depressing Blaming by Elizabeth Taylor and now I'm starting The Life and Times of Michael K by JM Coetzee. I'm giving the highly acclaimed Coetzee a second chance after he disquieted me with Disgrace.

Just been doing some light reading this month-too busy gardening to get into anything substantial. So far I've read (or re-read) 'Salem's Lot by Stephen King, as well as Innocent Victims and The Cellar both by Minette Walters

Finished Murphy's Law by Rhys Bowen, a light weight cozy mystery. Nearly finished I Am Hutterite by Mary-Ann Kirby, which is a Canadian autobiography and really interesting.

>15 vancouverdeb: I really liked I Am Hutterite when I read it a few years back!

it's on my ever-growing wish list.

I'm reading In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume and I'm very disappointed: her fluid writing style is as lovely as ever, but the plot is terrible, relying on Deus Ex Machina-type processes. I was hoping for something reminiscent of Summer Sisters, but this one is no where near as good.

I enjoyed My Brilliant Friend and have jumped right into Book 2: The Story of a New Name by Elena Ferrante

Just finished All the Colours of the Town, by Liam McIlvanney, a mystery set in Glasgow and Belfast.

Just finished The Piano Maker by Kurt Palka. I had read Clara by him and really loved it. The Piano Maker was okay, but quite disappointing after reading Clara. No comparison. Set in 1933 Quebec and Saskatchewan.

Really enjoyed I Am Hutterite - great book!

I finished the 1983 Booker Prize winning Life & Times of Michael K by Nobel Prize winner JM Coetzee. It's not my favourite type of novel, but it was very good. I mention the accolades because Coetzee is a novelist I've had trouble with in the past, but I thought I had to be fair and give him another chance. The language in this was clean and easy and it was short, and the story was moving. Recommended.

Coetzee has 10 books on the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list, and while I'm sure I won't read all of them, I will consider some others.

Still not doing much reading: The Ice Child by Camilla Lackberg. But I have just requested I am Hutterite as well as Clara from our library, based on the recommendations above.

Still picking through Dancing Girls -- short stories by Margaret Atwood. The stories in the beginning of the book were duds, but the last 3 or 4 have been pretty good or excellent, so I'm liking the book better.

Short stories are often a challenge -- all that constant world-building and no chance to settle in and get to know the characters, situation or setting.

This long weekend I hope to finish The Damned Utd, by David Peace.

I'm hooked on Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan series; starting Volume 3 Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay.

>26 LynnB: I keep thinking I should read those. Do you think the first one would be good for book club discussion?

my book club will be discussing it on Wednesday, but I won't be there. I think there is a lot to talk about in the way the two main characters relate to each other, and about the lives of people in the community. I think the book is good, but am a little bemused by the amount of praise heaped upon it...it's not THAT good.

I think sometimes when the hype gathers enough momentum, the critics all fall in line. Have not read the Ferrante books so....

Myself, I am reading Bad Things Happen, a story collection by Kris Bertin. It's all very good, but I'm starting to wonder if any short story writer working in Canada is going to try writing about anything but the abject.

Best book I've read in the past few months: The Mountain Story by Lori Lansens. I'll be looking for her other books now for sure.

I'm reading Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult for book club. I'm loving it: a mix of thriller with lots of research around elephants (two main characters are elephant researchers). Picoult still has the various points of view, but it's not as formulaic as some of her past novels.

> 23 I hope you enjoy I am A Hutterite as well as Clara. They are very different books, but I enjoyed them both. I am currently reading The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson, who also wrote Major Pettigrew's Last Stand.

I'm on to the final Neapolitan novel by Elena Ferrante, The Story of the Lost Child.

Reading Frankie Styne and the Silver Man by Kathy Page, another ridiculously under-recognized Canadian writer.

Touchstone does not work for this book. Only six copies on LT. Yet it's on Kirkus's best books of 2014. Go figure.

Now reading The Orenda, by Joseph Boyden. Bird's chapter during the Feast of the Dead nearly made me cry on public transit. The use of multiple narrators has been interesting, especially when they talk about the same event from different perspectives.

I just read A Song for Arbonne by Guy Gavriel Kay. It's the first of his books that I've read since The Fionavar Tapestry books back when they were new. I enjoyed it, except for the horrible parts.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. Interesting topic but somehow the author didn't make the story come alive for me.

A departure into nonfiction: now reading The Ghosts of Medak Pocket by Carol Off, an account of the 2 PPCLI peacekeeping rotation in Croatia that culminated in the Battle of Medak Pocket.

Read two widely disparate books this weekend: Martin John by Anakana Schofield and The End of the Alphabet by CS Richardson and enjoyed them both.

Finished The Summer Before the War which I really enjoyed. Also read Blood on Snow by Jo Nesbo, which was just okay. Just started The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick which is promising to be a charmer.

>37 ted74ca: I agree about The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. It really seemed like the book was all about the author and not about the people and situation she was writing about.

Over this way, I'm speeding my way through The Master and Margarita.

I'm going to start All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr when I get back from the gym.

>40 vancouverdeb: I liked The Summer Before the War (mostly). Some of the people in one of my book groups were upset that it was so different from Major Pettigrew, but I preferred it.

I just read a South African SF novel, Light Across Time by Tom Learmont. It involved a lot of interesting science and history, and the settings were fascinating.