124 Comments
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Christine's avatar

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore. Gripping story, skillful use of multiple POVs and time periods, and a perfect summer setting.

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Barb's avatar

Same! Love Liz Moore's writing. Her books are so immersive. This might have taken over as my favorite of hers because of the timeline structure...so skillfully done.

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Beatrice Mulligan's avatar

Same!

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Chris Grace's avatar

Me too! While I found the book to be a slow start at first, once I got to the last quarter, I couldn’t read fast enough. We were on vacation, and I was mad about meeting people for dinner when I was down to the last 50 pages 😅

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Ruth Alvarez's avatar

Horse by Geraldine Brooks. Remarkable story, beautiful writing, strong characters. I found I had to pace myself to keep from devouring in one setting. This was my introduction to Ms. Brooks and I am eager to read her other books.

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Susanne's avatar

I loved this book so much! I was fortunate to get to see Geraldine Brooks live on her book tour - she’s amazing! I had not read any of her other books, so now they are all on my TBR list.

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Tracy's avatar

I've read all her books - one of my favorite authors. Definitely dive in...they are all pretty different, so you will enjoy!

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Emily Kerr's avatar

Horse is also my pick. The ending was devastating.

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Jerilyn's avatar

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt. So heart warming and satisfying. I finished it in two days at the cabin. I love a book that engages the reader enough to care deeply about the characters. The bit of whimsy by including the thoughts of the octopus was delightful.

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Christine's avatar

Marcellus is an unforgettable character 💙

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Jason's avatar

Ha ha you lost me at "thoughts of the octopus".....instantly reminded me of the dreadful chapter in Michener's Chesapeake from the perspective of the crab......

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Emily White's avatar

Oh no! But this octopus is really quite lovely.

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Renee - Itsbooktalk & More's avatar

I listened to this last month and loved it too

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Jessica Lawrence's avatar

The Monk and Robot duology by Becky Chambers: A Psalm for the Wild-Built and A Prayer for the Crown-Shy. A beautifully written and optimistic view of the future of mankind. I wish I lived in their world.

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Sarah Williams's avatar

Those are the most wonderful books. As you said, optimistic. And I love the vein of kindness and patience that runs through them.

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Katharine O's avatar

I read both of those and liked the peaceful message a lot.

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Emily White's avatar

Starter Villlain by John Scalzi. Scheming cats that type? Periodic explosions? High energy writing? Daring craziness? Did I metion typing cats and explosions??

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Mel Joulwan & Dave Humphreys's avatar

I read that recently! -- So much fun. Have you read anything else by Scalzi? I enjoyed the Old Man's War trilogy. He has been a favorite since. - Dave

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Emily White's avatar

Villain is my intro to Scalzi. My oldest son gave it to me for my birthday because of the cat in a suit on the cover. (One birthday he gave me a card with a picture of a cat smoking a cigarette, so....). I have since listened to Scalzi's 'Slow Time Between the Stars' audiobook via AmazonOriginals. That was completely different than Villian. Very Sci-fi and philisophical. I will take a look at the Old Man's War Trilogy. I like Scalzi's writing.

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Lisa's avatar

I am currently hooked on the Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny. I have fallen in love with the characters and need to know what happens to them next.

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Nancy Danforth's avatar

Thanks to Mel, The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova!

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Mary Lou's avatar

God of the Woods by Liz Moore. Hands down the best summer read in years.

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Kristi's avatar

Currently reading The Covenant of Water and I have been pulled into the world of early 1900s south India.

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Ivy Finkenstadt's avatar

Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister— I just had to keep going!

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ilovepushkin's avatar

The Hunter, Tana French

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Lisa's avatar

Oh I haven't read that one yet but I really liked The Searcher!

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Elizaebeth's avatar

You are in for a treat! This one just grows and grows. Phenomenal.

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patherkal@gmail.com's avatar

The Whalebone Theatre even though it was a reread for book club. Character driven, sense of place and totally engaging.

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Jason's avatar

Loved the first half of this book!

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Stefanie Schulenberg's avatar

That´s on my shelf already! Looking even more forward to reading it now.

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Antonia Clark's avatar

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel. And now, I’m equally enthralled by The God of the Woods by Liz Moore.

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Bookaholic's avatar

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas, as well as the rest of the books in this series. I read each of them in about 5 days, which is fast for me!

Before that, it was any books in the Murderbot series by Martha Wells. I tend to re-read the previous books whenever a new one comes out and they are as engrossing the second/third/fourth time around.

Also, Project Hail Mary by Peter Weir had me hooked from the start.

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Elizaebeth's avatar

Murderbot!!! I've reread the series four times now. The most endearing books about a lethal killing machine/person :)

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Stefanie Schulenberg's avatar

A pageturner - besides books "James", "A Woman of No Importance" or "The Covenant of Water" was also "Wayward" by Emilia Hart that combines three timelines (17th century, post WWII and today) with three different female heroines, and there is talk of witchcraft ... I found it quite gripping and loved it when the various plot lines finally came together.

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Katharine O's avatar

I have Weyward on my TBR - it sounds like it might be similar to Lauren Groff's Matrix which I loved.

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Emily White's avatar

I also read Weyward. It was great!

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Stefanie Schulenberg's avatar

I´ll look up Matrix, which I don't know. Thanks for the idea!

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Katharine O's avatar

It's more the feminist approach and the time period. No magic here, but it was good.

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Stefanie Schulenberg's avatar

Both the time period and a feminist approach sound great, and I´m sure I'll enjoy it.

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Katharine O's avatar

Matrix is actually medieval times - earlier than the 17th Century - didn't want to mislead you!

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Emily Girard's avatar

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green was intriguing, smart, and fast paced

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Katharine O's avatar

We read this for our family book club and it was pretty cool.

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