Since most of us are staying inside more and sheltering in place, I would hope times for reading have gone up a bit.

This year, I've read:
A Warning - Anonymous

The Institute - Stephen King

The Screwtape Letters - C. S. Lewis

Lisey's Story - Stephen King

Insomnia - Stephen King

Right now:

Pachinko - Min Jin Lee

According to my goal on Goodreads, I'm 1 book behind. But damn it, Insomnia is 800 pages! That's like 2 books! haha

So what whatcha reading? Anything on your short list?

TrivialPursuit said:

Since most of us are staying inside more and sheltering in place, I would hope times for reading have gone up a bit.

This year, I've read:
A Warning - Anonymous

The Institute - Stephen King

The Screwtape Letters - C. S. Lewis

Lisey's Story - Stephen King

Insomnia - Stephen King

Right now:

Pachinko - Min Jin Lee

According to my goal on Goodreads, I'm 1 book behind. But damn it, Insomnia is 800 pages! That's like 2 books! haha

So what whatcha reading? Anything on your short list?

Pachinko is an amazing story and so well written. Once of my favs from last year. I loved The Institute, one of SK's best. I also loved American Dirt, scary, but could not put it down.

Right now I'm reading The Secrets Between Us by Thrity Umrigar (fabulous writer) and I will soon be reading If It Bleeds by SK and The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel.

Empress said:

Pachinko is an amazing story and so well written. Once of my favs from last year. I loved The Institute, one of SK's best. I also loved American Dirt, scary, but could not put it down.

Right now I'm reading The Secrets Between Us by Thrity Umrigar (fabulous writer) and I will soon be reading If It Bleeds by SK and The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel.

That may be my next one after Pachinko or at least at some point this summer.

TrivialPursuit said:

Empress said:

Pachinko is an amazing story and so well written. Once of my favs from last year. I loved The Institute, one of SK's best. I also loved American Dirt, scary, but could not put it down.

Right now I'm reading The Secrets Between Us by Thrity Umrigar (fabulous writer) and I will soon be reading If It Bleeds by SK and The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel.

That may be my next one after Pachinko or at least at some point this summer.

I think we're the only ones reading on this site. Well, good for us. I couldn't live happily without great books to read.

Hey, nice to see there are more avid readers. Keep reading in any language. I just read that Colson Whitehead won the Pulitzer prize for the second time for The Nickel Boys. Can't wait to read this one, but I'm waiting for the paperback in July.

I needed some non-fiction along side Pachinko, so I started George Carlin's Last Words.

I'm now reading Me: Elton John. I'm only about 70 pages in, but it seems like it will be a very interesting read.

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srav566 said:

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Pachinko was a beautiful read. Lee's writing style is different than what I'm normally used it. It feels simplistic with a refreshing brevity, but it's also eloquent, rich, and visual. It covers four generations of Koreans who end up displaced before, thru and after world war II in Japan, where they are treated like second class citizens (as many immigrats are by means of xenophobia).

I'm going to begin a new Stephen King novel, and also White Rage by Carol Anderson or How To Be Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi. I typically read a fiction and a non-fiction. I gave up on the George Carlin book, but I may circle back around to it.

How's everyone else's reading?

TrivialPursuit said:

Pachinko was a beautiful read. Lee's writing style is different than what I'm normally used it. It feels simplistic with a refreshing brevity, but it's also eloquent, rich, and visual. It covers four generations of Koreans who end up displaced before, thru and after world war II in Japan, where they are treated like second class citizens (as many immigrats are by means of xenophobia).

I'm going to begin a new Stephen King novel, and also White Rage by Carol Anderson or How To Be Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi. I typically read a fiction and a non-fiction. I gave up on the George Carlin book, but I may circle back around to it.

How's everyone else's reading?

Yes, I also thought Pachinko was a beautifully written book. I loved the story of the generations of this family and how they made a life regardless of being displaced by racism and war. You might be interested in The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo. Very different story than Pachinko, but also beautifully written with a strong female lead. I'm about to start The Gift of Rain by Tan Twag Eng. Thanks for posting

Empress said:

You might be interested in The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo. Very different story than Pachinko, but also beautifully written with a strong female lead.

Just downloaded it. Maybe I'll skip starting a King novel and use this as my fiction alternative.

TrivialPursuit said:

Empress said:

You might be interested in The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo. Very different story than Pachinko, but also beautifully written with a strong female lead.

Just downloaded it. Maybe I'll skip starting a King novel and use this as my fiction alternative.

Let me know what you think after you've read it. She has another book called The Ghost Bride, but I haven't read it yet.

Empress said:

TrivialPursuit said:

Just downloaded it. Maybe I'll skip starting a King novel and use this as my fiction alternative.

Let me know what you think after you've read it. She has another book called The Ghost Bride, but I haven't read it yet.

I mentioned last night the books on race I've downloaded to read, including Choo. She tweeted me a thank you a bit ago. I told her I was anixous to dig into it.

In general - this White Rage book is amazing. It starts when Lincoln freed the slaves, was shot, then Andrew Jackson all but instilled slavery via Black Codes and virtual indentured servitude. Then the great migration to the north in the early 20th century, and how the deep south fought so hard to keep blacks on plantations, in poverty etc. Lynchings were daily and incredibly brutal. Pregnant women burned upside down, their babies cut from their wombs and stomped into the dirt. Yeah, it's graphic, but violence always is. I can possibly see where Dr. Anderson is going to lead the narrative into white hatred of black people and the sheer audacity of black people to want to free and treated equally and move freely in the world. (THE NERVE!)

From the race books I've read thus far, the first 50 pages of this book have shook me the most. Because we've not even gotten to current day racism and white supremacy, this is shit 150 years ago. As a white person, I was never taught any of this in school; it wasn't even hinted at in classrooms.

Choo's book will be a nice counter-read every other day.

PS regarding Pachinko Someone on YouTube made a fake tralier for a film for a course at university. It was so convincing at first, I started digging for it on IMDB. I hope the person got an A. haha But the book has been optioned by Apple+ to be a limited series.

Here's the fake trailer: https://www.youtube.com/w...kOvLABK-CI