Reese’s book club pick: Society of lies by Lauren Ling Brown

A dark academia story about Maya who returns to princeton for her 10 year reunion and her sisters graduation at the same time, only to find that her sister has died. As she digs deeper she finds her sister was involved in a secret society and close to a lie she has been keeping all these years.

It sounds fine, but I feel like I already had a dark academia phase when Joshua Jackson was admitted into The Skulls and Rory investigated the life and death brigade, and it hasn’t really interested me so much since.

GMA book club: A song to drown rivers by Ann Liang

Not only was this book chose to be a GMA pick, but it’s also an Indie next pick and a LibraryReads pick!

This is a fantasy book inspired by Xishi, one of the four beauties of ancient China. She is given the opportunity to use her beauty as a weapon by infiltrating the enemy and working as a spy to weaken them from within.

Read with Jenna: The mighty red by Louise Erdrich

Set against climate change and depletion of natural resources and the sudden economic meltdown of 2008-2009, we follow Gary and Hugo who are both in love with Kismet and Kismet’s mother Crystal who sees visions of guardian angels and worries for her daughters future.

I read The Round House by Erdrich and was floored by her writing. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to read her since. Hopefully this will change that.

Belletrist: Intermezzo by Sally Rooney

It must be a lot of pressure to have to live up to Normal people and Convesations with friends, but here we are.

In Intermezzo – meaning interlude, we follow two brothers with little in common, in the wake of their fathers death. This period of their lives gives as much as it takes.

At 464 pages, I’m guessing Rooney reallly gets into the nitty gritty of it. And it feels like more than just an interlude, but ok, I’m sold.

Service 95: Lincoln in the bardo by George Saunders

President Abraham Lincoln grieves for his dead son Willie, who at twelve years old dies of typhoid fever and his soul lingers in the bardo. The book takes place in a graveyard, narrated by other lingering souls.

I read this back in 2018 – the short review is HERE

The boyfriend by Freida McFadden

I have only ever read the housemaid series by McFadden, but I have to say I’m intrigued to try her new books and her backlist, but so far I’ve steered clear. Maybe I’ll change this.

The boyfriend tells the story about Sydney who has a new boyfriend who is perfect in every way! There’s also a string of murders happening and the killer dates his victims before he kills them. This is just purely coincidental right, and she has no reason to be suspicious, or?

The message by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Ta-Nehisi Coates originally set off to write a book about writing, in the tradition of Orwell’s classic Politics and the English Language, but found himself grappling with deeper questions about how our stories—our reporting and imaginative narratives and mythmaking—expose and distort our realities.

I saw an interview with Coates on the CBS morning show and I thought he was so eloquent in debating his views that it made me really want to read this book.

Somewhere beyond the sea by TJ Klune

Most of us loved The house in the cerulean sea, which I’m guessing is why we got a follow up to that book.

I personally didn’t feel like it needed a follow up, so the jury’s still out on wether or not i will read it.

If you didn’t read The house in the cerulean sea, I would start there, since this book seems to pick up where the last one ended by bringing the characters back to face their past.

Framed by John Grisham

If you know Grisham, you know he’s a lawyer turned writer and that he writes legal thrillers. I used to be a HUGE Grisham fan back in the day, but I’ve since fallen off that bandwagon.

This book makes we want to get back on! A heavily researched book on wrongful convictions, true stories of the injustice in the justice system.

Co-written by Jim McCloskey, this one is ready for release october 15th.

The waiting by Michael Connelly

LAPD Detective Renée Ballard tracks a terrifying serial rapist whose trail has gone cold, with the help of the newest volunteer to the Open-Unsolved Unit: Patrol Officer Maddie Bosch, Harry’s daughter.

If you know Connelly’s books, then you know. This is book number 6 in the Renee Ballard series.

I personally am a Bosch fan, but more the show than the books. However I do love Connelly’s books, so I might look a little closer into this series.