› Forums › Reader Chat › Recommend a Book › Best of the Month: June 2023
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Jan.
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June 29, 2023 at 4:10 pm #563
Book Girls’ Guide
Keymaster@bookgirlsguideamWhat was your favorite read this month?
It doesn’t have to be one we recommended, but if you did read it for a challenge, note which challenge it fits.
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June 29, 2023 at 4:53 pm #567
LoriF
Participant@lorifI read The Dollhouse by Fiona Davis, that could have been in the USA as NY or the decades as the 50s. I really liked this book and it actually had some good twists and turns that I didn’t see coming.
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June 29, 2023 at 5:55 pm #571
Julie
Participant@julierich21My favorite read this month was definitely Stories from the Tenants Downstairs, which was a NY choice for the USA challenge. I never would have heard of it if it wasn’t on the challenge list, so thank you for that!
it’s set in an apartment building in Harlem, and each chapter is in different tenant’s voice. They’re only tangentially related to each other.
I thought it was brilliant.
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June 29, 2023 at 6:11 pm #572
MelissaFromBookGirlsGuide
Participant@melissatestI’m so glad you enjoyed that one! We really wanted a book that explored the gentrification of so much of the city from the tenants point of view.
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July 3, 2023 at 2:36 pm #715
Betty Sight
Participant@bettyettersMy favorite book read in June was Skyward by Brandon Sanderson.
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July 3, 2023 at 5:55 pm #723
MimiMa’am
Participant@mullensamyMy favorite for June was The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd.
I had to wait quite a while to get the e-book on loan from the library and was never certain that I really wanted to read it even though I really like her other books. But when it was finally my turn, I took the plunge and can say that I can appreciate the story for what it is. It’s fiction but thought-provoking… probably a bit controversial if read as part of a book club. Glad I decided to read it. -
July 4, 2023 at 3:42 pm #736
Tammy Wasserman
Participant@twassermanI read A Drop in the Ocean for Australia. It didn’t have a discussion group unfortunately.
Wonderful read!! The descriptions of the island and wildlife were so vivid. The author gave a very realistic picture of the lifestyle of the few island residents and the strong bonds between them.
But is was mainly a story of a woman’s personal growth and discovery as she faced some major changes and moved to a small Australian island to reevaluate her life.
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July 5, 2023 at 9:31 pm #741
Sheridan
Participant@sheridanlorraineI read some great books in June – most of them recommendations from this group – but if I had to pick my favorites I’d say Lessons in Chemstry and Joanne Harris’s Broken Lights. Both highlight women finding their true identity in a male dominated world – and that is appealing to me in my current mindset.
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July 14, 2023 at 12:19 pm #797
Sheridan
Participant@sheridanlorraineI believe Broken Lights is one of my favorite from this month! I felt she was describing so much of my life right now – not being seen, heard, or taken seriously by my husband and children (though not as old as hers!) and just wanting to go and do my life my way.
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July 7, 2023 at 7:45 am #766
Karen Greenberg
Participant@mrsgreenbergI can’t stop thinking about or talking about A Man Called Ove. I read it for the Lifetime challenge. I thought the movie A Man Called Otto was really well done, too.
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July 11, 2023 at 4:41 pm #791
Heather Wescott
Participant@hwescottThere’s a Swedish film version that’s great too (subtitled). I’d recommend it if you’re able to find it to watch. I think it was on Netflix at one point, but I’m not sure if it’s still there.
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July 30, 2023 at 2:13 pm #1038
Becki
Participant@beckimoodyAnxious People is even better and there is also a movie. Truthfully I have read most of Backman’s books and they are all really good.
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July 7, 2023 at 1:05 pm #768
Heather Wescott
Participant@hwescottI finished 15 books in June and it’s hard to pick one favorite from them – there were a few great ones. My favorites were The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese, Small Gods by Terry Pratchett, Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny, and A Collective Bargain by Jane McAlevey.
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July 14, 2023 at 12:27 pm #798
Sheridan
Participant@sheridanlorraineI just finished Demon Copperfield – and while Kingsolver did a great job with the voice of Demon and Angus/Angus and so many of her characters, just like the alluded to Dicken’s novel David Copperfield she went way too far and too long with this plot. I will admit, I skimmed many of the chapters with football and the crazy drug scenes at the end. Like David Copperfield, I really don’t like it, but made myself finish. I was horrified by some of what she said about so much being taken away from this generation – because in many ways its all that they are given and taking for granted that is a lot of the problem – that and the examples and availability of their parents, teachers, coaches, and, yes, health care providers. Her criticism of the social services is dead on – and I’m not quite sure how we can truly solve it – but there are limits to the Ms. Annes and Mr. Armstrongs and what we can do. It’s a tough novel, tough commentary on what’s out there and the choices kids are making. Give me Angus/Agnes, please! I am not ready for these challenges in my own teens – and they at least have a mom who is aware and there for them – though maybe not quite Momma June.
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July 30, 2023 at 2:16 pm #1039
Becki
Participant@beckimoodyI work in child welfare in a nearby state and it is absolutely realistic. I have most of the kids in the book somewhere on my caseload. The poverty, drugs, lack of jobs, all of it — I see it every day. It was a tough read because I wanted (hoped) she had a solution but it’s realistic.
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November 26, 2023 at 2:59 pm #1573
Jan
Participant@jmschneppMy favorite June book was Remarkably Bright Creatures. I listened to it as an audiobook and the narrator for Marcellus is amazing!
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› Forums › Reader Chat › Recommend a Book › Best of the Month: June 2023