21st Century Literature discussion

Which book is the last one you completed in 2023?

Wishing you all lots of reading time and joy in 2024!

Because I ended up abandoning the two books I had been reading this month, I picked up a short one to read (& finish): Radio Cacophony by Michelle Dove. I don't think I will be finishing another one today.

Marc, thanks for this cool group & the questions you ask throughout the year. Happy reading in 2024, everyone!

The last book I finished was When We Were Orphans! Trying to get 'er done before the discussion commences tomorrow.

The last book I read was "No Longer Human" by Osamu Dazai, and I'm pretty sure I need a few weeks to recover.

Wishing you all a happy new year and lots of love <3

Last book I finished was The Postcard, all the emotions.
Happy New Year everyone. Am now reading The Reef by Edith Wharton, which I know will not end well. Wharton is another author who pulls on my emotions.
Goal for 2024 must be to find some lighthearted reads.

Just finished The Bible ...my third consecutive read through . I'm not a person of faith and hadn't imagined I'd do this when I first started but it's a fascinating encyclopedia of things ...stories , letters , law ,poetry advice , crazy dreams ....and pretty compelling with passages of phenomenal beauty ....This year I read The Hebrew Bible then the New Testament to get a better feel for the narrative arc of Judaism and I preferred this to the Old Testament ordering. Being someone with no Classical education I'm now thinking of going wider next year with Greek and Roman Mythology but maybe I'll wake up tomorrow and start over again ....In the beginning ....

btw I use an app to keep.me on track and read first thing every morning ...

Hester wrote: "Just finished The Bible ...my third consecutive read through . I'm not a person of faith and hadn't imagined I'd do this when I first started but it's a fascinating encyclopedia of things ...storie..."
You should read the Quran as well to get the jist of all three abrahamic religions

It's going to be The Pachinko Parlor.

Lark wrote: "It's going to be The Pachinko Parlor."

Now you are all caught up and ready for Vladivostok Circus releasing in February.

Sam wrote: "Lark wrote: "It's going to be The Pachinko Parlor."

Now you are all caught up and ready for Vladivostok Circus releasing in February."

Wow, great news! I like her writing a lot.

That looks great. I still need to read Winter in Sokcho, though.

Waited to post until I finished my last 2023 book, The Raw Shark Texts. A fine, metafictional finish to the year.

@Whitney. I read Winter In Sokcho last year and enjoyed it.

It looks like my final read this year will be The Gods of Mars, the second in the John Carter fantasy/sci series.

Happy New Year everyone! I hope 2024 will be another great year of reading .

Finishing Storyteller right now.

Happy New Year, and May all the books be worth reading!

A Haunting in Hialeah Gardens by Raul Palma. Not my style, but it was certainly unique.

Happy 2024, everyone.

Snuck one last book in, unexpectedly: Country Dark. It was a good Southern Noir.

Happy New Year Everyone!

My last book was The Hungry Tide byAmitav Ghosh.

I couldn't finish my intended last book on time, which will be my first book of 2024....Fayne by Ann-Marie MacDonald

Finished 'Austral' by Carlos Fonseca just in time...

The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood

Getting Lost by Annie Ernaux

Kick the Latch by Kathryn Scanlan. Took about two hours to read, and worth every second :)

Tombs: Junji Ito Story Collection
A much stronger start than a finish for this this collection, but still quite enjoyable.

Finished both Stone Blind (Natalie Haynes) and Sula (Toni Morrison) on New Year's Eve.

Reven wrote: "Hester wrote: "Just finished The Bible ...my third consecutive read through . I'm not a person of faith and hadn't imagined I'd do this when I first started but it's a fascinating encyclopedia of t..."

Good idea . its my intention . That said I'm spending a while looking at the historical context and Near East Mythologies first as I'm pretty ignorant of both .

I finished a very, very quiet novel by Tracy Chevalier, A Single Thread.

I finished Hester by Laurie Albanese which led me to re-reading (now) the Scarlet Letter.

The last book I finished in 2023 was the Science Fiction classic


Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner

which I rated 3 stars

Hester wrote: "Reven wrote: "Hester wrote: "Just finished The Bible ...my third consecutive read through . I'm not a person of faith and hadn't imagined I'd do this when I first started but it's a fascinating enc..."
i would be delighted to help and answer your questions about the quran and islam from an objective standpoint.

Old Gods Time, by Sebastian Barry- from 2023 Booker long list. Maybe its because I have just read three sad Irish books in a row, but I just didn't connect with this. It was like Crime and Punishment, but with the source of Tom's torment being revealed one painful bandaid at a time. Perhaps not the most uplifting read to choose to take in over Christmas.