What Fiction are you reading this week, December 21, 2025?

[hermetic]

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I'm reading Amsterdam by Ian McEwan. A sharp contemporary morality tale, cleverly disguised as a comic novel, Amsterdam is "a dark tour de force, perfectly fashioned" (The New York Times, 1999 - back when they were still believable)

Listening to Dark Angel by John Sandford. A group of hackers threatens to take over the power grid of Minneapolis, putting thousands of lives at risk. Letty Davenport is brought on board to go undercover and infiltrate the group, posing as a rogue programmer for hire.

Wishing everyone a happy Christmas, Thursday, or whatever you prefer.

[NoRethugFriends]

1. Queen Esther by John Irving.

Just out. It will apparently be his next to the last book.

[hermetic]

3. From Fiction Data Base

John Irving's sixteenth novel is a testament to his enduring ability to weave complex characters and intricate narratives that challenge and captivate. Queen Esther is not just a story of survival but a profound exploration of identity, belonging, and the enduring impact of history on our personal lives showcasing why Irving remains one of the world's most beloved, provocative, and entertaining authors -- a storyteller of our time and for all time.

[NoRethugFriends]

6. Yup. Never disappoints

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

2. "After Midnight", a collection of stories by

Daphne Du Maurier.

[hermetic]

4. That sounds interesting

Glad to see you. Been wanting to ask you about your luncheon with Connie Willis. Fun?

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

11. I've so far read three of the thirteen stories,

and they are excellent so far.

Lunch with Connie, along with husband Courtney and daughter Cordelia was a delight. I brought them to Weldon's Museum Hill Cafe located on where else? Museum Hill. They have a small but well-done menu. I got the Monte Cristo sandwich. It's something you almost never see on menus any more.

I am in complete awe of Connie. She is the nicest person in the whole world, the least pretentious person ever. When I first started attended cons and would see her, I was amazed at how open and friendly she is to everyone. She's just Connie. So please, if you ever come across any of the Willises, don't hesitate to approach them. All of the authors and artists who go to the cons are wonderful. I've gotten to know a bunch of them over the years.

Oh, the one writer who is not at all friendly or approachable, is George RR Martin. And it's quite fun to listen to Connie trash-talk George. Whenever we cross paths, he always pretends he's never seen me before, which I find hilarious.

Oh, and if you are ever at a con where Connie is, or I might be, PM me and I'll give you my real name.

[Trueblue Texan]

16. When I saw "Lunch with Connie" right under the post about...

...the book of short stories by Daphne DuMaurier, I thought it was the title of a short story. I'd read that story for sure!

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

19. YES! I should try to write that story.

Make it very science-fictional.

[sinkingfeeling]

5. Just finished "Don't Let Him In" by Lisa Jewell. I brought back 4 books since it's hard to find novels in English here.

They are "The Good Girl" by Mary Kubica; "Watching You" and "The Girls in the Garden", both by Lisa Jewell; and "The Woman in Cabin 10" by Ruth Ware.

Can you see a pattern in my reading. My 5 favorite authors are Lisa Jewell, Lisa Jackson, Paula Hawkins, Mary Kubica, and Laura Griffin.

[hermetic]

7. Yeah

That's some good stuff.

[Laffy Kat]

8. "The Trees" Percival Everett. nt

[hermetic]

9. That's on my TBR list

"In this bold, provocative book, Everett takes direct aim at racism and police violence, and does so in a fast-paced style that ensures the reader can't look away. The Trees is an enormously powerful novel of lasting importance from an author with his finger on America's pulse."

[Laffy Kat]

20. I grabbed a copy of "The Trees" after reading "James".

"James" is a re-telling of "Huckleberry Finn" from the runaway slave's perspective. I highly recommend both of these novels.

[relayerbob]

10. The government economic reports

Ha, sorry, couldn’t resist

[cbabe]

12. My gift to myself: Black Wolf/Louise Penny. Trying to savor. I

enjoyed the Letty Davenport titles. Toxic Prey is vintage Sandford mix of farce and hardcore hunt.

Ps thanks for the tip. I put Trees on my library list.

[txwhitedove]

13. All Happy Holidays to you!

Oops, currently reading 2 non-fictions: 1) dry, political, horrible, hard to fathom, and 2) visceral, physical, horrific, hard to fathom. Both very good, important books. Will need a fiction buffer afterwards.

1 Autocracy, Inc., by Anne Applebaum
2 Ghosts of Hiroshima, by Charles Pellegrino

[mentalsolstice]

14. Amsterdam is currently on my virtual WTR shelf

I’m just starting House of God by Samuel Shem, about medical interns and their (sometimes raunchy) adventures while learning to be Drs.

Happy holidays everyone!

[Trueblue Texan]

15. Reading non-fiction and fiction.

Fiction is The World We Knew by Alice Hoffman, set in Nazi Germany. Non-fiction reading The Diary of Anne Frank. Also reading fiction, The Tin Can Tree by Anne Tyler--Anne Tyler is probably my favorite novelist, but this was early in her career and I just can't figure out what it's about--I think she was having trouble as an author figuring out what her book was about. I have picked it up and put it down a half dozen times in the last 30 years, but I think it is important to finish it as one of the many books in her body of work. Finally, I just finished reading Day After Night by Anita Diamante about post war confinement of Jews in Palestine by the British.

[Bayard]

17. I will probably finish, "Brimstone," tonight

Another provocative Agent Pendergast tale. I'm almost finished with my lastest stash of Preston & Child.

"Dark Angel," may be a good investment. I've resisted getting into the Letty Davenport series, even though I have all of the Lucas Davenport novels.

[hermetic]

18. You can get them for free

Audio or ebook. This one foretells the attack on Ukraine, so could be a good investment.

[yellowdogintexas]

21. Still reading Daniel Silva's Portrait of a Spy. Or actually returned to reading .....

I took a break from it to read "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" for my book club. I love that book!!!

Portrait of a Spy is a long book so I will probably still be reading it next week.
Notes from Amazon
Portrait of a Spy is Silva’s eleventh thriller to feature art restorer and master spy Gabriel Allon as he races from Great Britain to Washington to New York to the Middle East on the trail of a deadly and elusive terrorist network responsible for massacres in Paris, Copenhagen, and at London’s Covent Garden.

[MIButterfly]

22. From my latest trip to the library, I got

His & Hers by Alice Feeney and The Woman in Suite 11 by Ruth Ware, which is a follow-up of sorts to The Woman in Cabin 10.

I just finished If Cats Disappeared From the World by Genki Kawamura.

Happy Holidays and Seasons Greetings to one and all!