Loved "A Gentleman in Moscow"! One of my all time favorites and will read again soon.

Disclaimer - I read to escape and enjoy light hearted, happy ending stories with strong female characters and interesting family dynamics. This is what I've enjoyed recently.

Chicken Sisters by KJ Dell'Antonia. Reality TV, Midwest small town, sister/family dynamics. FUN read!

Outlawed by Anna North. Set in 1800's in wild west. Women cast out by society band together to become outlaws.

Shuggie Bain by Stuart Douglas. Heart warmingly sad. Set in Glasgow in 1980's and alcoholic mother raising/being raised by her children.

Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey. Female detective series based in India.

You Should Have Known by Jean Hanff Korelitz. Basis for TV show the 'Undoing'. Soooo good!

I love everyone's recommendations! Will be adding Anxious People plus others to my list. Thank you.

Oh, and I read News of the World by Paulette Jiles last year and loved it. Looking forward to watching the new Tom Hanks movie as soon as I get a minute.

MsMary: I read News of the World last year, too. It was great and I'm also looking forward to the movie.

I read On Beauty by Zadie Smith too. I enjoyed it too!

I am reading The Diary of Jane Somers by Doris Lessing. It is an older book about a magazine editor confronting her life through an elderly woman she befriends.

I also read 1927 by Bill Bryson which is an interesting read about all the events and people of the summer of 1927 in the USA. Lindbergh, Coolidge, Al Capone!!

ooh, Ima look for Bride of the Sea.
I love immigrant stories, and grew up in Saudi Arabia

I'm going to read a mystery series next. I just read Your House Will pay by Steph Ch, which is about racial tensions in LA. The book is fiction, but loosely based on an actual event.I think it is a worthwhile read.

Now started reading The Queen's Gambit and am really enjoying it! I read half it one night already and will probably finish tonight.
Also in process of: Ready Player 2, and Sustainable Minimalism.
In the last month or so I read:
Many Waters, the first 2 books of the Soul Seer series, the Sidekick Squad series, F*/% No, and Joy at Work.

In winter all I want to do is sleep and read!

Read My Dark Vanessa over the weekend. Compelling but disturbing story about a girl who was seduced by her middle aged teacher at age 15. Now I'm reading Deacon King Kong and enjoying it a lot.

American dirt. very good read.

I second American Dirt. Big thumbs up! It was so suspenseful that I couldn't read it at bedtime, though.

Oh Mary, I did not like My Dark Vanessa. Disturbing.

Am reading Mary Trump's book - it's pretty fascinating. Also just started Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi.

I don't recommend this book, June Bug Vs Hurricane by Erin Chandler, as great literature, but I had a chance to sit in on my sister's book club with the author last night, after reading a signed copy that my sister gave me for my birthday. It's quite a story. The Chandlers are a prominent Kentucky family - Gov. Happy Chandler was her grandfather - and it's a memoir about a crazy childhood and young adulthood, and dealing with her brother's addiction and suicide. Additionally, she was an accomplished actress for many years after the time period of this memoir, and listed close to a dozen interesting projects she'd been in with famous people! She now lives back in Versailles, KY and is a full time writer and publisher. If you are interested in Kentucky, memoirs, survivors of loved ones with alcoholism and addictions it is worth a look. She's overcome a lot of adversity and childhood neglect. It was pretty interesting to listen to this group of women discuss her personal story - women local to her, who have known her family all their lives. I think it's very brave to write a memoir.

I gifted my daughter “Anxious People” for Christmas, so it’s next on my list (we both loved “A Man Named Ove”).

I recently finished “Rachel to the Rescue” by Elinor Lipman, and have started another one of her books, “On Turpentine Lane.” I love Lipman, she’s so funny.

Also doing a lot of Twitter reading here. 2020 killed my concentration and it hasn’t fully recovered.

I’ve read
a book called "Little
Women" by Louise May Alcott. The novel is about four sisters, their life,
friendship, growing up. In short, for me it’s a one-time book. Of course, today
the book will seem very boring for modern young girls. There is not even a
storyline here. Description of their boring measured life, their worries,
children's desires. Although it would be useful for them to read, because
children's selfishness is still relevant today. This book is also suitable for
a more adult female audience, there is something to think about child-rearing.
The story is not modern at all, and the book is not very exciting, but I do not
regret having read it. A recommendation only for lovers of women's classics.

Okay, all you fantasy lovers: I am 2/3 of the way through The Absolute Book by Elizabeth Knox and it's blowing my mind. Two BIG thumbs up.

I downloaded some of the recommendations in this compilation. Looking forward to reading them all:

https://fivebooks.com/books/best-books-of-2020/

Just finished You Should Have Known by Jean Hanff Korelitz. It was a bit of a page turner. (I don't have HBO so have not seen The Undoing.)

Caste finally showed up. I start it tonight. Been waiting a while.

Just finished The New Wilderness by Diane Cook. My son recommended it as he knows the author. My first dystopian novel - took me a while to get through it - would be good for book club discussion!

I’ve been sticking with sci-fi and fantasy. Reality is not the place for me right now.

@bella - great list, thanks!

I am enjoying “ What It’s Like To Be A Bird”. by David Allen Sibley who wrote the best birders’ guide . My copy was a Christmas gift. It works well with watching birds in our yard.

The House In The Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune is amazing. It's genre is fantasy but the messaging is so timely. I highly recommend it for anyone who has a teen or young adult in their life who is "different" from the majority in any way. I read it and then passed it on to my 17 year old daughter who is loving it.

Neelie - I have had that book on my Kindle for months now and I really need to find time to read it. Everyone raves about it and I generally love TJ Klune's books. He has a huge backlist that I'm working my way through.

OK, Caste (by the way, I've decided that bolding the titles is my favorite style, after trying all the others including term paper style of underlining) - who has read it?

Halfway through and I think it's so interesting, really horrifying, extremely well-written, and a must-read in America in our times. I've sent copies to both of my sons.

I'm still processing that in the early 1930's the Nazis studied, and were inspired by, the US model of legal racism...this was definitely not taught in the American History curriculum of the 1970's and 80's.

I downloaded Caste. I’m stuck in the introduction. I need to learn to skip intros in non-fiction books. I wanted to read more about the anthropological study back in the day the author talks about - black professor from the East goes to do field work under cover in the South in the 30s(?). I listened to all the interviews when Caste came out though. Segregation was an ‘interesting’ ‘PR problem’ in world politics. Russia got points off of us on that one.

@rachylou - hadn't read any of the reviews/interviews. Just skimmed through this one from NYT - it points out that the intro is tough. Stick with it. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/0.....ontents.ht

I'm currently chewing my way through Doctor Zhivago, it rambles quite a bit and lacks the structure I love but the characters are great.

I am also rereading the Carlos Ruiz Zafon Cemetery of Forgotten Books series which I absolutely love.

Since the New Year, I have finished and enjoyed;
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett.
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig.
Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones.
Changeling by Matt Wesolowski.
The Stationary Shop of Tehran by Nathan Kamali.
Three Hours by Rosamund Lupton.
The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis.
The Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante.
Sing Backwards and Weep by Mark Lanegan.
Ayurveda by Geeta Vara.
More time for reading is definitely an advantage of the UK lockdown and dark evenings.

I have been such a slacker on reading. I’m halfway through Tommy Orange’s There There, and it’s quite good. I’m actually glad I’m not speeding through it so I can absorb each character’s story a bit.

You all are contributing to my ever-growing list!