source: Molly

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

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Started: 12/15/20
Finished: 12/19/20

I’ve been a little off Ann Patchett for a few years.  I’m afraid to re-read Bel Canto, which I read several times years ago and LOVED and gave as gifts to many many people.  What if I have changed enough that I don’t love it anymore?  Anyway, I picked up The Dutch House.  First, it’s good.  When I couldn’t read it, I wanted to read it.  Second, turns out that in order for me to LOVE a book, I need it to have a plot.  It’s not that nothing happens – it’s a family saga, plenty happens – but it’s a family saga, so there’s no mystery to solve, no murder to avenge, no THING to DO.  And I have learned that I prefer books that have a THING the characters need to DO.

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

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Started: 8/6/20
Finished: 8/9/20

Molly recommended this book to me.  She likes thrillers, I like thrillers, but I think she only recommends to me the ones she’s not sure she likes because she needs to talk about them.  This is the second time I’ve read one from her that I felt I had to push through.  It was interesting, and I don’t NOT recommend it, but it’s one of those where the narrator starts to make decisions that YOU know are wrong, that even HE knows are wrong, and it’s hard not to get frustrated.

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

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Started: 1/16/20
Finished: 1/20/20

Thriller/horror story.  I gave up on another Ruth Ware book, but I gave this one a try on Molly’s recommendation.  I was truly creeped out by it (I stopped reading it at night), but…I can’t really say more without giving stuff away.  It was pretty good.