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Pls recomend high quality Secular Fiction
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bgr8ful




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jan 16 2022, 9:39 pm
I just finished what Alice forgot and loved it too!! Great book.

Also recently read The Book Thief and absolutely loved it. It’s a bit dark at some points but the language and characters were amazing.


Last edited by bgr8ful on Sun, Jan 16 2022, 10:11 pm; edited 1 time in total
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amother
Alyssum


 

Post Sun, Jan 16 2022, 9:46 pm
I haven't read them in a long time, but I remember Kristen Hannah being really emotionally intense.
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4everdiet




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jan 16 2022, 10:10 pm
Did anyone here read “A Man Called Ove” by Fredrik Backman? A bit quirky but so much compassion and wisdom between the lines.
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amother
Snow


 

Post Sun, Jan 16 2022, 10:15 pm
This might not be to everyone's taste but it was interesting - my father actually recommended it

Sweet Like Sugar by Wayne Hoffman

With eloquence and wit, Wayne Hoffman explores the unlikely camaraderie between a young Jewish man and an Orthodox rabbi, in this rich, insightful novel about love, honesty, faith, and belonging.

In Yiddish, there is a word for it: bashert—the person you are fated to meet. Twentysomething Benji Steiner views the concept with skepticism. But the elderly rabbi who stumbles into Benji's office one day has no such doubts. Jacob Zuckerman's late wife, Sophie, was his bashert. And now that she's gone, Rabbi Zuckerman grapples with overwhelming grief and loneliness.

Touched by the rabbi's plight, Benji becomes his helper—driving him home after work, sitting in his living room listening to stories. Their friendship baffles everyone, especially Benji's sharp-tongued, modestly observant mother. But Benji is rediscovering something he didn't know he'd lost. Yet the test of friendship, and of both men's faith, lies in the difficult truths they come to share. With each revelation, Benji learns what it means not just to be Jewish, but to be fully human—imperfect, striving, and searching for the pieces of ourselves that come only through another's acceptance.
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amother
Jetblack


 

Post Sun, Jan 23 2022, 2:50 am
A thousand thanks to whoever recommended "The Two-Family House" - I devoured it last Shabbos and ordered "The Wartime Sisters" for this past one - if anything, it's even better! She writes SO well, and is currently my absolute favorite author - and her 3rd book isn't due till September Surprised

Edited to ask - if I love her books, can anyone recommend something similar? A lot of Shabboses between now and September!
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nicole81




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jan 23 2022, 3:16 am
momallhours wrote:
Just went through a couple and they look just on the mark, thank you!

Which book would you recommend I read first?


They can be read in any order, they're all different. I didn't like Nine Perfect Strangers so I recommend not starting with that one. But I enjoyed everything she wrote before that one, and read them randomly.
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singleagain




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jan 23 2022, 7:31 am
I just finished two books over shabbat

Would like to meet
In order to help an Oscar winner screenwriter write a rom-com screenplay, Evie has found herself agreeing to recreate famous "meet-cutes" from the top rom-coms to prove to him that love like the movies is possible. When she finds out her job (assistant to his agent) might be on the line, she throws herself into it even more, allowing it to consume her life overriding even her best friend's hen do and wedding planning.

Talk bookish to me.
Struggling to get out her latest romance novel Kara is surprised when ex college boyfriend (who she never really got over) shows up as a groomsman in her best friend's wedding and stirs up feelings. To complicate masters, she finds herself inviting him to crash at hers when he gets kicked out of his hotel bc of his dog and either her couch or the brides.... With a week before the wedding and a deadline hanging overhead, could he be exactly what she needs to finish her novel? Warning a few minor zex scenes
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amother
DarkOrange


 

Post Sun, Jan 23 2022, 9:28 am
amother [ Jetblack ] wrote:
A thousand thanks to whoever recommended "The Two-Family House" - I devoured it last Shabbos and ordered "The Wartime Sisters" for this past one - if anything, it's even better! She writes SO well, and is currently my absolute favorite author - and her 3rd book isn't due till September Surprised

Edited to ask - if I love her books, can anyone recommend something similar? A lot of Shabboses between now and September!


Ty too! Ordered this and read last wk. was easy to read yet a skillfully crafted plot with well developed characters . Will check out her next book. Looking forward
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amother
Offwhite


 

Post Sun, Jan 23 2022, 9:47 am
Kazuo Ishiguro anyone? I read The Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go, both relatively short and very well written, all his other books are still on my to-read list.

Last edited by amother on Mon, May 09 2022, 9:27 pm; edited 1 time in total
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scruffy




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jan 23 2022, 9:50 am
AllAlone wrote:
Kazuo Ishiguro anyone? I read The Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go, both relatively short and very well written, all his other books are still on my to-read list.


I loved Never Let Me Go!! Certain parts of the book moved slowly, but I actually cried at some points (not typical for me). Loved the dystopian vibes.

Is The Remains of Day similar? Which of his other books are you most interested in?
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amother
Offwhite


 

Post Sun, Jan 23 2022, 10:12 am
scruffy wrote:
I loved Never Let Me Go!! Certain parts of the book moved slowly, but I actually cried at some points (not typical for me). Loved the dystopian vibes.

Is The Remains of Day similar? Which of his other books are you most interested in?

The Remains of Day is only similar in that it is also short and “moves slowly”. It is not dystopian like Never Let Me Go; it’s rather sort of a hidden romance set in the early 20th century. It’s a deep book that deals with regret and priorities in life. I choked up at the end, (ok I admit, I bawled).


Last edited by amother on Mon, May 09 2022, 8:42 am; edited 1 time in total
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scruffy




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jan 23 2022, 10:14 am
AllAlone wrote:
The Remains of Day is only similar in that it is also short and “moves slowly”. It is not dystopian like Never Let Me Go; it’s rather sort of a hidden romance set in the early 20th century. It’s a deep book that deals with regret and priorities in life. I choked up at the end, (ok I admit, I bawled).


Thanks! Sounds a bit different than my usual genres but I might check it out.
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amother
Fern


 

Post Sun, Jan 23 2022, 10:32 am
AllAlone wrote:
Kazuo Ishiguro anyone? I read The Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go, both relatively short and very well written, all his other books are still on my to-read list.

Didn't he write Atonement? Or maybe I'm thinking of a different author. But similar writing style and characterization.

For the poster who enjoyed Two Family House, I recommend The Chilbury Ladies Society by Jennifer Ryan.
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amother
Jetblack


 

Post Sun, Jan 23 2022, 10:36 am
amother [ Fern ] wrote:


For the poster who enjoyed Two Family House, I recommend The Chilbury Ladies Society by Jennifer Ryan.


Thank you!
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amother
Offwhite


 

Post Sun, Jan 23 2022, 12:14 pm
amother [ Fern ] wrote:
Didn't he write Atonement? Or maybe I'm thinking of a different author. But similar writing style and characterization.

Atonement was written by Ian McEwan -Wikipedia tells me - and it is “widely regarded as one of McEwan's best works”.

I should check it out.


Last edited by amother on Mon, May 09 2022, 9:26 pm; edited 1 time in total
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sequoia




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jan 23 2022, 12:20 pm
I hated Never Let Me Go. I’m fine with alternate universe dystopias, but this was supposedly taking place in our world. Well, in our world:
1. Everyone understands that clones are people. Identical twins are natural clones.
2. We don’t make laws based on the nebulous idea of souls. Or tie that in with art somehow.
3. There are many, many illnesses that have nothing to do with organ transplants. Duh.

So I get that he was trying to make a point about people’s and societies’ selfishness and cruelty, but it didn’t work for me.
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amother
Narcissus


 

Post Sun, Jan 23 2022, 2:13 pm
"The Good Life"
by Jay McInerney

This was a great book, so well written that it was fun to read even though there are some heavy themes behind it. Without tedious descriptive paragraphs the author paints his characters so well that I could see them and feel their struggles with the choices they had to make. This is the only work of fiction with 9/11 in it that completely rang true and didn't bury its characters in melodrama. For the longest time I pictured the last scene in the book in my mind and I looked for the characters on the streets of NYC.
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momallhours




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Feb 01 2022, 11:04 pm
Update here: I did end up reading Elinor Oliphant is Completely Fine it is very eye opening but so sad. I could not get that image of the closet out of my mind.. not necessarily that well written though
I read Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty does not come close to What Alice Forgot! It is very well written and did keep me in suspense throughout but it was too much dirt for me personally just the sadness and horribleness of it all. But again it does make you appreciate for the good you have!
I think I'll go to Kristen Hannah next or The two Family house
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amother
Seashell


 

Post Wed, Feb 02 2022, 1:59 am
Anything by Jenn Crowell! Necessary Madness, The Space Between, Etched On Me. Deals with difficult topics, some explicit, but sensitively and elegantly written.
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amother
Jetblack


 

Post Wed, Feb 02 2022, 3:39 am
momallhours wrote:

I think I'll go to...The two Family house



Do it! You'll thank me LOL
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