#liz moore

[bangbangwhoa]

books I’ve read in 2024 📖 no. 082

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

“Her voice, it seemed, had been continuously decrescendoing since birth, so that by age twelve, she could scarcely be heard.”

[dk-thrive]

Kissing someone - someone you want to kiss, I mean - is like living inside the best song you ever heard. It's the same feeling.

― Liz Moore, The God of the Woods: A Novel (Riverhead Books, July 2, 2024)

[wontune]

☆ liz [ ive ] lockscreens.

[bookishfreedom]

perfect rainy day to start this one

[libinih28]

I just attract books about lonely women and mothers I think. even ones I don't even realize they're about women before I pick them up.

[the-final-sentence]

When she looks back to the island she sees only the pines, drawn closed like a curtain around the girl.

Liz Moore, from The God of the Woods

[harrowclare]

the only way to get any reading done is to give Oliver his own book. but he still takes my bookmark.

[iambic-stan]

last book + last stethoscope, part 39

Standard (but striking) Prestige sprague here with Liz Moore's mystery/thriller/historical fiction novel The God of the Woods. I had/have so many feelings about this book. The story of Barbara, the teenager who goes missing in the Adirondack Mountains while at summer camp, winds up being overshadowed by the unsolved mystery of her brother, Bear, who went missing around the same area about a decade before. There were so many jumps back in forth in time (I hate this) and so POVs (too many characters to keep straight) and the story could have been told in less than 500 pages for sure, but I couldn't put it down! I don't think I can explain it. There is so much pointless information here and so many overblown explanations, and yet I didn't get mad about that. I ate it up. I guess it doesn't hurt that I love nature and hiking, though there were surprisingly few details about flora and fauna compared to all the DRAMA in these people's lives. I didn't figure out the mystery of either kid before it was all over, though I had some suspicions that weren't off--that was the best I could do. I don't feel like everything about the ending is realistic but it was oddly satisfying.

[authorstalker]

My September & October Reads

The City and the House, Natalia Ginzburg - An all-time favorite. An unexpected beach read. An epistolary novel! Twitter is still good sometimes, mainly for basketball tweets and unusual book recommendations; I checked this out of the library after a college professor tweeted that he taught The City and the House and his students became obsessed with one of the female characters, couldn't stop talking about her. On an 80-degree September day, I left work early and read this on the beach—it's a total pageturner and I can't recommend it enough.

The God of the Woods, Liz Moore - A summer camp murder mystery. Well written and engrossing, and I loved the way it ended. A fun coincidence that added to my experience: at the time of reading, I was traveling back and forth to Albany and the Finger Lakes region of NY, which is where parts of the novel are set.

The Slow Road North: How I Found Peace in an Improbable Country, Rosie Schaap - I keep track of Rosie Schaap's writing because she's talented and interesting, of course, but also because we lived in the same Brooklyn neighborhood for many years and she tended bar down the street from my apartment. Anyway! Rosie is great and I think this memoir is ideal for anyone who's contemplating a life change and could use some inspiration. The synopsis is that after Rosie's husband and mother both passed away, NYC no longer felt like home and she wanted a fresh start. During a research trip for a writing assignment, she fell in love with a small seaside town in Ireland, and she figured out a way to relocate. I love the storytelling in this book, the way Rosie writes about the history of her new home and her neighbors, the way she confronts grief and regret and uncertainty, and the way she builds herself a beautiful life there completely from scratch. Like I said, it's inspiring! Plus I'm now itching to plan a visit to Ireland.

Loved and Missed, Susie Boyt - Another favorite book discovered via Twitter recommendation, in this case because Rumaan Alam tweeted about it enough times that I had to know why he felt so strongly. Well well well: it's one of the best books I've read in years, so sad but SO funny. It made me cry on the train, it made me laugh out loud, it sent me down a Susie Boyt google rabbit hole (I was like, "Ooo who is this newbie, I've never heard of her".......only to discover she is Freud's great-granddaughter), it had me at Community Bookstore on a recent Friday night to hear Rumaan and Susie in conversation (amazing). READ IT.

[mercerislandbooks]

Our Favorite Fiction of 2024

Although there is still a month and a bit of 2024 to go, and it's entirely possible that one of us will find another novel we absolutely adore, we wanted to give you, our lovely customers, a peek at the collection of fiction we couldn't stop talking about this year. Our staff is a varied lot with diverse tastes (luckily our customers are just as delightfully quirky) and we hope there's something for everyone in this round-up of titles.

Cindy, Laurie, Nancy AND Caitlin all loved Liz Moore's The God of the Woods, with its historical setting, secrets galore, and rich people doing very bad things. If you're in the mood for a thriller set in the '70's this will satisfy.

As for Table for Two, by Amor Towles, Brad says that the concluding 200-page novella of this short story collection is "worth the price of admission", continuing the story of Rules of Civility. He was also charmed to discover the only published mystery of famed Winnie-the-Pooh author A. A. Milne. The Red House Mystery is for those of you longing for a perfect locked room whodunnit from the Golden Age of Mysteries.

For a contemporary thriller, Cindy highly recommends Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera, saying, "Lucy Chase, exonerated in the murder of her best friend, is mortified when a popular (and handsome) true crime podcaster opens a new investigation that thrusts her into national and community scrutiny all over again. Moving back and forth between the events that led to the crime and this new investigation, old friendships and relationships are reconsidered. Let the neighborly finger-pointing begin! Again."

Or, if a week on Cape Cod with your adult kids AND your aging parents in the height of summer sounds appealing (or at the least, amusing to read about), Laurie and I both loved Sandwich by Catherine Newman. Funny, poignant, and perfect for book clubs, this is a short book that packs a punch.

My personal top read of 2024 is The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley. Try this smart and thought-provoking debut if you like time travel, handsome Arctic explorers, and shady government shenanigans.

One of Caitlin's favorites from this year is Small Rain, by Garth Greenwell, a book she calls, "Magnificent! A tender novel about healing, care-giving, and poetry." She also loved Us Fools, by Nora Lange, a heartbreaking yet humorous story about two sisters growing up in the Midwest during the 1980's farm crisis. And check out the testimonials at the front for Caitlin's quote!

Nancy and Caitlin can't stop talking about Fire Exit by Morgan Talty. Caitlin says, "A long kept family secret, inheritance, guilt and mental illness combine into one outstanding novel." While Nancy adds, "I can't say enough good things about this book and author. Incredible writing!"

Becca and I got to buddy read and write a blog about The Spellshop, the coziest of cozy fantasies. This one is for readers who want a warm hug of book with a dollop of whimsy. Warning, it will make you crave toast and jam.

And (in my opinion) our favorite fiction isn't complete without an exceptional romance. Ready or Not, by Cara Bastone was a fantastic, surprise pregnancy, friends-to-love romance. I absolutely loved these characters and all their emotions. Plus, the audiobook is one of the best I've listened to this year.

Check out the link to see our complete list and, as always, we're happy to give you even more recommendations!

2024: Our Favorite Fiction

Up next, our Favorite Nonfiction of 2024!

-- Lori

[judgingbooksbycovers]

The God of the Woods: A Novel

By Liz Moore.

[amostimprobabledream]

Just finishes this, incredibly rare five star read! 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

[dk-thrive]

(She) swings wildly between self-abasement and overconfidence. There is no middle ground.

― Liz Moore, The God of the Woods: A Novel (Riverhead Books, July 2, 2024)

[kammartinez]

“Do you ever worry that being born into money has stunted us?” Alice blanched. “I don’t mean anything by it,” said Delphine. “It’s just—lately I’ve been wondering whether having all of our material needs met from birth has been a positive aspect of our lives. It seems to me it may have resulted in some absence of yearning or striving in us. The quest, I like to call it. When one’s parents or grandparents have already quested and conquered, what is there for subsequent generations to do?” She paused here, gazing off into some distance, thinking. “This,” she said, “is the expectation I most want to defy.”

-- from The God of the Woods, by Liz Moore

[bookishfreedom]

I’ve been having shockingly good luck with books outside my usual genre preferences, and The God of the Woods was another such success story 🍁

[this-flight-tonight]

The God of the Woods

Finished the Liz Moore novel and I didn't love everything about it, but...

can we have a follow-up in the form of a short story? Just 20 or so pages about how T.J. and Louise find their way to each other, officially become a couple, and move onto the island where Barbara's hiding. They'll bring Vic and Jesse with them and live off the land. Eventually Vic passes peacefully, and Barbara and Jesse become adults and go to live their respective lives away from their abusers. It's fairytale-esque (a problem I have with the ending of a book that seems otherwise realistic), but it would still be nice.