I really appreciate that you allow all of your Patreon tiers to get all content. That is a nice thing to do. When I get some spare cash I will be joining.
Hi Mercedes, I think you might like All That's Left Unsaid by Tracey Lien. The premise is that a journalist returns to Sydney from Melbourne after her brother is murdered at a High School Graduation after-party. There is a focus on the crime (and it is resolved) however, the book is captivating because of its focus on the relationship between migrant parents with their Australian born children. I thought so anyway, so many heartbreaking moments with her father. Would recommend.
When you described Foster Dade' and said "wordy and pretentious", my eyes lit up and I downloaded it straight away. Love your lists, thank you! And yes, we say "Scar-burrow" (:
I hope you will give us a list of literary mysteries. Lately, literary or not thrillers seem to have the same same feeling. I really miss the older 90s thrillers but there are very few creators featured them. Thank you very much. Aloha.
So excited for all of these, especially four by four. Mercedes please do a movies recommendations, literary or otherwise. I remember you did once long ago and I loved your taste in movies!!
Bitter Orange is great. I love the sound of Clean and Spoilt Creatures.I have too many books on my reservations list at the library and until some of them come in I cannot reserve any more.
Love that top. I’ve just finished Wild Houses by Colin Barrett It’s long listed for the Booker. It might be considered a thriller? It contains a kidnapping, drug dealers and robbery. Bitter Orange is unforgettable. I’d highly recommend.
I’m from Scarborough. You are correct that Canadians pronounce it like that, however, when I was growing up, my parents and older people (at least the ones I knew) pronounced it closer to the English way. The powerful US influence is the reason, I think. I know the time period and neighbourhood in Hernandez’s novel well. I read Behind You and think it was well done. It brought up a lot of memories of the time. I’ve added several of your selections to my list - thanks for the discussion!
Crazy story about our actual Scarborough rapist: he became a killer, and was convicted. Recently, he was transferred to a medium security prison (after many years in maximum, where I feel he should still be). His accomplice in the homicides has been free for years, remarried and is raising her three children here, last I heard. Awful! 🤢
Medium security doesn’t mean more privileges, though, just that he presents less of a maximum security risk, as assessed by the corrections system. (It happens as inmates get older, etc.) I’m from Scarborough and have a couple of degrees of separation from him and those who knew him, so I have zero desire for him to ever see the light of day! Despicable person.
The Newcomer is pretty good and it's based on a true story that happened on Norfolk Island. Norfolk Island is included as an Australian Territory. My First Fleet and Second Fleet ancestor were sent there until they dissolved the first colony set-up there (1788-1814) Later there was another penal colony and then after that went defunct Pitcairn Islanders (descendants of The Bounty crew and Polynesian woman, from Mutiny on the Bounty fame) were sent there in 1856. Many NF Islanders have Bounty crew surnames. Australian Author Colleen McCullough also lived there in more recent times. Happy Reading
That previous video was the first I saw of yours - and you got me to read Penance! Which I loved!! So I'm a new fan (and subscriber) and I'm super excited for more of your picks. I also picked up Ohio based on the previous video, so hopefully that's a winner too.
Oh gosh so many books that sound fit for me. The only one I’ve read so far is Four by Four which (it’s been a few years) I think I remember delivered more on a gothic eerie front than as thrilling as the blurbs made it out to be. Would love to get to more Laura Elizabeth Woollett after loving West Girls. Everand has been so useful for stumbling upon the most niche/obscure non fiction as well for how it scoops up university publications as well as how it has a much better algorithm for finding fiction I’d actually like than anything else. Wonderful list, Spoilt Creatures especially sounds like something I’ll want to get to this year.
If you enjoy Claire Fuller may I recommend "The Memory of Animals?" It's set in the midst of a pandemic, when our MC enlists in a clinical trial to test a vaccine for a the virus that's circulating. She ends up getting the disease and recovering and may just be the only person on the planet with immunity...but the only people on the planet may be herself and the other four surviving trial members who never received the vaccine. As the story progresses you start to understand why the MC felt the need to enlist in the trial...and wonder if the stories her trial mates are telling her about what happened while she was incapacitated by illness are actually true.
I am so excited about this list and to hear your thoughts on these book as you read them; your reading taste is extremely similar to mine so I will be adding whatever you recommend! Also, I am curious to see what you make of Catherine Hernandez. I'm Canadian and hadn't heard of her until you mentioned Scarborough in your 5 star predictions video and it piqued my interest. I read the first two pages (if that) and decided i couldn't read it right now (I am recently post-partem and couldn't bear the thought of reading about child abuse). But I did give Behind You a try since the premise sounded up my alley. I think I read 3 chapters before DNFing. I'm not sure how to describe the writing style, but the voice of Alma (as an adult anyway), I thought was absolutely dreadful. I couldn't imagine reading any further if the writing in those sections continued that way. I'd be curious to see what you make of it!
I read Scarborough in the last week and some sections were great but some were pretty poorly written. So I'm not sure I'll be giving Behind You a try now sadly.
@@MercysBookishMusings it's always a bummer when a book you have high hopes for is a 3 star or less. If you thought that some sections of Scarborough were poorly written, you definitely would not get through Behind You 🙈
Four by four sounds really good! I've read and really enjoyed Bitter Orange. I loved The Shards but agree that I'm not sure whether you'd like it or not.
I recently finished reading Ohio and listening to The God of the Woods (enjoyed them both!), so I'm excited to see what other books you picked) the one that caught my attention from this list is Things don't break on their own. I'll add it to my tbr.
I thought the name Alia Trabucco Zerán sounded familiar and it's because I read a fantastic nonfiction book by her called When Women Kill. It's true crime but like sociological true crime; instead of solving the murders or debating if the women were guilty or not, the writer examines how newspapers, courtrooms, and the victims' families explained the murders. Strongly recommend! I thought it was really cool to read about how men and women can commit the same crime and be regarded differently.
