Hashi's recent posts

Recent public posts (showing 1-20 of 34).

Hey Michael, someone from work just handed me this book, and I'm tossing up whether to add it to my list or not. I guess I'll dip a toe in and see how I like the water...

Glad you liked it :-)

Only two stars, hmmm. Tell me why later.

American Psycho. I do not want to be that disturbed.

"At Swim, Two Boys" by Jamie O'Neill. Loved it. Some reviewers apparently find the language difficult to follow but I didn't (maybe my ear is more attuned, being Australian? dunno). The ending didn't gel for me but I gave it four stars anyway.

I just bailed on "At Swim-Too-Birds" after 100 pages, which is VERY unusual for me; I normally force myself to finish books that I dislike but in this case I decided life was too short to waste on this random nonsense.

Before that was "All the Pretty Horses" which I loved.

Emma, my teenage daughter shared your sentiments about Confederacy of Dunces. She HATED it because of the obnoxious main character. But I found it very funny, and gave it four stars :-)

"Another World" by Pat Barker. According to many reviewers here on goodreads, her Regeneration trilogy is wonderful but this book is a disappointment. It had an interesting setup but failed to coalesce. It was like she lost interest half way through writing it, or just couldn't figure out how to get all the strands to come together.

A two-week slog through "The Ambassadors" by Henry James, followed by a hour or two re-reading Orwell's "Animal Farm". I think I want another short one before tackling "Anna Karenina", the next book on my list. I call The Ambassadors a slog, but I gave it 4 stars in the end. Even though nothing really happens!

Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood. It's my first Atwood, and I've heard it's not her best. I thought it was very slow. I kept waiting for the payoff but it didn't come.

Rreimer, I'm reading the books (as available) in alphabetical order by title. This way I'm covering all genres and authors randomly. So far there's only one book I've decided NOT to read: American Psycho. I bought it used, and in fact it would be the next one on my list, but after reading all the reviews here, I've chosen not to be disturbed by it.

Against the Grain by Joris-Karl Huysmans. Very tedious. Bleah.

A Dry White Season by André Brink. This is a book I doubt I would ever have come across without the list. At first I thought "Oh no, another African book" (because I had so much trouble with A Question of Power) but this one was very readable. I gave it four stars.

A Question of Power by Bessie Head (off the new list). Ack, it was difficult. Knowing little about Africa and less about mental illness, I felt I just wasn't 'getting' it. But maybe others will.

"The Age of Innocence" by Edith Wharton. I didn't expect to like it as much as I did. I thought the ending was perfect.
Right before that, I whipped through "The 13 Clocks" a children's story by James Thurber (off the new, expanded list). Delightful and delicious.

I LOVED this book when I read it long ago. It's on my list to re-read. LOVED IT!

The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford. Light and fluffy. A fast read.

The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow. My workmate warned me that it was boring and heavy-going, but I didn't find it so.

I really liked this. But then, I really like nearly everything by Murakami.

I checked with my reader chums at work, and none of them could come up with a Lessing recommendation. "Too depressing" was the general verdict. The 1001 list has Shikasta, The Golden Notebook, The Diary of Jane Somers, and The Grass in Singing, so eventually I'll be reading those :-)