http://www.goodreads.com/review/list_rss/4334 en-US Wed, 23 Apr 2008 21:16:27 -0700 60 http://www.goodreads.com/ 200 41 http://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/gr_logo.gif 20849099 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 21:16:27 -0700
author: Sarah Dunant
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2003
rating: 3
read at: 10/07
date added: 04/23/08
shelves: historicalfiction
review:

]]> 20848995 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 21:15:27 -0700
author: Elizabeth Gilbert
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at: 10/07
date added: 04/23/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 20848950 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 21:14:37 -0700
author: Suze Orman
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 03/08
date added: 04/23/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 20848857 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 21:13:44 -0700
author: Michael Beaumier
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.27
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 04/08
date added: 04/23/08
shelves: memoir
review:
Funny, funny stuff.
]]> 20848488 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 21:08:14 -0700
author: J.K. Rowling
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2000
rating: 4
read at: 10/07
date added: 04/23/08
shelves: childrens
review:

]]> 5983971 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 21:07:34 -0700
author: J.K. Rowling
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.34
book published: 1999
rating: 4
read at: 09/07
date added: 04/23/08
shelves: childrens
review:

]]> 20848253 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 21:05:45 -0700
author: Valerie Steiker
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.21
book published: 2008
rating: 3
read at: 04/08
date added: 04/23/08
shelves: memoir, shortstories
review:
I love Brooklyn.
]]> 20848120 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 21:04:16 -0700
author: Augusten Burroughs
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2004
rating: 4
read at: 04/08
date added: 04/23/08
shelves: memoir
review:
Funny stuff
]]> 20847943 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 21:02:14 -0700
author: Caroline Knapp
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.93
book published: 1992
rating: 3
read at: 02/08
date added: 04/23/08
shelves: memoir
review:
Well, this book didn't get me to stop drinking, but it got me to stop smoking...
]]> 40763 Wed, 26 Dec 2007 17:56:39 -0800
author: Franz Kafka
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.81
book published: 1915
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 12/26/07
shelves: shortstories
review:
It has been a long time since I read this book but it is one of those reference point works that stays with you forever. I just remember feeling so sorry for Gregor and I think everyone goes through a point in their life when they feel like no one can understand them and like they are different from everyone around them.
]]> 5984028 Mon, 10 Sep 2007 07:35:58 -0700
author: Gary Shteyngart
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.53
book published: 2003
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 09/10/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 5983960 Mon, 10 Sep 2007 07:34:28 -0700
author: J.K. Rowling
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.04
book published: 1998
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 09/10/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 5983958 Mon, 10 Sep 2007 07:34:27 -0700
author: J.K. Rowling
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1997
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 09/10/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 5983947 Mon, 10 Sep 2007 07:34:08 -0700
author: Natalie Angier
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 09/10/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 144889 Fri, 02 Mar 2007 17:21:25 -0800
author: Paul Hawken
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.14
book published: 1979
rating: 4
read at: 01/05
date added: 03/02/07
shelves:
review:
I remembered that I read this book after I saw the film Pan's Labrynth. Some pretty crazy shit happens at Findhorn. It still exists. I would love to go there some day.
]]> 56761 Mon, 19 Feb 2007 09:12:26 -0800
author: Roald Dahl
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2001
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 02/19/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 56757 Mon, 19 Feb 2007 09:11:28 -0800
author: Roald Dahl
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1983
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 02/19/07
shelves: childrens
review:
I love this book. I used to think the witches were kind of hot.
]]> 54066 Sun, 18 Feb 2007 10:23:23 -0800
author: William Julius Wilson
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.63
book published: 1997
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 02/18/07
shelves: sociology
review:

]]> 54065 Sun, 18 Feb 2007 10:22:46 -0800
author: Christina Hoff Sommers
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.38
book published: 2001
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 02/18/07
shelves: politics, sociology
review:

]]> 54064 Sun, 18 Feb 2007 10:22:24 -0800
author: Macdonald
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.71
book published: 1995
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 02/18/07
shelves: psychology, sociology
review:

]]> 54063 Sun, 18 Feb 2007 10:21:50 -0800
author: Rachel Simmons
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2003
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 02/18/07
shelves: psychology, sociology
review:

]]> 54062 Sun, 18 Feb 2007 10:19:26 -0800
author: Marvin Harris
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.38
book published: 1990
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 02/18/07
shelves: sociology
review:

]]> 54057 Sun, 18 Feb 2007 10:19:08 -0800
author: Marvin Harris
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.96
book published: 1989
rating: 5
read at: 01/96
date added: 02/18/07
shelves: sociology
review:
Do you want to know why cows are sacred in India, why Jews and Muslims don't eat pigs, and why this dude named Jesus became the Messiah? Then read this book.
]]> 54056 Sun, 18 Feb 2007 10:15:48 -0800
author: Sophocles
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at: 01/93
date added: 02/18/07
shelves:
review:
Killed his father, screwed his mother, poked his own eyes out with pins...pretty scandalous stuff to a 16 year-old in Western PA!!
]]> 54055 Sun, 18 Feb 2007 10:14:20 -0800
author: Sophocles
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.28
book published: 1999
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 02/18/07
shelves:
review:
Poor Antigone, her family really sucked!
]]> 54054 Sun, 18 Feb 2007 10:13:32 -0800
author: Aristophanes
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.85
book published: 411
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 02/18/07
shelves:
review:
Hands down the funniest of all the Greek plays I have read. The women withold sex from the men to end the war, it's brilliant!
]]> 54037 Sun, 18 Feb 2007 10:12:07 -0800
author: Jay Mcinerney
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2002
rating: 3
read at: 01/04
date added: 02/18/07
shelves: memoir
review:
Mcinerney is a very clever writer but only true wine geeks would understand what the hell he is talking about in this book, or care!
]]> 53950 Sun, 18 Feb 2007 09:54:16 -0800
author: William Shakespeare
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.75
book published: 1600
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 02/18/07
shelves: plays
review:
I firmly believe that Shakepeare's plays should seen performed rather than read by oneself in silence, however, The Merchant of Venice has two of my most favorite passages and sometimes I find myself reciting them to myself in my mind for no apparent reason. They are, of course, Portia's "Mercy" speech and Shylock's "Hath a Jew Not Eyes?" speech.
]]> 53941 Sun, 18 Feb 2007 09:37:48 -0800
author: Henrik Johan Ibsen
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.58
book published: 1879
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 02/18/07
shelves: plays
review:
Another great work from the Victorian era about the struggles of being female in that time. I really found myself rooting for Nora to break free.
]]> 53922 Sun, 18 Feb 2007 09:33:04 -0800
author: Karl Marx
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.53
book published: 1848
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 02/18/07
shelves:
review:
marx is like a god in the world of sociology. He was really brilliant and had beautiful ideas, too bad most people are selfish and his ideas have never been put into practice in a positive way. I mean, to go from Marx to Stalin in like 50 years, scary scary!!
]]> 53916 Sun, 18 Feb 2007 09:30:40 -0800
author: Nancy Chodorow
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1978
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 02/18/07
shelves: psychology, sociology
review:
If you want to understand why (most) little boys grow up to men and (most) little girls grow up to be women, read this book. It explains how what we learn from day one really shapes our gender identities.
]]> 53911 Sun, 18 Feb 2007 09:28:15 -0800
author: Charlotte Perkins Gilman
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1998
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 02/18/07
shelves: shortstories
review:
Victorian woman goes mad in her own "gilded cage." Really made me see how hard women had it in that repressive era. I would have went nuts, too!
]]> 53906 Sun, 18 Feb 2007 09:26:29 -0800
author: Shirley Jackson
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.03
book published: 1949
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 02/18/07
shelves: shortstories
review:
The Lottery is one of my favorite short stories. It is so twisted, like The Crucible, I think it is a great commentary on how groups of people are infinitely more dangerous than individuals because mass hysteria, dogmatic thinking, and a lack of personal responsibility prevents anyone from speaking out against atrocities.
]]> 40339 Sun, 18 Feb 2007 09:19:44 -0800
author: Jeffrey Eugenides
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2002
rating: 4
read at: 01/07
date added: 02/18/07
shelves: americanfiction
review:
It's funny because I came away from this book with the same feeling I got from The Kite Runner, I loved the first half or even 2/3rds and then the ending just went too far out into left field for me to find it plausible. I think Eugenides is a beautiful writer, though, and I have to give him respect for making me really like characters who were incestous! Plus, I learned a lot about hermaphrodites and the Greek immigrant experience.
]]> 40823 Sun, 18 Feb 2007 09:10:15 -0800
author: James Redfield
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.39
book published: 1995
rating: 3
read at: 01/06
date added: 02/18/07
shelves: religionspirituality
review:
Ok, a lot of the writing was pretty cliched but I did like the overall idea of people coming together to elevate to some higher spiritual plane and I do think that the church and/or the gov't would definitely try to supress that kind of activity. I wonder how the movie turned out.
]]> 41068 Sun, 18 Feb 2007 09:03:34 -0800
author: Jonathan Kozol
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.29
book published: 1992
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 02/18/07
shelves: sociology
review:
Kozol spent time in some of the most underperforming/ineffetive public schools and demonstrated the great divide that exists in public education for the haves and have-nots. Depressing but important because it clearly shows that many public schools in the U.S. are disgraceful and need major reforms.
]]> 41922 Sun, 18 Feb 2007 09:00:33 -0800
author: Italo Calvino
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.73
book published: 1990
rating: 4
read at: 01/05
date added: 02/18/07
shelves: shortstories
review:
This is book is sensual and highly erotic in that the stories are about the senses of smell, taste, and touch. I quite enjoyed the vivid descriptions and got really lost in the scenes.
]]> 53869 Sun, 18 Feb 2007 08:56:45 -0800
author: Arthur Miller
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.56
book published: 1952
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 02/18/07
shelves: plays
review:
I really like this play because it is a compelling story in and of itself and, on a higher level, it is an astute social commentary on mass hysteria and societal pressure to conform.
]]> 53870 Sun, 18 Feb 2007 08:50:28 -0800
author: Alice Walker
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1982
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 02/18/07
shelves: americanfiction
review:
I read this book at my grandmother's house in Maine one summer. maybe it was the summer I was sick in bed for three weeks because my memeory of reading it is hazy. I have seen the movie a bunch of times, both are very good. I think the brutality came through even more in the novel.
]]> 53868 Sun, 18 Feb 2007 08:48:00 -0800 ]]>
author: Nathaniel Hawthorne
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.29
book published: 2002
rating: 3
read at: 01/94
date added: 02/18/07
shelves: americanfiction
review:
If I would have reviewed this book in High School when I read it, I would have given it only one star because I found reading it miserable. (It is definitely one that I skipped a few chapters in.) However, now that I am older, I can appreciate its merits a bit more. If I ever have the time, I might pick it up again.

]]> 44151 Thu, 15 Feb 2007 10:35:15 -0800
author: Frances Fox Piven
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.33
book published: 1993
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 02/15/07
shelves: sociology
review:
I haven't read this in a looong time but it is an essential text in the field of sociology. It first came out in 1971 and the second edition was early 1990s. It explains pretty clearly the necessity of a welfare system and also some of the problems with various welfare plans.
]]> 44141 Thu, 15 Feb 2007 10:28:50 -0800
author: Milan Kundera
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1990
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 02/15/07
shelves: internationalfiction
review:
I tried but I couldn't figure out what the hell this book was about. I never finished it.
]]> 44113 Thu, 15 Feb 2007 10:27:18 -0800
author: Dorothy Parker
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.64
book published: 1926
rating: 4
read at: 01/05
date added: 02/15/07
shelves: poetry
review:
Poetry is not usually my bag, but I do love this short book of Dorothy Parker poems. She is so bitchy and biting and her poems are short!! I don't think it is in print anymore but I am sure all the poems can be found in her anthologies.
]]> 43904 Thu, 15 Feb 2007 10:11:41 -0800
author: Jostein Gaarder
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.72
book published: 1995
rating: 3
read at: 01/96
date added: 02/15/07
shelves: internationalfiction
review:
A great intro to the major Western Philosophers wrapped up in a cute story about a young girl named Sophie. However, it went on and on and the end was pretty convoluted. I think there was time travel and all kinds of weird stuff.
]]> 43416 Thu, 15 Feb 2007 08:39:03 -0800
author: Wilson Rawls
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.14
book published: 1996
rating: 4
read at: 01/86
date added: 02/15/07
shelves: childrens
review:
I will remember this book forever. The story is so heartwarming and so sad. In fact, in 5th grade the teacher couldn't even read the ending out loud to the class because she started crying, even though she had read the book to her class every year. Definitely one of my favorites when I was young.
]]> 40343 Thu, 15 Feb 2007 08:36:19 -0800
author: Anita Diamant
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.16
book published: 1997
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 02/15/07
shelves: historicalfiction
review:
I quite liked the tale told in this book. I thought the description of the pre-Christ Judeo life was really interesting. However, I don't think that the author is an amazing writer. She's good, but not great. While the story was gripping, the prose was not.
]]> 41952 Thu, 15 Feb 2007 07:30:04 -0800
author: Anna Quindlen
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.21
book published: 1998
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 02/15/07
shelves: americanfiction
review:
Really good characterization of a girl on the cusp of womanhood. I am always impressed when authors can write from a younger person's point of view so realistically. The well-developed characters are what made this simple and touching story compelling.
]]> 40762 Thu, 15 Feb 2007 06:46:35 -0800
author: Anthony Burgess
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.91
book published: 1962
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 02/15/07
shelves: internationalfiction
review:
I read this book when I was studying Russian pretty heavily and, although it is not my favorite story in the world, I thought the use of language was brilliant and original. Basically, he took 60s-era English slang and replaced words like "bird" (for girl) with their Russian equivalent (ptitsa(sp?))Also, the Russian word for good is (phonetically) harashow, which he wrote as "horrorshow", which, of course, this whole story is.
]]> 42359 Wed, 14 Feb 2007 17:35:27 -0800
author: Neil Simon
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.75
book published: 1998
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 02/14/07
shelves: plays
review:

]]> 42326 Wed, 14 Feb 2007 17:22:00 -0800
author: Thich Nhat Hanh
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 02/14/07
shelves: religionspirituality
review:
The most important and simplistic spiritual book I've ever read.
]]> 40485 Wed, 14 Feb 2007 17:20:47 -0800
author: Dave Eggers
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2000
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 02/14/07
shelves: memoir
review:
I really loved this book. I can't believe people don't get that the title is tongue-in-cheek. I think Eggers did an amazing job telling a story that starts out so tragic in a realistic and self-deprecating way that manages to bring humor to what actually must have been a pretty hard few years.
]]> 42288 Wed, 14 Feb 2007 17:08:24 -0800
author: Toni Morrison
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.70
book published: 1999
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 02/14/07
shelves: americanfiction
review:
I can barely remember this one but I know there were some characters in it that I really liked.
]]> 42286 Wed, 14 Feb 2007 17:07:27 -0800
author: Toni Morrison
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1998
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 02/14/07
shelves: americanfiction
review:
This book was hard for me. I appreciate its literary merits but I had trouble figuring out what the hell was going on (granted, I read it a long time ago.)
]]> 42279 Wed, 14 Feb 2007 17:05:26 -0800
author: Roddy Doyle
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2002
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 02/14/07
shelves: internationalfiction
review:
Really great. I thought it was so realistic and yet so funny, considering the subject matter. I loved when her doctor tells her how many units of alcohol she could have a week (while pregnant) and she asked if she could save them all up and drink them all on Saturday night!
]]> 42275 Wed, 14 Feb 2007 17:03:13 -0800
author: Roddy Doyle
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.70
book published: 1991
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 02/14/07
shelves: internationalfiction
review:
Very funny with a lot of heart.
]]> 42271 Wed, 14 Feb 2007 17:01:19 -0800
author: Roddy Doyle
name: Rachel
average rating: 3.89
book published: 1997
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 02/14/07
shelves: internationalfiction
review:
My least favorite of the Barrytown triology but still quite funny.
]]> 42266 Wed, 14 Feb 2007 16:59:07 -0800
author: Arundhati Roy
name: Rachel
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1997
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 02/14/07
shelves: internationalfiction
review:
I liked this book but maybe not as much as most people. I mean, just how much can you talk about pickling and chutney? But the ending, wow, shocking.
]]> 41986