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May 15
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Amanda
is currently reading:
Then We Came to the End (Paperback)
by Joshua Ferris
bookshelves:
currently-reading
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Amanda said:
"I'm half-way through. The parallels between this book and true office life thus far are scary....
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Amanda
gave
to:
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Paperback)
by Jean-Dominique Bauby
bookshelves:
currently-reading
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Amanda said:
"Please don't line up the firing squad just yet! I like this book.... but I don't LOVE this book. I really don't feel I'm being insensitive. I respect the effort and insight that were put into the creation of this work, but I find the chapters are ...more
Please don't line up the firing squad just yet! I like this book.... but I don't LOVE this book. I really don't feel I'm being insensitive. I respect the effort and insight that were put into the creation of this work, but I find the chapters are too short to be engaging. It feels like a series of vignettes capable of existing independently of one another. Each chapter is only about 5 pages, and there is no driving force or through line. Each chapter I finish, I find myself saying, "Oh, that was nice," or, "How intersting!" and closing the book without feeling the need to pick it up again.
I will finish this book at some point, but I feel no urgent need to do so now.
Stay tuned.......less
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March 10
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New comment on Brandy's review of
A Widow for One Year
reply to this comment
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Amanda
gave
to:
Into the Wild (Paperback)
by Jon Krakauer
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in March, 2008
Amanda said:
"I am not sure whether Christopher McCandless was extremely noble or immensely stupid. I am also not sure whether John Krakauer was able to convincingly sway me one way or the other. I am positive however, that he did a brilliant job of taking me th...more
I am not sure whether Christopher McCandless was extremely noble or immensely stupid. I am also not sure whether John Krakauer was able to convincingly sway me one way or the other. I am positive however, that he did a brilliant job of taking me through the last few years of McCandless’ life to the best of his ability and based on all the facts he was capable of gathering.
I still have questions about the McCandless family dynamic, but they are not questions I feel Krakauer would ever have been able to answer. I also cannot understand what good Chris McCandeless thought he was doing the world by giving up all of his possessions and becoming a "tramp," as he put it. It would be my opinion that anyone truly looking to better the world would consider the privilege and intelligence he was given in life as tools in that quest. But Chris McCandless seemed to abhor these gifts. He viewed them as burdens. These are also concerns Krakauer is not fully able to put into focus, but I believe that is mainly based on the fact that all he knows of McCandless comes from second-hand knowledge.
What I enjoy most about the structure of this biography is how it begins with Krakauer telling us that there may be a degree of partiality in his telling of the events, and how he later ties in to his own life's adventures. This makes it obvious why he is able to so readily sympathize with what McCandless believed and attempted to accomplish by entering the Alaskan bush. I also think his use of passages from literature (some underscored by McCandless himself as discovered in novels found amongst his remains) tie in superbly with the theme of a personal journey to a more simplistic life.
This was a very interesting story and a great read all around. I really would recommend this book to anyone....less
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Amanda
gave
to:
Strait is the Gate (Tusk Ivories Series)
by André Gide
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in March, 2008
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February 28
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New comment on Kristen's review of
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
(see all 2 comments)
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February 26
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Amanda
gave
to:
The Lovely Bones (Paperback)
by Alice Sebold
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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Amanda
gave
to:
Me Talk Pretty One Day (Paperback)
by David Sedaris
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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Amanda said:
"David Sedaris has the ability to make me laugh so hard I start to cry.... in public. I love this book. I really believe it is his best work. I recommend it to everyone. He is just genius. His power of observation and his ability to verbalize his...more
David Sedaris has the ability to make me laugh so hard I start to cry.... in public. I love this book. I really believe it is his best work. I recommend it to everyone. He is just genius. His power of observation and his ability to verbalize his thoughts is unlike that of any other author I have read....less
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Amanda
gave
to:
Thomas Hardy: Tess of the D'Urbervilles The Mayor of Casterbridge Far from the Madding Crowd (Hardcover)
by Thomas Hardy
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Amanda said:
"One that I could have read in high school English class and I'm glad I didn't. I think I appreciated it much more as an adult, reading this of my own volition.
Thomas Hardy is one of favorite authors. I feel many of his themes are as relevant to...more
One that I could have read in high school English class and I'm glad I didn't. I think I appreciated it much more as an adult, reading this of my own volition.
Thomas Hardy is one of favorite authors. I feel many of his themes are as relevant today as they were when he was writing....less
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Amanda
gave
to:
Far from the Madding Crowd (Penguin Classics)
by Thomas Hardy
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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