false 39 705 691 true 5728297 read 2 true 419093 currently-reading 12 true 419092 to-read <![CDATA[Venessa is on page 97 of The Little Stranger ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77498525 Venessa is on page 97 of 466 of The Little Stranger ]]> <![CDATA[Venessa added 'The Little Stranger']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77498525 The Little Stranger (Hardcover) by Sarah Waters
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> <![CDATA[Venessa added 'In the Kitchen: A Novel']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76765983 to: In the Kitchen: A Novel (Hardcover) by Monica Ali
A self-centered, selfish chef's world starts to spiral out of control once a man is found dead in the catacombs underneath the London hotel in which he works and he "takes in" a mysterious woman who may have some connection with the dead man. I found this novel a classic study in all of the elements of novel writing that I studied in college: there is an obvious hero, even if he is unlikeable; clear progressions of plot leading to a frenzied climax and denouement. Not Ali's best, but good, with memorable, precise descriptions ("she lay on the bed like a homicide"). ]]> <![CDATA[Venessa added 'Natural Fashion: Tribal Decoration from Africa']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76811135 to: Natural Fashion: Tribal Decoration from Africa (Paperback) by Hans Silvester
SUPER cool book of photographs. Way beyond description. The photographer is amazing, and I can't even imagine the time it took these people to decorate themselves with flora. Beautiful! ]]> <![CDATA[new comment from Venessa]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75937115 Cherie's review of The Quiet American
by Graham Greene

yech, thanks for saying that, i'm NOT a hemingway fan! i'll stay far far away ;) ]]> <![CDATA[Venessa is on page 87 of In the Kitchen: A No... ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76765983 Venessa is on page 87 of 352 of In the Kitchen: A Novel ]]> <![CDATA[Venessa added 'Unless']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76765322 to: Unless (Hardcover) by Carol Shields
I loved the chapter titles. OK: funny first thing to say about a book but it's true! I was reminded a bit of Atwood's style, which is also funny, as she is mentioned in this book. A bit of plot: a family is struggling to understand why their daughter basically drops out of life to sit on a Toronto street corner day in and day out. Told by the mother, in first person.

Structurally, I loved how Shields told this story. I loved how the narrator would be talking about what was happening to her in that day, and seamlessly delve into the past, and then back again to the present. (I'm exhausted right now, and am having a hard time describing this in any better way!) It's harder to do than most people would think. ]]> <![CDATA[Venessa added 'The White Mary: A Novel']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75426236 to: The White Mary: A Novel (Paperback) by Kira Salak
Could not put this down either, like Cherie!! (Although I liked the beginning better than the ending for some reason.) As a tough war journalist, Marika travels the world over covering atrocities that 95% of the population in the US could not fathom existed, or when confronted with them, put their heads back into the sand to ignore. When she hears that her idol has not committed suicide as widely believed and reported, Marika goes to remote Papua New Guinea in search of him. Her most dangerous journey yet, she spends months in the jungle, surviving one near death experience after another, in order to find him. (Side note: Salak was the first woman to travel extensively in PNG, and I can't WAIT to read her account of that, although I don't generally read memoirs.)

Some things that kept this from getting five stars: I found it a bit unbelievable that she would go out on a wild whim in order to find someone. Sure, it was representative of a soul search (and was) but.... I still thought it a bit of a stretch. Also, almost all of the characters has supporting roles to Marika, they did not really seem to exist without her. Still, a great read. ]]> <![CDATA[Venessa added 'The Stone Diaries']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/74928489 to: The Stone Diaries (Paperback) by Carol Shields
Good, but I suppose I'm still trying to figure out why Shields got the Pulitzer for this particular work....

I do love her descriptions: vivid and thoughtful, very imaginable. I also loved the point of view, although I'm also still trying to figure out how it was told for the last chapter....hmmmm....

In all, a book about an "ordinary" woman who has extraordinary things happen in her life, which can pretty much sum it up about all "ordinary" people. ]]> <![CDATA[Venessa added 'Ruin: Photographs of a Vanishing America']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/74928161 to: Ruin: Photographs of a Vanishing America (Hardcover) by Brian Vanden Brink
From what I observed, most of the photographs were of the northeast, particularly Maine. A coworker commented on how a whole book like this could be dedicated to the urban ruin that is Buffalo, although there are still a lot of great, non-ruins in Buffalo, too. Decent photos. ]]>