Martinxo's profile

170 ratings | 156 reviews
avg rating: 3.49

#4 top reviewers
#32 best reviewers

Martinxo's bookshelves

read (169)
currently-reading (2)
to-read (9)
2008 (87)
comics (21)
author---male (16)

abandoned (12)
sustainability---peak-oil (11)
spirituality (10)
author---female (8)
climbing (6)
food (5)

history (3)
short-stories (3)
politics (2)
peak-oil-book-club (2)
money (2)
humour (1)

comedy---humour (1)
sci-fi (1)

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Martinxo is currently reading

	10/09 Martinxo is currently reading: Path Notes of an American Ninja Master (Paperback) by Glenn Morris bookshelves: currently-reading, spirituality	my rating:
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	10/08 Martinxo is currently reading: Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future (Hardcover) by Bill McKibben bookshelves: currently-reading	my rating:
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Martinxo's recent updates (rss)

October 10

New comment on Elizabeth's review of The Outcast

Martinxo wrote: "Your review made me chuckle, thanks! "

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Martinxo read and liked Elizabeth's review of The Outcast:

"The only thing that sustained me through the 440 some pages of this piece of literary TRIPE was the thought of the chance to REAM it in a review. I swear that if my book group makes me read ONE MORE MEDIOCRE ORANGE PRIZE NOMINATION I will have to sl...more The only thing that sustained me through the 440 some pages of this piece of literary TRIPE was the thought of the chance to REAM it in a review. I swear that if my book group makes me read ONE MORE MEDIOCRE ORANGE PRIZE NOMINATION I will have to slit my wrists. I shoulda guessed… it does have a sticker on the cover touting it as a "Richard and Judy Summer Read." (If you want a very depressing summer read.)

This book is a sort of an Atonement wanna-be… Plot, characters, setting all seem to be lifted straight from Atonement, although it takes place 20 years later and the prose would have to be considered semi-literate twaddle even if I weren't comparing it to Ian McEwan's masterful writing. However, in contrast with Atonement, The Outcast has a bing-bong slap-up happy ending, which came as a surprise to me, since I spent most of the book wishing that the miserable main character would get on with it and drown himself. If Joan Bakewell (whoever she is) thinks this is "beautiful prose" and The Times thinks it's "beautifully written," all I can say is that our literary standards have now sunk so low that any few words strung together with a period at the end count as beautiful prose. The prose is DIRE. A sampling:

—"He had a sudden memory of Jeanie holding him, and the sweetness of the feeling, and had shame about it." He "had shame about it" only if English was his second language, which it clearly isn't, since it's hammered home that almost every character in the book is born and bred (very highly bred) in Sussex. You don't HAVE SHAME. You ARE or FEEL ashamed.

—"He felt the hopes that he'd had, and prison, and his father, and that he was lost." No, he didn't FEEL his FATHER.

—"…she had always thought that part of winning her battle was looking after herself, being someone who still looked after themselves." No, this character DOESN'T have a split personality. It's just that the author has failed to coordinate the agreement of the gender and number of some pretty straightforward pronouns, and NEITHER DID HER EDITOR. Did she HAVE an editor???

—"Lewis didn't think that was probably true." I don't really know what's wrong with this… It's not grammatically wrong, it's just sloppy and imprecise and awkward. It means "Lewis thought that probably wasn't true" or "Lewis didn't think that was true."

The WHOLE BOOK is like this. And the plot was depressing and the characters were all wretched, too.

O Chocolate Club: If you are reading this review: PLEASE don't make me read any more books from Tesco's.
...less "

2 comments

Martinxo gave

to:
The Outcast (Hardcover)
by Sadie Jones
bookshelves: author---female

my rating:

recommended to Martinxo by: Saw it in the library and wanted a book QUICK!
recommended for: Dads with young sons
read in October, 2008

Martinxo said: "I enjoyed this book. Not particulary challenging, I doubt it will stick in my memory for long. A good read nevertheless. "

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October 09

New comment on Ideath's review of Depletion and Abundance: Life on the New Home Front

Martinxo wrote: "Just ordered this, hopefully arriving in the UK next week. Her blog is essential reading in these t...more "

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Martinxo is currently reading:
Path Notes of an American Ninja Master (Paperback)
by Glenn Morris
bookshelves: currently-reading, spirituality

my rating:

add a comment

October 08

Martinxo joined the sustainabooks group.

Martinxo is currently reading:
Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future (Hardcover)
by Bill McKibben
bookshelves: currently-reading

my rating:

add a comment

Martinxo gave

to:
Hellblazer: Empathy is the Enemy (Hellblazer (Graphic Novels))
by Denise Mina
bookshelves: author---female, comics

my rating:

read in October, 2008

Martinxo said: "Didn't grip me as much as other Hellblazer comics. "

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Martinxo gave

to:
Girl Meets Boy: The Myth of Iphis (Hardcover)
by Ali Smith
bookshelves: 2008, author---female

my rating:

read in October, 2008

Martinxo said: "I really wanted to love this book but it ended up being just ok. Never mind. "

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October 07

Martinxo gave

to:
Death: The Time of Your Life (Paperback)
by Neil Gaiman (Goodreads author!)
bookshelves: 2008, comics

my rating:

read in October, 2008

Martinxo said: "Perhaps not as wonderful as the others in the series but it is kinda hard not to love Ms Death ;) "

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see all 169 of Martinxo's books »

Martinxo's groups (recent posts)

Peak Oil — 1 member — last activity 08/19/2008 12:59PM
Discuss books about and related to Peak Oil? How does that sound?

Climate Change, Environment and Ecology — 30 members — last activity 01/02/2008 03:27PM
A group for all those interested in reading, discussing and campaigning over Climate Change and environmental issues, particularly those interested in...more

sustainabooks — 86 members — last activity 07/26/2008 12:04PM
environmental, economic, and social sustainability.

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