|
June 27
|
|
Kathy
is currently reading:
The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat: And Other Clinical Tales (Paperback)
by
Oliver W. Sacks
bookshelves:
currently-reading
|
my rating:
|
| |
|
|
Kathy
is currently reading:
Most of P. G. Wodehouse (Paperback)
by
P.G. Wodehouse
bookshelves:
currently-reading
|
my rating:
|
| |
|
|
June 26
|
|
Kathy
gave  to:
Middlesex (Paperback)
by
Jeffrey Eugenides
bookshelves:
fiction,
reviewed
|
my rating:
|
| |
read in June, 2009
Kathy said:
"This was lovely -- funny and engaging. A little history, a little biology, and a sympathetic narrator. I thought the ending was a little too easy & clean, but the build up to it was nice.
"
|
|
June 18
|
|
Kathy
gave  to:
My Mistress's Sparrow Is Dead: Great Love Stories, from Chekhov to Munro (Paperback)
by
Jeffrey Eugenides (Editor)
bookshelves:
fiction,
reviewed
|
my rating:
|
| |
read in May, 2009
Kathy said:
"I've had this for a few months and finally picked it up one morning when I was feeling rather soft about my husband. I'm not one for sappy romances, and lo and behold my luck! This is a book of love stories meant for someone just like me. Wonderful s...more
I've had this for a few months and finally picked it up one morning when I was feeling rather soft about my husband. I'm not one for sappy romances, and lo and behold my luck! This is a book of love stories meant for someone just like me. Wonderful stories by wonderful authors full of angst, lust, death, cheating, and broken hearts that reveal the rawness and reality of love, not its rose hued glory.(less)
"
|
|
Kathy
gave to:
2666 (Hardcover)
by
Roberto Bolaño
bookshelves:
fiction,
reviewed
|
my rating:
|
| |
read in April, 2009
Kathy said:
"Beautifully written. I only wish I'd read it through faster. I put it down too often and so the five sections didn't entirely meld for me. They are clearly tied, but I felt like I missed something of the coherence by reading it in spurts like I did. ...more
Beautifully written. I only wish I'd read it through faster. I put it down too often and so the five sections didn't entirely meld for me. They are clearly tied, but I felt like I missed something of the coherence by reading it in spurts like I did. It's a massive 894 pages with many vividly drawn characters, but in the end I felt something missing. I'd to read this one again.(less)
"
|
|
April 05
|
|
Kathy
gave to:
Emergency: This Book Will Save Your Life (Paperback)
by
Neil Strauss
|
my rating:
|
| |
read in March, 2009
Kathy said:
"Much like _The Game_, it's an easy, funny read, and more than anything else, I love how much of himself he exposes (or at least, what he wants us to believe he's exposing of himself :)
"
|
|
March 22
|
|
Kathy
gave to:
Silas Marner (Bantam Classics)
by
George Eliot
bookshelves:
fiction,
reviewed
|
my rating:
|
| |
read in March, 2009
Kathy said:
"I read this over the weekend -- it was difficult to get into at first because I'd just finished _Lost in the City_. Eliot's use of language is so different from the contemporary Edward P. Jones' use of words. Long sentences that I had to read over ...more
I read this over the weekend -- it was difficult to get into at first because I'd just finished _Lost in the City_. Eliot's use of language is so different from the contemporary Edward P. Jones' use of words. Long sentences that I had to read over and over again to get all the meaning out of. The first sentence in my little mass market sized book (so pages are small) covers over 6 lines. And you had to get used to the archaic use of "nor" for "than". I learned some new vocabulary though.
But don't let that discourage you because it was a wonderful book! And once I got used to Eliot's style, the book was easy to read. This is a book full of little morals and Eliot does a great job of portraying some dramatic scene then summing up in a few sentences the nature of humans in relation to preceding moments in such a perfect way that you jab your finger into the book and say, "Yes! Yes! That's spot on!"
I think the entire book boils down to love/selflessness versus greed/selfishness. I'm a sentimentalist so I like how it turns out.
Side note: I found it terribly funny that he had a character (a very minor character only named once in the novel) named Ann Coulter who had a retarded child (p15).(less)
"
|
|
Kathy
gave to:
Lost in the City (Paperback)
by
Edward P. Jones
bookshelves:
fiction,
reviewed
|
my rating:
|
| |
read in March, 2009
Kathy said:
"I loved these stories. They were beautiful, little slices of life. Each sliver was richly described with characters you could really feel for. There is no pretty little bow at the end of these stories, but I liked that too -- the story ended, but ...more
I loved these stories. They were beautiful, little slices of life. Each sliver was richly described with characters you could really feel for. There is no pretty little bow at the end of these stories, but I liked that too -- the story ended, but you knew that wasn't the end (though it doesn't leave you unsatisfied in any way). In a couple of cases, you see recurring characters and it's a sweet surprise to know how those lives turned out. There's a lot of heartbreak and a lot of strength. But such is life, no?(less)
"
|
|
March 01
|
|
Kathy
gave to:
The Giver (Paperback)
by
Lois Lowry
bookshelves:
fiction,
reviewed
|
my rating:
|
| |
read in March, 2009
Kathy said:
"I don't know why I've always wanted to read this book -- probably because I've seen it hundreds of times at different bookstores. I bought this for my son once, but I don't think he's read it yet. I bought for him again this year (though I realize ...more
I don't know why I've always wanted to read this book -- probably because I've seen it hundreds of times at different bookstores. I bought this for my son once, but I don't think he's read it yet. I bought for him again this year (though I realize now he's way too old for it) so I kept the extra copy and read it.
I didn't know a thing about it when I started. It starts off as any typical big brother perfect future world novel would with monotony, monitoring, and rigid inflexibility. But everyone is happy; their world is good. And it's only when one boy learns that they're happy because they don't know any better that things start to go awry.
It's a kid's book so I wasn't particularly enthralled with it, but the narrative is interesting enough.(less)
"
|
|
Kathy
gave to:
Shadow Country (Modern Library)
by
Peter Matthiessen
bookshelves:
fiction,
reviewed
|
my rating:
|
| |
read in February, 2009
Kathy said:
"I really loved this book. I didn't know anything about the Watson legend before I started reading it, but it didn't matter. It's formatted as a trilogy so you hear mostly the same story from different points of view -- when I say it like that it sou...more
I really loved this book. I didn't know anything about the Watson legend before I started reading it, but it didn't matter. It's formatted as a trilogy so you hear mostly the same story from different points of view -- when I say it like that it sounds repetitive, but Matthiessen did a good job of not making it laborious. In fact, each of the three major parts gives you more information about the story you heard in the section before.
Edgar Watson, I guess true to what they say about his real life self, was a completely fascinating character. Gentle and charming sometimes, and mostly a feared killer the rest of the time with a penchant for moonshine and prone to violent moods, but I found him to be a sympathetic character throughout the novel.
Matthiessen's descriptions of the Everglades are rich and evocative, and pretty heartbreaking at times too when you read about how much killing was going on. I thought his writing was beautiful and his skilled use of language brought all his various characters alive and breathing for me.(less)
"
|
San Francisco Sex Information
— 34 members
— last activity 03/29/2009 01:30PM
