|
July 14
|
|
RA
gave
 
to:
The Time Traveler's Wife (Paperback)
by Audrey Niffenegger
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
read in July, 2008
RA said:
"Would recommend: Yes
The Time Traveler's Wife is one of the best novels I've read this year. I've been disappointed with most of the fiction I've tried this year, so reading a novel that was enjoyable, intellectual, and compelling was a re...more
Would recommend: Yes
The Time Traveler's Wife is one of the best novels I've read this year. I've been disappointed with most of the fiction I've tried this year, so reading a novel that was enjoyable, intellectual, and compelling was a real treat. I was only disenchanted with it at the end, when I was not totally sure what happened. Can someone explain it to me? I feel like I need to re-read a few sections to get the whole idea, and I am not usually so imperceptive when it comes to plot. I really enjoyed reading this book, but the last ten percent of it did not live up to the rest, in my opinion. Or maybe I just don't get it....less
"
|
|
RA
is currently reading:
Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time (Paperback)
by Greg Mortenson, David Oliver Relin
bookshelves:
currently-reading
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
|
|
July 07
|
|
RA
gave
to:
The Good Earth (Oprah's Book Club)
by Pearl S. Buck
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
read in July, 2008
RA said:
"Would recommend: Maybe
I loved Pearl S. Buck's Letter from Peking, so I picked up a copy of The Good Earth when I saw it at a used book shop. Even though I would not enthusiastically recommend this book, I am still glad that I read ...more
Would recommend: Maybe
I loved Pearl S. Buck's Letter from Peking, so I picked up a copy of The Good Earth when I saw it at a used book shop. Even though I would not enthusiastically recommend this book, I am still glad that I read it. I like how the author's tone sounds distinctly Chinese to me, but the plot wanders a bit, and the book feels longer than its 300 or so pages. It's more of a book to build character than to entertain....less
"
|
|
July 03
|
|
RA
gave
to:
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (Paperback)
by Mark Haddon
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
read in June, 2008
RA said:
"Would recommend: Yes
I read this book in less than 24 hours, which speaks both to its compelling narrator and my interest in the plot. I think The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is a really excellent example of the unreliabl...more
Would recommend: Yes
I read this book in less than 24 hours, which speaks both to its compelling narrator and my interest in the plot. I think The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is a really excellent example of the unreliable narrator, and I felt such empathy for him as he struggled to come to the same discovery that is so evident to the reader.
I didn't find the second half to be quite as good as the first, but the overall plot structure, tone, and mathematical digressions were really unique. This is the first book I have been able to heartily recommend in a very long time....less
"
|
|
RA
gave
to:
Literally, the Best Language Book Ever: Annoying Words and Abused Phrases You Should Never Use Again (Paperback)
by Paul Yeager
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
read in June, 2008
RA said:
"Would recommend: Maybe, for skimming
I thought I would really love this book, but then I read the introduction and realized that the author is the managing editor of the illustrious publication, Accuweather.com. Uh, what?
It's not to say that ...more
Would recommend: Maybe, for skimming
I thought I would really love this book, but then I read the introduction and realized that the author is the managing editor of the illustrious publication, Accuweather.com. Uh, what?
It's not to say that Paul Yeager is not knowledgeable, and he makes a valiant effort at explaining the subjunctive tense, but if we were to follow the edicts of this book, we would never speak in figures of speech, employ trendy phrases, or be even the slightest bit lax in our spoken language. His overall message of being precise, intentional, and creative in language gets lost in a sea of snark and unnecessary points of emphasis, which is a shame.
Oh, and I found a typo. Interpret that as you will....less
"
|
|
June 25
|
|
RA
gave
to:
My Sister's Keeper (Paperback)
by Jodi Picoult
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
read in June, 2008
RA said:
"Would recommend: Probably not
Practically every woman I've met has recommended this book, as well as Jodi Picoult's entire body of fiction, so I was hoping to love My Sister's Keeper as much as they did. I was primed for it: I am a younger...more
Would recommend: Probably not
Practically every woman I've met has recommended this book, as well as Jodi Picoult's entire body of fiction, so I was hoping to love My Sister's Keeper as much as they did. I was primed for it: I am a younger sister, I edit medical articles, and I internalize traumatic situations. It should have been a slam dunk.
But, no. I didn't appreciate Picoult's mechanism of shifting the narrator from character to character (or the publisher's choice to switch up typefaces accordingly) because I view it as a shallow method to avoid committing to a narrator for the book's entirety. The ending was unsatisfying and predictable for me, and I'm just glad it only took me a week or so to get to it. I don't intend to read any of Picoult's other books.
I also found three blatant errors that should have been found by any rookie copy editor, and these only served to raise my ire even more....less
"
|
|
RA
marked as to-read:
When You Catch an Adjective, Kill It: The Parts of Speech, for Better And/Or Worse (Hardcover)
by Ben Yagoda
bookshelves:
to-read
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
|
|
June 22
|
|
RA
marked as to-read:
The Road (Hardcover)
by Cormac McCarthy
bookshelves:
to-read
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
|
|
June 09
|
|
RA
gave
to:
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America (Paperback)
by Erik Larson
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
read in June, 2008
RA said:
"Would recommend: Probably
I read The Devil in the White City in less than a week, and for a book of almost 400 pages, that's saying something. The story was very compelling, and I found the descriptions of late 19th-century Chicago fascina...more
Would recommend: Probably
I read The Devil in the White City in less than a week, and for a book of almost 400 pages, that's saying something. The story was very compelling, and I found the descriptions of late 19th-century Chicago fascinating. I feel the need to look up more about the Chicago World's Fair, as well as visit the city itself. The two main characters (I hesitate to use that term since they were real people) held up their own story lines very well, and it was, as they say, a real page-turner.
However, I can't recommend this book wholeheartedly because of one major shortcoming. The author, Erik Larson, hailed as "a historian with the soul of a novelist," (according to one of the blurb reviews on the cover) has a heavy-handed style appropriate for suspense movies and supposedly-thrilling historical documentaries. Almost every segment - as in, many times during each chapter - ends with a sentence to the effect of, "This man/event/action would later be viewed as significant/important/life-altering." I find this type of "look out below!" foreshadowing to be borderline insulting, and half of the foreboding predictions barely lived up to the hype. I could not stop myself from rolling my eyes every time some melodramatic line touted of importance later on, and it detracted from the overall credibility of the book. The content was engaging enough without minor chords in the background, telling me that I should wake up and be interested.
That said, the information in this book is really amazing, and the sinister nature of the one of the main characters spooked me on multiple occasions. I don't know that I would read it again, but I can completely understand why several folks recommended this book to me in the first place....less
"
|
|
June 03
|
|
RA
gave
to:
The Opposite of Fate: Memories of a Writing Life (Paperback)
by Amy Tan
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
read in June, 2008
RA said:
"Would recommend: Yes
I was under the impression that The Opposite of Fate was a cohesive memoir, but it's more of a collection of essays. That's not to say that I did not enjoy it, or that I did not receive a full sense of Amy Tan's life, ...more
Would recommend: Yes
I was under the impression that The Opposite of Fate was a cohesive memoir, but it's more of a collection of essays. That's not to say that I did not enjoy it, or that I did not receive a full sense of Amy Tan's life, but the pieces in this book are not designed to flow together, and there are some redundant, overlapping parts. That said, I enjoyed the book immensely. Amy Tan is one of my favorite authors of fiction, and her nonfiction voice is equally appealing. Her words about her family and her so-called "responsibility as an Asian-American writer" were very compelling for me, and I gained a lot of insight into her fiction work. I need to re-read The Joy Luck Club now, I think....less
"
|
