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October 05
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Martha
is currently reading:
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt (Modern Library Paperbacks)
by Edmund Morris
bookshelves:
currently-reading,
non-fiction,
own,
presidents
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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Martha
gave
to:
The Mysterious Benedict Society (Paperback)
by Trenton Lee Stewart
bookshelves:
own,
ya
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in September, 2008
Martha said:
"There was a lot about this book that was entertaining, but unfortunately, there was also a lot that didn't work at all. The characters are set up nicely and they have a lot of potential, but as the adventure/mystery moves along it falls apart at the...more
There was a lot about this book that was entertaining, but unfortunately, there was also a lot that didn't work at all. The characters are set up nicely and they have a lot of potential, but as the adventure/mystery moves along it falls apart at the seams. The plot is just way too thin to sustain a book that is so long. Hopefully the sequel came up with a better story for these charming characters to be a part of. ...less
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September 17
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New comment on sarah's review of
The Historian
(see all 2 comments)
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September 08
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Martha
gave
to:
On Beauty (Paperback)
by Zadie Smith
bookshelves:
1001,
own
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in September, 2008
Martha said:
"If I had half-stars, I would give this three and a half stars. I really like Smith's writing style and I definitely enjoyed parts of this book. But, it was hard to like any of the characters (which, Susie so smartly pointed out to me a while back)....more
If I had half-stars, I would give this three and a half stars. I really like Smith's writing style and I definitely enjoyed parts of this book. But, it was hard to like any of the characters (which, Susie so smartly pointed out to me a while back). I also feel like On Beauty really lacked the history that you got from White Teeth. You know that Belsey and Kipps have a long standing feud, but you never really found out much about it. Kiki and Howard repeatedly say that they were best friends when they got married, but aside from that you learn very little about the history of their relationship and it is hard to imagine them ever being best friends. As I said, I really like Zadie Smith's style, but I ended up wanting a lot more out of this book than I actually got....less
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Martha
gave
to:
Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time (Paperback)
by Dava Sobel
bookshelves:
non-fiction,
own
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in September, 2008
Martha said:
"A quick, interesting read. The title (with subtitle) really is all the description you need.
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September 05
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Martha
added a quote:
"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire."
— William Butler Yeats
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September 03
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Martha
gave
to:
Superpowers: A Novel (Paperback)
by David J. Schwartz (Goodreads author!)
bookshelves:
own
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in September, 2008
Martha said:
"I was very disappointed by this book. The premise seemed interesting--five college kids wake up one morning with superpowers. Unfortunately, it read like crappy fan fiction. The dialog was never quite believable and the characters were not develop...more
I was very disappointed by this book. The premise seemed interesting--five college kids wake up one morning with superpowers. Unfortunately, it read like crappy fan fiction. The dialog was never quite believable and the characters were not developed very well. To try to disguise a few week points in the book, Shwartz uses asides from the supposed author of the book. But the rest of the book never seems to be written by him.
I gave the book two stars instead of one because there were definitely some interesting ideas. They just weren't executed very well....less
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August 24
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Martha
gave
to:
Annals of the Former World (Paperback)
by John McPhee
bookshelves:
geology,
non-fiction,
own
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in August, 2008
Martha said:
"Since I was just in Nevada, I thought I would re-read Basin & Range. Driving Highway 50 (what Nevada calls the "Loneliest Road") definitely gives you a great sense of the geology. McPhee, of course, travels I-80, but US 50 crosses sim...more
Since I was just in Nevada, I thought I would re-read Basin & Range. Driving Highway 50 (what Nevada calls the "Loneliest Road") definitely gives you a great sense of the geology. McPhee, of course, travels I-80, but US 50 crosses similar territory.
Update: It was extremely helpful to have a picture of Nevada's landscape in my head while reading the book. Of course, in a lot of ways Basin & Range is an introduction to the field of geology. So, there ended up being a lot less about Nevada in the book than I had recalled. But, it was still very engaging....less
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August 17
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Martha
gave
to:
The Final Solution: A Story of Detection (P.S.)
by Michael Chabon
bookshelves:
own
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in August, 2008
Martha said:
"A fun, quick read. Chabon wrote this novella with inspiration from Sherlock Holmes stories (and his main character is clearly meant to be a much older Holmes). As is the case with most novellas, I was left wanting more. Although, it was actually t...more
A fun, quick read. Chabon wrote this novella with inspiration from Sherlock Holmes stories (and his main character is clearly meant to be a much older Holmes). As is the case with most novellas, I was left wanting more. Although, it was actually the minor characters that comprised the Panicker family that I wanted to know more about, not the main characters. Still, it was thoroughly enjoyable.
Also included in this edition of the book was a portion of an NPR interview with Chabon about this book. You can listen to the whole interview here....less
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Martha
gave
to:
Gilead: A Novel (Paperback)
by Marilynne Robinson
bookshelves:
own
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in August, 2008
Martha said:
"I'm conflicted about this book. At times I really loved it and at other times I was bored.
The format is one long letter being written by a 70-something, dying, small-town Iowa minister (whew! That's a lot of adjectives!) to his then 5-year-ol...more
I'm conflicted about this book. At times I really loved it and at other times I was bored.
The format is one long letter being written by a 70-something, dying, small-town Iowa minister (whew! That's a lot of adjectives!) to his then 5-year-old son in the 1950s. It mainly read more like a stream-of-consciousness diary than a letter. And, I am all for plotless stories, but in this case the lack of plot made it drag in many places. Also, this being a first-person narrative from a 1950s preacher as well as a story about fathers and sons meant that the women didn't figure into the story much, which was a little annoying.
In the plus column, at times it was a very interesting view into small town life in the 50s. Also, the stuff about the grandfather was usually pretty interesting (especially the Civil War stories).
All in all, I don't think I could safely recommend this to anyone. I think some people could really like it and others really hate it....less
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