http://www.goodreads.com/user/updates_rss/342665 en-US Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:23:31 -0700 60 http://www.goodreads.com/ 200 41 http://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/gr_logo.gif 23546899 Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:23:31 -0700 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/21188837 Dance with Death (Paperback)
by Barbara Nadel
bookshelves: to-read
]]> 23546857 Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:23:03 -0700 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/21188808 Digging to America (Hardcover)
by Anne Tyler
bookshelves: to-read
]]> 23536927 Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:21:46 -0700 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/21181387 The Dress Lodger (Ballantine Reader's Circle)
by Sheri Holman
I love historical fiction of exactly that type when you can feel and smell and hear the thoughts,wearings and attitudes of people of that period. Well,this may be an illusion but a well created illusion:-)).In the story of Henry Chiver and Gustin I see the clash between science and ethics.United by ambition but of different kinds,they both embark on a dangerous relationship.Henry Chiver is not devoid of moral sense but his professional ambitions and scientific curiosity drive him to handle the people as mere objects for attaining his goals. Perhaps the revenge of Gustin at the end was a bit too simple way to show the moral remorse of Henry but still,justified by the events before.

As a whole,I enjoyed very much the novel.It was not a light read and during the reading,I was browsing through my flat looking for dead corpses everywhere,LOL. But I like to be drawn into past times and for me this book was good. ]]> 21487198 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 12:16:50 -0700 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/19628622 to: The Ottoman Cage: A Novel of Istanbul (Hardcover)
by Barbara Nadel
I just love Barbara Nadel`s books. She builds always an intriguing plot- a mystery riddle,almost impossible to solve but of course,not for the talented officers from the Istanbul police.

This is the second book of Cetin Ikmen series. As I have read almost all books,I love to see the characters in development. Along with the crimes they solve,we get a glimpse of their personal lives and stories which evolve with the time. So the reader gets the feeling that those characters are people familiar to him.

The writing is excellent,the plot development-masterly. Last but not least,there is one constant character in each novel,and that is Istanbul- the enormous,mysterious city,of which the writer is obviously very fond. There is always a nice piece of history and a glimpse into ancient Turkish society and traditions which gives the plot a rich background. ]]> 21191196 Mon, 07 Apr 2008 05:40:37 -0700 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/19396813 to: Stuart : A Life Backwards (Paperback)
by Alexander Masters
It was an unusual book. The phenomenon of homelessness has been always a mystery to me;I have been always asking myself how it happens,is it only poverty or something else; why people used to living in the streets,cannot return their lives to normal even if given the opportunity? The book says a lot about all these things but also,it doesn`t and can`t answer all the questions.

First of all,"Stuart" is a precious document of a human life. It is also a valuable document on how homeless people think and why many social benefits don`t work. For me this information side of the book was the most interesting part. I found it difficult to define my own feelings toward Stuart.The sympathy of the writer was evident through all the writing but he knew him personally and we don`t.It seems there was a lot of good in him,but also a lot of aggression and violence.

The book doesn`t give an answer to the main question- what exactly drives a man to deviate from the normal life and choose the path of violence and anger? Of course, a troubled childhood,sexual abuse are enough to drive one outside the boundaries of the normal but as Stuart says himself,a lot of people have been through the same and yet turned as good citizens.Perhaps after all,it is a matter of personal choice?

All this said,I liked the book very much.It was touching,human and written from the heart. It is such a pity that Stuart`s life was too short to be changed for good ]]> 21191946 Thu, 03 Apr 2008 15:06:17 -0700 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/19397439 to: Just One More Day (Mass Market Paperback)
by Susan Lewis
The book was definitely well written. I became absorbed in the shifting narration through the voices of mother and daughter. The characters were very lively. I could easily picture Susan and her family. I felt sorry for everyone of them, including Eddress, who had a lot of good in her in spite of her stubborness and harshness towards her Eddie and Susan. She seemed a tough woman,from the older generation when feelings were something to be kept deep underneath,and growing soft was not encouraged. She definitely had problems with sharing her emotions. She isolated herself from the family,denying the truth of her illness,unwilling to speak to anyone about it,trying to pretend it was not there. So she devoided herself and her children of sharing and proper grieving in the last months. Eddress was seeing her role as housewife and was feeling unadequate and useless when she became too weak to do anything in the house.
I liked the father,Eddie. He was really caring and loving,and bore with his wife`s mood shifts.

Susan seems like the one who suffered most from her mother`s difficult character. She didn`t benefit much from this troubled daughter-mother relationship but perhaps when she grows up, she may become to understand her mother better and appreciate her efforts and strength.

Somehow the reader closes the book hoping for a better future for this family. ]]> 21191780 Thu, 03 Apr 2008 15:05:18 -0700 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/19397296 to: The Boleyn Inheritance (Paperback)
by Philippa Gregory
I truly,truly enjoyed this book,as much,as other books from the series! Philippa Gregory is simply a wonderful writer. I like her manner of telling one story from different angles and how characters act and look differently in each book depending of the point of view. Above all,she makes you live and imagine so vividly the time,the plots,the sighs,the looks,the intentions and ambitions of the characters. This novel was a page turner and I couldn`t wait to see what happen next.I liked very much Anne of Cleves. She was so innocent,so serious,responsible and honest! I was glad that her life was spared:-)). ]]> 21191503 Thu, 03 Apr 2008 15:02:52 -0700 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/19397062 The Memory Keeper's Daughter (Paperback)
by Kim Edwards
Good story-teller but characters were a bit thin.Psychologically things were described a bit in black-and-white. The good thing was that the book was a page turner,the story flowed easily,and despite the "sugar",I liked the positive image of raising a child with Down. It feels good that the message of the novel is that no one should be denied a chance to live and to be properly raised with love. ]]> 21191449 Thu, 03 Apr 2008 15:01:13 -0700 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/19397020 A Breath of Fresh Air (Ballantine Reader's Circle)
by Amulya Malladi
bookshelves: to-read
]]> 21191256 Thu, 03 Apr 2008 15:00:42 -0700 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/19396860 to: How to Lose Friends and Alienate People (Paperback)
by Toby Young
One of the reviews for this book describes it as 'funny,clever and touching". Personally I wouldn`t apply "funny" and "touching". It needs a certain kind of masochism to write about your own failure unless you have a very good sense of humour to write a very funny book. To me Young`s stories didn`t sound particulary funny.It`s difficult to grasp why he was so eager to enter the world of celebrities and at the same time he always acted in the worst possible way.The problem with his behaviour,IMO,was that he was desperate to be accepted by them but at the same time he wanted to show them that he was something more than that.

When I started reading the book,I thought "OMG,this is the male version of Devil Wears Prada!!!". In a certain sense,Toby Young is far far away from the easiness of Weinsberger`s writing,and certainly not so entertaining. But his merits are honesty and intelectual analysis. This is one of the best analysis of US society I have read. It seems the writer has inherited his father`s talant for social thinking. Those were for me the most interesting pages.

As a whole,it was a good read,a bit boring when it came to the personal matters but intelectually brilliant.

I`m organising a bookray for this book,for details look here:
http://www.bookcrossing.com/jo... ]]>