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What Are You Reading - Part Deux
message 2401:
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Nancy from NJ
(new)
Jul 03, 2015 06:19PM
I am currently reading Little Mercies by Heather Gudenkauf.
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Mary Poppins Comes Back by P L Travers – 3*** I read these books when I was about nine or ten years old. I reread the first book about 15 years ago and was struck with how mean and unpleasant Mary Poppins is. I had no such reaction this time, although Mary Poppins is certainly a stern taskmaster at times, not to mention vain. But I just loved the adventures she and the children had! Sophie Thompson does a marvelous job narrating the audio version. Like many children’s books, this one lends itself easily to being read aloud.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I finally finished
and
and loved both of them. I am still reading
,
and
. I also started
,
,
,
and
.
Dang Marybeth you make me feel like such a slacker.
Sullivan’s Island by Dorothea Benton Frank – 2** I know that Frank writes chick-lit, beach books, so I wasn’t expecting great literature, and my expectations were met. The problem I had with the book comes from Frank’s attempts to tell two stories: the contemporary story of Susan’s failing marriage, and the 1963 story of Susan’s childhood. Neither story is sufficiently fleshed out to be satisfying, and I wish she had chosen one or the other to tell. Still, it’s a fast read, and I liked the relationship between Susan and her sister, Maggie.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Secret History. College setting with intelligent characters, sharp dialogue, wondering how things are going to unravel.
Martin wrote: "The Secret History. College setting with intelligent characters, sharp dialogue, wondering how things are going to unravel."Martin, I read it last week. I gave it 4 ****'s.
I'm starting The Angel Maker by Stefan Brijs today.
Stephen wrote: "Dang Marybeth you make me feel like such a slacker."I certaintly have a lot going on at once. i sometimes wonder how in the world i am going to get all of this reading done in a month. Lol! :)
Sabriel by Garth Nix – 4**** What an extraordinary fantasy adventure! I love that Nix chose for the hero a young woman – Sabriel – who is smart, resourceful, courageous and determined, if inexperienced and sometimes rash. The plotting is wonderfully complex and full of danger. I don’t know if I’ll read any more in the series (this kind of fantasy is just not my genre of choice), but I’m glad I read this one. Tim Curry is nothing short of fantastic performing the audio version.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I finished Finders Keepers about a week ago. It was on par with Mr. Mercedes.Then I started The Girl on the Train.
I'm about halfway through with The Art of Racing In The Rain by Garth Stein. A good read so far and it's different in that it's written in the dog's perspective.
I am reading Jerusalem A Biography. I like it so far. Only a couple hundred pages in...
Martin wrote: "The Secret History. College setting with intelligent characters, sharp dialogue, wondering how things are going to unravel."<
Not well! Good book though. Enjoy it Martin.
Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo – 4**** This is a gut-wrenching tale of brotherhood, loyalty, duty, love, courage and forgiveness set during World War I. I loved the close bond between the brothers, and applauded their mother’s moral courage in the face of adversity. I was familiar with the horrors of trench warfare and the brutal realities of a long siege, but I still cringed with fear and anxiety as I read about these young men (hardly older than boys) and what they faced. My heart about broke for Tommo and Charlie; I certainly didn’t see that end coming.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Renee wrote: "I'm about halfway through with The Art of Racing In The Rain by Garth Stein. A good read so far and it's different in that it's written in the dog's perspective."Love Enzo!
Martin wrote: "The Secret History. College setting with intelligent characters, sharp dialogue, wondering how things are going to unravel."This immediately went to the top level of my to-read list after finishing The Goldfinch and having a bunch of GR members say how much better 'The Secret History' is.
Renee wrote: "I'm about halfway through with The Art of Racing In The Rain by Garth Stein. A good read so far and it's different in that it's written in the dog's perspective."Really enjoyed that book!
Rich or famous part 2 by joy deja King.
I've finished Cat's Cradle, A Cold Day For Murder which was my first Dana Stabenow and Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore which was different. Now I'm reading To Kill A Warlock and I'm about to start The Last September.
Just started A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell.
Just finished Colonel Roosevelt, the third and final volume of the Edmund Morris biography of Teddy Roosevelt.A terrific end to a meticulously-researched but thrillingly-told set of three books. My full review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I started Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway and so far I'm enjoying it a lot. I already started reading it a couple of years ago but I guess I was having too much trouble with the stream of consciousness.
In a Strange City by Laura Lippman – 3*** January in Baltimore can only mean one thing – the annual visit to Edgar Allan Poe’s final resting place by the Poe Toaster. This is a well-crafted mystery with a little literary history thrown in. But the key to any mystery is the strength of the plot. Lippman gives us a number of interesting suspects, several inter-related plot twists, and an opposing police detective to keep things interesting. What I really like about the series, though is Tess Monaghan. I’ll definitely keep reading this series.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Renee wrote: "I'm about halfway through with The Art of Racing In The Rain by Garth Stein. A good read so far and it's different in that it's written in the dog's perspective.This one is in my keepers pile Renee, I loved it!
I'm reading
So far it's been good.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee – 5***** and a ❤ This is a singularly powerful novel that has touched generations of readers in the 50-something years since it was first published. It is a novel of personal integrity and courage, and shines a light on a particular time and place in America’s history. The characters, even the minor ones, are richly drawn; Lee peoples this small town with a wide range of personalities, strength, weaknesses and ethics. My favorite book of all time. Sissy Spacek capably narrates the audio version.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I just started reading The Hand That Feeds You the reviews I've read are mixed. And for the ones that are negative seem to be tedious unimportant negativity. I personally have been hooked since the first chapter.
Book Concierge wrote: " To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee – 5***** and a ❤ This is a singularly powerful novel that has touched generations of readers in the 50-something years s..."
I loved it, too! Definitely a book that I'm going to read many more times.
I'm currently reading The Eyre Affair, but I haven't had much time to read it yet - can't wait to pick it up again tonight :)
Have started The Waves by Virginia Woolf for an Aug classic group read. Am also still plodding away at Far from the Madding Crowd.
Astrid wrote: "Book Concierge wrote: " To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee – 5***** and a ❤ This is a singularly powerful novel that has touched generations of readers in t..."
Usually having to read a book at school kills it for you, To Kill a Mockingbird is a noble exception. 30 years on I still love it.
Starting Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey.
Emma: A Modern Retelling by Alexander McCall Smith – 3*** This is book 3 in the Austen Project series, wherein authors take on Jane Austen’s classic novels, reimagining the scenarios in contemporary times. In this outing, Mini Coopers replaces carriages, and cappuccinos take the place of tea, but the characters, relationships and basic scenarios remain the same. I enjoyed this light romantic comedy, but it is not as good as the original. The audio version is capably performed by Susan Lyons. She has good pacing and sufficient skill as a voice artist to differentiate the various characters.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Richard wrote: " Usually having to read a book at school kills it for you, To Kill a Mockingbird is a noble exception. 30 years on I still love it. ..."
I first read it at 13, freshman in high school (51 years ago!). It was the one and only A I ever got from Sister Audrey on an English paper - I argued that Atticus, not Scout, was the protagonist.
Richard wrote: "Astrid wrote: "Book Concierge wrote: " To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee – 5***** and a ❤ This is a singularly powerful novel that has touched generations ..."
It often does, yeah. Lately, I've been re-reading books that we dealt with in high school, and with most of them I find that we were just too young to appreciate them. Some are still 'bad', though ;)
On topic: I'm going to finish The Eyre Affair today. It's such an entertaining book, probably my new favorite series!
Just finished Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee.Currently reading The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt and Mosquitoland by David Arnold
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys – 2** Rhys tries to explain the reasons behind the madness which afflicts Bertha/Antoinette, Rochester’s wife in Jane Eyre. I wanted to like this. I had heard much about the novel over the years and more than one friend whose opinion I trust raved about it. But it just didn’t do much for me.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished and loved Elizabeth is Missing. Starting The Darkening Hour by Penny Hancock today.
Just finished Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West by Cormac McCarthy.Five stars - nihilist Western - not life-enhancing, but quite brilliant. The Road is amazing, but this I think is his masterpiece.
Full review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Nancy from NJ wrote: "Karen wrote: "Just finished Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee.Karen - how did you enjoy this book?"
Nancy,
I'm in the minority but.......
I gave it 4 stars, but I did not read it as a sequel to TKAM. It is misleading to call it that. In fact, a major plot development in TKAM has a different outcome in GSAW, so it can't really be called a sequel.
It is the first story Harper Lee submitted to an editor and the editor wisely
advised her to focus on young Scout and the events of Tom Robinson's trial, and event only alluded to once in GSAW.
Some critics say that GSAW needs better editing, but that may be why I liked it so much. I was concerned that it would be so heavily edited that
It wouldn't really be her writing. I actually have a greater appreciation for Harper Lee. The anecdotes of Scout as an adolescent and young teen are priceless. I hugged my book when I read them.
I still love Atticus after reading GSAW. He was a good man faced with a vastly changing political and social climate. People often forget that the Atticus in TKAM still expected Calpurnia to ride in the back seat if he drove her home.
I, like Jean Louise, confused Atticus "with God." We "never saw him as a man with a man's heart and a man's failings."
I was born and raised in the South by people very similar to the characters in Harper Lee's novels, good people with flawed thinking, in some cases. So GSAW hit home for me.
I suggest if you choose to read it to not compare it to TKAM. Read it as a stand alone novel. I'm so glad I read it....I love Harper Lee even more.
Finished The Last September which was such a good mystery. Really didn't know whodunit until the end. Next up The Loved Ones.
I started reading Paul Auster's "The Book of Illusions" today. I haven't read anything he wrote in a while, but didn't take many pages to remember why I love his fiction!
Karen wrote: "Nancy from NJ wrote: "Karen wrote: "Just finished Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee.Karen - how did you enjoy this book?"
Nancy,
I'm in the minority but.......
I ga..."
I have downloaded GSAW but thought I would reread TKAM first. Guess I don't need to now after reading your take on this book.
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