All About Books discussion
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What have you just read? Opinions, recommendations & reviews
Gill, these are the ones I can get besides Useless:-The Republic of Love
-Swann (Mysteries are not my favorites...)
-Happenstance: Two Novels in One About a Marriage in Transition
-The Box Garden
-The Orange Fish (I prefer novels over short stories)
-Small Ceremonies and finally
-Larry's Party.
Do you still think Larry's Party the best for me?
It seemed to me that they were all about dysfunctional family situations, but maybe I have not properly understood the book descriptions?
I appreciate your help.
To me, what Shields writes about are ordinary people, but with the underlying point that ordinary people are pretty extraordinary, even when they may seem boring. I'd recommend either Larry's Party (I had this on audio, and liked the audio) or both Small Ceremonies and The Box Garden, (but in that order because they sort of follow on from each other)
I've not read all of the others though, and also I may be wrong about what you will like!
Chrissie, this might give you a feel for CS. Here's a quote from an obituary for Carol Shields from when she died in 2003. I've not linked to the complete obituary, because it contains spoilers.'Carol Shields, who died on Wednesday aged 68, wrote novels and stories which illuminate ordinary people and small events; she had a special talent for drawing significance from the trivia of the workaday world.
Her own life was largely devoted to domestic routine, bringing up five children, so that she was more than 40 when her first novel was published. And when she did begin to write it, she took comfort from a remark of the Australian Patrick White, who said that he never worried much about plot, but simply concentrated on "life going on toward death".
This consorted well with Carol Shields's view of novels, that "a little bit of tension goes a long way". She held no brief for any notion that writers might possess some superior wisdom, but strove hard to "work on sentences and make them feel right".
There were critics who complained about the absence of movement in her writing. On the other hand, with her spare, evocative style, she was well qualified to anatomise the minutiae of complex emotions, and to convey the extraordinary element in ordinary events.'
Gill, you are terribly kind to help me so much. She does sound like an author I would appreciate! I think I will go for Small Ceremonies followed by The Box Garden. Then if I want more Larry's Party. THANK YOU!I hope this maybe has helped others too, besides me.....
I loved Stones from the River! I just finished two very different books and loved both of them: A prayer for Owen Meany and The Garden of Evening Mists.
I too have read several Carol Shields abut a long while ago so the memory is not too good about which ones except The Stone Diaries. I remember I enjoyed them and read a few close together.
Recently I read The Stone Diaries and liked it. I put Larry's Party on my tbr list.
Ann wrote: "I loved Stones from the River! I just finished two very different books and loved both of them: A prayer for Owen Meany and The Garden of Evening Mists."Ann, I loved all three of these books. We seem to have similar reading tastes.
We do seem to like the same kind of books, Petra. I'll watch for the books you like and check them out.
I have just finished a very worthwhile read, whilst fiction, based on an era of Australian history that occurred. A full 5 stars from me. Here's my review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I just finished The Almond Tree. While I enjoyed the story, I felt that the events were manipulated by the author and the characters were props to keep that manipulation going. A good beach read: good story, good characters, slightly unbelievable chain of events that keep the story going. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finally I finished The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck. It's a 4* for me: I liked to read about the life of a farmer, his hard work, his love for the earth. We follow the life of this Chinese farmer, Wang Lung, from his youth till the old age.
I finished a very strange book called The Book of Skulls by Robert Silverberg. I had never heard of him, but apparently he was pretty popular at one time. And it was strange. It was about four college friends from the East Coast who take a trip to Arizona and join a cult, because one of them who has transcribed an obscure religious text, believes they have the secret to immortality. The rub: they have to go as a group of four, and two of them have to die. One has to commit suicide; the other one is to be murdered by the remaining two.
Just finished The Lost Daughter by Diane Chamberlain, which I read for my book club. It's the second book I have read by this author, but I didn't think it was as good as Necessary Lies.
I finished The Voyage Out. I am glad I read it and I think it is a good book to start Woolf with.My review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
ETA: This book kept me thinking all last night. i had to go back and add more to my review!
I've just finished The Power and the Glory Here's a link to my short review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Chrissie wrote: "I finished The Voyage Out. I am glad I read it and I think it is a good book to start Woolf with.My review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
Chrissie, I will try this one out for sure. I loved her To the Lighthouse!
I also have Adeline: A Novel of Virginia Woolf on my to-read list.
I just finished Holy Fools which was my recommendation swap. I enjoyed it but not as much as Chocolat or Five Quarters of the Orange by the same author. It was an interesting story but I didn't feel like the place she created was quite as vivid in Holy Fools compared to her works set more recently. 4* though and I would recommend this author
Alice wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "I finished The Voyage Out. I am glad I read it and I think it is a good book to start Woolf with.My review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
Ch..."
Alice, the book doesn't leave you alone on completion. I had to go back and add more to my review. Books that make you think are good.
MY three star books are books worth reading. I recommend The Gambler.My review/ https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I finished reading The Invention of Wings today.It was a pleasant read but I didn't feel a connection to the characters and parts of the story rang untrue somehow.
The most interesting thing I found out was that Sarah Gimke was a real person. I'd like to read a biography of her to see if she was as forward thinking as this book made her out to be.
My review can be found here.
I just finished reading Family Picturesby Jane Green. I really enjoyed this book and her characters always feel realistic to me. :)
Just finished this amazing book. Me Before You. I was invested in this the entire time and just loved it. 5 stars from me in every way. Can't wait to talk about this one. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Petra, three was my rating too. I too appreciated the non-fictional parts much more than the fictional story. (The epilogue was good, ;0)) I just felt that the fictional details was fanciful, not believable.
Suzanne wrote: "Just finished this amazing book. Me Before You. I was invested in this the entire time and just loved it. 5 stars from me in every way. Can't wait to talk about this one. My review:..."I'm picking it up from the library this week. I've been hearing about this book and it gets such great reviews! I think there is a sequel coming soon.
Suzanne wrote: "Just finished this amazing book. Me Before You. I was invested in this the entire time and just loved it. 5 stars from me in every way. Can't wait to talk about this one. My review:..."I liked this a lot, Suzanne. It's one of the few books that has made me cry.
I've heard lots about Me Before You but wasn't sure if it's the right book for me. It keeps getting so much praise, I've just added it to my tbr and reserved it at my library.
Chuck wrote: "I finished a very strange book called The Book of Skulls by Robert Silverberg. I had never heard of him, but apparently he was pretty popular at one time. And it was strange. It was..."
Chuck, that sounds creepy...
Chuck, that does sound creepy. Did you like it?Finished a memoir The Light of the World
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Alice wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "I finished The Voyage Out. I am glad I read it and I think it is a good book to start Woolf with.My review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
Ch..."
I just added Adeline to my lists too! Very interesting.
Gill and suzzane I am in love with this book too and Gill even I cried while reading this book! I want to read other books by this author too. Any suggestions on which one to read next?
Gill and suzzane I am in love with this book too and Gill even I cried while reading this book! I want to read other books by this author too. Any suggestions on which one to read next?
Sandy, I think in fact Diane, gave it 5! I just sent an angry letter to Audible since it is not available to me in Sweden. I am so sick of these publication restrictions. I KNOW they will tell me there is nothing they can do about it, but that is pure cr=p. They and Amazon are extremely influential and if they decided they wanted to make all books available things would start to change. Grrrrr. Now I have vented my anger a bit. I also want to have access to A Little Life. There are so many books NOT available to Europeans. This gets me super mad.
Sandy wrote: "Chrissie, I understand your frustration. I sometimes discover books which I want to read that are only available in the UK and not Canada. It is so maddening. I write to the author and to the publi..."Thanks, Sandy! :0)
Sandy wrote: "Dale wrote: "Just read and reviewed The Book of Lost and Found An interesting read"Would you be able to post a link to your review, Dale. I'm interested in your comments (since I ..."
Sure Sandy. Here it is
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Evelyn wrote: "Chuck, that sounds creepy... "Diane S. wrote: "Chuck, that does sound creepy. Did you like it?
I did like it, but it wasn't scary at all. It was very unusual--or very unlike anything I ever read I should say.
I highly recommend The Great Leader and the Fighter Pilot: The True Story of the Tyrant Who Created North Korea and The Young Lieutenant Who Stole His Way to Freedom if you are in the slightest bit interested in the Korean War. My very short review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I just finished The Life and Death of Sophie Stark. 3 stars . My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show.... Very mixed feelings on this one .
Finished The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. 3 Stars.
Finished Jakob von Gunten by Robert Walser. Very confusing! If someone has read and understood it, please explain. It was like reading Kafka: you are waiting for a sense and a meaning that doesn't arrive.
I have added some more thoughts in my reading progress discussion: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Mod
It is very frustrating Chrissie! Just the other day I tried to buy a book on Audible, but every time I logged in to buy it, the book disappeared from the website. I called the help line, and the book I wanted was not available in the US, only the UK. I sure wish they didn't have such restrictions!; if one is willing to pay, what does it matter which region? I guess there must be marketing reasons, but I sure can't understand how it helps to prevent people from buying something they want to buy!!
Greg, the whole publishing system is antiquated. And if you complain everybody says there is nothing THEY can do, "those are the rules". Amazon are so big if they wanted drastic changes, maybe something could be changed. I believe we customers must make a fuss, a big fuss. It should become an issue. I wish GR somehow discussed this matter. As a group we could maybe have some push. I don't know......
Why is everyone making a big fuss over what books you can buy and what books you can't buy. In my book this is so stupid. It is like everything else - there are certain things you can buy in the US that you cannot buy like in the UK and Vice Versa.
Every Country including the US has a right to sell what they want. It is their choice - not ours!
Do you realize that the Libraries over at the UK are small and they don't have big libraries like the US does and their libraries are not high tech as ours are in the US.
US has their books to sell and the Foreign Countries has their books to sell.
Amazon has a right to sell what they want. The UK has their Amazon Version and the US has ours.
Leave things as they are before we end up losing Amazon plus all of the current individual bookstores alone before we end up losing all of them. There are zillion of books out there to read here in the US. Go to your local library and use your library.
I have never ever had any problems finding a book I want to read yet and I don't think anybody else has either!
Leave things as they are!
Linda, I'm not sure I agree with you. Countries do of course sell different products, but big companies like Amazon selling e-books and audio books, don't require a physical product to be shipped. In these cases it would be nice to have some international uniformity. Nor do I agree that libraries in the UK are small and technically backward, we do in fact have modern resources here too. I'm sure things are done on a bigger scale in the states, but I think I have the same online and physical access to a range of books and services as any library. Or if I don't, I would argue that we SHOULD have the same resources. One international thing I would personally like to see, is the same release date for books. For instance, A little life is getting all sorts of attention, but won't be released in the UK until August. I can track it down to buy online, or be shipped from the states, but can't walk into any book shop here to buy it for another 3 months yet. This doesn't make any sense to me.
Pink wrote: "Linda, I'm not sure I agree with you. Countries do of course sell different products, but big companies like Amazon selling e-books and audio books, don't require a physical product to be shipped. ..."If it makes sense to make the most number of books available, and there's no downside to it, then Amazon should take note. Basic fallacies should be left out of the discourse for anyone who has an internet connection and has knowledge at his/her disposal.
Last Book Read : Dead Beat. My Review.
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That's why think you may prefer the other books to Unless, Chrissie.