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What have you just read? Opinions, recommendations & reviews
Bette, good to hear, hope to read soon.
Hi Diane, I think "The Accursed" is a very good book. It was painstakingly researched and combines actual facts with fiction, but the narrative is very dry. She really gives you a detailed account of the every day life of the upper class in Princeton, NJ at the turn of the 19th Century and how they must have reacted to the strange occurrences from 1905 through 1906.
I am reading her memoir The Lost Landscape: A Writer's Coming of Age and I have read her Carthage, which I liked but was looking for another of hers to read. Think I might try The Accursed, thanks.
I just finished Only the Animals by Australian author Ceridwen Dovey. It's a collection of short stories each told from the perspective of a different animal. They all are set during an important historical event/period. I thought they were incredibly clever and beautifully written! Gave 5* which is very rare for me.
I finished The Mystics of Mile End . 4.5 stars . My review : https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Thanks Gavin, just added And Then There Were None to my To Read list for October!
Gavin wrote: "Just finished And Then There Were None. Mind blown. 4/5 stars."I listened to the BBC audio version of this earlier in the year which was also great!
Gavin wrote: "Just finished And Then There Were None. Mind blown. 4/5 stars."Agatha Christie is mostly mind blowing. Read her other novels as well.
B the BookAddict wrote: "Ryan wrote: "Well that last two books I have read are A Memory of Light and Nuts in May. Finishing off Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series is bittersweet for me, a..."
Yes, as I said she can be hard to find, it would be great if she was available on Project Guetnberg and LibriVox!
Gavin wrote: "Just finished And Then There Were None. Mind blown. 4/5 stars.":-) It always makes me happy when someone discovers Dame Agatha. I agree with Dhanaraj but this one is a particularly good one!
Dhanaraj wrote: "Gavin wrote: "Just finished And Then There Were None. Mind blown. 4/5 stars."Agatha Christie is mostly mind blowing. Read her other novels as well."
Oh, I will for sure. I've read two other of her novels, and have The Mousetrap and Other Plays sitting on my tbr shelf.
Joy wrote: "Just read The Book of Strange New Things which I loved. Clever, thoughtful, subtle and gripping - I couldn't put it down."I really liked that one as well Joy! Not at all what I had expected, but in a good way.
@ Gavin: Read Christie's Miss Marple and Poirot series. They are really good.
Sandy *The world could end while I was reading and I would never notice* wrote: "B the BookAddict wrote: "I've finished The Heat of Betrayal by Douglas Kennedy. No review forthcoming as I've been half reading another book, also based in Morocco, a...I love Douglas Kennedy also B! Hadn't realised he had another one out. Will have to chase it up. Thanks for the tip-off *:D "
Sandy, you're welcome. Hope you enjoy it. DK is simply a writer I really enjoy reading.
Well, I finished A Little Life. Boy, a tremendously difficult read. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Superb writing!
Chrissie , superb review . I'll comment on your review.
Angela, thank you. I will go look there.... What an amazing boo. I wasn't aware of how difficult it would be to read.
Chrissie wrote: "Well, I finished A Little Life. Boy, a tremendously difficult read. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Superb writing!"
That's REALLY good to hear. I'm having trouble staying interested in it, frankly, but I got a long LONG way to go. I'm going to have to get this horror bug out of me first--be reading on it FOR A WHILE. But I can't help thinking as I read it: I'm a 42-year-old male who was born and raised in America, and I don't know any males who relate to one another on such a level. Maybe women, but not guys, no way.
I have just finished reading War and Peace. Let me say that again... Just FINISHED WAR AND PEACE.... And I started it.... Let me see.... In 1977! That's before many of you were even born. Of course I haven't actually been reading it all that time. No most of the time it has just sat like an accusation on my shelves. But this year I determined to set my mind to the task and finally, finally it is done. Phew.
My review : https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Tweedledum wrote: "I have just finished reading War and Peace. Let me say that again... Just FINISHED WAR AND PEACE.... And I started it.... Let me see.... In 1977! That's before many of you were even born. Of cour..."
Way to go. Congrats
Yay, good for you, Tweedledum! I think there should be a special award for finishing War & Peace and Les Miserables - they are both wonderful Epic novels, but man does it take perseverance to understand and keep all the characters straight, appreciate the moral themes and above all, finish them!
An accomplishment, Tweedledum ! Its definitely not a light read!
Chuck wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "Well, I finished A Little Life. Boy, a tremendously difficult read. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Superb writing!"
That's REALLY g..."
Yes, they are close, but there is love and hate in these relationships! For myself, I moved so often as a child that I never had a close friend relationship. EVER. Or is it the pain that is driving you away?
Tweedledum wrote: "I have just finished reading War and Peace. Let me say that again... Just FINISHED WAR AND PEACE.... And I started it.... Let me see.... In 1977! That's before many of you were even born. Of cour..."
Congrats Tweedledum!! :)
I finished A Pea Coat Goes Home. It was good, but I prefer longer books that can give more depth. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Chrissie wrote: "Well, I finished A Little Life. Boy, a tremendously difficult read. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Superb writing!"
Won't read your review because now I'm even more curious to read this book so I stay away from reviews. I hope there will soon be an Italian translation.
Finished Light in August by William Faulkner 3*It wasn't confusing like the Sound and the Fury, also the writing style was more "readable". I liked to read about the lives of the characters and how they intertwined and I was interested to read about the loneliness by which most of the characters were affected. However, Faulkner isn't for me. I gave him again a try and I'm glad I liked Light in August, but I don't think I will read other books by him.
It's a very complex book, full of interesting topics but Faulkner's style doesn't make it easy to understand everything.
dely, I sat glued to it even though it was so hard to read! I excuse all the things that are perhaps "unbelievable" with the reasoning that real life IS often more unbelievable than fiction. That the book doesn't portray women in detail, doesn't bother me either.... Who cares?! This one concentrates on men! This book proves in spades that I can read lgtb themed book easily if you give me a talented author. I think it all comes down to if you like the way it is written or not.
Chrissie wrote: "dely, I sat glued to it even though it was so hard to read! I excuse all the things that are perhaps "unbelievable" with the reasoning that real life IS often more unbelievable than fiction. That t..."You are right. Despite the difficult writing style I was absorbed by the story. I wanted to know the past of the characters but also what would happen next. It was also a depressing book: they were all lost, no one could have been saved (except Lena, but she has never been lost, she was such a simple soul). I don't mind depressing books, but as you said, all depends by the way it's written.
dely, I gave Light in August three stars too. I have read enough of him for now...... I pretty much know his style now, and I have had enough.
dely wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "dely, I sat glued to it even though it was so hard to read! I excuse all the things that are perhaps "unbelievable" with the reasoning that real life IS often more unbelievable tha..."dely, I was speaking about A Little Life. i should have been more clear.
Chrissie wrote: "dely, I was speaking about A Little Life. i should have been more clear. "Oh, ok :D
In fact I was thinking about your sentence "this concentrates about men" and wanted to reply also to this but thinking about Light in August!
Tweedledum wrote: "I have just finished reading War and Peace. Let me say that again... Just FINISHED WAR AND PEACE.... And I started it.... Let me see.... In 1977! That's before many of you were even born. Of cour..."
Good work, Tweedledum, surely congratulations are in order. I love your wording "sat like an accusation"!
Tweedledum wrote: "I have just finished reading War and Peace. Let me say that again... Just FINISHED WAR AND PEACE.... And I started it.... Let me see.... In 1977! That's before many of you were even born. Of cour..."
Well done!
Tweedledum wrote: "I have just finished reading War and Peace. Let me say that again... Just FINISHED WAR AND PEACE.... And I started it.... Let me see.... In 1977! That's before many of you were even born. Of cour..."
Well done! I am reading War and Peace right now. So....once again.....Well done!! Impressive!
I have been reading some plays recently, which I discussed in our thread for drama:http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...
Chrissie wrote: "dely wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "dely, I sat glued to it even though it was so hard to read! I excuse all the things that are perhaps "unbelievable" with the reasoning that real life IS often more unb..."That's a relief, Chrissie. I was wondering how I'd missed the lgbt themes in Light in August!
Chrissie wrote: "Yes, they are close, but there is love and hate in these relationships! For myself, I moved so often as a child that I never had a close friend relationship. EVER. Or is it the pain that is driving you away? "No, it's just that whole dynamic. It seems to me she has a bit of an unrealistic view of male relationships.
But I was really getting into the story last night.
Tweedledum, congratulations on finishing War & Peace. Great review. I read this a few years back and really enjoyed it.
Chuck wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "Yes, they are close, but there is love and hate in these relationships! For myself, I moved so often as a child that I never had a close friend relationship. EVER. Or is it the pai...No, it's just that whole dynamic. It seems to me she has a bit of an unrealistic view of male relationships. "
Chuck, I've had gay guy friends who enjoy this close type of friendship. I feel sad for guys who don't experience close friendship with another guy or group of men. But maybe you're right and straight guys don't have this as women do; that thought didn't occur to me as I was reading the book. I am sooo glad I'm a woman.
Erwin wrote: "Tweedledum wrote: "I have just finished reading War and Peace. Let me say that again... Just FINISHED WAR AND PEACE.... And I started it.... Let me see.... In 1977! That's before many of you were e..."Hi Erwin, I hope you get thru it is less time than me and look forward to reading your thoughts about it!
Petra wrote: "Tweedledum, congratulations on finishing War & Peace. Great review. I read this a few years back and really enjoyed it."Thanks Petra.
Finished reading All the Bright PlacesMy review (WARNING: it's full of spoilers): https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
@Chuck... Nothing about A Little Life rang true to me. I couldn't buy into any of it. I was disappointed. I thought I was going to go on this long journey with these friends but the plane never left the Tarmac, lol.
B the BookAddict wrote: "Chuck wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "Yes, they are close, but there is love and hate in these relationships! For myself, I moved so often as a child that I never had a close friend relationship. EVER. Or..."Well, it's not that we don't experience close relationships, it's just that it's not like that. But it has occurred to me what you're saying: it's just not my demographic, but I'm not entirely convinced that's the reason.
I don't know, I really need to finish the book before I comment further.
Sandra wrote: "@Chuck... Nothing about A Little Life rang true to me. I couldn't buy into any of it. I was disappointed. I thought I was going to go on this long journey with these friends but the plane never lef..."Yeah, I can certainly see why it didn't win the Man Booker Award.
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I am really looking forward to this! I already have the first two as both Kindle & audio boo..."
How did you like Accursed?