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What have you just read? Opinions, recommendations & reviews
Finished The Laws of Medicine: Field Notes from an Uncertain Science https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I read a great deal of both, I agree about stepping out of history and the distance. Contemporary, I like to keep current, keep informed.
Completed reading a collection of two novellas by an Indian/Punjabi author, Amrita Pritam. It was an interesting attempt to look into the world of women's conception of love. Liked it. Four Stars. The review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Leslie said, "I did a little double-take one seeing this as I am embarking on my first Iris Murdoch, The Black Prince." I hope you enjoy it! That's one I read when it first came out I think (1973) - just don't expect it to have any princes in it or be historical in any way. LOL! It's a literary reference, which I think you'll certainly get, and enjoy it a lot. Hope so anyway :)
What a treat you have in store with the Dame. I wonder what made you choose the 15th one - not that it makes any difference. Perhaps it's because the middle of an author's oeuvre can often be a good place to see if you like an author. Or perhaps you know about the theatrical allusions in this novel ...
Oh boo. Now you're making me want to read it again! :D
Jean wrote: "Leslie said, "I did a little double-take one seeing this as I am embarking on my first Iris Murdoch, The Black Prince." I wonder what made you choose the 15th one - not that it makes any difference. Perhaps it's because the middle of an author's oeuvre can often be a good place to see if you like an author. Or perhaps you know about the theatrical allusions in this novel ..."
It is the Book of the Month in another group; I didn't realize it was her 15th. If I like her, I guess I will have plenty to add to my TBR then!
John wrote: "Anatole France's The Gods Will Have Blood (Les Dieux Ont Soif) is absolutely brilliant."He is an author I have been meaning to try -- thanks John!
I got the audiobook of Molloy from the library but quickly realized that I can't listen to this while driving (or doing much of anything) as it will require my complete attention. So I started the Librivox recording of the original Gothic horror novel, The Monk, for driving and now I can't stop listening to it!
Oh I never thought of that Leslie! :)
Leslie wrote: I got the audiobook of Molloy from the library but quickly realized that I can't listen to this while driving (or doing much of anything) as it will require my complete attention. So I started the Librivox recording of the original Gothic horror novel, The Monk, for driving and now I can't stop listening to it!
I really like Librivox! I've used it for several years now. I'm listening to their recording of Middlemarch right now. I have Beckett's play Waiting for Godot
on my tbr but had no idea he wrote prose, that's interesting. I thought he was just a playwright.
Chrissie wrote: "B the BookAddict wrote: "For me, History is comfortable because I can always step out of it into the real world. "I think you have a important point there. I think maybe I would rather read about..."
In the sense that "contemporary" is only a continuation of the "past", and that "today" is made up of a series of "yesterdays", I'm not sure that one can really distance oneself from the past. After all, the past is not a kind of fantasy. If anything, reading about the past does have the benefit of gaining a little insight into human nature and why history tends to repeat itself.
Just finished The Secret Scripture. Fantastic read!My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I especially like the past in books because I always learn something.
After the mind-stretching process of reviewing The Bell, I had a change of pace. Here's my review of a great inspiring picture book! Amazing Grace by Mary HoffmanI gave it ★★★★★
link here for my review.
Alice wrote: "Don't worry about it Chuck! I like historical fiction too, but sometimes I want to get the facts right about pivotal events. I hope the book is not too dry! "I think that’s possible with good historical fiction. I tend to do a lot of research while reading historical fiction, and I have to come realize there is a way to read HF where you develop a feel for how much liberty the author has taken. I guess it’s a matter of having your “bologna detection radar” finely tuned so to speak. But I would definitely agree that there is no replacing history books.
Chuck wrote: "Alice wrote: "Don't worry about it Chuck! I like historical fiction too, but sometimes I want to get the facts right about pivotal events. I hope the book is not too dry! "I think that’s possible..."
Chuck, I like your term "bologna detection radar". Certainly no easy task to get it finely tuned :)
Leslie wrote: "Alice wrote: "Finished Wolf Hall. This is a "curate's egg". There's something I liked and something I didn't like about the novel.My Review"
Excellent review Alice! I got this boo..."
Bring Up the Bodies was much more readable than Wolf Hall. It is more chronological and clearer. I liked Wolf Hall a lot, but I was constantly going back to earlier sections or the list of characters. And Mantel had lots of sentences with "he thought" or similar, where it wasn't clear who "he" was. An editor must have insisted on changing that, because in the second book, it's almost comical how often the text says "He, Thomas Cromwell, thought"
It literally took me two months to get through Wolf Hall (I did read other things during that time). I got the second book a year or so later and I felt I would need to retread Wolf Hall to remember who everyone was. I just couldn't face that. Fortunately, PBS showed the series this year, so I watched the part that covered the first book, then read the second book (quickly, like within a week), and then watched the rest of the series. That worked out great and I thought the adaptation was excellent.
LauraT wrote: "Just finished The Light Years. Liked it extreamely. The subject is a bit "old" - as I like it: it is net on mid XX Century England, just before WWII - but written in a modenr and qu..."I liked that series a lot and have recommended it to fans of Dowton Abbey. Different war, but a lot of the same concerns and atmosphere.
Chuck wrote: "Bella wrote: "You can also try Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution by Simon Schama. I have it on my shelf, but haven't gotten to it yet. (Well, you know, it's been years. But in my defen..."Funny, I just pulled that book off my shelf a couple hours ago. I'mgiving away some books i've had for a long time. I thought it was really good because it has a lot of cultural history, not just politics.
I agree about the distance in time being a protection. I can read more easily about squalid conditions in Dickens' time than in our own. Same thing with fantasy - Game of Thrones is very violent and is based on English history, but far enough removed that I can stand it. If the atrocities were being committed by ISIS or by Nazis, I wouldn't have gotten past one chapter.
Chuck wrote: "Alice wrote: "Don't worry about it Chuck! I like historical fiction too, but sometimes I want to get the facts right about pivotal events. I hope the book is not too dry! "I think that’s possible..."
That why I am so appreciative when they include an author's note, telling us what is true and what was changed or made up form the sake of the story.
Are you interested in the Russian Revolution, Stalin,the Siege of Leningrad or Shostakovich's music? Or the importance of music? If so I recommend this book:Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad.It is very good.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Chrissie - It looks really good - I love Shostakovich and was nearly deafened by the kettle drums when I sat behind them at a concert of his 7th symphony once! But it's £13.70 on kindle at the moment! :(
That looks really interesting Chrissie, there seems to be some debate of whether it is fiction or non-fiction, what would you say?
Hales, I would clearly classify it as non-fiction. He does state sometimes that Shostakovich could have been thinking this or that. The author states which bits of information could be merely rumors and hearsay. He speaks of newly opened NKVD sources which he had access to. I did wonder some times how he knew certain things but I still felt he never simply fabricated. I listened to the audiobook so I cannot determine if there are footnotes. I highly recommend the book. It is so clear and tangents cleverly the value of music in influencing morale. His discussion of how the Nazis so stupidly turned the conquered Russians against them was also noteworthy. The Russians had both Stalin and now the invading Nazis. Had the Nazi been more adroit at using public sentiment they could have had support from the Russian people. These questions are all considered in the book. History is not just presented as dates and names; there are issues to ponder.
Jean, it is really fantastic how the author adds bits of the music so you hear what what the words are saying. I recommend it to you.
It sounds fascinating, as a History graduate it sounds like a must read. On to the to-read list it goes, thanks Chrissie.
I've added it, thanks Chrissie. Just need to wait for a bit! :)
Heaven, Jean, I never thought you could pick it up immediately!Hales, I am glad I could help you.
The only thing I noted was that I have previously learned that 22million Russians were killed in the war. This author said 27 million. This with statistics I always take with a pinch of salt. You can play with figures. What you cannot get away from is that it is a huge number no matter how you calculate.
I just checked what I could find at Wiki. The Russian government sets the figure at 26.6 million.
Chrissie - sorry if I wasn't clear. I mean I've added it to my to-read shelf and will wait for it to come down in price. I was interested in the back story of this symphony, and Shostakovich's supremely cynical titling of it (so as not to get into more trouble with the Soviet authorities) when I first listened to it as a teenager. But I've no intention of paying nearly £14 for a download!
Jean wrote: "Chrissie - sorry if I wasn't clear. I mean I've added it to my to-read shelf and will wait for it to come down in price. I was interested in the back story of this symphony, and Shostakovich's su..."
Each movement originally had a title. What I also appreciated was that the author realistically shows how S quite simply had to survive. You make compromises....
I'm also excited to read Anderson's book on Shostakovich. If you haven't read it, I would also highly recommend Vollmann's Europe Central. He also writes about Shostakovich and it won the NBA. It is historical fiction, though, not non fiction.
I have read The Children's Train: Escape on the Kindertransport. 5 stars . My review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Karen - that looks really good too - in a different way. Thanks!
I've at last written my review of Quicksand. I'm afraid it doesn't tell you much about the book or author, more my personal impressions of the book. Here's the link to my review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I gave it five stars.
Chrissie wrote: "Heaven, Jean, I never thought you could pick it up immediately!Hales, I am glad I could help you.
The only thing I noted was that I have previously learned that 22million Russians were killed in..."
The loss of life was humongous; one could be forgiven for thinking it was all military personnel etc but no, a huge percentage of this was the public. The deprivation, starvation, extreme of temperature these people endured was shocking.
Bette, their death tole was amazingly high. You can understand why Stalin was trying to get another front open in Europe.
Mod
Finished and reviewed Tempo di seconda mano. La vita in Russia dopo il crollo del comunismo by Svetlana Alexievich 4,5 *My Italian/English review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Bette was able to find the English edition! It's Second-Hand Time. Thanks Bette!
Alice wrote: "Finished The Death of Ivan Ilych. Very disquieting but powerful read.
My Review"
I found this book very powerful and have recommended it to a few people
My Review"
I found this book very powerful and have recommended it to a few people
recent read I would recommend is Salt Creek by Lucy Treloar. review is here https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Also finished The Lake House by Kate Morton. Hard to review without either retelling entire parts of the book or simply rehashing the blurb.My very short review is at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I finished The Bleeding Season yesterday morning. It was a great horror audiobook for sure. Not sure I would recommend it to anyone who is not a big fan of the genre, though.Last night I read Leah Remini's new bio straight through: Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology. I gave it five stars. I think just about anyone would enjoy that one.
I found Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age very good. Thorough - this may be more than what you are looking for. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I've just finished The Enchanted. I have no idea how to rate this, nor can I get my head around what I thought of it. I'm a bit speechless, really.
Mod
This is on my to-read list Shirley. I've heard it's powerfully affecting.
Shirley wrote: "I've just finished The Enchanted. I have no idea how to rate this, nor can I get my head around what I thought of it. I'm a bit speechless, really."is it a good speechless ? I was thinking of picking it up as a next read...
I finished two very different classics recently:Samuel Beckett's Molloy which was demanding but brilliant. You can see my pre-review review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
and the pre-Victorian Gothic horror story, The Monk, which really did have a lot of horrors!
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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I think you have a important point there. I think maybe I would rather read about passed times b/c there is a distance there. As you say, you can step out. When you read contemporary books filled with problems you cannot distance yourself. Where do you go?