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What have you just read? Opinions, recommendations & reviews
Finished The Cricket on the Hearth by Charles Dickens, narrated by Jim Dale. 3 Stars.I have a question about the audiobook - as it seems to omit the very last paragraph in the novella. Does anyone know what the original should be? I've looked at Project Gutenberg and a couple of other sites and their texts have the missing paragraph.
I finished The Double by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. I do think it is worth reading even if it isn't one of his best. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Lovely ShipMy final read of the year, 2015. I gave it 3.5 stars.
The thing I like most about this book is that the fictional town of Danesacre, which is where the novel is set, is based on Whitby, which is about 20 miles up the coast from here. I love the descriptions of Danesacre, and I could really imagine the place where things were happening and how things were developing.
I also found it interesting, fascinating in fact, how shipbuilding developed during the period when the book was set. This was perhaps the main love of the heroine, Mary's, life. I also like the fact that Mary, the heroine of the book, was not a perfect person. She had many positive and negative characteristics.
I will definitely look for another book by the same author to read.
Mod
I was given just one book!!! But a great one
Once in a while something catches you at a deep level, and you ponder. The very short story, "The Nine Billion Names of God" by Arthur C Clarke is one.Free to read online at: http://downlode.org/Etext/nine_billio...
Monica , thanks so much for this . I'll read it later .
LauraT wrote: "Finished A Suitable Boy, 4/5 stars. Great fresco of India in the beginning of the '50s. All complications for religions, castes, political parties and, at the same time, love and jelos..."It's one of my favourite books - and one of my most loved authors too.
Quite an interesting story, Monica. Thanks for posting it.
I've just finished Marie Antoinette: The Journey. A very thoroughly researched biographical work about whom one might call "the most slandered Queen in the history of France". It is also a lucid study of the fomenting causes that led to the outbreak of the French Revolution and the aftermath (Reign of Terror). Highly recommended.My Review
And this was my last unsatisfactory read for the year, 2 1/2 stars for Close Ranks
. Here is my review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
@Sandy That's a shame your last read of the year was a disappointing one.
B the BookAddict wrote: "@Sandy That's a shame your last read of the year was a disappointing one."The last 4 were B! But onwards and upwards for 2016. The book I started last night looks to be a treasure. *:D
Just finished Alice by Christina Henry.I wanted to love it so very, very much but I was so incredibly disappointed.
Maggie wrote: "Just finished And The Mountains Echoed (Khaled Hosseini) - what a fantastic book, absolutely brilliant!"I had to stop reading that book in public, it turned me into a crying, blubbering mess. It's one of my top favorite novels of all time.
If you are VERY interested in F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda, then go ahead and pick up this book:Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished Andy Warhol Was a Hoarder: Inside the Minds of History's Great Personalities. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Chrissie wrote: "If you are VERY interested in F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda, then go ahead and pick up this book:Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald My review: https://www.goodr..."
I rated this three too, thought you would give it two. Lol
I recently finished Alice Adams by Booth Tarkington. I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised and impressed. Certainly how he describes race relations is, 55 years after the Civil War, depressing, but is likely true to the time. I was expecting a nice, tidy feel-good ending but thought the actual ending was more realistic than that. Have others read some of his novels?
Re: Z: A Novel of Zelda FitzgeraldWell, it finally drew me in and I felt I learned Zelda'a world through Zelda's eyes. It wasn't a waste of time, but I sure had a terrible time with the beginning. I never thought I would end up giving it three stars. Books can improve. I kind of feel guilty about complaining so much in the beginning....yet isn't it good for others to know that it is worth sticking with?!
Albert wrote: "I recently finished Alice Adams by Booth Tarkington. I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised and impressed. Certainly how he describes race relations is, 55 years af..."Just read a few of his short stories, I like the clarity of his writing and he is on my list to read more of this year.
@Chrissie Yes, it is worth letting others know that the book is worth sticking with.
Jeez, now I am suffering through The Fishermen. iIhad no idea it was going to be this difficult. Rather revolting...... Gruesome. I hope it has an important message or something.
Tom wrote: "Finished The Cricket on the Hearth by Charles Dickens, narrated by Jim Dale. 3 Stars.I have a question about the audiobook - as it seems to omit the very last para..."
I don't know but I bet that Jean does. If nobody has answered already, I would try asking on her Dickens thread:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...
Leslie wrote: "Tom wrote: "Finished The Cricket on the Hearth by Charles Dickens, narrated by Jim Dale. 3 Stars.I have a question about the audiobook - as it seems to omit the ve..."
I didn't see any answers, but that's not to say they weren't there. Thanks for the link. I posted there and hoping I get an answer.
Seriously, The Fishermen is a book difficult to read! My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Chrissie wrote: "Seriously, The Fishermen is a book difficult to read! My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
I didn't find The Fishermen difficult (though some scenes pushed some boundaries), but I didn't feel much in the way of emotional connection with the characters.
That said, I think Obioma wrote the scenes the way he did because that's the reality of life in Nigeria. It may be too realistic for Western sensibilities, but that might be part of the point. I think you made reference to such when you mentioned haves and have nots in your review.
Tom wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "Seriously, The Fishermen is a book difficult to read! My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
I didn't find The Fishermen difficult (though ..."
Well I thought that about half way through i began to feel for the boys. One at a time the responsibility shifts to the younger and you see how each bears the weight. The first half is very disjointed, the last half less so. It was interesting what you find out at the end about the father, that with his eye.
Yes, that is exactly what I meant about the haves and have-nots. The contrast to our lives is so blatant. For me the detail was excessive but maybe necessary to make the point. I don't know.
How many stars did you give it?
Chrissie wrote: "Tom wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "Seriously, The Fishermen is a book difficult to read! My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
I didn't find The Fishermen diffic..."
I gave it 4 Stars.
I started with a connection, (view spoiler), but it rapidly declined - I don't know why, but it did. Still, on an intellectual/technical level, it's brilliant.
I've read a few books now set in Nigeria but I don't feel drawn to reading The Fisherman.
Chrissie, I'm glad to see that you've now read The Fishermen. I remember trying to convey my thoughts about it a couple of months ago. Overall I wasn't as impressed as I wanted to be, but I did find it to be a story with real emotion by the end. It sort of grew in my memory rather than faded too.
Recent read wasTrouble at the Little Village School A delightful read. Review here https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Have just finished a delightful very English mystery murder A Man of Some Repute
. Here is my review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Pink wrote: "Chrissie, I'm glad to see that you've now read The Fishermen. .......but I did find it to be a story with real emotion by the end."I reacted similarly. My engagement became stronger the further I progressed into the book. I saw and felt how the boys relied on one another. Their parents absence both emotionally and physically pushed the boys together. It was interesting how responsibility for avenging what happened shifted from the oldest, down the liner to the younger and the younger and the younger four times. Each one was both a separate individual with a different way of behaving but all with a common goal. I marveled at their unity. I don't really understand it though, and perhaps that is why it drew me in. My brothers and I never had that. Do most siblings feel that?
Tom wrote: "Still, on an intellectual/technical level, it's brilliant.
."
What was so brilliant about it, on a technical/intellectual level? I really don't understand what you mean. I DO feel that in the way the book was told the author made a clear statement about the stark contrast between living conditions in different parts of the world.
I've just finished What Remains: A Memoir of Fate, Friendship, and Love by Carole Radziwill, who saw her husband Anthony die after a long battle with cancer only three weeks after her husband's cousin, John Kennedy Jr, and his wife (and the author's close friend) Carolyn Bessette Kennedy died in a plane crash in 1999. At the time of his death, JFK Jr was writing Anthony Radziwill's eulogy. The book was incredibly sad, beautifully written, and very thought-provoking.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
I think I'll pick something light and cheerful to read next.
Finished Georgia: A Novel of Georgia O'Keeffe. 5 stars . My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Both you and Diane like that a lot, Angela. When will it be available to me?! I am really looking forward to it.
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