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What have you just read? Opinions, recommendations & reviews
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B the BookAddict
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Feb 19, 2016 10:09AM
Tom, that link just took me to the Google homepage???
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B the BookAddict wrote: "Tom, that link just took me to the Google homepage???"I think his point was that it says good reads but goes to google!
I've finished 11/22/63, 2 stars. The stars are for Stephen King's son who wrote the ending. 0 stars for Stephen King. If you are going to write about JFK and the sixties, at least make some of it truthful. If you are going to write about Jacqueline Kennedy's Chanel suit she wore the day Kennedy was assassinated, get the color right! Streets were wrong, sports teams wrong, as were many of the references to the sixties. It became a game to me to see how many mistakes I could find. I'm glad it's over! No more Stephen King for me.
Chrissie wrote: "B the BookAddict wrote: "Tom, that link just took me to the Google homepage???"I think his point was that it says good reads but goes to google!"
You would be correct. And as Leslie pointed out, there's no mouseovers in the app (just like crying in baseball).
Chrissie wrote: "B the BookAddict wrote: "Tom, that link just took me to the Google homepage???"I think his point was that it says good reads but goes to google!"
Thanks Chrissie, early morning here, m brain is still a bit docile, lol:)
Oh, I keep thinking that there are lots of comments here about books people have read, and they aren't at all. I so enjoy reading what people say about the books.
Patricia wrote: "I've finished 11/22/63, 2 stars. The stars are for Stephen King's son who wrote the ending. 0 stars for Stephen King. If you are going to write about JFK and the sixties, at least m..."Patricia, that's an interesting point. I can't comment as I haven't read the book except to say that perhaps by 'changing history' these details changed too, just a thought
Gill wrote: "Oh, I keep thinking that there are lots of comments here about books people have read, and they aren't at all. I so enjoy reading what people say about the books."Point taken...
Finished Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith. 2 Stars.
Patricia wrote: "I've finished 11/22/63, 2 stars. The stars are for Stephen King's son who wrote the ending. 0 stars for Stephen King. If you are going to write about JFK and the sixties, at least m..."Hmm I guess my ignorance shielded me from such factual adversity (I gave it 4 stars) *shrugs*. I'm guessing you won't be watching the Hulu miniseries?
I think he just didn't care enough to bother. It's like he was writing and thought "what was the name of that road? Oh yeah, it was Camp Bowie." So he writes Camp Bowie Road. It's Camp Bowie Blvd. and has been a blvd. since 1919. That's just lazy. Just leave off the road or blvd, and just say Camp Bowie. He had to have done some type of research to find out what was playing on television, and what was written in the tv guide on a certain weekend in the sixties . Only he got that wrong too. I could go on and on and list around 30 things but I think people who are not familiar with the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, or the sixties, or the assassination of JFK will probably enjoy the book, because they don't know the truth, or it wouldn't bother them if they did. I'm just saying if you're going to write about that area, and that history, at least try to get it right. One more example and I'm done:The radio station King write about is KLife. The actual radio station is KLIF pronounced like "cliff", for Dallas' OaK CLIFf neighborhood, or for the station's onetime music format of Legends, Icons, and Favorites .
Tom wrote: "Patricia wrote: "I've finished 11/22/63, 2 stars. The stars are for Stephen King's son who wrote the ending. 0 stars for Stephen King. If you are going to write about JFK and the si..."I was going to watch it Tom. I'm not sure now. I wonder if they are going to make everyone in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area sound like a bunch of uneducated hicks. I noticed in the book the only ones that seemed to be able to speak intelligently were teachers or librarians. I do like James Franco though, he's a little cutie lol!
I have finished reading an important epic of Tamil literature: Shilappadikaram by Ilango Adigal 2*Though it is an interesting book, I had a hard time reading it.
My Italian/English review where I explain why: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A review I had forgotten to paste: The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim by Jonathan CoeMy review is at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished reading Ignazio Silone's Bread and Wine, a novel set in the Fascist Italy. A powerful indictment of totalitarian regime. The protagonist is a Socialist who wants to organize the peasants to rise up against the regime in revolution. Thus, many questions are analysed in this novel - totalitarian regime, Socialism - doctrine of Marx, Christianity (the protagonist to escape being caught goes under the disguise of a Catholic priest), etc.... It was written when Europe was under or about to be under some of the dictators (Mussolini, Hitler, Franco) and Russia was under Stalin. The novel was a great success. And I do not see a reason why it should have failed.My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished Amsterdam by Ian McEwan. I enjoyed it and it helped me to better understand McEwan's approach to telling a story. Here is my review.https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I finished a mystery on audiobook, Black As He's Painted by NZ author Ngaio Marsh. I like Marsh's Inspector Alleyn mysteries but some people may have issues with this one about an African ruler who was at school with Alleyn. It didn't come across to me as if Marsh herself was racist but there were some racist characters. I give it 3½ stars -- I docked it ½ star because I figured out a big part of the solution pretty early on.
A couple good books I just read--Qureshi is a really talented writer, and the subject of his conversion from Islam to Christianity kept me reading til 2:30 am. I'm not religious, but I am interested in what makes people tick. This is the newest one, quick read, Answering Jihad:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This is his narrative biography and it earned every star:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I didn't realize when I chose them from netgalley that they were by the same author, I got them a week or more apart, I think. After reading the Answering Jihad I was pleased to see that I could learn more about his journey.
Leslie wrote: "Karin wrote: "B the BookAddict wrote: "Karin wrote: "I have just finished Probability for Kids which I received as an early reviewer, and [book:Me and Earl and the Dying Girl|127003..."Thanks so much! I'm still learning the Goodreads ropes as I've moved my reading activity since Shelfari is closing.
Finished The Moon Is Down by John Steinbeck it was very thought provoking. I especially enjoyed the introduction by Donald V Coers, which explained how this work of fiction was used as propaganda in WW2. Highly recommended for those interested in history, 4 stars from me.
Hales, very good! I agree. Four stars from me too to The Moon Is Down. It is interesting to see how propaganda is always sold as negative, but here we see it as positive. I did.
I really, really liked Sister CarrieMy review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Has anybody read An American Tragedy by the same author? I am wondering if it is as good? I am also wondering if it says the same thing. Will it be boring to read both?
Chrissie wrote: "Has anybody read An American Tragedy by the same author? I am wonderin..."I have but not Sister Carrie so I can't tell whether the two cover the same ideas. I would say that it is worth reading but I felt that the ending was a little too drawn out.
Thanks, leslie. I am thinking that is style of writing has to be the same, both American Naturalism. That is OK, as long as the stories are different. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.Diane, Haven't you read both? Or was it too long ago to remember details?
Chrissie wrote: "Hales, very good! I agree. Four stars from me too to The Moon Is Down. It is interesting to see how propaganda is always sold as negative, but here we see it as positive. I did."I agree Chrissie, I think the occupied people of Europe would have taken some comfort from this book. And I also was pleased that the invaders were described like people and not monsters, at the end of the day they were men doing their jobs and as they say, history is written by the victors.
Hales, I remember all of that. Very good book! YOU have to read or listen to The Winter of Our Discontent. I have forgotten how much I love Steinbeck. I would say that this one, the one I am reading now is one of his best. I guess I should complete it before I praise it. ... I just plain like the sentences. I am not talking at all about what happens really.
Bette, I have read The Sea by him, definitely liked his writing, but still I couldn't give it more than three stars. Did I start with the wrong book?
Chrissie wrote: "Hales, I remember all of that. Very good book! YOU have to read or listen to The Winter of Our Discontent. I have forgotten how much I love Steinbeck. I would say that this one, the one..."I have put it on my to-read list, I think I saw it in the library so am sure to get my hands on it soon :)
I may be having a John Steinbeck year, I think. Haven't read any John Banville Bette, what book would you recommend as an introduction?
Chrissie wrote: "Bette, I have read The Sea by him, definitely liked his writing, but still I couldn't give it more than three stars. Did I start with the wrong book?"Not necessarily. He has a 'trilogy' of books about one character, Alexander Cleave. (in order) Eclipse, Shroud and then Ancient Light which could also be a good intro to his work/style. I had a friend who was a bookseller and he got me copies of Banville's books as they came out. This was prior GR; consequently, while I might know that I have read the books I often can't tell you a lot about them. I didn't review back then. For instance, I know I've read The Infinities and did not like it but can't tell you why really. Many I have rated but marked to be read again.
Hales, I probably recommend The Sea, if only because as my intro to Banville, it certainly made me a fan.
Thank you, it's now on the ever growing list :)
I bought The Infinities very cheaply on 9-CDs some years ago and it has remained as TBR. I think because the blurb uses words like bawdy and salacious. The premise - the gods looking down and intruding on the last days of the central character and his family - is an appealing one, so maybe I'll bite the bullet soon.
I've just finished reading YOU by Caroline Kepnes and it was really creepy and violent. But it was so well written and so well done that it almost felt like everything the stalker did was normal (which made it even creepier). Rated it 4/5, would totally recommend it :)
Léa wrote: "I've just finished reading YOU by Caroline Kepnes and it was really creepy and violent. But it was so well written and so well done that it almost felt like everything the stalker did was normal (w..."Yes, I loved the bookstore setting, and the 'romance' didn't go anywhere I expected it to. I think I will pick up the sequel.
I have finished another Booth Tarkington novel, Penrod. Very different type of book from The Magnificent Ambersons! This is really a children's book, about the mischief an 11-year-old boy gets into in 1910s midwest America. A bit like Tom Sawyer but in a more suburban setting. I liked it but, as with Tom Sawyer, there are some racial aspects that might bother some people.
John wrote: "I bought The Infinities very cheaply on 9-CDs some years ago and it has remained as TBR. I think because the blurb uses words like bawdy and salacious. The premise - the gods looking down and intru..."John, I think it was that very thing - the God's intrusion into real life that bothered me. Hope you have better luck. I might feel differently if I read it now; I'm a 'different' reader these days than I was back then.
Does anyone else feel that happens to them?
B the BookAddict wrote: "Does anyone else feel that happens to them? ."Definitely! I am pickier. I spend so much time reading now; I cannot help but compare one book against another. The more you read the more demanding you get. When I was younger, books were a diversion from a very busy life - work and kids and managing a household, that is to say I didn't want the same thing then as I want now,. Also one has experienced more. This can make it easier to relate to more themes. At the same time, I am very much the same person I have always been. Some things do not change. So the whole thing is a mix.
Yes, very different. Think of those books so wonderful to a teenager/student - The Catcher In The Rye, Metamorphosis (Kafka), Steppenwolf (Hesse), for example. If I read them for the first time now I would be much less 'blown away', I reckon. Conversely, more intricate novels of subtle human relationships mean so much more now then they did then.
Alice. Yes. Great memories of reading it brought back by your review.
John wrote: "Yes, very different. Think of those books so wonderful to a teenager/student - The Catcher In The Rye, Metamorphosis (Kafka), Steppenwolf (Hesse), for example. If I read them for the first time now..."Yes, Hermann Hesse is an interesting one. I was so impressed by his books in my 'youth'. There's part of me that would like to visit him again, and get the same feeling that his books gave me so many years ago. But there is another part of me that's reluctant to give it a go, just in case they don't impress me at all.
I've finished two excellent books today: Orlando by Virginia Woolf, which I would recommend highly to anyone who would like to try or re-try her but finds stream of consciousness inaccessible (this is a glorious tale that is told in an unconventional but fairly straight forward way) and What Lies Between Us by Nayomi Munaweera which left me feeling a bit raw. The lushness of writing and of the described landscapes and the bleakness of subject stand in intriguing contrast to each other. Extremely easy to read, but hard to digest.
What lies between us is certainly memorable but like you mentioned the writing is stellar.
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