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What have you just read? Opinions, recommendations & reviews
Alice wrote: "Jenny wrote: "dely wrote: "Just finished Life and Death are Wearing Me Out by Mo Yan.It was so good! I gave it only 4 stars because one part was a bit dragging, but ..."
Alice, I haven't yet managed to read the article, but my first instinctive reaction was that I've read a lot of great books by authors who's personal political opinions or moral I find questionable. It does make a difference though if it's a contemporary author coming from a place you identify with, or feel strongly for, doesn't it? It was the first thing that came to mind when reading your comment, similar to what dely has said. I will have a look at the article this weekend.
Diane S ☔ wrote: "Jen wrote: "Finished Sweetland. Wasn't my cuppa java. The writing was good - just felt it went on for too long. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2..."
Jen, your review link goes to..."
Thanks - I haven't even read Harry Potter...lol
Jenny & deli, if you're interested in a realistic overview of post-Mao China, I would highly recommend Philip Pan's non-fiction title Out of Mao's Shadow: The Struggle for the Soul of a New China. Pan is an award-winning journalist who worked as Washington Post's China Bureau Chief for seven years.I read the book in 2008 and posted my review on my Asia Sentinel blog on August 30, 2008. I've just copied and pasted the review onto the Goodreads book review page:-
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
So I finally finished America's First Daughter. I am not saying it is a bad book but it is primarily for those who like romance novels. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Alice wrote: "Jenny & deli, if you're interested in a realistic overview of post-Mao China, I would highly recommend Philip Pan's non-fiction title Out of Mao's Shadow: The Struggle for the Soul of a New C..." Thanks Alice, what an interesting review! I have seen that there aren't Italian editions of the book and I think that this could be too difficult for me to read in English. But I have enjoyed Tiziano Terzani's books about China. He too was a journalist. He really loved China and managed to go there to live and work but at the end he had also to face reality and the negative parts of this country. He has been arrested too but being a foreigner he has been helped by his embassy, but he had to leave China and wasn't allowed to turn back.
I just finished Dark Places by Gillian Flynn. I liked this one more than Gone Girl, but I like Sharp Objects more than this one.
Finished Glory over Everything: Beyond The Kitchen House. 4 stars . My review : https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I read Market Street by Anita Hughes and did not like it. Soooooo much purple prose. The dialogue dragged on and it was entirely unbelievable that two characters who were best friends for years would explain so much of their pasts to each other. It was obvious the author was just trying to give backstory for the audience, but I don't think it was necessary. The book would have been much better if she'd had someone else proofread it first.
dely wrote: "Alice wrote: "Jenny & deli, if you're interested in a realistic overview of post-Mao China, I would highly recommend Philip Pan's non-fiction title Out of Mao's Shadow: The Struggle for the Soul of..."deli, I can assure you that it's a very easy read in English - the writing is in narrative style and it almost reads like fiction. The book by the Italian journalist that you read sounds interesting too.
Alice wrote: "dely wrote: "Alice wrote: "Jenny & deli, if you're interested in a realistic overview of post-Mao China, I would highly recommend Philip Pan's non-fiction title Out of Mao's Shadow: The Struggle fo..."Thanks, good to know!
Absolutely loved This Year It Will Be Different, and other stories by the lovely Maeve Binchy. My review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Have just finished
Old Friends and New Enemies: Tense and Gripping Scottish Crime Thriller by Owen Mullen. Definitely lives up to it's title by-line. My sparkling 5 star review: Old Friends and New Enemies: A tense and gripping Scottish Crime Thriller - all true, but neither tense nor gripping does this book justice.
This book follows on from Games People Play and again we meet with Charlie Cameron, who specialises in locating missing people; Jackie, the Manager of New York Blues, Charlies 'local' for want of a better word; Pat Logue, Charlie's sidekick and husband of the long-suffering Gail; and DS Andrew Geddes, sometimes friend of Charlie who has been known to push the limits on what he unofficially reveals to Charlie.
Charlie is looking for a man who went missing after his teenage son committed suicide. There is an unidentified body in the morgue who just may be the man Charlie is trying to locate. Instead he finds an old friend, Ian Selkirk, whom he hasn't seen for years. Ian has been tortured. Whoever killed him wanted something. And now they think Charlie may have it......
I have never before read an author who can pack so much meaning and imagery into so few words. His writing style could almost be called terse. it is also refreshing, dynamic and (as I have said previously) totally unputdownable.
Gripping? Yes. Thrilling? Yes. But both these words pale in the face of Owen Mullen's talent. Here is a new writer with a brilliant future.
Thank you to author Owen Mullen for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
I finished "Girl Through Glass" (a novel that evolves around ballet) yesterday afternoon - the book turned out to be so much more than I had expected :-)
Just finished Cold: Extreme Adventures at the Lowest Temperatures on Earth it was very interesting and I am still trying to get my head around the idea that anyone would voluntarily submit themselves to such low temperatures. I gave this book 3 stars because although it was fascinating and fully covered my book challenge of 'Read a travel book about a place you probably won't see' there were parts when I would have liked to know more about the other people involved in his expeditions and although he covered his exploits on Everest etc, these felt like a mere afterthought and probably deserved their own book.
Well I listened to another by Anthony Trollope and although it does not deter me from reading more by him, I thought it was just OK. I tested a new narrator, Tony Britton, and liked him too. Good to know when I choose another by the author. Here is my review of Sir Harry Hotspur Of Humblethwaite: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Mod
It's always pleasent when it happens. Not often though...
Uh oh! Forgot to review this Miracle Cure. Loved it like I always do! My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished Tears in the Grass. 4.5 rounded up to 5 . My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I completed A Room of One's Own. I detested it. My review explains why. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
dely wrote: "Alice wrote: "dely wrote: "Alice wrote: "I've never read any works by Mo Yan and don't intend to, simply because I am highly skeptical of his moral values. Not a few have pointed out that he's a CC..."I try to separate the books from the author so I still intend to read some of Yan's work sometime. But I am glad to hear your perspective Alice.
I ended up finishing several different books in the past few days:-The Selected Poetry of Jaroslav Seifert by the Czech Nobel Laureate Seifert
-Lark Rise by Flora Thompson
-Sir Harry Hotspur of Humblethwaite by Anthony Trollope
-The Living by Matt de la Pena {audiobook}
-And Quiet Flows the Don by Soviet Nobel Laureate Mikhail Sholokhov
I fell behind a bit in my thread but it should be up to date now (even if the reviews are short).
Leslie wrote: "I ended up finishing several different books in the past few days:-The Selected Poetry of Jaroslav Seifert by the Czech Nobel Laureate Seifert
-Lark Rise by [author:F..."
What did you think about Quiet Flows the Don?
I really tried with this 175 pages worth of trying. It's loved by so many here... Here is a review by Tracey: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Two books I just finished are The Age of Innocence and Starflight - two very different books. To be honest I needed the sheer enjoyment of Starflight after the challenge of Innocence.My review of The Age of Innocence is at : http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Loved this little Aussie one Jilted by Rachael Johns. Here is my review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Can't Look Away - D. Cooner
Loved it. Definitely relatable. I also understood how Torrey was striving to be 'popular' and didn't want to follow her heart. In the end though, she realized what REALLY mattered. 5 stars. This would be for anyone who enjoys real life and how to deal with the death of a sibling.
Loved it. Definitely relatable. I also understood how Torrey was striving to be 'popular' and didn't want to follow her heart. In the end though, she realized what REALLY mattered. 5 stars. This would be for anyone who enjoys real life and how to deal with the death of a sibling.
dely wrote: "Leslie wrote: "I ended up finishing several different books in the past few days:…"What did you think about Quiet Flows the Don? ..."
I really liked the first two sections a lot but found the sections "Revolution" and "Civil War" were more of a struggle for me (no pun intended!).
I finished At the Edge of the Orchard. 3 stars . My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A review I forgot to post: A Thousand Pardons by Jonathan DeeMy review is at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I gave The Jungle three stars. I do definitely think it is worth reading. Certainly difficult in parts. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz 4/5Really liked this book about the everyday life of an Egyptian family living in Cairo, from early 1900 to the revolution of 1919.
My English review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Hope to start already today the second book of this trilogy, Palace of Desire.
I just finished Nora Webster and while looking through the reviews I discovered a few members from this group have just finished it as well! I really enjoyed it. I thought it was a quietly powerful character study. I give it 4 stars but I noticed some of you didn't really care for it.
Sandra, I enjoyed Nora Webster as well. It was recently a group read and we'd love to hear your thoughts. You can find the discussion here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
LOL, I don't know how I missed that it was a group read!I added my $.02.
I had a blast reading Flash Crash: A Jake Rivett Heist Thriller
Just when you think you know the characters, you don't. Programmers, thugs and a cop on a Ducati. Wall Street will never recover.
Finished The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic - and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern Worldhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My 5 star review on the incredible Songdogs by Colum McCann.Here is a review by Tracey: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I finished reading Paramedic to the Prince: A Paramedic's Account of Life Inside the Mysterious World of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and quite enjoyed it.The culture is interesting and unique. The country is described as beautiful and hot. This is an interesting look of a non-resident's experience and views of what he saw, heard and lived through.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Just finished
The Bone Orchard by Paul Doiron. A solid 4 star read. My review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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My review: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2..."
Jen, your review link goes to Harry Potter.