All About Books discussion
note: This topic has been closed to new comments.
General Archive
>
What have you just read? Opinions, recommendations & reviews
Mod
Another 5 stars mystery. She really knows how to write. Thanks again and again Petra to have shown them to me!!!
I really have to read something by Louise Penny at last!
She is great, Jenny. Love the characters.
A treat in store. I have loved the first 10, and have been saving the twelfth for holiday reading this year. Another is finished but not yet published, too.
Have finished Palace of Desire by Naguib Mahfouz. I liked it less compared to the first book of the trilogy, but it however deserved 3 stars. The family saga continues 5 years after the end of the first book and we can see how Egypt is slowly changing. My English review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Queen Of Four Kingdoms by Princess Michael of KentMy review is at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
B the BookAddict wrote: "The Queen Of Four Kingdoms by Princess Michael of KentMy review is at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
Sounds good B, added it'
Diane, whenever I see 'Mrs Brown', I think of Queen Victoria and her John Brown.
B the BookAddict wrote: "Diane, whenever I see 'Mrs Brown', I think of Queen Victoria and her John Brown."B the BookAddict wrote: "Diane, whenever I see 'Mrs Brown', I think of Queen Victoria and her John Brown."
And I think of the song, Mrs. Brown you've such a lovely daughter. Herman Hermits. Aw, name associations.
Sandy wrote: "Here is my review of His Family by Ernest Poole - winner of the first Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1918. My first five-star novel of 2016! An extraordinary book."Sounds good, Sandy. Never heard of this one either.
A DNF for me on a trilogy published in one volume as
A WOMAN FOUND DEAD IN A FARMHOUSE by T.J. Brearton. I finished the first book, but just could not go on. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I'm stringing along the last 20% of another thriller with loads of insight into xenophobia:Bad Analysis
There are several ordinary heroes here which gives me hope for our world despite the noisy haters.
Sandy wrote: "Here is my review of His Family by Ernest Poole - winner of the first Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1918. My first five-star novel of 2016! An extraordinary book."Wow! ....and this has been languishing on my ereader for years now. Sounds like I want to read it soon. Thanks, Sandy.
Harlan Coben is amazing! Here is my review of Just One Look:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Mod
Do it! She totally outturns the standard mystery rules keeping herself strictly within their boundaries. And she puts inside them a lot of historical perspective, psicological insight, without doing it artificiously. She really is a great writer in my opinion!
I adored Portrait of an Artist: A Biography of Georgia O'Keeffe. Here is my review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
It explains why.
Suzanne wrote: "Harlan Coben is amazing! Here is my review of Just One Look:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
He just released a new one too: Fool Me Once. I'm hoping to get to it very soon.
Just finished reading Post Grad Survival by M.A.X. Bennette. It had undergrad life transitioning skills. It was a quick and fun read. I gave it 5 stars. Reading for my brains sake. Life help happens by accident.
I have completed the short: All Souls: A Family Story from Southie. Here follows my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Emperor's Railroad
Quinn had two swords. One for killing the living, and one for killing the dead."
Young Abney tells the story, like a future Huck Finn, in the vernacular. Plague creatures have decimated his village and he and his mother need to brave millennia-old ruins and mutant fire-breathing beasts to find safety behind the walls of Winfort.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Bad Analysis
Money and new members are suddenly pouring into the English Defense League, an anti-Muslim protest movement supported by both soccer hooligans and blue bloods. When MI5 fails to issue an alert, red flags start Wilson's calculating mind racing. Under direct orders to end his investigation, he knows the clock is ticking, and it's up to him to neutralize the threat of thousands of deaths and casualties.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
Finished The Midnight Watch: A Novel of the Titanic and the Californianhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Chuck wrote: "Suzanne wrote: "Harlan Coben is amazing! Here is my review of Just One Look:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
He just released a new one too: [book:Fo..."
Hi Chuck, excellent! I have the one you gave me too :)
Difficult book for me emotionally.Here is a review by Tracey: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Finished also the third book of the Cairo Trilogy, Sugar Street, 4,5 starsI liked this again a lot, as much as the first book or even a bit more. Only the second book was a bit too slow and boring. The family saga goes on, there are grandchildren who grow up, and there are also important political events and changes. The story goes from 1935 to 1944.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished Setting the World on Fire: The Brief, Astonishing Life of St. Catherine of Sienahttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Tom wrote: "Finished Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll 4 Stars"As a child (in the 60s) I adored this book and read it over and over again! Having re-read it as an adult i cant quite see why.
Alice! It was one of my first explorations of fantasy, of an adult thinking outside the box--so I loved it. Dr. Seuss (my hometown boy) and Madeleine L'Engle' A Wrinkle in Time also gave me a sought-for out of this world reality. A Wrinkle in Time
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
While I prefer The Hunting of the Snark, I did find Alice enjoyable. I think Carroll was trying to get across some deep philosophical ideas as well as bit of satire. If Ms. Johansson narrates the sequel Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There, I will pick that up as well.
I don't dare re-read Alice in Wonderland as an adult. It was a favourite childhood book and I do not want to tarnish it's memory. For me, some books are better left as memories.Tom, The Hunting of the Snark was crzy but fun for me to read.
I have completed Charlotte Brontë: A Fiery Heart. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
which explains why I rated as I did.
I've finished Blood & Beauty: The Borgias. A compelling and informative historical novel about Renaissance Italy. 4 full stars. One of the best of such genre that I've read.My Review
Would highly recommend to historical fiction lovers.
Alice, if you want to try more by Dunant, I would recommend In the Company of the Courtesan; it is very good. Skip The Birth of Venus.
Just finished The Opposite of Everyone. Was a refreshing good read. Here is my review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Chrissie wrote: "Alice, if you want to try more by Dunant, I would recommend In the Company of the Courtesan; it is very good. Skip The Birth of Venus."Thanks Chrissie - I was considering that one too. Have added it. But right now I'm more intrigued by Lucrezia Borgia than Fiammetta (the protagonist in In the Company of the Courtesan). I plan to read The Vatican Princess: A Novel of Lucrezia Borgia soon.
Finished On the Shores of Darkness, There Is Light: A Novel. 5 stars . My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Just finished
Thorn by Vena Cork the first in a trilogy that I am definitely going to go on reading. My review : https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Alice wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "Alice, if you want to try more by Dunant, I would recommend In the Company of the Courtesan; it is very good. Skip The Birth of Venus."Thanks Chrissie -..."
Alice, I have toyed with reading The Vatican Princess: A Novel of Lucrezia Borgia as Lucrezia does interest me and Gortner is a good novelist. I'm interested to see if she was a woman who used sex as a tool, as history paints her, or indeed just a pawn in a political web. I'm adding the book back onto my tbr; I must have taken it off my list before because I decided I wanted a non-fiction. I've had a change of heart.
B the BookAddict wrote: "Alice wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "Alice, if you want to try more by Dunant, I would recommend In the Company of the Courtesan; it is very good. Skip The Birth of Venus."Tha..."
Bette, I saw that you gave high rating to Gortner's The Confessions of Catherine de Medici (which is on my to-read list), and that gave me confidence in picking The Vatican Princess: A Novel of Lucrezia Borgia from the lot.
This topic has been frozen by the moderator. No new comments can be posted.
All About Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Red Shoes for Rachel: Three Novellas (other topics)Kindred (other topics)
Kindred (other topics)
Kindred (other topics)
The Promise Girls (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Octavia E. Butler (other topics)Octavia E. Butler (other topics)
Octavia E. Butler (other topics)
Marie Bostwick (other topics)
Deon Meyer (other topics)
More...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...