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What have you just read? Opinions, recommendations & reviews
Alice wrote: "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 Bir..."</i>I really enjoyed In the Company of the Courtesan and The Birth of Venus, Dunant is an excellent historical fiction writer. [book:Sacred Hearts was also excellent and a bit of a different theme. Will definitely be reading more Dunant in future. Let us know how you get on Alice.
I have finished reading Sozaboy by Ken Saro-Wiwa. I didn't know if rating it with 4 or 5 stars, but at the end I opted for 4 stars because though I liked it a lot, it didn't "blow" me away. But I also think that this is one of those books that a reader will think about it for a long time so perhaps in a few months I could change my rating to 5 stars.My English review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Hales wrote: "Dunant is an excellent historical fiction writer..."Hales, good to know that you like Dunant too :) I look forward to reading In the Company of the Courtesan.
Just finished an very entertaining collection of short crime stories
London's Glory by Christopher Fowler. My review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Paris Architect by Charles BelfoureMy review is at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Truth Like the Sun by Jim Lynch
My review is at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka BruntMy re-written review is at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I finished The Third Reich by Roberto Bolano a couple of days ago and had to think about it before writing a review. It's a very odd book. Bolano does make one think. I preferred 2666, despite its being darker in topic. Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I can recommend East To The Dawn: The Life Of Amelia Earhart.My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I just finished Twelve Years a Slave, it's really good. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I've finished The Rice Sprout Song. It put my heart in knots - a gut-wrenchingly sad story based on true facts.My Review
Payton wrote: "I just finished Twelve Years a Slave, it's really good. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."I liked that one too. I liked it particularly because it shows how history played out in one person's life. What I admire most is the dignity with which Solomon Northup relates his tale. No sobfest. I like that he details aspects of Southern life other than his own tragic events.
It's a good book to read withGateway to Freedom: The Hidden History of the Underground Railroad.
Alice, I still haven't gotten around to reading Half a Lifelong Romance by the author. ... Good to hear you thought the author was good enough to give four stars!
I've read three ARCs recently. City of Secrets I really liked. I've heard great things about O'Nan before but this was the first time I read him and it did not disappoint. Then I read All Better Now, a memoir about a girl who discovers she has a brain tumor after being hit by a car. It was fine but nothing too special.
Finally, I read The Blackbirds. I wanted to like this one but the dialogue often felt chunky and occasionally felt like an info dump and parts felt like they went on too long.
Chrissie wrote: "Alice, I still haven't gotten around to reading Half a Lifelong Romance by the author. ... Good to hear you thought the author was good enough to give four stars!"Well Chrissie, The Rice Sprout Song is not one of Eileen Chang's typical novels, and I found it quite powerful. Her typical and well-known novels are mostly about profound man-woman relationships, and Half a Lifelong Romance is a typical one, which I'm about to read. As a girl, I had never been drawn to her well-known novels, preferring to read romance novels by her peer Chiung Yao (a Taiwanese author). I just wanted to find out whether as an adult I would have a different view now.
Hattie - it was still worth the read, for sure. It's basically about the relationship between four close friends as they search for love. It explores as well what it's like being African and African American. The LA setting is really well drawn and though occasionally I thought he gave more attention to detail than I felt flowed well, the details did create a very intense sense of place.
Just finished
The Rejected Writers' Book Club by Suzanne Kelman. I liken this book to a sponge-cake. Light, fluffy, but oh so tasty!You have to admire anyone who can sing the first verse of Puff the Magic Dragon (a song that always makes me cry) backwards. But rest assured, this is not Suzanne Kelman's only talent.
When I first started this book I thought it was an amusing piece of fluff, probably a 3 star read. The book is amusing, it is fluffy, but fluffy with so much more to recommend it!
I grew to love this madcap bunch of women. It was great to see Janet unwind, loosen up, to become part of something, to make friends, although she would vigorously deny that she was doing so.
Janet is a librarian in the small coastal town of Southlea Bay where she moved with husband Martin, and where her biggest problem is a disappearing trash can and the raccoons that regularly raid it. She is inveigled to attend a meeting of The Rejected Writer's Books Club, where the members face a huge problem. One of their manuscripts has been accepted for publication - it must surely be a mistake because their writing is nothing short of awful - which means that the author must be ejected from the club. They want Janet to help convince the publisher to return the manuscript with a rejection letter, to add to the 400+ rejection letters they currently have, and build their total towards their goal of 500.
But Janet has other things going on in her life. Her semi-estranged daughter is pregnant with twins and is reaching out to her mother.....so she really doesn't have time for this bunch of loonies that want to take her into their midst.
The chapter titles are entrancing "Lemon Cake and Loonies" is one. I wish they had included the recipes (Doris, whom I could see being played by Kathy Bates, loves to cook) for the food they talk about and consume.
An amusing and entertaining read. A fun read. This looks like the first of a series, and I will be reading the next Southlea Bay book.
I received an ARC of this book form Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
Bastard Out of Carolina is a fantastic book. I think everybody should read it. I was skeptical, and I was totally wrong. Most everybody thinks of me as the one who loves non-fiction. That is only because I want fiction to give me an accurate picture of life. Few authors can pull that off. When I run into what I consider great fiction I am so impressed and blown over that I will gladly give more stars than others. This doesn't happen often, but it happened here. The author thinks that fiction can "tell a larger truth". She succeeds with that here. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished reading Yoshe Kalb by Israel J. Singer. I rated it with 3 stars because I liked it. I would suggest it to who wants to read about the orthodox hasidic Jews of early 1900. I like Singer's prose and how he describes people, their lives and habits, traditions and rituals and so on. An interesting book.
I’ve just finished Moments Of Being: Autobiographical Writings, by Virginnia Woolf. It made for painful reading at times, covering the death of her mother, older half-sister, then brother; the unfairness (and tedium) of life for women in upper-middle class Victorian society; and recollections of sexual abuse by her half-brothers. There are also flashes of her mental illness and the horror of World War 2.There are also wonderfully written passages and an exploration of the evasiveness of memory. This is one of the books I’m reading as background for The Art of Time in Memoir: Then, Again.
Although it was a difficult read, I would recommend Moments Of Being as invaluable for anyone who wants a deeper understanding of Virginnia Woolf and her life.
Mod
So glad you liked it Chrissie! I was worried about your reaction to the content as I told you before, but her candor and searing honesty in other works are something that I myself appreciate. She's not afraid of anything, as a writer or as a person. Now I'm excited to read Bastard Out of Carolina when I have time! That is supposed to be her best, and it sounds like you agree with the critics on this one.
Mod
I've read some of her autobiographies Susan, and I definitely know what you mean! I'm curious now to read that selection!
Just finished The Pillars of the Earth and it was fantastic, even at the end there were twists and turns that I did not predict. It is a story about the building of a cathedral but more importantly about the lives of those who surround it. What I truly loved about this book was how rounded the characters not one was truly good, but there was some that were truly evil, and I do love a character you can loathe and seethe at whilst reading. Highly recommended especially for history lovers, don't let the length put you off, so glad I didn't.
Hales , I really loved that one too . Are you going to read the sequel- World Without End ? Loved that one too .
Angela M wrote: "Hales , I really loved that one too . Are you going to read the sequel- World Without End ? Loved that one too ."Definitely Angela, need to get my hands on a copy, and perhaps read some slightly shorter books in the mean time :) It has been quite heavy carrying it around with me. Would you sat it was as good or better? I know its set in the future so none of the characters will be the same.
Hales , I think I liked Pillars a little better but I did give them both five stars . Yes , set in future years and not the same characters but there are descendants of some of them , which tied the books together.
Hales wrote: "Just finished The Pillars of the Earth and it was fantastic, even at the end there were twists and turns that I did not predict. It is a story about the building of a cathedral but more..."I really liked Pillars of the Earth when I read it (when it was a book of the month selection and new), but years later when I tried to read the sequel, I did NOT like that, despite the fact that overall I am a Ken Follett fan (don't love all of his books, but have liked many of the ones I've read.)
Hales wrote: "Just finished The Pillars of the Earth and it was fantastic, even at the end there were twists and turns that I did not predict. It is a story about the building of a cathedral but more..."Yay! Glad you liked it Hales :)
I loved Pillars, but my favorite Follett book is The Key to Rebecca.Finished Thursday's Children
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Diane S ☔ wrote: "Finished City of Thieves 
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
I loved that book.
I too loved City of Thieves. Read it when if first came out. I bought it at BookDepository and they told me they would give me another book free if I wasn't pleased with it. That says something.
Diane S ☔ wrote: "I loved Pillars, but my favorite Follett book is The Key to Rebecca.Finished Thursday's Children
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
Good point about Follett's 'Key to Rebecca'; it's easy to forget he writes other stuff besides historical fact/fiction. Gotta say though, sometimes I find his writing a little dry. He's always spot on though with plot, characters and historical action. Follett was brought up in a Brethren household , (just a bit of useless data for you:). )
I was so looking forward to Tuesday Nights in 1980. One is bound to be a bit disappointed. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Diane S ☔ wrote: "Finished Glory over Everything: Beyond The Kitchen Househttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
No fair! I'm not done yet because I played a reading game!!!! Just joking, but I'm not going to read your review until I finish this book :).
I just finished the memoir A Girl Named Zippy for a reading game (this book was pitched to me from my tbr) and here's my review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I found Searching for Nannie B.: Connecting Three Generations of Southern Women more of personal significance to the author than a book for the general public. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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