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Angela M
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May 15, 2016 11:26AM
Tweedledum, glad to hear it's good . I have a copy on my kindle but haven't read it yet .
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Finished The Narrow Road to the Deep North yesterday. Every act of cruelty and a scene of violence is necessary for the reader to get a clear picture of what Australian prisoners faced at the hands of their Japanese captors during World War II. The main character's drive to save the life of every prisoner under his command and/or sent into his medical tent is believable as is the tale of his need to intentionally betray his wife afterwards because she isn't his true love.Recommended for readers interested in the Second World War, those interested in the PO camps run by the Japanese (I more fully understand why my husband's English uncle refused to buy a Honda or a Toyota. I found the book informative. I knew nothing about Australia's involvement in the war and am happy I had this opportunity to learn.
But I'm done now.
Three Stars.
Portia, like you, I had older relatives, who refused to buy products made by the Japanese because of their experiences in the war. The AU participation in the war and the POWs of the Japanese was something we all learned as a matter of course; the Japanese were horribly cruel in the prison camps. The Kokoda Trail (track) in New Guinea is also one worth reading about (I'm not sure if that's cover in this book or not). I couldn't read the novel as I've heard the history told in real life circumstances.I can't find your review on the book page.
I just finished The 5th Wave It is a sci-fi and is brilliant. My review is at - http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I finished At the Edge of Summer. 4 stars .My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show.... A beautifully written story of friendship, love , war , art .
I just finished Eligible. Totally charming and a wonderful homage to the original https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
B the BookAddict wrote: "Portia, like you, I had older relatives, who refused to buy products made by the Japanese because of their experiences in the war. The AU participation in the war and the POWs of the Japanese was s..."Hi, B. Sorry you can't find the review, but no worries. That little blurb I posted as a comment was it. Thank you for letting me know, tho' I probably forgot to click on "Post." Again :P I'll check it out.
You probably already know about "The Doctor Blake Mysteries". We get them on our local public TV channel. The series takes place after the War (late 40s early 50s) but there are mentions of Singapore and a lot of topics not discussed which, I'm guessing, are terrible memories.
I don't blame you at all for giving this book a pass. I'm glad I read it. I needed to know more than I did, but I found it hard going.
My Dad served in Europe, so answered questions about what it was like by claiming he spent the war "liberating French wine factories."
Just finished When Breath Becomes Air. A beautifully written memoir. Here is my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
4.5★ Really liked Aussie author Jaye Ford's suspenseful Darkest Place. She's new to me but she's popular, and I can see why.Carly's got some dark secrets, the place she's moved to has some dark secrets, and she thinks she's being stalked - or going nuts. A good, well-written page-turner. Good characters, too.
My review
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I just completed two about/by Anne Morrow LindberghThe Aviator's Wife
(My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Gift from the Sea
(My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)
I felt that Benjamin's book failed to capture the real Anne Morrow Lindbergh
I base my views on what I have read on the web, the above book written by Anne and the authorized biography of Charles Lindbergh: Lindbergh.
(My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I recommend reading both the book by A. Scott Berg and Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Tweedledum wrote: "I just finished The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North . A time travel novel for our times , I thought it was excellent and very well plotted. The ..."I read this last year (paperback) and liked it very much. You would probably enjoy Replay by Ken Grimwood, which has a similar theme and was written before Harry August.
I have finished The Undertaking by Audrey Magee. I rated it with 3 stars. It shows, in my opinion, that in a war there are never winners or losers, all are only human beings that try to survive and that their lives change forever, they themselves change. It has nothing outstanding though it is a different book about WWII, it's a different way to talk about it.
dely wrote: "I have finished The Undertaking by Audrey Magee. I rated it with 3 stars. It shows, in my opinion, that in a war there are never winners or losers, all are only hum..."I really liked that book dely, I was pleasantly surprised as usually I find modern fiction about WW2 very lacking, or annoying. I liked the different viewpoints and that nothing was wrapped up neatly for the sake of the story.
dely, yep, that is a good one! I gave that four stars. I liked that it was from an ordinary German person's pov.
You'd think by now we'd have moved beyond war as a way to settle differences. :-|
DJ Zippergirl wrote: "You'd think by now we'd have moved beyond war as a way to settle differences. :-|"
People, as a species are so damn stupid. We never learn anything.
Pink wrote: "dely wrote: "I liked the different viewpoints and that nothing was wrapped up neatly for the sake of the story. "This is true. I liked that there were common human beings, with their dreams, strenghts but also weaknessess; how it's sometimes wrong to follow blindly ideals that can also bring to hurt your relatives. The characters who thought to be right and strong (like Katharina's father) at the end were the most miserables. But also Peter, who knew how hard a war is and (view spoiler).
In a way it is a "soft" book, there is nothing to add hype to the story, it has a slow pace, nothing to stun the reader, but the messages are more subtle, they arrive at the end of the book.
Finished a 1970s children's book by Penelope Lively, The Ghost of Thomas Kempe and gave up on Elizabeth Lynn's The Sardonyx Net, something I do very rarely as in once every 5 years!
I have completed All That Is. I liked it and can definitely recommend it. I like the writing. I don't need heros and I don't mind sex in a book if well done. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I recently read Space to Dream: Poems and it is excellent. My review is at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Peter Lovesey is my favourite detective author and his latest Down Among the Dead Men is well-plotted and paced.
Joy wrote: "Peter Lovesey is my favourite detective author and his latest Down Among the Dead Men is well-plotted and paced."He writes about the detective in Bath, right? I read the first one but never got further into the series -- I will have to make a bigger effort to get the second one!
A very satisfying read The King of Lies by John Hart. 5 stars from me. My review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I completed Midnight in Siberia: A Train Journey into the Heart of Russia. Could have been better. Nowhere near the content and writing skills found in Paul Theroux's Deep South: Four Seasons on Back Roads. Both can be classified as travel books. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
David Greene speaks at the clip of a racehorse. Narration does not influence my book rating.
Leslie wrote: "Joy wrote: "Peter Lovesey is my favourite detective author and his latest Down Among the Dead Men is well-plotted and paced."He writes about the detective in Bath, ..."
Yes that's the one. I like the way the character of his detective, Peter Diamond, builds through the series.
I have finished A Hero of Our Time by Mikhail Lermontov. I gave it only 2 stars, here my review where I explain why: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...Chrissie, it isn't exactly like reading short stories but I however didn't like how the story is told. Three different narrators, all with a first-person narration and this didn't help the flow of the story. At least a short story has a start and an ending, here the three narrations are too much in my opinion.
Today I have started and finished a pretty short non-fiction book, The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice by Christopher Hitchens. It was interesting but for me it's 2,5 stars. It was too short and I had the impression that it had no real "order".My English review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Angela M wrote: "Finished Eliza Waite: A Novel. 4 stars. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...."There's a Giveaway current on the book too!
Finished The Vatican Princess: A Novel of Lucrezia Borgia. Some may be repulsed by the graphic violent scenes. But Gortner's spinning a possible theory about one of Lucrezia's heated controversies within a tightly woven plot appealed to me.My Review
I have really enjoyed Deborah Challinor's series about four convict girls who are sent to Sydney in the early 1800s. I suggest reading them in order. They are well researched and a rollicking good tale told by a good story-teller. In order:
Behind the Sun
my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Girl of Shadows
my review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Silk Thief
my review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A Tattooed Heart
my review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Mod
Challenging book, but worth the trial!
If you are interested in the history of environmentalism then I recommend The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt's New World, even if it is a bit long-winded in parts.My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Just finished The Left Hand of Darkness which I chose for my challenge, 'Read a genre you have never read before' which was difficult as my read list is varied. Finally I settled on sci-fi, andUrsula K. Le Guin seemed the right place to begin. I did enjoy the book, some of the details and names became a bit mixed up in my mind but the character of Estraven made the book for me. 3 stars.
Hales wrote: "Just finished The Left Hand of Darkness which I chose for my challenge, 'Read a genre you have never read before' which was difficult as my read list is varied. Finally I settled on sc..."I like her writing a lot - my favorite is the Earthsea trilogy books (starting with A Wizard of Earthsea). But maybe that's because those are more fantasy than sci fi!
I shall have to check some more of her work out, that sounds positive as I do enjoy fantasy books if written well :)
She wrote a follow up Tehanu several years later and I think a short story collection about Earthsea as well, but I have only read (and enjoyed) the original trilogy.
FInished Bryant and May off the Rails and the next in the series, Bryant and May and the Memory of Blood.Now on book 10 in the series, The Invisible Code
I recently finished A Brief History of Time (review). I would definitely read it, even if you think it isn't your subject area because it's definitely not mine but I'm glad I read it!
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