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What have you just read? Opinions, recommendations & reviews
Just finished little women and it was pretty good. I enjoyed it and will reccomend it to others. :-)
Jean wrote: "Sorry sorry... I wish I could put that little gif here where the stick figure is banging its head on the desk...Yes of course the Jean Auel chat was for Leslie. But Jenny you're not getting away ..."
Jean that's my most used gif on Skype as well. Along with 'Mr. Beachparty' as sad as it is, probably because there's nothing more charming than a slightly overweight middle aged man stuck in a floating tire for children.
It is just one book Jean! (but I detected the sentence that might have mislead you and edited it).
You know I am not much of a reviewer but I'd happily chat about it some more or single-handedly bully amazon into finally releasing the e-book version so you can read it too :)
Haha - Jenny yes please do. I wonder how much notice they take of my sad little "would like to see this book on kindle" clicks! And sorry again about the misunderstanding. Maybe sometimes it's just too late at night to think straight... I'll edit the part addressed to Leslie in case she misses it otherwise.Amber - I'm pleased you enjoyed your book so much. Didn't you only start it because you were waiting for another? :D
Jean wrote: "Leslie - did you find that you had to keep going back and rereading before you could start the next one? (Because I did.) For some reason I became less and less interested in the series as time went on, which puzzled me as I'm nuts about anything prehistoric...can't quite put my finger on it...."My favorites in the series are Valley of the Horses and The Mammoth Hunters and I can read those independent of the rest of the series. However, I think that the series does work best read in order.
Perhaps what caused you to lose interest is the increasing amount of description of Ayla as being somehow connected to the supernatural. That was my problem with the later ones... I liked her as being unusual due to her upbringing but otherwise a normal (albeit very intelligent) woman.
Scott wrote: "Finished House of Sand and Fog Compelling, devastating and thought provoking. Highly recommend."I've seen the brilliant movie a few years ago and until today had no idea it was based on a novel! It went straight on to my TBR.
Jenny..great. I remember enjoying the movie...Ben Kingsley (how could you not) but couldnt remember all the plot. I thought it was great.
Leslie - At this stage it's hard to remember, but you could well be right. I was very impressed by the amount of detailed research Auel must have gone into in the earlier books.
Scott wrote: "Finished House of Sand and Fog Compelling, devastating and thought provoking. Highly recommend."I read the book before the movie was made, and I thought both were great. I was able to meet the author last year, and he signed my copy of the book. I have yet to read anything else by him, though.
Hey jean thanks and yes I did. :-) so glad I read it though. I need to add classic fiction with my regular reading anyway. Read the gift of the magi too. I enjoyed it. :-)
dely wrote: "I have finished reading The City of Joy by Dominique Lapierre, 4 stars for me. It is non fiction and the story is based on a true story. It talks about a slum in Kolkat..."Added!
I finished reading The Divine Comedy today. All in all, I liked this work. I don't pretend or assume that I "got" it. There's a lot that went zinging over my head but I got enough to get the gist of it, and I'm happy with that.
There is beauty and thought in every Canto, from Inferno to Paradise. The amount of thought that Dante must have put into this idea and the amount of organizing it must have required to fix the hierarchies and levels must have been astounding and time consuming. From that, this work must have meant a lot to him for him to spend the time, energy and thought into making it happen.
The work flows nicely. This translation I read (by C.H. Sisson) is straightforward and the footnotes are good.
Glad you enjoyed it Petra. LauraT and I will probably be reading it next year and I am particularly curious to see how it compares to Milton's Paradise Lost which a few of us are currently reading. It took me a little time to get used to the verse form (apart from the fact that my knowledge of all the biblical references is quite sketchy), but it should be good training for Dante ;)
Just finished Retreat and Rearguard 1914: The BEF's Actions from Mons to Marne a book I would have been extremely unlikely to have taken off a bookshelf if only because the title screamed " arcane military interest " to me. That was before I discovered that this book recreates much of my grandfathers actual war experience and journey from being called up on the day WWI broke out to the middle of September 1914!We knew NOTHING of this personal history as he died in 1920, but his captain kept a detailed diary which Jerry Murland has drawn on as a major source for this book! There is even a photograph!
Wow, Tweedledum. That's wonderful. What a way to learn about your family history. It must have been a very sad and difficult read at times
Tweedledum, that must be a weird experience. I imagine it to be difficult at times but also beautiful, it's rare that you get the chance to learn so much about relatives long dead. I've recently had a similar experience when I found a book on my fathers desk called 'Elf Jahre als Gouverneur in Deutsch-Südwestafrika' ("Eleven Years as Governor in German South-West Africa") by a guy called Theodor Leutwein which seemed an odd choice of book for my father until I found out that Theodor Leutwein is my great-great-grandfather who apparently was colonial administrator of German Southwest Africa from 1894 to 1904.
Jenny wrote: "Tweedledum, that must be a weird experience. I imagine it to be difficult at times but also beautiful, it's rare that you get the chance to learn so much about relatives long dead. I've recently ..."
Wow that's wonderful for you.
Heather wrote: "Wow, Tweedledum. That's wonderful. What a way to learn about your family history. It must have been a very sad and difficult read at times"Yes it was a very moving experience. I bought it on kindle and kept high-lighting places where he or the regiment was mentioned , but going to get a hard-back copy for each of my children. He went back with his captain to retrieve ammunition boxes under heavy shell fire on 23.08.14 I think it was... Right there my family could have stopped before it started. Since the ammunition was then presumably used to take out some German machine guns not going back could potentially also have cost him his life.
There are even a cache of letters from my grandfather to his captain one of which mentions the birth of my father and is in Teesdale museum!
Weirdly my other grandfather, also a soldier before WWI would have been killed along with all his regiment if my nan had not told him she would not marry a soldier. She was an ardent pacifist before there were pacifists. He tried to rejoin in 1914 but was told he was in a reserved occupation (postman) and was then often given a white feather by ignorant passers by!
Tweedledum and Jenny - it must be so fascinating, moving and poignant by turns for you both.And it occurs to me how wonderful it is that we have all moved on so much that you two in particular are able to talk about this and not only appreciate the experience but share it with each other. :)
I was seriously doubting your idea of a "pacifist" as a recent phenomenon, Tweedledum, until I found this:
The word (but not the idea) is only a century old, being first used in 1902 at the 10th International Peace Conference.
on a BBC website.
Tweedledum wrote: "Weirdly my other grandfather, also a soldier before WWI would have been killed along with all his regiment if my nan had not told him she would not marry a soldier. She was an ardent pacifist befor..."I often wonder what life must felt like for all those men born before or around the time of WWI. Most of them saw two horrible wars in very short succession. My grandfather fought in both wars, he was 17 when he became a soldier in the last year of WWI. What happens to men that see and do so many horrid things so early on in life?
Your grandma sounds like a courageous person. It must have not been easy for your grandfather to be regarded a coward by some ignorant patriots, but I guess being regarded as such is better than not being dying in the field like so many others did. I hope your grandpa felt the same.
As for the book about my great-great grandfather: I haven't read it yet, and seeing that the era of German colonialism is a rather dark chapter in our history due to the despicable thinks that were done to those who were colonized I am hesitant and very curious in equal measures. According to Wikipedia his personal goal in German Southwest Africa was to create "colonialism without bloodshed" I am not sure whether he really achived that. He was considered a diplomatic governor, but what 'moderate' entails in times of colonialism I don't know. I guess I will find out when reading it.
@ Jenny: "I often wonder what life must felt like for all those men born before or around the time of WWI. Most of them saw two horrible wars in very short succession. My grandfather fought in both wars, he was 17 when he became a soldier in the last year of WWI. What happens to men that see and do so many horrid things so early on in life? "The answer given by Erich Maria Remarque (he himself was a soldier of World War I) in All Quiet on the Western Front is very grim and very saddening. I know you have read it and you can remember it.
@Jenny :Mmm I can see your anxiety there. We have to judge people in the light of their time and understanding don't we. Not by ours but sometimes our instinctive revulsion can get in the way of that. I always think it is better to know the truth rather than imagine it. It sounds as though you may be pleasantly surprised. After all that colonial period saw abuses on all sides but to find someone who attempted to stem or resist brutality in times of prejudice and bombast must be a good thing. People believed colonialism was good then and it was a very paternalistic view. Looking back with the hideous knowledge of the post colonialistic chaos that has ensued we like to condemn colonialists but your great-great-grandfather is not responsible for the evil actions of men who came after him. We all have to make our own decisions in any given situation whether to act in a compassionate or uncompassionate way.
Be courageous. Read the book. But make sure you have someone who can help you talk through your feelings about it...
Jean wrote: "Tweedledum and Jenny - it must be so fascinating, moving and poignant by turns for you both.And it occurs to me how wonderful it is that we have all moved on so much that you two in particular ar..."
My grandmother was active with the early socialists so may have had her ideas influenced by that conference. She was a servant working in London and may have gone to hear speakers on her days off. I don't know, but her father was a non-conformist with strong views too.
My mother's view was that at least in part she didn't want to get married and that asking him to leave the army was a ploy to put him off.....when he called her bluff she felt she had no option but to marry him. Either way since they were a very happy couple it's a good story...
It is a brilliant story actually. I made me chuckle a bit. Clever grandma. Slightly outsmarted by grandpa though ;)
@Jean & Tweedledum - Although the word "pacifism" or "pacifist" may have been new in the early twentieth century, the idea & the existence of pacifism was well established in certain Protestant religious sects, such as the Amish, Quakers (Society of Friends), Shakers, etc. dating back to the 1700s or even earlier. Quakers, for example, refused to fight in the American Revolution.
Absolutely, which is why the BBC said "not the idea."
just finished The Swoop: Or How Clarence Saved England . Very different from other works of PG Wodehouse. This is a cheeky tale where England is under simultaneous attack by nine invaders. Has some laugh-out-loud moments. An easy and short read.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Poornima wrote: "just finished The Swoop: Or How Clarence Saved England . Very different from other works of PG Wodehouse. This is a cheeky tale where England is under simultaneous attack by nine i..."
Thanks for bringing this to my attention - I am planning on a Wodehouse month in February, so I have added this to my TBR list :)
I finished Murder at the Savoy, a solid Swedish mystery (not a Scandinavian noir but a regular police procedural). I would recommend it to mystery buffs but it isn't the strongest book in the series.
I finished The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. My cousin gave it to me and said she cried when she read it. And this increased my expectations about the book. I liked how it was written from a nine year old's perspective, it makes you think and understand that how kids see all the bad things happening in the world. This book made me sad but it didn't make me cry. Not a four star book for me.I would recommend it to people who would want to read another book about holocaust from a child's perspective.
Rahat, I've only ever seen the movie version of that book and I couldn't stop thinking about it for weeks. I don't think I have the courage to pick up the book!
I have heard that the movie is better than the book, but since I haven't seen the movie yet I can't say anything.
I haven't plucked up the courage to read it yet either, Becca. I know I'm going to have to as a trainee teacher because it's on the curriculum, and I do want to read it, but I think it's going to make me cry my eyes out. I haven't watched the film either for the same reason.
The movie might make you cry but the book won't trust me.
Rahat wrote: "The movie might make you cry but the book won't trust me."Rabat, I found the book powerful, but I didn't cry.
Sigourney, my husband is a teacher and teaches this, and finds that children don't respond to the book as you would expect. Most of them think Bruno is a bit stupid.
Shirley wrote: "Rahat wrote: "The movie might make you cry but the book won't trust me."Rabat, I found the book powerful, but I didn't cry.
Sigourney, my husband is a teacher and teaches this, and finds that ..."
Aha that's interesting to know, Shirley, I did wonder how kids would respond to it.
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But in the end I didn't change my mind. She knows how to write, but the short storiesa re not for me: I miss profundity ...
Recently I had finished reading Joseph Roth's Job: The Story of a Simple Man. A fantastic retelling of the Biblical story of Job. Besides that it is also a portrayal of a Jewish community of the 1930's East Europe. A lovely book and I will recommend it to everyone.
I finished Live and Let Die yesterday. I was disappointed with the plot of this book. I had read Casino Royale right before this and found it to be much more enjoyable. I can't exactly say that I recommend Live and Let Die, but I will continue to read more in the series.
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It's ages since I last read Roth. I definitly have to pick him up again. This was not the period for me, but early next year ...
JOB is a lovely story. And I am grateful to Joseph Roth for having written it.
Just finished The Child Thief by Brom. It is a pretty good read and I loved the artwork in it for his dark version of Peter Pan. Definitely check it out if you are a fan of horror stories. I def recommend it. :)
Rahat wrote: "I finished The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. My cousin gave it to me and said she cried when she read it. And this increased my expectations about the book. I liked how it was written fr..."I thought this book was just okay. I gave it 2 stars. I do remember thinking the movie was good though.
I finished a young adult book called Purity by Jackson Pearce. This book did not approach the subject of purity in the way I expected. Nonetheless, I decided to keep going. It somewhat entertained me, until the ending which left me completely disappointed in the main character. So much so, I had to give it 1 star.
Kristi wrote: "I just powered through Rebecca. I LOVED it! Why did I wait so long to read it?!"Glad you loved it, Kristi, it's a favourite of mine!
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Yes of course the Jean Auel chat was for Leslie. But Jenny you're not getting away that easily! I want to hear more about those NZ books. I visited NZ in 1999 and have loved everything about the place since then!