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What have you just read? Opinions, recommendations & reviews
Angela M wrote: "I finished Lions: A Novel. 5 stars. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."Okay, now I'm adding it to my tbr, which is a mixed blessing since it's too long. Even though it only shows 65 percent books rated the same, many times they are books I didn't rate because I read them before I joined Shelfari, or a few times you loved a book one of my daughters loved but I didn't.
Karin , I'll be interested in knowing if you love it .
I didn't like Scaramouche. One of those classics you are supposed to like but don't. Maybe if you enjoy adventure stories you will like it more than me. Robert Whitfield narrates the audiobook. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Angela M wrote: "Karin , I'll be interested in knowing if you love it ."I'll friend you, then, so if and when I read it you might see the review.
Gill wrote: "Barkskins was not for me. Here's a link to my review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
I had to catalogue this book at my library and took the time, often do this, to read a few pages. Didn't grab me either and it was so long I decided not to chance it.
I finished listening to the audio of The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian.I wasn't blown away by the story but it's an important one to tell.
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Petra, there are so many more better books on the Armenian genocide. Mediocre, if you ask me.Thanks Gill for posting your view on Barkskins. You too, Diane. I remain unsure. Long attracts me more than you but the writing has to pull you in. I don't ant an ecological lesson hammered into me. Wooden trees are fine, but not into wooden characters.
Just finished another good Aussie politician's 'diary'. A good Aussie, a good politician and a good book.5★ for Rob Oakeshott's The Independent Member for Lyne, his take on his time in state and federal government, especially as a key Independent in the hung federal Parliament of 2010.
Interesting stuff.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I finished The Sunlight Pilgrims. 4 stars . My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show.... A wake up call about global warming but about so much more .
Oh dear Esther, not good! I like to give out books I've read (especially as the majority of the books I buy are from charity shops) however I do like to get them back and I certainly would want to read them first :)
I have been on a mystery kick recently. I finished yesterday a Whispersync pair (Kindle & audiobook) of Fire And Ice. This is the first book in a series set in Alaska -- I liked the characters and location. The mystery was OK -- 3★
I have finished Open City by Teju Cole. 4 stars for me, I really liked it. Despite the slow pace and the "silence" of the main character's thoughts, the topic is very serious. It talks about refugees, in different times, from different countries, but all looking for a better life far away from wars or dictatorships. It talks also about identity, colonization, immigration and emigration and mass killings.I hope to have some times to write a review in the next days.
Esther wrote: "Hales wrote: "I have Half a Yellow Sun to read Dely, must get round to it. Glad you enjoyed it."I have a copy of Half a Yellow Sun but a friend has disappeared off with it. She was one of the reas..."
I would be furious with someone "borrowing" a book off my shelves without permission! I don't mind lending books but not when it is one I plan to read myself soon. I hope you get it back Esther.
Leslie, me too! I now refuse to lend books to anyone except my sisters, at least I can hunt them down and retrieve my books if I don't get them back. I have lost too many books which have disappeared with friends.dely, I admire you; I have to write a review within twelve hours of finishing the book, else the impetus for that review just isn't there.
Put it on my list for next month, Dely.Finished Dear Fang, With Love
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Tom wrote: "Finished Macbeth 4 Stars"One of my personal favorites of Shakespeare -- but much better seen than read!
I was surprised by how quickly I finished The Reader - I had not intended to speed through it!! I'm glad I own this one as I think that I will have to reread it at some point; there was a lot of things to think about both in the surface story about Michael and Hanna & in the social commentary aspects.I find it a bit ironic that (view spoiler)!
dely, see what I mean? It is so hard - some people love a book and others don't and you never quite know where you yourself will fit in. I am glad you enjoyed it.
Have just finished 6 Rainier Drive by Debbie Macomber. True comfort reading! Here is my review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Leslie wrote: "I was surprised by how quickly I finished The Reader - I had not intended to speed through it!! I'm glad I own this one as I think that I will have to reread it at some point; there w..."I agree that The Reader is a very good book! I like that it focuses on second generation Germans after the war and how they deal with shame and guilt. You have a war. It ends, but its repercussions continue to play out for years and years. And, as you point out, it deals with other reasons for shame I thought I would be repulsed by the sexual attraction between individuals of such different ages. I wasn't at all.
Suzanne wrote: "Glad there is still great discussion happening here, Glenn. I had a 'friend' 'de-friend' me over this book. And I'm not outspoken at all I don't think. Silly stuff!!"Not silly, just plain bad behavior. People should be allowed to view books differently and be able to discuss the differences in a civil manner.
Chrissie wrote: "Suzanne wrote: "Glad there is still great discussion happening here, Glenn. I had a 'friend' 'de-friend' me over this book. And I'm not outspoken at all I don't think. Silly stuff!!"Not silly, ju..."
True. I don't know how this comment got here, I don't know what I've done it was meant to be a comment on a review!
Suzanne wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "Suzanne wrote: "Glad there is still great discussion happening here, Glenn. I had a 'friend' 'de-friend' me over this book. And I'm not outspoken at all I don't think. Silly stuff!...True. I don't know how this connect got here, I don't know what I've done it was meant to be a comment on a review! "
Oooops! Well, I always react when I hear of people being bullied for having a different pov. It annoys me.
I've just read Moby-Dick; or, The Whale which I thought was very good and The Butcher's Hook which I also enjoyed. It reminded me of Girl With a Pearl Earring, although it did push the boundaries of reality a bit for me.
B the BookAddict wrote: "dely, I admire you; I have to write a review within twelve hours of finishing the book, else the impetus for that review just isn't there. "Usually I do the same but somtimes I really don't have time and very often I give up and don't write it anymore. But I really wanted to write down a few opinions about Open City seen that it has a lot of negative reviews though, in my opinion, it doesn't deserve them.
Here's my Italian/English review if someone is interested: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Diane S ☔ wrote: "Put it on my list for next month, Dely.I hope you will like it as much as I did!
Chrissie wrote: "dely, see what I mean? It is so hard - some people love a book and others don't and you never quite know where you yourself will fit in. I am glad you enjoyed it."You are right. I like these books about identity because I really understand how it feels to grow up in a country but to have family roots in another country. Which is my homeland? Where I was born and grew up or where my roots are? I feel half here and half there and often it's confusing. I think it is an enrichement for the personality and for the mind but I start thinking that it's important to have roots. Till now I was always pround to don't feel to have roots, this makes me feel so cosmopolitan, but it's a few years that I need to know where my place is.
Pink wrote: "I've just read Moby-Dick; or, The Whale which I thought was very good and The Butcher's Hook which I also enjoyed. It reminded me of [book:Girl With a Pearl Earring|28..."Congratulations on finishing Moby Dick - that is a pretty long book! I liked it too though that style of writing which is similar to Victor Hugo's is not my favorite.
dely wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "dely, see what I mean? It is so hard - some people love a book and others don't and you never quite know where you yourself will fit in. I am glad you enjoyed it."You are right. ..."
I know definitely what you mean about wondering where home is. Moving around also makes you aware of cultural differences and the importance of history. I cannot say I belong in one country - not Sweden, Not France, not Belgium OR the US. And this makes me totally fascinated with how Russians so love their country.....regardless of how they are mistreated by those in power!
I finished Love, Sex and Other Foreign Policy Goals but it was just a 2 star read. The characters start off annoying be and it feels like they learn nothing from their journey (to Bosnia to perform a peace play during the war).
dely wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "dely, see what I mean? It is so hard - some people love a book and others don't and you never quite know where you yourself will fit in. I am glad you enjoyed it."You are right. ..."
Ever since the 1997 handover of Hong Kong (by Britain to China), I, like many other ethnic Chinese born in colonial Hong Kong, have been struggling with the identity problem (and cultural and values shock). Being a naturalized Canadian also complicates it further for me. As I grow older, I find that one's ethnic roots are really important. I'm just glad that in my school days I had the chance to study Chinese history, which anchors me well in the ancient civilization. Now in my ripe old age, my interest in this area is even more piqued, and at the same time I've developed a strong interest in European history.
Chrissie and Alice, thanks for sharing your experience, it's helpful!
Oh Alice, you are not in ripe old age:) I do understand what you and Chrissie feel, however. I feel the same and have not even moved away from AU; as I get older I feel such an urgent need to be back in the town where I grew up.
I have completed another book by William Boyd. This one being Sweet Caress.My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
dely wrote: "Chrissie and Alice, thanks for sharing your experience, it's helpful!"dely, an advantage of moving around is that you find good things in all countries. You pick the best from each and let them shape your own choices. But home? I don't really know where that is any more.
I feel like a Canadian with strong ties to Scotland and Korea who lives in the US. I miss all of my previous homes at times but so far the only weird thing is realizing that my kids will think of themselves as Americans and I don't think I ever will.
Chinook, it is good hearing about how you feel. We both feel split. Mixes. Jumbles. I think actually the way people move nowadays we are not so strange. I love Scotland. I would love to feel at home there.
Since I travelled and moved continents and my husband was military, all our friends find it normal. But hen I think of my next door neighbours who are in their eighties and have been in the same house for the last 55 years and I wonder if that is more common.
Chrissie and Chinook, you are right, we are becoming a less 'one home, one country' type of people. But the type of movement you two mention would drive me nuts, I really like feeling connected. Although I could easily move to UK, probably because of my ancestry:)
Chrissie wrote: "dely wrote: "dely, an advantage of moving around is that you find good things in all countries. You pick the best from each and let them shape your own choices. But home? I don't really know where that is any more."I agree except that now (perhaps getting older?) I need to find a place I can call home. The city where I live now since 12 years isn't a city in which I like to live anymore. I don't feel connected to the other people. They are so closed, also closeminded. Sometimes I feel "suffocated", I don't feel at home here though I love a lot the apartment I bought five years ago. I feel at home only when I'm in my house (except in these last months because of my stupid neighbor though the situation is better).
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All About Books
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I enjoyed reading the story. It's very relaxed and easy-going. It had a lot to say about prejudices, carrying one's past to a new land, acceptance, etc. The characters seemed at arm's reach and I never really felt truly connected or thought that I got to know them well.
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...