What have you just read? Opinions, recommendations & reviews Showing 851-900 of 12,687

[Nicole]

ITA. Rebecca is a great read. I only read it for the first time last year.

[Alannah]

Finished The Child Thief earlier, can't say I really loved it but I did like it. It was very different.

[LauraT]

Alannah wrote: "Finished The Child Thief earlier, can't say I really loved it but I did like it. It was very different."

I was about to write exactly the same thing. Didn't love it, but liked it quite. It improves in the end. Probably not exactly "in my line" of reading, but I'm here to read "different" books ...

[dely]

Finished yesterday A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. What a wonderful book! This is exactly the kind of book I like to read: well defined characters, their lives that intersect, interesting plot which includes more generations of India (from the indipendence of 1947 and all the turmoils to the Emergency and also some years later). Though the book has more than 700 pages it is a real pageturner, the reader is absorbed by the story and grows fond of the characters.
Five stars for me! I would recommend it above all to people who like to read about India and already know something about its history otherwise it is hard to believe to the events of the book. But I think it is also a good book for people who like a good plot and good defined characters.

[Alannah]

I have just finished Dombey and Son.

[LauraT]

Alannah wrote: "I have just finished Dombey and Son."

Great book!!!

[Bionic Jean]

Hey Alannah!! (Just this minute come off my Dickens challenge thread too!) Did you enjoy it? What did you think? One of his darker ones I thought.

[LauraT]

Jean wrote: "Hey Alannah!! (Just this minute come off my Dickens challenge thread too!) Did you enjoy it? What did you think? One of his darker ones I thought."

One of my favourite!

[Amber]

Anthem was good. I liked it. :)

[Kristi]

Have now finished To Kill a Mockingbird. So glad I finally read it! It had sat unread on my bookshelf alongside Rebecca (also unread until this week) for years. I of course recommend it.

[Giacomo]

Kristi wrote: "Have now finished To Kill a Mockingbird. So glad I finally read it! It had sat unread on my bookshelf alongside Rebecca (also unread until this week) for years. I of course recommend it."

I finished it one week ago, it's an amazing book. I think I would recommend it too.

[Giacomo]

I've just finished Breakfast at Tiffany's I really enjoyed it, especially the character of Holly.

[Leslie]

Giacomo wrote: "I've just finished Breakfast at Tiffany's I really enjoyed it, especially the character of Holly."

I read that last December - my first Capote. You have been reading some great books (this and To Kill a Mockingbird…

[sonny (no longer in use)]

I read the kite runner recently and the secret history. both are very good

[Bionic Jean]

Are you really one of the "Children" Sonny, or do you just like that image for your profile picture? LOL

[Amber]

The Witch Who Cried Wolf was a pretty good read. My review just went up if you guys want to go and read it. The author approached me on reading it at the book review exchange group and I said yes. :-) got a free ebook copy in exchange for an honest review. Okay now back to pepperoni pizza can be murder.

[sonny (no longer in use)]

jean his face is summing up the way I feel all day long, pissed off.

I might also be one of the brood as well....

you never will never know.

[sonny (no longer in use)]

Rebecca was a hard book for me, I loved the black and white film so much.

I know people that think the same about brideshead revisited. I my self prefer the book.

[LauraT]

Finally finished A Scanner Darkly; not liked it. Probaly it not the novel's fault: I really dont like sci fi or desperate drug addicts novels and this is a sort of mix of the two!!!

[Bionic Jean]

Too true, Sonny :D

[Petra]

I finished listening to The Ballad of Tom Dooley. This is the second of Sharyn McCrumb's "Ballad" series that I've listened to. She takes obscure, lesser known murders that have had ballads written about them and fills in the vague, recorded stories.
In this one, sociopath Pauline Foster sets in motion a series of events that leads to Tom Dula's (Dooley) execution. Her thought processes alone make this book interesting. What a cold, hard person!
That said, none of these characters is "nice". This is the saddest, vainest, pathetic bunch of characters to be living in one neighbourhood. They were ripe for the picking.
I recommend this series, based on the two that I've read. They are easy reading, interesting and entertaining, as well as (loosely) based in interesting historical murders.

[Nicole]

dely wrote: "Finished yesterday A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. What a wonderful book! This is exactly the kind of book I like to read: well defined characters, their lives that int..."

So glad you liked it, dely!

[Robert]

LauraT wrote: "Finally finished A Scanner Darkly; not liked it. Probaly it not the novel's fault: I really dont like sci fi or desperate drug addicts novels and this is a sort of mix of the two!!!"

PKD really isn't the author for you then lol.

[dely]

Nicole wrote: "So glad you liked it, dely! "

There was also another member who was reading it (I don't remember her name). I'm waiting also for her opinions.

[LauraT]

Robert wrote: "LauraT wrote: "Finally finished A Scanner Darkly; not liked it. Probaly it not the novel's fault: I really dont like sci fi or desperate drug addicts novels and this is a sort of mix o..."

I'm afraid not!!!!

[Giacomo]

Leslie wrote: "Giacomo wrote: "I've just finished Breakfast at Tiffany's I really enjoyed it, especially the character of Holly."

I read that last December - my first Capote. You have been reading..."

Yes definitely, great books both of them. I've just finished The Curious Case of Benjamin Button , in one day, and I've just started Girl, Interrupted, a book I discovered through Goodreads.

[Pink]

Giacomo they're both good books :)

I've just finished reading Catch-22, which took me about a fortnight to plough through! It was up and down at times, but by the end I absolutely loved it, I'm so glad to have stuck with this one.

[LauraT]

Pink wrote: "Giacomo they're both good books :)

I've just finished reading Catch-22, which took me about a fortnight to plough through! It was up and down at times, but by the end I absolutely lo..."

Up and down; I definitly agree!!!

[Bionic Jean]

Pink - I remember reading "Catch 22" when I was at school, before I ever saw the film. I'd never read anything like it, and it was certainly different from any of the Eng Lit we did. (Don't think they'd heard of America!) Maybe time for a reread...

[Petra]

This is a bit different than the norm, but I just finished a graphic novel, Bone, that was really well done.
The graphics were interesting and affective; the story was adventurous, delightful and filled with themes of Good vs. Evil, friendship, bravery, dedication.
In a way, this was rather like a less intricate Lord of The Rings, with a quest, danger, creatures, team-work, etc.
I really enjoyed this book, which is a compilation of the entire story (originally published in 9 volumes).

[Amber]

Hey petra, they used to have the bone comics in the disney adventure magazines but I'm glad you enjoyed it! :-)

[Roderick]

Pink wrote: "Giacomo they're both good books :)

I've just finished reading Catch-22, which took me about a fortnight to plough through! It was up and down at times, but by the end I absolutely lo..."

True...but Major Major some parts were just hilarious...

[Leslie]

Roderick wrote: "Pink wrote: "I've just finished reading Catch-22, which took me about a fortnight to plough through! It was up and down at times, but by the end I ..."

True...but Major Major some parts were just hilarious... "

The Major Major parts are what I recall now, 30+ years after reading it!

[Pink]

I thought there were many hilarious parts, Major Major was one of my favourite characters too! I was surprised by how many sad and touching parts there were as well, especially with Nately and the chaplain.

[Roderick]

Pink wrote: "I thought there were many hilarious parts, Major Major was one of my favourite characters too! I was surprised by how many sad and touching parts there were as well, especially with Nately and the ..."

Yes, it was a fantastic book. One book even more touching to me in the same vein was Slaughterhouse V by Kurt Vonnegut. Billy Pilgrim and the Tralfamadorians...One of my all time favorites.

[Jenny]

Now that's a first. I usually see Catch 22 cursed for the fact that it is 'unfinishable'. ;) It was one of my favourite books I read in 2012, and though it took me about 100 pages to really get into it I loved it by the end. I fully agree Pink. While it is easy to merely focus on the surreal logic and humour of the book, there's a point where laughing actually ends up being a painful business because it is a bit closer to crying.

@Roderick: The opposite is true for me. I read Slaughterhouse-Five shortly after finishing Catch 22 and I think I shouldn't have, as in comparison it looked pale to me. I usually really like Kurt Vonnegut, so I might give it another try sometime soon.

[Emma]

Just read Mockingjay - the 3rd in the Hunger Games series. I'm sure everyone has read it by now but I'd def recommend it to anyone who hadn't :)

[[deleted user]]

I read that a couple of months ago. Was surprised by how much I enjoyed the whole Hunger Games series.

[Pamela]

Kristi wrote: "I just powered through Rebecca. I LOVED it! Why did I wait so long to read it?!"

The movie is fantastic as well.

[Petra]

I finished Don Quixote last night. Hallelluia! That is one long, long book. I enjoyed it quite a bit but think that it's too long. There are a lot of repetitive, slap-stick type scenes in it that I didn't feel added to the story; just made it longer.

There are a lot of reasons to recommend this book and a lot to not recommend it. So I leave it to you to decide if you'd want to read it. It's an easy read, for what it's worth.

[Giacomo]

I've just finished Girl, Interrupted I guess the topic it describes, which is the mental sanity is quite appealing to me, since I have a friend of mine who is psychologist and I always use to ask him stuff about his work, nevertheless I gave the book only 3 stars (maybe it is worth 3.5 stars) for the simple reason that when I picked up the book I was expecting a more systematic work, almost a story, indeed I knew there was a film based on this book, so I was a bit disappointed when I found out that the memories were reminisced without a real chronological order. (sorry if my English isn't perfect)

[LauraT]

just finished Alias Grace: really loved it, one of the best read of this year!!!

[Robert]

Petra wrote: "I finished Don Quixote last night. Hallelluia! That is one long, long book. I enjoyed it quite a bit but think that it's too long. There are a lot of repetitive, slap-stick type scenes ..."

I read it at the start of the year and this is largely how I feel about it.

[Bionic Jean]

Laura - me too! Here's my review.

Will you be writing a review? Guess not as you're a bit snowed under with moving!! :)

[LauraT]

Not a review Jean, but tomorrow I hope to write something more specific in the discussion here!

Petra wrote: "I finished Don Quixote last night. Hallelluia! That is one long, long book. I enjoyed it quite a bit but think that it's too long. There are a lot of repetitive, slap-stick type scenes ..."
I do agree Petra. Great book, but ...

[Amber]

Read The Snow Angel by glenn beck today while browsing big lots. It was a pretty cute children's book.

[Leslie]

Amber wrote: "Read The Snow Angel by glenn beck today while browsing big lots. It was a pretty cute children's book."

And works well for our current Theme! :)

[Amber]

Awesome! :-)

[Dhanaraj]

Completed reading Christa Wolf's The Quest for Christa T.. Not a quick read but, I think, a necessary read. Loved that book.

[Kristi]

Pam wrote: "Kristi wrote: "I just powered through Rebecca. I LOVED it! Why did I wait so long to read it?!"

The movie is fantastic as well."

I'm going to check it out from the library next time I'm there!