All About Books discussion
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What have you just read? Opinions, recommendations & reviews
Re-read the first two Roger Zelazny Amber series books - Nine Princes in Amber
and The Guns of Avalon
.
I've just finished The Confessions of Catherine de Medici. Loved it. Gortner spins a believable yarn about one of history's most maligned royal women, with solid background details of the times she lived in. 4 stars.My Review
Greg wrote: "PattyMacDotComma wrote: "B the BookAddict wrote: "Patty, I get emails of discusssion thread posts and am not sure I've seen spoilers being revealed. Maybe I am misinterpreting what your problem was...Do italics in your email come across as italics in these digests"
The problem is of my own making, because I choose to get individual emails, not digests. As I recall, the digests came in attractive HTML.
It's the individual emails (the ones that "email all" and don't include links to the online comment) that come looking exactly like my comment looks to me now, with all the code and all black and white and no artwork.
I may go back to digests. That, or squint and look for the word 'spoiler' just in case! :)
Hannah wrote: "Free wrote: "Just finished Anne of Green Gables. I started reading it a year ago but decided to listen to it which made it much more enjoyable."How did you enjoy it? Anne is one of my..."
I did enjoy it very much. It's great for kids and right now I'm going thru this phase where I'm reading more ya which This is more ya. That being said I love Jane Austen especially pride and prejudice. Thank goodness we can like more that one book
Leslie wrote: "Free wrote: "Just finished Anne of Green Gables. I started reading it a year ago but decided to listen to it which made it much more enjoyable."Who did the narration? I listened to it..."
I don't remember. I just remembered that Margaret Atwood did an introduction. But it was great
Just finished The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers, purported to be the first espionage novel or at any rate an early one. Quite dense as to nautical terminology and having to refer to maps/charts throughout but quite interesting.
Pam wrote: "Just finished The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers, purported to be the first espionage novel or at any rate an early one. Quite dense as to nautical terminology and having to refer to maps/..."That's one I was pleased to have read, Pam, but more for its status as an early spy book than for its general appeal to me.
I just Finished Secondhand Time: The Last of the Soviets Wow what a incredible journey. I was taken to some very emotional places. Pulls on the heart and head. High Highs and Low Lows. Some things in this were hard to fathom. Voices that are thankfully represented and so much learned from them.
I have completed Charles Dickens. I liked it a lot. I got what I was looking for.My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Guy wrote: "I just Finished Secondhand Time: The Last of the Soviets Wow what a incredible journey. I was taken to some very emotional places. Pulls on the heart and head. High Highs and Low Lo..."Yep, I think it is an important book to read! Glad you liked it so much.
dely wrote: "Leslie wrote: "No, this is my first time reading Mahfouz but not the last! "I'm glad you liked it that much! You can read the other two books of the trilogy, Palace Walk was the best in my opinio..."
Good to know that dely. I have already checked and my local library has the second book, Palace of Desire, so I hope to get to it soon!
Gill wrote: "Pam wrote: "Just finished The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers, purported to be the first espionage novel or at any rate an early one. Quite dense as to nautical terminology and having to re..."I agree Gill -- I found myself wanting to like it more than I did. I hope your edition had those nice maps and nautical charts mine did for reference Pam!
Finally finished my re-read and review of NW by Zadie Smith.My review is at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Just finished
My Sister's Secret by Tracy Buchanan. My review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Everyone, we have a winner! Walter and the No-Need-To-Worry Suit. Rachel Bright by Rachel Bright. My review, care of Indy (4):https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Just terrific! A true 5★ book that if you ever need an argument for why fiction is important, this is it. Stories can explain things better than reports. If you haven't read it, do.Little Bee (also known as The Other Hand) by Chris Cleave, is the harrowing but warm and funny and heart-rending story of a Nigerian girl who desperately wants to escape the oil wars of Nigeria and become "English".
My review
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I just thought I should mention here what I have added to my review of Charles Dickens. I don't want to mislead anyone! ETA: I didn't give the book five stars because although it was informative, interesting and balanced I never came to care for anyone. I neither emotionally suffered nor rejoiced. Emotionally it is flat.
Well that is how it was for me.
If you enjoy nature writing than I definitely recommend Under the Sea Wind by Rachel Carson. Lyrical prose. Very good narration of the audiobook too. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I have finished a short book with 4 short stories by Bernard Malamud, 4*I really liked the writing style of this author. It's the first time I read something by him but I will surely read more because he isn't only able to write, but the four stories dealt with interesting topics, above all loneliness of people.
Leslie wrote: "Gill wrote: "Pam wrote: "Just finished The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers, purported to be the first espionage novel or at any rate an early one. Quite dense as to nautical terminology and..."Gill, yes I read it because of its reputation as a spy/espionage novel and as well as being early in the genre (1903) being very influential on British foreign policy and preparedness before WWI.
My edition did have the maps and charts Leslie, but very small. As I said in my review, it was a good job I had a small magnifier with built in light - the labels were tiny.
Inspired by a recent conversation about Susan Vreeland's novels, I re-read The Passion of Artemisia.My revamped review is at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Alice, So glad to see you enjoyed reading about Catherine de Medici! I read Catherine de Medici by Leonie Frieda and loved it. I couldn't believe the cast of characters, the court shenanigans and intrigues, the story's twists and turns and the murders and massacres - poisoned gloves anyone?... If you are intrigued by Catherine, 'La Reine Margot' is a fabulous movie with the great French actress Isabelle Adjani as Catherine's daughter, Marguerite de Valois, and Virna Lisi as Catherine. The film was based on Alexandre Dumas' novel of the same name.
We certainly live in interesting times, but nothing like Catherine de Medici's epoch!
Alice wrote: "I've just finished The Confessions of Catherine de Medici. Loved it. Gortner spins a believable yarn about one of history's most maligned royal women, with solid background details o..."
Johanna wrote: "Alice, So glad to see you enjoyed reading about Catherine de Medici! I read Catherine de Medici by Leonie Frieda and loved it. I couldn't believe the cast of characte..."Thanks Johanna for recommending the movie. I'll be looking for it. In fact I have Dumas' Queen Margot, or Marguerite de Valois on my to-read list, but neither of my two libraries carries it.
I just finished reading The Queen's Dolls' House: A Dollhouse Made for Queen Mary, and Basics Fashion Design 02: Textiles and Fashion. I enjoyed both of these books. The Queen's Dolls' House is about this beautiful dolls' house that was designed and built for Queen Mary in the 1920s by a famous British architect. This dolls' house is definitely the most realistic doll house ever created! It is so detailed, and I can't even begin to describe it. A tiny phonograph that really plays tiny records, a library full of tiny literary works of the day, and tiny rifles that actually fire itty bitty bullets. Not to mention a whole lot of small model collector cars that can actually drive. All I can say is it was made for royalty.
The other book I read - Textiles and Fashion was a great read also. This book has a lot of nice photography. I found it to be a concise, well written, enjoyable book, and a valuable resource for fashion design students or anyone who is interested in fashion design. Textiles and Fashion is part of the Basics Fashion Design series, and if you like this one, you will probably like all the others. The whole series is good.
Finished Graham Greene's The Tenth Man. Liked it. It was racy as well as scattered with profound reflections. 4 stars.Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Chrissie wrote: "I plan on reading The Assistant, dely."I'm looking forward to your opinions. I've read the plot and it's very similar to the short story "The First Seven Years" that was in my edition: there too we have an assistant that falls in love with the daughter of his boss and continues to work there only because of his love.
dely, wat did you think of that particular story?
Chrissie wrote: "dely, wat did you think of that particular story?"All the four stories were very good. They are a bit depressing and sad but I know that you don't mind this. It is as if the characters don't have a choice, but there's always a choice also if it isn't the one they wanted. Things don't always go as we would like but this is life. I already liked that story from the first sentence. I've read the book in Italian so I can't rewrite the sentence, but there was the boss of the shop daydreaming and he was angry because his assistant was working doing a lot of noise and the boss was angry because the assistant didn't respect his daydreaming. It was so wonderfully written!
In another story, always about things of life that don't go as we would like, there's a jew that started having a lot of problems and troubles, and his wife too. One day he prays God and God sends him an angel. But this angel was a black jew and he had't wings, he seemed a common person and he also liked to dance, so that jew was very sad and disappointed. At the end he had to accept that help doesn't always arrive as we expect.
And another topic in all the four stories was loneliness. You are really able to feel people's loneliness.
dely wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "dely, wat did you think of that particular story?"All the four stories were very good. They are a bit depressing and sad but I know that you don't mind this. It is as if the char..."
Thanks, dely! The Assistant does sound interesting. Good writing, regardless of topic, is important to me.
Ashlie wrote: "I just finished reading The Queen's Dolls' House: A Dollhouse Made for Queen Mary, and Basics Fashion Design 02: Textiles and Fashion. I enjoyed both of these books. ..."
Did the book say where the dolls' house is now, Ashlie? Your comment reminds me that as a little girl (in the 1950s) I was taken to see this dolls' house. I don't remember where it was but it felt like a real wonderland to me, with so many realistic things in it. Well, I say realistic. Maybe yes, if you were a princess, but to me they were magical, I didn't know the phrase then, but it was definitely an example of 'how the other half live'.
Gill wrote: "Ashlie wrote: "I just finished reading The Queen's Dolls' House: A Dollhouse Made for Queen Mary, and Basics Fashion Design 02: Textiles and Fashion. I enjoyed both of..."The dolls' house is on display at Windsor Castle. It certainly is magical! It may be "realistic" in an artistic sense, but you are right. It is hardly realistic in any other sense. It is definitely a dolls' house fit for a queen.
I read The Rain Before it Falls by Jonathan CoeMy review is at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I've just finished reading Timekeepers: How the World Became Obsessed With Time.Here's a link to my review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Alice, I also have Dumas' Queen Margot on my TBR list and on one of my challenges, so I have to read it before the end of 2016. Let me know if you are interested in reading it together. Alice wrote: "Johanna wrote: "Alice, So glad to see you enjoyed reading about Catherine de Medici! I read Catherine de Medici by Leonie Frieda and loved it. I couldn't believe the ..."
Johanna wrote: "Alice, I also have Dumas' Queen Margot on my TBR list and on one of my challenges, so I have to read it before the end of 2016. Let me know if you are interested in reading it together. Alice wro..."
Johanna, I'm afraid I don't have access to a copy - the book is not in the catalogue of both my libraries :(
Just finished
Judith Wants To Be Your Friend by Annie Weir. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I finished The African Queen by C.S. Forester (the guy that wrote the Horatio Hornblower books). Very fun adventure/WW1 story with some significant and some minor differences from the wonderful Hepburne/Bogart film. 4*
Mod
A fun writer in general Leslie!
I highly recommend The Return: Fathers, Sons, and the Land in Between. An interesting and moving book, and it is well written.My reviews: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Greg wrote: "Leslie wrote: "I finished The African Queen by C.S. Forester (the guy that wrote the Horatio Hornblower books). Very fun adventure/WW1 story with some significant and some minor dif..."This is the first of his I have read -- I loved the 1951 Hornblower movie though!
I've just added my review for Here I Am. The book didn't suit me:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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All About Books
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