All About Books discussion
note: This topic has been closed to new comments.
General Archive
>
What have you just read? Opinions, recommendations & reviews
Chrissie wrote: "I chose to read The Go-Between because I was intrigued by its first line: "The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there."My review: https://www.goodreads.com/revi..."
Nice reason for reading it, Chrissie! I'm off to read your review now.
Gill, I hope you get clarity from my review. I liked some aspects but not all. It was on the whole OK; certainly not bad! I just expected a lot more.
Yes, it was an interesting review, Chrissie. Thanks
This one is on my list as well Chrissie and it sounds really interesting too, even in your description of why you didn't like it. Just out of curiosity: Did your audio book have the introduction by Colm Tóibín as well?
Jenny wrote: "This one is on my list as well Chrissie and it sounds really interesting too, even in your description of why you didn't like it. Just out of curiosity: Did your audio book have the introduction by..."No, it did not have the introduction by Toibin.
To both Gill and Jenny,
To be very blunt, I do not think the first sentence at all even fits the central message of the story. The central protagonist is today living in the past; people will always be affected by events of their childhood, some people more, some people less. Moreover, people today are motivated by the same emotions of those in the past. Maybe our behavior looks different, but love and deception exist then and now. Class continues to influence us.
Edward Thomas is one of my favourite poets. I've just read a very informative biography of him. Here's a link to my review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Mod
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
Wonderful Gill - I do love Thomas as well!
I finished Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption today. Do yourself a favor and read this right away. It's an absolutely incredible book and reads wonderfully. Such a hard topic to cover but an important one.https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Great book, Hannah. I listened to the audiobook and loved it.
It was a very good book, I loved it too.
Hannah wrote: "I finished Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption today. Do yourself a favor and read this right away. It's an absolutely incredible book and reads wonderfully. Such a hard t..."I sat glued to the book!
Katy, Diane, and Chrissie, it's a fantastic book! It was hard to put down.
Finally I have finished Pelle di leopardo by Tiziano Terzani 3*There isn't an English edition because this Italian edition has two books. One is Giai Phong! The Fall And Liberation Of Saigon and the other is a diary that the author held while he was in Vietnam from 1972-1973.
In this book he makes a very detailed analysis of the weeks/months before the liberation of Vietnam, and then he talks about what happened in three months after the fall of Saigon. It's very interesting but I rated it with 3 stars because I had several problems to remember all the Vietnamese names, not only of the people, but also of the towns and street names. As said, it's a very detailed book! As always with the books by Terzani, there are of course also his thoughts and his interesting and thought provoking opinions.
dely wrote: "Finally I have finished Pelle di leopardo by Tiziano Terzani 3*There isn't an English edition because this Italian edition has two books. One is [book:Giai Phong! T..."
Thanks for telling us about this book, dely. It's interesting to hear about it, even if it isn't in English.
Thanks, dely. I certainly wish more of his books were available to English speakers.
Tim by the late Colleen McCullough was very good. My review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Diane S ☔ wrote: "Finished The Mighty Currawongshttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
Diane, the link you gave goes to some other guy's page about another book for some odd reason.
This is yours, if you want to post it again here.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Gill and Chrissie, a few have been translated. About the book I've read, you can find Giai Phong! The Fall And Liberation Of Saigon. But I don't know how many of his translated books have also audiobooks.
Gill wrote: "I've been looking for these as ebooks, Petra. They sound very interesting. ..."Gill, I don't know if this is helpful but it allows you to look inside and read about 1/3 of the myths, which should give a good indication of whether it's enjoyable:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...
ETA: this is for the book Memory of Fire
4★ for a funny, interesting look at Aspergers from inside the Autism Spectrum. Samantha Craft has been writing a blog for years about her experiences with Aspergers, both her own and a son's. Her old blog has the same name as her book, Everyday Aspergers. Very readable and entertaining. Poetry, too. Bit of something for everyone.
My review
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I've just finished Goodnight, Beautiful Women which is rather dark and rather beautiful. This is Anna Noyes first collection of short stories, which I found surprising. Her prose is stunning and very mature. My review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Petra wrote: "Gill wrote: "I've been looking for these as ebooks, Petra. They sound very interesting. ..."Gill, I don't know if this is helpful but it allows you to look inside and read about 1/3 of the myths,..."
Oh, thanks, Petra. I'll have a look at that. It may be that you can get it in Canada/US but not in the UK.
I've just added my review for Days Without End:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I think Sebastian Barry is a lovely writer, and I thought this was the best book yet. A five star read for me.
My review of We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
dely wrote: "Gill and Chrissie, a few have been translated. About the book I've read, you can find Giai Phong! The Fall And Liberation Of Saigon. But I don't know how many of his translated books..."Zero! Which is annoying......
If you love books, you might agree that someone should definitely build a real Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore as a shop or library like the one in Robin Sloan's delightful book of the same name.
A quirky mystery that ranges from ancient tomes with codes to the power of modern Google.
a 4.5★ read for me. My review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Sitting in the car for three days I listened to two audiobooks: Fire from Heaven
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This is historical fiction about Alexander the Great, by the renown author Mary Renault.
July's People
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The author, Nadine Gordimer, won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1991 so I wanted to test this.
They were good. I am glad I read them / listened to them. Neither one was a waste of time. I didn't love them though.
Not as fond of this Ian McEwan novel as some others. Nutshell is his new unusual story told by an unborn baby as it eavesdrops on his mother and uncle's affair and their scheming to be together.Good writer, so it still gets 3.5★ from me, but overall, I felt disappointed. My review
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My review for Slices of Night by J.T. Ellison Alex Kava and Erica Spindler
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Just finished A Gentleman in Moscow. Fabulous read. Here is my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Jen wrote: "Just finished A Gentleman in Moscow. Fabulous read. Here is my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."I'm about halfway through it. I'm thinking the second half must be really good.
I've just finished Love in the Time of Cholera. I thought it was lovely. I gave it 4.5 stars.Here's a link to my brief review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Gill, that was my favorite by Márquez. Others disappointed me but not that one. It is good to try more than one book by an author.
I really enjoyed The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris, in fact more than I thought I would! David McCullough never lets me down. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This topic has been frozen by the moderator. No new comments can be posted.
All About Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Red Shoes for Rachel: Three Novellas (other topics)Kindred (other topics)
Kindred (other topics)
Kindred (other topics)
The Promise Girls (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Octavia E. Butler (other topics)Octavia E. Butler (other topics)
Octavia E. Butler (other topics)
Marie Bostwick (other topics)
Deon Meyer (other topics)
More...
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...