What have you just read? Opinions, recommendations & reviews Showing 51-100 of 12,687

[Ava Catherine]

I just read Life After Life and really enjoyed it; however, I realize it is not a book for everyone. I like puzzles and mind games, so I think this sort of thing appeals to someone with that sort of mindset. It reminds me of the books I read in elementary school called "Choose Your Own Adventure" with a main plot and several outcomes from which to choose. This book is so fresh and different and kept me engrossed all the way to the last page. I like the historical fiction aspect, and the characters are deeply drawn.

[Charbel]

For the mystery lovers I recommend two Agatha Christie books: A Pocket Full of Rye and Hallowe'en Party.

[Leslie]

Charbel wrote: "For the mystery lovers I recommend two Agatha Christie books: A Pocket Full of Rye and Hallowe'en Party."

I will second that recommendation! Especially Hallowe'en Party which has Ariadne Oliver in it. For those of you unfamiliar with Dame Agatha's work, Ariadne Oliver is a character she wrote as a spoof of herself - she is in 4 or 5 of the Hercule Poirot books.

[Dhanaraj]

Finished reading Carlos Ruiz Zafon's The Shadow of the Wind. An excellent and a racy entertainer. Do not miss this one if you are a fan of fast paced thrillers.

[dely]

I started reading Three Lives by Gertrude Stein. I have ordered some weeks ago Waiting for Gertrude: A Graveyard Gothic by Bill Richardson and the name Gertrude in the title refers to Gertrude Stein so I was curious to read something by her.

[Poornima]

Finished Dan Brown's Inferno. It was very ok!

[Shirley]

Sounds good Dhanaraj, I shall look forward to reading that!

[Dhanaraj]

Shirley, you will like it. Read it.

[Akylina]

Dhanaraj, I'm so glad you enjoyed Shadow of the Wind. I need to reread this sometime soon :)

[Dhanaraj]

Akylina, Besides having a fantastic entertainment I too had some nightmares at night - the effect of the novel.

[Petra]

dely wrote: "I started reading Three Lives by Gertrude Stein. I have ordered some weeks ago Waiting for Gertrude: A Graveyard Gothic by Bill Richardson and the name Gertrude in the title refers to Gertrude Stei..."

I really enjoyed Waiting for Gertrude: A Graveyard Gothic and often recommend it. I'm nerdily excited to see someone read this.

[Leslie]

dely wrote: "I started reading Three Lives by Gertrude Stein. I have ordered some weeks ago Waiting for Gertrude: A Graveyard Gothic by Bill Richardson and the name Gertrude in the title refers to Gertrude Stei..."

I read Three Lives back in my college days & remember it as difficult. I'll be curious to see how you like it - maybe it is time for me to reread it.

[dely]

Petra wrote: "I really enjoyed Waiting for Gertrude: A Graveyard Gothic and often recommend it. I'm nerdily excited to see someone read this."

It was recommended to me in another group for my books-about/with-cats challenge. It has never been translated and it's impossible to find here in Italy so I had to order it in the USA. I'm eagerly waiting for it; I have heard only good things about this book!


Leslie wrote: "I read Three Lives back in my college days & remember it as difficult. I'll be curious to see how you like it - maybe it is time for me to reread it. "

It is my first book by Gertrude Stein and I don't know what to think about it till now. I have finished only The Good Anna and for my tastes it was just an ok read, not bad but nothing special. I bought it without knowing anything about the experimental prose by Stein and I am reading it in English so I hope to catch better the nuances of her style.

[Petra]

LOL! You could have asked Laura. I sent her a copy awhile back. :D
I think it's a fun book for readers as every chapter is told from a different cat/person's point of view and in their way of writing/speaking. For example, Proust's chapter is written in the style of Proust, Jim Morrison's in the style of Jim Morrison.

[[deleted user]]

I've just finished The Redemption of Callie and Kayden by Jessica Sorensen. It wasn't that good. So disappointed, as the first one is one of my faves.

[dely]

Petra wrote: "LOL! You could have asked Laura. I sent her a copy awhile back. :D
I think it's a fun book for readers as every chapter is told from a different cat/person's point of view and in their way of writi..."

Oh my :(
Didn't know it. I have met Laura in this group (though I have seen that we are both members of the Italian group but I have never met her there).
Doesn't matter, I hope only that my copy will arrive (it has a long trip to do)! Otherwise I will surely contact Laura. Thanks!

[LauraT]

dely wrote: "Petra wrote: "LOL! You could have asked Laura. I sent her a copy awhile back. :D
I think it's a fun book for readers as every chapter is told from a different cat/person's point of view and in thei..."
I have it still dely! Where exactly are you from in Italy? I'm from Perugia! And even if I'm in GR Italy I never enter the group!!!

Charbel wrote: "For the mystery lovers I recommend two Agatha Christie books: A Pocket Full of Rye and Hallowe'en Party."
On my TBR shelf!!!

[dely]

LauraT wrote: "I have it still dely! Where exactly are you from in Italy? I'm from Perugia! And even if I'm in GR Italy I never enter the group!!!"

I live in Savona, not very close to you. I hope the copy I ordered will arrive; it should arrive from the end of august onwards.
Otherwise I will let you know and we will do somehow :D

[LauraT]

Do let me know!
And yes, Savona is not so close, but if you ever happen to stay "in the middle" we could arrange a randevouz, also with Dhanaraj, who is at the moment in Rome!

[Dhanaraj]

@ Laura T, sono d'accordo. That would be wonderful. I hope, an opportunity comes.

[LauraT]

It will come - or we'll make it come! :-)

[Dhanaraj]

At present, however, I am in Bonn (Germany) having German lessons for my summer holidays. But soon I will be returning to Rome. And if any of you pass through Rome feel free to come for a coffee.

[Dhanaraj]

@ Laura T, I am also sure that the opportunity would come. Waiting for that moment.

[LauraT]

:-)

[dely]

Well, for next year I am already organizing a holiday in Assisi for Eastern. My mother wants to go there with me and my sister and the three grandchildren.

Dhanaraj, how long will you stay in Italy?

[Dhanaraj]

At least for another two years. May be a year or two more. But the next two years are certain.

[Akylina]

You will all be so close by! :)

I finished Murakami's After Dark yesterday and it was absolutely marvellous.

[Gill]

dely wrote: "Petra wrote: "I really enjoyed Waiting for Gertrude: A Graveyard Gothic and often recommend it. I'm nerdily excited to see someone read this."

It was recommended to me in another group for my book..."
Hi Dely I see you are reading books about cats. I've just got
The Dalai Lama's Cat. It looks fun and interesting. Have you read it?

[Jo]

I've just this moment finished Possession by A. S. Byatt. It has taken me ages to read. I wanted to put it down but I didn't want to miss anything but I didn't miss out on anything. The twist that I thought was going to happen didn't and the author tied things up with a twist that wasn't really inventive :( I didn't enjoy the book I wish I had stopped reading earlier lol

[Shirley]

Jo wrote: "I've just this moment finished Possession by A. S. Byatt. It has taken me ages to read. I wanted to put it down but I didn't want to miss anything but I didn't miss out on anything. The twist that ..."

Ah, that's a shame when that happens. I've not read it, but I know there are mixed opinions about it.

[dely]

Gill wrote: "Hi Dely I see you are reading books about cats. I've just got
The Dalai Lama's Cat. It looks fun and interesting. Have you read it? "

Not yet but it is in my TBR list!

[Elaine]

I've just read Travels with Charley: In Search of America which was a joy to read.Steinbecks books are a bit gloomy in their content but brilliantly written.This however being nonfiction and a lot of it being the musing inside his head, was lovely ;positive,humourous and warm with the same brilliant style of prose

[Maggie]

I finished Cell 8 by Roslund and Hellstrom (Swedish authors) - wow, a fantastic read, made me even more anti death penalty.

[Joy]

Over the weekend I re-read The Eyre Affair, which I can definitely recommend. It's set in a parallel universe, where books are vitally important and even have a special operations unit devoted to them. An arch-villain manages to find a way into the original manuscript of Jane Eyre and threatens to disrupt it.

[Claire]

Akylina wrote: "I finished Sharp Objects yesterday. It might as well be my favourite Gillian Flynn novel, even though I was quite unsure of whether I was going to like it or not at first."

Ooh yes I read it recently and loved it too!

[Poornima]

@ Joy, the Eyre Affair sounds interesting! added it to my TBR list.

[Dhanaraj]

Akylina wrote: "You will all be so close by! :)

I finished Murakami's After Dark yesterday and it was absolutely marvellous."

That was the only novel by H. Murakami that I have read and it was superb. I am happy that you had the same feel.

[Shirley]

Joy, I've read The Eyre Affair too, ages ago, and loved it!

[Leslie]

@Gill - The Dalai Lama's Cat sounds fun to me too!

@Jo - I know what you mean; I kept expecting a twist at the end also. Possession and perhaps Byatt's writing in general seems to be of the 'love it or hate it' variety. I hope you enjoy your next book more!

@Elaine - I've read very positive things about Travels with Charley but I hadn't realized it was nonfiction. Perhaps one to nominate for the first nonfiction group read?

@Maggie - is that fiction or nonfiction? The title sounds like a mystery book, and I have been enjoying my foray into Scandinavian crime fiction...

@Joy - such a fun book, isn't it? I find Jasper Fforde to be an author guaranteed to cheer me up if I am feeling blue...

[Alannah]

Joy wrote: "Over the weekend I re-read The Eyre Affair, which I can definitely recommend. It's set in a parallel universe, where books are vitally important and even have a special operations unit devoted to t..."

It sounds really interesting.

[Maggie]

Leslie wrote: "@Gill - The Dalai Lama's Cat sounds fun to me too!

@Jo - I know what you mean; I kept expecting a twist at the end also. Possession and perhaps Byatt's writing in general seems to be of the 'love..."

Leslie its fiction.

[Leslie]

Maggie wrote: "Leslie its fiction. ..."

Thanks Maggie - I'm going to add it to my TBR pile.

[Jenny]

Shirley wrote: "I've just finished The Almond Tree. Wow! What a powerful book! I won it in a goodreads giveaway, but I wasn't expecting to be so blown away by it!"

Shirley that is good to hear, because I won it in a giveaway too, but it is still patiently sitting on my shelf!

[Gemma]

I am going to have to admit defeat with The Virgin Suicides. I am at page 100, half way through. And have realised that I have absolutely no idea what is going on. It grabs my attention, and then goes off on a complete tangent. I am reading the words without taking them in, which is a sign that its not for me.

[Leslie]

@Gemma - too bad! Hope your next book is more to your liking.

[[deleted user]]

Gemma wrote: "I am going to have to admit defeat with The Virgin Suicides. I am at page 100, half way through. And have realised that I have absolutely no idea what is going on. It grabs my attention, and then g..."

Sadface :-(

[LauraT]

dely wrote: "Gill wrote: "Hi Dely I see you are reading books about cats. I've just got
The Dalai Lama's Cat. It looks fun and interesting. Have you read it? "

Not yet but it is in my TBR list!"

To be looked for!
P.s. Next Easter then!

[Alannah]

Gemma wrote: "I am going to have to admit defeat with The Virgin Suicides. I am at page 100, half way through. And have realised that I have absolutely no idea what is going on. It grabs my attention, and then g..."

That's real shame. I hope your next book is a lot better.

[LauraT]

Poornima wrote: "@ Joy, the Eyre Affair sounds interesting! added it to my TBR list."

Really good book/books, I still have some of the same serie yovread, and I'm looking forward to it!

[LauraT]

Jenny wrote: "Shirley wrote: "I've just finished The Almond Tree. Wow! What a powerful book! I won it in a goodreads giveaway, but I wasn't expecting to be so blown away by it!"

Shirley that is good to hear, be..."

I have it on my kobo, waiting...