What have you just read? Opinions, recommendations & reviews Showing 1,001-1,050 of 12,687

[Kristi]

I have finished Floating in My Mother's Palm. I didn't care for the format, but I still really liked it. It made me want to read Stones from the River again. I remember really liking it, but also don't remember much about it. I recommend anything by Ursula Hegi.

[dely]

I have read today Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot and I suggest it if you like cats.
It is a collection of poems that Eliot has written about cats, they are really funny. Thanks God my son had bought the bilingual edition; the Italian translation wasn't that good at the end I have read the poems in English.

[[deleted user]]

@dely I read that earlier this year. I remember reading it in school before going to see the stage version

[dely]

Heather wrote: "@dely I read that earlier this year. I remember reading it in school before going to see the stage version"

I would have liked to go to watch the musical but such things are really expensive here in Italy. It was absolutely out of my budget!

[Robert]

I finished The Ultimates, Vol. 1: Super-Human which I thought was okay. There's more set-up than story but it has a couple of nice revelations towards the end.

Full review is here http://manofyesterday.wordpress.com/2...

[LauraT]

dely wrote: "I have read today Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot and I suggest it if you like cats.
It is a collection of poems that Eliot has written about cats, th..."

Usually T.S. Eliot is not an "easy" author ...

[dely]

LauraT wrote: "Usually T.S. Eliot is not an "easy" author ... "

It's the first time I read something by him. If he writes only poems I don't think I'll read something else by him.

[Jacob]

Physics of the Future: How Science Will Shape Human Destiny and Our Daily Lives by the Year 2100

A fast-paced read bringing you up-to-date on the latest technological advances. Kaku goes further to predict what changes we may see in human culture in the next 100 years. Michio Kaku is a leader in theoretical physics and offers his opinion with that of 300 scientists in their respective fields.

I recommend this book for anyone interested in high-tech science or those who wonder just how advanced or planet has become or may in the coming century.

[Jenny]

Jacob, that sounds really interesting! Have you also read his Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel? A good friend of mine recommends it to me every time that we meet!

If you would like you could also post your recommendation into our science&nature thread in the non-fiction section which is here, in case people are looking for recommendations on science books.

[Robert]

^Ha, I actually got my friend that book for Christmas!

[Charbel]

I just finished Next. It was quite good.

[Jacob]

@Jenny

Thanks for the recommendation, I haven't read that.

[Amber]

I just finished The Dead Game by Susanne Leist which was a pretty good read. Definitely check it out. Here's my review for it: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Enjoy! ^_^

[Kristi]

I have finished Whose Body? and Night Film. The internet has been buzzing about Night Film, and I decided to read it even though I didn't care for Pessl's debut novel. I still don't understand what all the fuss is about. I know there are a lot of people out there that love this book, but it just didn't do it for me and I can't even explain why. (It was my 100th read of the year, mission complete!!)

[Bionic Jean]

Lovely new profile pic, Kristi! :)

[Kristi]

Jean wrote: "Lovely new profile pic, Kristi! :)"

Thanks Jean!

[Leslie]

@Kristi - Congrats on "mission completion"!

[LauraT]

dely wrote: "LauraT wrote: "Usually T.S. Eliot is not an "easy" author ... "

It's the first time I read something by him. If he writes only poems I don't think I'll read something else by him."

Some Theater, but always in verse - Murder in the Cathedral for istance. I studied various things by him in Uni; not a read for pleasure though.
I remember Four Quartets with some outstanding lines (And still they call this friday good) or The Waste Land - the closing lines are something you never forget, the broken prayer...

[Bionic Jean]

I've always felt T. S. Eliot to be a bit too abstruse for me. But Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats is just a charming and amusing childlike poetry book.

Of course that was the book of poems the musical "Cats" was based on. It was so popular it was on in the West End of London for decades. I loved that too. The "cats" used to come into the audience and sit on your knee if you were lucky :D

[dely]

I have finished The Animal-Lover's Book of Beastly Murder by Patricia Highsmith

It is a collection of short stories in which the murder is an animal. I thought it was a book with heinous crimes, studied down to the smallest details from animals with an excellent, evil and devilish mind but they all killed instinctively in order to revenge the mistreatments. The first stories seemed original and were nice to read but at the end they were all similar and were boring because they were predictable.

I don't think I would suggest it.

[Leslie]

Jean wrote: "I've always felt T. S. Eliot to be a bit too abstruse for me. But Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats is just a charming and amusing childlike poetry book.

Of course that was the bo..."

I hope to read some T.S. Eliot next year... I admit that Jean has summed up how I feel about him but this sounds like a good place to start!

[LauraT]

Jean wrote: "I've always felt T. S. Eliot to be a bit too abstruse for me. But Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats is just a charming and amusing childlike poetry book.

Of course that was the bo..."

NOt really abstruse, but definitly not a "relaxing read". I didn't know this particular book though; I may give it a look...

[Anastasia]

I just finished The Awakening. It wasn't easy for me to sympathize with the selfish nature of Edna, but at the end I found the novel fascinating and absolutely well-written!

[Shirley]

I've just finished Mockingjay and would definitely recommend reading all three books, although the first one is the best.

[Leslie]

Shirley wrote: "I've just finished Mockingjay and would definitely recommend reading all three books, although the first one is the best."

I agree that the first book is the best one. The second book recycled a lot from the first one but was enjoyable enough. I didn't much care for the third one...

[Leslie]

Anastasia wrote: "I just finished The Awakening. It wasn't easy for me to sympathize with the selfish nature of Edna, but at the end I found the novel fascinating and absolutely well-written!"

This is on my list for 2014, so I am glad to hear you found it fascinating! :)

[Petra]

I finished Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth and really enjoyed it. Aslan does a good job in laying out the beginnings of Christianity and Jesus' life and times.

[Jenny]

I am very curious about that one too Petra. Maybe I should have a 'religious-excursions'-month next year, since there are The Childhood of Jesus by Coetzee and The Testament of Mary by Toibin on my list of books to read as well.

Have you, or anybody else read The Last Temptation of Christ by Nikos Kazantzakis? Brilliant book!

[Petra]

Jenny, I have The Last Temptation of Christ and The Testament of Mary on my TBR list, as well as a few others on a "theological musings" shelf.
The Childhood of Jesus has come up as a GR Recommendation but I wasn't sure about that one. Guess I'll add it to my TBR list now. :D
I enjoy a theological type of book occasionally. I like the many different aspects and ideas on everything.

[Gemma]

I really enjoyed Mockingjay. Of the three, Catching Fire was my least favourite.

[LauraT]

Leslie wrote: "This is on my list for 2014, so I am glad to hear you found it fascinating! :) "

I was giving it a thought too!

[LauraT]

Petra wrote: "Jenny, I have The Last Temptation of Christ and The Testament of Mary on my TBR list, as well as a few others on a "theological musings" shelf.
The Childhood of Jesus has come up as a GR Recommend..."

I don't particularly like J.M. Coetzee ...

[dely]

I have read yesterday my last book of the year: Sparrow by Giovanni Verga. It is a short read.

First of all, Verga is one of those Italian authors I like. I had already read other books by him and I like his realism and his writing style. Nearly all of his books are set in Sicily during the end of 1800 so Verga talks about how life was in that period.
Also this one. It talks about Maria, a twenty years old girl, who is obliged to become a cloistered nun because her mother died when she was a child. Because of cholera she had to leave the cloister for some time and she goes to live with her father, stepmother and stepsisters in their house on the mountains. She is happy to be free, to see the sky, to hear the birds singing, to run in the woods. Unfortunately she falls in love with the son of a neighbour and he loves her too. But they can't live this love because she must become a nun. From this point onwards Maria starts to feel guilty, she has fever, she doesn't go anymore out of her bedroom. She knows there is nothing wrong in love but she had been educated since childhood to become a nun so she lives the love for a guy like something sinful. When the cholera danger is over her family turns back in town and she must go back to the cloister. Things go always worse with her, she gets sick phyisically and mentally and at the end she dies because of this inner struggle.

It is really worth to be read. It is an epistolary novel and we know her life and her thoughts through the letters she writes to her best friend.

[Robert]

Finished Wolverine: Enemy of the State last night.

Full review is here - http://manofyesterday.wordpress.com/2...

But it was excellent, great action, great story and a must-have for any Wolverine fans.

[Amber]

Bedlam Stories: Project Alice was pretty good read for a prequel and it was free to have at the bedlam stories website. It's a prequel to the first book which I'd like to read one day. It was interesting.

[Anastasia]

Leslie wrote: "Anastasia wrote: "I just finished The Awakening. It wasn't easy for me to sympathize with the selfish nature of Edna, but at the end I found the novel fascinating and absolutely well-w..."

I hope you'll like it! :-)

[Amber]

Read Nightmare Abbey and it was an interesting read. The family depressed me though.

[L.K.]

I just finished The Name of the Wind. I cried 3 times, sooooo, yes, I would recommend it. Great book.

[Bionic Jean]

Finished Gone Girl Short answer? No. Long answer? Here's my review

[Giacomo]

Jean wrote: "Finished Gone Girl Short answer? No. Long answer? Here's my review"

I've just finished Gone Girl I have to say the first part was quite slow and I didn't enjoyed too much, but after the first third of the book I started to love so much both Amy and Nick and couldn't stop reading and finding out what was next. I definitely enjoy this book and its fast pace. For me 3 stars and a half, well deserved.

[Giacomo]

Jean wrote: "Finished Gone Girl Short answer? No. Long answer? Here's my review"

P.S. I read your review and loved it even if I wouldn't agree with you.

[Bionic Jean]

Thanks Giacomo! That's one of the great things about being in such a group as this - we can happily discuss a book and disagree about it :D

[Amber]

I liked your review jean and know to skip that one. :)

[Bionic Jean]

Aw thanks Amber. I don't ever try to put people off reading a book; that would be wrong. But sometimes just by reading a review you can know whether or not it's for you, can't you?

I'm reading some Dickens now for a bit of light relief. I need to laugh! ;)

[Amber]

Yep. ^_^

[LauraT]

Finished The Invisible Wall: A Love Story That Broke Barriers and liked it a lot!
While I have to admit that Nightmare Abbey "puzzled" me quite ...

[Charbel]

Was Nightmare Abbey not a pleasant read?

[Amber]

It was interesting Charbel. the family depressed me a little and all that talk of science was weird too. I liked it though besides that.

[LauraT]

The things that i liked less was all this pseudi science talk; and definitly the family was really weird, but in the whole it was not so bad ...

[Bionic Jean]

I'm going to have to read this soon! It seems a puzzle as to why it was in the top 100 books!