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What have you just read? Opinions, recommendations & reviews
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Angela M
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Feb 07, 2017 11:20AM
I finished Dragon Springs Road. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
This one intrigues me Terri!
I just finished "Cleopatra the Great, the woman behind the legend."Amazing history.
Reviewed just now The Beekeeper's SecretFour and a half stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Loved Claire Fuller's new novel Swimming Lessons. How much do kids overhear? How much do they know? What happened to mum, and why?
.My review
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My review of The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I have completed The Wapshot Chronicle. I think both the cover, which I loved, and book description misrepresent what is in store for the reader.My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Chrissie wrote: "I have completed The Wapshot Chronicle. I think both the cover, which I loved, and book description misrepresent what is in store for the reader..."Too bad the audiobook didn't have the same cover as my (quite old) paperback Chrissie! I doubt this would have tempted you.
Finished A Warrior of the People: How Susan La Flesche Overcame Racial and Gender Inequality to Become America’s First Indian Doctorhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Leslie wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "I have completed The Wapshot Chronicle. I think both the cover, which I loved, and book description misrepresent what is in store for the reader..."Too bad the audio..."
I cannot sharply see the front cover. Are those people lined up in front of a house? I saw you have not yet read it......
Finished a book that initially looked very promising, but sadly didn't deliver - Dragon's Winter by Elizabeth Lynn - and reviewed it - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1638824780
I just finished listening to Wuthering Heights and really enjoyed it. Such a twisted tale of revenge. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
@Chrissie - when I am not on the app, I can send you a link so you can enlarge the cover image if you want. There are people shown, in somewhat suggestive poses. In any case, it is not nearly as appealing as the cover of your audiobook!And, no I haven't read it -- it is one of the many books I got from my parents when they moved to a smaller place.
Just recently read and reviewed Currawong Manor by Josephine PennicottSadly I did not love it a some other readers did. Only 2 stars from me.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Mod
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
I thought similarly about this one Petra. I read it pre-Goodreads, but I'd give it about the same rating for the same reasons.
Leslie wrote: "@Chrissie - when I am not on the app, I can send you a link so you can enlarge the cover image if you want. There are people shown, in somewhat suggestive poses. In any case, it is not nearly as ap..."You have explained what the cover shows. That is enough. Yeah, maybe your cover is not as pretty but it is more accurate, and so in my view better.
To those interested in The Wapshot Chronicle. I want to be perfectly clear. I added one final sentence to my review: "The central failure of the book is that the author failed to make it possible for me to empathize with the characters' ambivalent (sexual) feelings. I feel a better author would have achieved this.
Mod
I completely agree with this in relation to this particular book Chrissie, though I did quite like some of Cheever's short stories. I don't know if I'm ready to give up on him entirely yet, even if I did really dislike what I read of The Wapshot Chronicle.
One day I might give Falconer a try. I think that one might suit me better.
Greg, I don't think Cheever writes in a way that speaks to me. The topic is not the issue. Good luck.
Mod
That makes sense Chrissie, and there are plenty of authors - no sense to keep trying one you know you don't connect with!
I do sometimes find that I like some of a writer's works better than others though; so someday I might try him again.
I've just read Aussie author Sarah Ridout's debut novel, a mystery of sorts, Le Chateau.I think she will attract plenty of romance readers, but it wasn't for me. (This novel, I mean, not romance!)
My review
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Petra wrote: "I just finished listening to Wuthering Heights and really enjoyed it. Such a twisted tale of revenge. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
Glad you enjoyed it Petra, and I completely agree Heathcliff is not a romantic hero in the least!
Not for me. Bad bad. The Safe House. Here's my one star review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I have just read Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. A slightly disappointing 3* read for me.
My review is on my page and copied here.
I was both completely in love with and slightly disappointed in this book. I loved the premise which tells the history of two family trees. Sisters, Esi and Effia were separated at a young age and each grew up in very different situations. The book traces their families through the life story of individual members.
I loved the setting of the book in Ghana and in America. Having been to Cape Coast castle I was able to vividly imagine what it was like using Gyasi's descriptions of the area. I also got a keen sense of life in Harlem in the later part of the book.
What let this book down for me is the fact it seems more like a collection of short stories than a novel. Each chapter is written about a particular member of the family and although there are connections you go back and forth a bit and could easily read each story as a stand-alone. I also felt I had to keep going back to the family tree to make the connections which was frustrating as it sometimes gave things away.
Overall I enjoyed this book and found it difficult to put down. However, I think it works better as a collection of linked short stories than a novel and lacks a bit of depth that would make it a 5* read. Having said that, I enjoyed the writing and would recommend this book and read more from the author in the future.
My review is on my page and copied here.
I was both completely in love with and slightly disappointed in this book. I loved the premise which tells the history of two family trees. Sisters, Esi and Effia were separated at a young age and each grew up in very different situations. The book traces their families through the life story of individual members.
I loved the setting of the book in Ghana and in America. Having been to Cape Coast castle I was able to vividly imagine what it was like using Gyasi's descriptions of the area. I also got a keen sense of life in Harlem in the later part of the book.
What let this book down for me is the fact it seems more like a collection of short stories than a novel. Each chapter is written about a particular member of the family and although there are connections you go back and forth a bit and could easily read each story as a stand-alone. I also felt I had to keep going back to the family tree to make the connections which was frustrating as it sometimes gave things away.
Overall I enjoyed this book and found it difficult to put down. However, I think it works better as a collection of linked short stories than a novel and lacks a bit of depth that would make it a 5* read. Having said that, I enjoyed the writing and would recommend this book and read more from the author in the future.
Mod
My review is on my page and copied here.
I was both completely in love with and slightly disappointed in this bo..."
This book has definitely been on my mental to-read list Heather! I enjoyed hearing your thoughts on it.
I really enjoyed The Shepherd's Life: A People's History of the Lake District. Really, really, really!My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
It is pretty amazing that the detailing of a job can be made so interesting. The thing is it is not just his job; it is his whole life. This shows.
My review of Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in Englishby Natasha Solomons
Loved it
Four and a half stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Here's the link to my review of
A Man Called Ove by author Fredrik Backman :-https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Mod
I've just finished reading A Gentleman in Moscow. It wasn't for me. I gave it 3 stars. Here's my review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Gill wrote: "I've just finished reading A Gentleman in Moscow. It wasn't for me. I gave it 3 stars. Here's my review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
You're a generous rater, Gill. A 3-star read for me is an enjoyable read; a 2-star read is a book that's not for me. :D
This title is getting some mixed reviews from my friends. I'm not rushing to read it but it's interesting to hear of the ratings.
Petra wrote: "Gill wrote: "I've just finished reading A Gentleman in Moscow. It wasn't for me. I gave it 3 stars. Here's my review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
You're a ge..."Yes, I couldn't decide my rating easily, Petra. I thought that lots of it was very nicely written, especially as the book progressed. If I hadn't been reviewing it, I'd have left it unfinished, because I just didn't engage with it. I know fiction is fiction, but I still want to believe in it!
Read first in Suzy McKee Charnas' dystopian series Walk to the End of the World and reviewed it - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1908983536.
Gill wrote: "I've just finished reading A Gentleman in Moscow. It wasn't for me. I gave it 3 stars. Here's my review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
Not for me either! 2 stars, merely OK.
Finished the brilliant The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Gave it 4 Stars, but it is very close to 5. My review below.https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A great choice for a challenge: Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by a favourite author of mine Jeanette Winterson.I think it's best described as a fictionalised memoir, and quite a story it is, too.
My review
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Chrissie wrote: "I really enjoyed The Shepherd's Life: A People's History of the Lake District. Really, really, really!My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
It is pretty ama..."
Chrissie I loved this book too! It made me really tearful at times which I hadn't expected considering it's about hills and sheep.
I just finished Vernon God Little, Not for me. There are some really excellent, insightful reviews on it though.
My (slightly less insightful) review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Here's my review of
The Enchanted Wood by author Enid Blyton:-https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Alice wrote: "Chrissie I loved this book too! It made me really tearful at times which I hadn't expected considering it's about hills and sheep.."Exactly, How can an author write about a "job" so movingly? How can you make chores so interesting? You don't have to be interested in sheeping per se to enjoy The Shepherd's Life: A People's History of the Lake District. Don't you agree? It is this that hit me over and over again.
I read History of Wolves. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 . My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Just finished The Master and Margarita. I must say I was pretty confused for most of the book but now I've got to the end decided I need to get hold of the Russian serialisation. Found the audio version easiest to take in but the penguin intro and notes good. I feel like I should have earned a sticker or two for sticking with this... Only joking.
Now I just need a handy Russian book club group to discuss it with. .... But not in Russian.
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