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What have you just read? Opinions, recommendations & reviews
I have completed D DAY Through German Eyes - The Hidden Story of June 6th 1944. It was not an easy read but I am glad I read it. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The audiobook narration was very good.
Finished To The Stars Through Difficulties. 3.5 stars . My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Amalia wrote: "Finished The Forest by Edward Rutherfurd. One more masterpiece from a great author...My review:www.goodreads.com/review/show/1668766128"
This is one of my favorites by him. Nice review.
(view spoiler)
Hannah wrote: "I've finished The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
I've been planning to read that for years - maybe I don't need to. Thanks for the honest review.
Joan wrote: "Hannah wrote: "I've finished The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
I've been planning to read that for years - maybe..."
Joan, obviously I wouldn't recommend it. Have you read anything else by the author? I think that should help you decide. I would also go onto Amazon and read the first few pages. That could give you an idea of what to expect.
I just finished Within a Budding Grove, which I did enjoy (despite an awful lot of navel-gazing). It brings back all the awkwardness and joy of adolescence. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Just finished
One Little Mistake by Emma Curtis. The more I think about this book, the more I like it! https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Hannah and Joan, well, I personally detested The Handmaid's Tale. I know it is considered great by many, but not me, not by a far shot. It didn't matter to me that it structurally holds together and that I did find many lines clever. A book can be well executed, but that doesn't mean you are going to like it. It is so over-done. Sure, similarities can be drawn to modern society, but so? I was aware of these dangers before reading the book, I totally learned nothing and found it a waste of time.
Amalia wrote: "Finished The Forest by Edward Rutherfurd. One more masterpiece from a great author...My review:www.goodreads.com/review/show/1668766128"
Have you read his Paris? That too is really, really good.
Here's the link to my review of
Tippy Toe Murder by author Leslie Meier:-https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Chrissie wrote: "Hannah and Joan, well, I personally detested The Handmaid's Tale. I know it is considered great by many, but not me, not by a far shot. It didn't matter to me that it structurally hold..."Chrissie, I do agree. I think the story that Atwood conveys is important but just so poorly executed. I will say that I think this book can put real-life events into perspective for people and it may be an "Ah-Ha" moment/an awakening and for that it is useful for people. For me, while I recognized similarities to modern society, I already knew 'what was going on'. Not for me.
I just read and liked In the Woods, and even gave it 4 stars--a rare thing for me in this genre.review here
A must read, 5 stars and then some. Eden by Candice Fox
Here's my review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I totally loved All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews. You are thrown from crying to laughing. Why is it that one sister who has everything wants to commit suicide and the other with problems galore doesn't? Erin Moon does a fantastic job with the narration. 5 stars both for author's written lines and for the audiobook's narration. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I'm so glad you liked All My Puny Sorrows, Chrissie! I think that's my favorite book by Miriam Toews yet. She put so much of herself into that book and it's a lovely tribute to her sister.
Petra, are you saying that the book has biographical content? Is the author a Mennonite? I was wondering about that. I have been checking out Wiki to learn more about the group. I liked that she threw in Plautdietsch expressions. Yeah, the book blew me over. It impressed me much more than I ever thought it would. I loved the serious topic and the mix of terribly sad along with humor.
I read The Secret History by Donna Tartt... actually it was my second time reading it (which I realised once I started!). I guess it didn't leave much of an impression the first time, but this time it definitely did. Made my skin crawl at times, it felt so sinister. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Alice wrote: "I read The Secret History by Donna Tartt... actually it was my second time reading it (which I realised once I started!). I guess it didn't leave much of an impression the first time, ..."This is high up on my TBR list, I should get to it this year. Thank you for keeping it in my mind and for the excellent review.
Chrissie wrote: "Petra, are you saying that the book has biographical content? Is the author a Mennonite? I was wondering about that. I have been checking out Wiki to learn more about the group. I liked that she th..."Yes, it's fairly biographical. Both her father and sister's stories are true (Swing Low: A Life is her father's story).
Some articles, if you're interested:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/miri...
Petra, I very, very much thank you for the links. I think it is important that this information is made available to those interested in All My Puny Sorrows. I will be adding these two links to my review along with the note that YOU gave them to me! I have also added her book about her father's suicide to my TBR list. Thank you very much.
I'm always happy to point people in the direction of Miriam Toews' books. I've found them all great. Chrissie, I'm really happy that you'll be reading her father's story next.
Petra wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "Petra, are you saying that the book has biographical content? Is the author a Mennonite? I was wondering about that. I have been checking out Wiki to learn more about the group. I ..."Thanks for those links and the book information.
Enjoyed the latest of L.J. Ross's DCI Ryan Mysteries, High Force. My review
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Petra wrote: "I'm always happy to point people in the direction of Miriam Toews' books. I've found them all great. Chrissie, I'm really happy that you'll be reading her father's story next."
ONLY, All My Puny Sorrows is available on audio....... so I am really annoyed. i have it on my list in the hope that it will become available. I nagged Audible, as if that does any good.
Just finished
Blood Ties by Jenny Francis, an okay read, but nothing special. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I finished Chasing the King of Hearts. 5 stars . My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Petra wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "Petra, are you saying that the book has biographical content? Is the author a Mennonite? I was wondering about that. I have been checking out Wiki to learn more about the group. I ..."Is Miriam Toews a practising Mennonite, or is that more of her family heritage? My dad grew up Mennonite (I know her surname is definitely that--my dad's surname is ONLY found among people who are or are descended from Mennonites way back when, but that is not always the case). I know he thinks she's a good author, but I have yet to read anything by or about her.
I am interested, but not so much in scathing accounts, since I've already btdt with reading--there was the good, the bad and the ugly as with every other group. Honestly, I'm more interested n the food and the music and some of the past history, and not the dysfunctional parenting that came out of growing up during all of the Russian revolutions, wartime, etc combined with strict, old country upbringing. I have first hand experience with some of that dysfunctional upbringing via my dad, and know enough about his siblings (who ranged from atheist to quasi-Christian but none are practising Mennonites as they married outside of their faith/culture, etc), so am fully sated on that.
Karin, as I understand it Miriam Toews is a practicing Mennonite, but she does not in anyway consider herself an expert! You can look at this article: https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...
Karin wrote: "Petra wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "Petra, are you saying that the book has biographical content? Is the author a Mennonite? I was wondering about that. I have been checking out Wiki to learn more about..."I hadn't associated Mennonites with the Russian Revolution.
Karin, do you mean scathing accounts of the Revolution and such forth? If so, Miriam Toews doens't dwell on any of that. She tells a contemporary story of today. Her families are kind and loving; although not perfect. They have their problems but not in a dysfunctional way. There's also not history, music, etc that is specifically Mennonite, as I recall.
Joan wrote: "I hadn't associated Mennonites with the Russian Revolution..."What people associate with Mennonites depends in part on where they grew up. In the 18th century most Mennonites fled Prussia and the surrounding area to avoid being conscripted to fight in the Germanic wars as they are Pacifists. They ended up in 3 main places--Pennsylvania, South America and the Russian speaking part of the Ukraine/South Russia. Although they tended not to intermarry and kept their German (antiquated) the "Russian" Mennonites had to escape or be sent to Siberia in the 1920s, although they lived through other revolts during the first part of the 20th century. Neither the Whites nor the Reds were fond of them (we hear more about the Jewish persecution, but there was also persecution of some other religions, and, like the Jews, prior to this time they'd been forced to live in certain communities due to their prosperity, etc).
Anyway, many of those "Russian" Mennonites ended up in Canada, although some also ended up in the States as well. Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King offered them large areas of land for settlement (that was also offered to Icelanders in similar types of places such as Manitioba, but that might have started earlier).
Chrissie wrote: "Karin, as I understand it Miriam Toews is a practicing Mennonite, but she does not in anyway consider herself an expert! You can look at this article: https://www.theguardian.com/books/201......"
Thanks!
Petra wrote: "Karin, do you mean scathing accounts of the Revolution and such forth? If so, Miriam Toews doens't dwell on any of that. She tells a contemporary story of today. Her families are kind and loving; a..."
No, scathing accounts of dysfunctional Mennonite families and disillusionment with the religion. There are so many different Mennonite sects, and then individual churches, people, that experiences can vary greatly.
Not every family was dysfunctional, rigid, etc-it's a real mix.
Karin, I agree with Petra completely; the book focuses on family issues and not politics, history or religion.
I have listened to two excellent books recently.
The first was A Constellation of Vital Phenomenon by Anthony Mara which I thought was just absolutely fantastic. I loved the characters, the historical references, the story and the reading was excellent as well.
Today I finished Blindness by Jose Saramago. This was again read really well and was a fascinating story of a future world where everybody has gone blind. It was a bit violent and graphic at times but I'm not too bothered about this because i thought it really dealt with some interesting issues about society.
I'm really enjoying audiobooks at the moment and can't wait to start my next one
The first was A Constellation of Vital Phenomenon by Anthony Mara which I thought was just absolutely fantastic. I loved the characters, the historical references, the story and the reading was excellent as well.
Today I finished Blindness by Jose Saramago. This was again read really well and was a fascinating story of a future world where everybody has gone blind. It was a bit violent and graphic at times but I'm not too bothered about this because i thought it really dealt with some interesting issues about society.
I'm really enjoying audiobooks at the moment and can't wait to start my next one
Completed reading E. Nesbit's The Railway Children. A real charming children's story. Loved it.Here is my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Award-winning TV presenter, journalist, news correspondent and author Stan Grant wrote this Quarterly Essay: Quarterly Essay 64 the Australian Dream: Blood, History and Becoming from his unique, Aboriginal perspective.And a great read it is, too. 5★
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I've just finished Six Plays, a collection of Mikhail Bulgakov's work.My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This wasn't a great thriller. Save Me by Lisa Scottoline
. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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Thank you Dely, I really appreciate that. This book just felt like it struck a fanciful balance that worked for me.