What have you just read? Opinions, recommendations & reviews Showing 1,101-1,150 of 12,687

[Tracey]

I have just finished The Picture of Dorian Gray and it was brilliant.

[Leslie]

Tracey wrote: "I have just finished The Picture of Dorian Gray and it was brilliant."

Gotta love Oscar Wilde :)

[Jenny]

Glad you've enjoyed it Tracey, I love The Picture of Dorian Gray.

@Holly, I had the same with Catch 22, I started reading it with the idea that I would probably not get through because so many people shelve it as DNF, but after I had crossed the 80 pages mark and started surrendering to the bizarre inner logic of the book I loved it.

[Athina]

I finished last night/early morning A Constellation of Vital Phenomena. It was an amazing book, can't get it out of mind and yes, I'd highly recommend it!!

[Jenny]

Ath wrote: "I finished last night/early morning A Constellation of Vital Phenomena. It was an amazing book, can't get it out of mind and yes, I'd highly recommend it!!"

I am dying to read this, good to know you've loved it.

[Athina]

Jenny wrote:

"I am dying to read this, good to know you've loved it."

Go for it, I can't recommend it enough! -and don't forget to tell us your impressions afterwards!

[Kristi]

Ath wrote: "Jenny wrote:

"I am dying to read this, good to know you've loved it."

Go for it, I can't recommend it enough! -and don't forget to tell us your impressions afterwards!"

One of the best books that I read in 2013!

[Amber]

Just finished Un Lun Dun and it's a pretty good read. Here's my review if anyone wants to read it and please give it a like too. Thanks.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Emma]

Just finished Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind. If you're looking for something a bit crazy and different this is the story for you!

[Joy]

Just finished The Beaumont Bequest - a supernatural mystery on Kindle by an indie author. It's a book with an interesting structure - one of the characters was an author when alive and there are excerpts from his novels which influence the present day story. Not a scary book, but tense and a bit spooky in places. I enjoyed it.

[Tracey]

I read perfume last year Emma it was weird ! lol

[Leslie]

Joy wrote: "Just finished The Beaumont Bequest - a supernatural mystery on Kindle by an indie author. It's a book with an interesting structure - one of the characters was an author when alive ..."

hmmm -- sounds like something I might enjoy. Adding to my teetering pile ;)

[Tweedledum]

Just finished Notes from Underground
Would I recommend it? Not for the casual reader but if you are interested in the history and development of themes in literature then yes. Not that I understood this.... I needed DCB Pierre (who read the audiobook) to explain this in an afterword.!

[Leslie]

Tweedledum wrote: "Just finished Notes from Underground
Would I recommend it? Not for the casual reader but if you are interested in the history and development of themes in literature then yes. Not that..."

Can you explain it to me? I read it last January but didn't really get it at all...

[Jenny]

I've finished The Time Regulation Institute by Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar yesterday - a satire on the period of modernization in Turkey in the early 20th century. It is a really good book I think but I am not the right reader for it.
There is something about this tradition of turkish satire (Orhan Pamuk sort of being the contemporary interpretator of it) that I just can't get in to. Like with Orhan Pamuk I just get very bored once I know what it's mocking, and no matter how clever and biting the satire, I loose interest.

This really is one of the things I have yet to learn: no matter how good the book, no matter how rave the reviews, certain things I just don't like in literature for no other reason than: I just don't. There might be virtue in trying over and over again (which I have) but I guess at some point there's also virtue in acknowledging that I am just not that kind of reader. Sigh.

[Dhanaraj]

@ Jenny: I liked the last paragraph of your post (n. 1121). Well said......

[Leslie]

@Jenny - maybe you just don't care for satire (Turkish or otherwise)? Not every genre is a good fit for every reader - I am slowly beginning to realize that if a book is the type to win the Man Booker Award, then chances are I won't like it!

[Leslie]

I finished rereading The Game of Kings today. Such a wonderful historical fiction! Now I am sorry that I decided to read the series one every other month -- I am raring to read the next one!!

[Jenny]

Leslie wrote: "@Jenny - maybe you just don't care for satire (Turkish or otherwise)? Not every genre is a good fit for every reader - I am slowly beginning to realize that if a book is the type to win the Man Bo..."

You might be right, satire needs to work much harder than most other genres in order for me to like it. I can think of a few exceptions to the rule though, which are mainly English/Irish. And about the Man Booker: I am not yet sure I'd agree, but it's utterly hit and miss for me. In fact it might be more miss than hit.

[[deleted user]]

I just finished Andrew's Brain by E.L. Doctorow. It was amazing! Beautifully written, the story builds to an intense climax. I'm reminded why Doctorow is one of my favorite authors.

[Leslie]

Terri wrote: "I just finished Andrew's Brain by E.L. Doctorow. It was amazing! Beautifully written, the story builds to an intense climax. I'm reminded why Doctorow is one of my fa..."

He is an author I would like to try. What would you recommend as a good book to start with?

[Jenny]

@Terri, I just put this book on my TBR last week, kind of thrilled to find out that he has a new one out. Good to know you've liked it.

@Leslie, I really loved The March by him, but maybe even the last one would be a good place to start, as it is fairly short.

[Kristi]

I finished The Grass is Singing this morning. It was depressing but very well written.

[Nicole]

Hey! I am really behind on this thread, but wanted to say:

Dely- It was a few years back that I read The Color Purple I guess it just didn't resonate with me.

Kristi- I REALLY enjoyed Stones from the River! Fantastic book.

[[deleted user]]

Leslie wrote: "Terri wrote: "I just finished Andrew's Brain by E.L. Doctorow. It was amazing! Beautifully written, the story builds to an intense climax. I'm reminded why Doctorow i..."

Leslie, the first thing I ever read by Doctorow was Ragtime, and that got me hooked. It's one of his earlier works and is probably a good place to start. I thought the images and the language in World's Fair were really beautiful. On the other hand, you don't have to read his earlier works to appreciate Andrew's Brain, and since it's contemporary that's not a bad place to start either. :)

[Leslie]

Terri wrote: "Leslie wrote: "Terri wrote: "I just finished Andrew's Brain by E.L. Doctorow. It was amazing! Beautifully written, the story builds to an intense climax. I'm reminded..."

Thanks for the suggestions (you too, Jenny!). It will be a while, but I will look out for his books...

[Leslie]

Kristi wrote: "I finished The Grass is Singing this morning. It was depressing but very well written."

I found The Golden Notebook on the depressing side as well. Perhaps all Lessing's books are like that?

[Robert]

I finished The Bell Jar yesterday. So good! Can't believe I waited so long to read it.

It's annoying though, it's the kind of book I read then I think "Crap, I'm never going to be as good a writer as her".

[Shirley]

Robert wrote: "I finished The Bell Jar yesterday. So good! Can't believe I waited so long to read it.

It's annoying though, it's the kind of book I read then I think "Crap, I'm never going to be as good a write..."

I really must read this soon!!

[Pink]

Robert wrote: "I finished The Bell Jar yesterday. So good! Can't believe I waited so long to read it.

It's annoying though, it's the kind of book I read then I think "Crap, I'm never going to be as good a write..."

Haha, yep it's that sort of book, glad you liked it Robert. Have you read any of Sylvia Plath's poetry? I don't read much poetry, but Ariel completely blew me away.

[Joy]

I've just read Shades of Milk and Honey. It's a very light read, frothy and entertaining. It's a romance set in an alternative Recency England, where ladies learn to enhance their music and art with a little gentle magic. The book's being promoted as 'Jane Austen with magic' which it certainly is not!

[Laurel]

I've just finished Some Kind Of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce which is a modern take on the old legends of abduction by the fairy folk. Interesting although a bit weird at times but I enjoyed it.

[Robert]

Pink wrote: "Robert wrote: "I finished The Bell Jar yesterday. So good! Can't believe I waited so long to read it.

It's annoying though, it's the kind of book I read then I think "Crap, I'm never going to be ..."

No, I don't really read poetry I just tend to write it. I have a friend who likes her poetry though so I'll see if I can borrow it off her.

[Robert]

I read The First Man by Albert Camus while I rode the train to London on Sunday. It's an unfinished novel but it's a good read and it's interesting to see the process he went through.

[Elaine]

I just finished The Ocean at the End of the Lane which I got for Christmas.I sat up half the night and finished it. It wasn't my favorite Gaiman but I still loved it.

[Elaine]

@ Lynne, Neverwhere is great .

[Amber]

I'm almost done with A Dozen Black Rosesso hope to finish it tonight so I can get back to reading Wind in the Willows and Itch: The Explosive Adventures of an Element Hunterso I can review them for here and at the Kid zone reviews website. I want to read Ready Player One as well.

[Amber]

btw Elaine, I'm glad you liked my review of the book Un Lun Dun. Be sure to give it a read. It's pretty good. I saw you and a user called Frozenwaffle liked it too.

[Elaine]

I've read Un Lun Dun, Amber, and really liked it.I like everything by China Mieville. Perdido Street Station is one of my all time favorite reads. He says he writes "weird fiction" and I think Un Lun Dun certainly fits that. :)

[Amber]

That's great! ^_^

[Leslie]

I finished Happy Return by Angela Thirkell, which I found pleasant enough but not one of the best the series.

[Giacomo]

I finished The Color Purple by Alice Walker the point about this book is that I understand the "historical meaning" of the work, still I didn't enjoyed the style, which is a complicated slang the author use according to the cultural level of the narrator.

[Dhanaraj]

Finished reading an interesting book by an Irish author, Brian Moore titled The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne. It is a sad book that talks about a forty year old spinster whose only desire is to be married and to have a normal family. The character analysis of the forty year old spinster is very vividly captured in the passages of this book.

[LauraT]

The Golden NotebookDhanaraj wrote: "@ Jenny: I liked the last paragraph of your post (n. 1121). Well said......"

Totally agree, even if it sometimes not easy to drop a book, especially if well considered!
But I've stopped feeling "obliged" to like it because the others consider it a masterpiecd - see my all in all impressions of

[Tweedledum]

Leslie wrote: "Tweedledum wrote: "Just finished Notes from Underground
Would I recommend it? Not for the casual reader but if you are interested in the history and development of themes in literature..."

Not sure I can but I'll have a go. Any Dostoyevsky buffs out there please do feel free to chip in....
Dostoyevsky is breaking new ground as an author by having the narrator.....the underground man constantly questioning and analysing his own thoughts, motives and feelings and commenting freely on his views of the thoughts, motives and feelings of others. In this respect it is important to be aware of when this was written.... Pre psycho-analysis days. He explores the question...

Why do rational intelligent educated people knowingly speak and act in ways that are contrary to their own health and well-being?

With our 21st century eyes we may look at the narrator and perhaps suggest here is someone who is severely depressed with a great lack of self esteem etc etc and prescribe perhaps a range of options to improve his life assuming, perhaps rather patronisingly that he himself needs to "get better" even if he doesn't want to. In Dostoyevsky's day there was no resorting to self analysis. Perhaps writing will be ultimately liberating for the narrator, perhaps not....indeed by his own acknowledgement we do not know how much of what he has written is "the truth" perhaps he doesn't know himself. Moreover these published notes are just a small selective fragment of a much greater body of notes selected, we are told, by a third party (the author if you will) who did not know the writer in person. ) so how far they are truly representative of the underground man's overall life and personality we cannot tell.

We now know Dostoyevsky suffered from partial complex seizures which will have affected his personality causing unexplained mood swings and several of his characters exhibit symptoms of this. So perhaps he is attempting, in this book to explore and rationalise behaviour, thoughts and feelings that cannot ever be rationalised. The underground man is trapped by his own thoughts and feelings. He seems to go out of his way to upset those he meets. He is inclined to rant not only in his personal notes but when he is speaking, for example to Liza, and this may also, with C21st century eyes be symptomatic of mental health problems.

Liza does of course need a friend and someone to rescue her but he rants, it seems, out of his need rather than hers and when she does seek him out is wholly unable to respond in an empathic and supporting way instead breaking down himself in tears so we realise his need for love and support is actually far greater than hers but he has no-one having alienated everyone, including Apollon his faithful servant, whom he is increasingly paranoid about withholding his pay etc.

Phew. Well writing has clarified it for me anyway!

[Leslie]

Wow, that was awesome Tweedledum!! Honestly, I didn't really expect you to try to explain it to me but that did help clarify some of it for me. :-)

[Leslie]

Best book of the year so far - Travesties by Tom Stoppard! A solid 5 stars. Probably will be most appreciated by fans of The Importance of Being Earnest who have read (at least in part) Ulysses but anyone who likes satire and parody should like it.

[Charbel]

Leslie wrote: "Best book of the year so far - Travesties by Tom Stoppard! A solid 5 stars. Probably will be most appreciated by fans of The Importance of Being Earnest who have read (at least in ..."

That sounds like my kind of book!

[Bionic Jean]

Alert for Tweedledum!!!

Your comment (1153 at the present time) should really be added to your review in my opinion! By all means tweak it if you like. I'd already read and "liked" your review, but I think it would be a great shame if these observations were lost in the "threads" of time...

[Tweedledum]

Jean wrote: "Alert for Tweedledum!!!

Your comment (1153 at the present time) should really be added to your review in my opinion! By all means tweak it if you like. I'd already read and "liked" your review, b..."

Why thanks Jean I will take your advice.