What have you just read? Opinions, recommendations & reviews Showing 1,251-1,300 of 12,687

[dely]

LauraT wrote: "dely wrote: "Today I've started and finished Embers by Sándor Márai and I absolutely recommend it! It has a wonderful prose, a deep insight in human nature and reflec..."

Let me know what you think about it. It seems interesting.

[Dhanaraj]

@Laura and dely: I think Sandor Marai and Javier Marias are different. One is a Hungarian and the other is a Spaniard.

[LauraT]

Dhanaraj wrote: "@Laura and dely: I think Sandor Marai and Javier Marias are different. One is a Hungarian and the other is a Spaniard."

OOps! My mistake!!!!

[Dhanaraj]

LauraT wrote: "Dhanaraj wrote: "@Laura and dely: I think Sandor Marai and Javier Marias are different. One is a Hungarian and the other is a Spaniard."

OOps! My mistake!!!!"

Lol.................

[dely]

Lol :D

[Jenny]

LOL, but Laura is right! It IS a great book! ....just by an entirely different author ;)))

[Terry]

'Nice Work,' by David Lodge. It is exactly what it says on the cover.There is not a more literate or funny currently writing.

[Leslie]

Terry wrote: "'Nice Work,' by David Lodge. It is exactly what it says on the cover.There is not a more literate or funny currently writing."

I have a David Lodge book awaiting my time- I have never read his work before. Who would you compare him to?

[Bionic Jean]

I really enjoyed Nice Work too. And Therapy . And Changing Places: A Tale of Two Campuses which is the first in a trilogy about British/American Acadaemia you in particular might enjoy, Leslie!

Not sure who I'd compare him with though. Michael Frayn maybe? Or Tom Sharpe ?

Over to you, Terry! :D

[Leslie]

Jean wrote: "I really enjoyed Nice Work too. And Therapy . And Changing Places: A Tale of Two Campuses which is the first in a trilogy about British/American Acadaemia y..."

Changing Places is the one I have :)

[Bionic Jean]

Oh good :D

[Joy]

I'm a big fan of David Lodge too. I think my favourite is Paradise News. He once sent my husband a handwritten reply when he had written to him to say how much we'd enjoyed his book.

[Nicole]

Alessia wrote: "Leslie wrote: "Isn't that a Somerset Maugham book? I just started reading his work last year... Looks like I will be adding another to my TBR pile! "

Yes Leslie, it's a Somerset Maugham novel. I'd..."

I enjoyed the film as well! Have not read the book though. The Painted Veil

[Nicole]

Leslie wrote: "I just finished listening to the audiobook of Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr.. I would strongly recommend it to anyone who is interested in civ..."

I believe I read this back in college. I remember it being powerful. Would like to read again. I also have The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. on my TBR. Want to get it to this year.

[LauraT]

Leslie wrote: "Terry wrote: "'Nice Work,' by David Lodge. It is exactly what it says on the cover.There is not a more literate or funny currently writing."

I have a David Lodge book awaiting my time- I have neve..."

I used to read his books in University. It's ages since I've had one in my had. Time for a retake?

[Bionic Jean]

Look like we might have a mini-fan club for David Lodge brewing! Readalongs?

[Leslie]

Joy wrote: "I'm a big fan of David Lodge too. I think my favourite is Paradise News. He once sent my husband a handwritten reply when he had written to him to say how much we'd enjo..."

That's cool!

I would like to read my copy of Changing Places but it won't be for a few weeks.

[Amber]

Peter pan was pretty good. I enjoyed it.

[Charbel]

Amber wrote: "Peter pan was pretty good. I enjoyed it."

Glad you enjoyed it!

[Bionic Jean]

So am I Amber! The original's so very different from all the retellings isn't it? I know you'll write a review when you get the chance :) Here's my review of "Peter Pan" if you'd like to read it. (I've also done 2 shorter reviews of different retellings of the story.)

[Amber]

I'm going to write my review today jean. This one is my 2nd fave peter pan story as the child thief by brom is my fave version of it. I posted at the book reccomendation swap here about it here.

[Amber]

I just posted my review of Peter Pan if anyone wants to go read it. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Petra]

LauraT wrote: Petra wrote: "I just finished reading Wit. It's a wonderful play of kindness and strength. I really enjoyed it. It hit a bit close to home (my mom passed away from Cancer) but it was a true look at..."
Never heard about it Petra, but if you've liked I'll give it a look: usually your suggestions are good ones!
..."

Aw, thanks, Laura!

[Petra]

LauraT wrote: By him I've been recomanded Tomorrow in the Battle Think on Me. Still to go though
..."

This really sounds good. Added to my TBR list.

[Petra]

I finished both Bad Monkey and To Build a Fire and Other Stories today.

Bad Monkey was an audio and I really enjoyed it. It's light, quirky, has many story threads that slowly come together and is a twisted murder mystery. The characters are friendly and interesting.

I also enjoyed reading the stories of Jack London. I don't read many short stories but I found many of these to be very interesting. Jack London isn't just about the arctic, snow & ice. My favorite stories weren't in the North at all. He's a very interesting and varied author.

[LauraT]

Petra wrote: "I finished both Bad Monkey and To Build a Fire and Other Stories today.

Bad Monkey was an audio and I really enjoyed it. It's light, quirky, has many story threads th..."

And now it's my turn again to write titles down ...

[Dhanaraj]

Finished reading Italo Calvino's The Castle of Crossed Destinies. The more I read Calvino the more I admire him. A fantastic book and recommended for sure.....

[Alannah]

Lynne wrote: "I've just read a lovely YA story by Goodreads author Joy Stephenson, called The Soul-Travellers. Well worth checking out if you want a light, pleasant read."

It sounds really interesting.

[Leslie]

I finished The Good Earth today. Once I got over my indignation at 1920s Chinese attitudes towards women, I found it a compelling and at times heart-breaking story. Interestingly, I persisted in thinking that O-lan was the main character (view spoiler)[even though she died halfway through! I think that the movie version I saw as a teen ended at this point, which definitely skewed the story (hide spoiler)].

I would recommend it.

[Amber]

Littletown Secrets was a pretty good short story collection. I enjoyed it. :)

[Nicole]

Leslie wrote: "I finished The Good Earth today. Once I got over my indignation at 1920s Chinese attitudes towards women, I found it a compelling and at times heart-breaking story. Interestingly, ..."

Glad you at least appreciated, if not enjoyed it, Leslie. Did you know about Sons and A House Divided? I haven't read them yet, but want to in the future!

[Amber]

just finished Andragathiaand it was a pretty good read. you can read it for free and download it to your ereading device on goodreads right now as the author offered it for free here.

[Leslie]

Nicole wrote: "Leslie wrote: "I finished The Good Earth today. Once I got over my indignation at 1920s Chinese attitudes towards women, I found it a compelling and at times heart-breaking story. ..."

I did enjoy it - but didn't you get mad at the way girls were treated? As property of the father, to work and perhaps be sold if times were hard?

[dely]

I have finished Dove nessuno ti troverà by Alicia Giménez Bartlett (sorry, no English edition) and really liked it.
It talks about a French psychiatrist that goes to Spain looking for La Pastora, a female brigand of the anti-Franco resistance who was hiding from the Civil Guard. He is helped by a Spanish journalist who knows the country and knows how to move. The psychiatrist want to meet this legendary figure to talk to her in order to understand better her criminal mind. The book alternates the journey of these two men with a kind of diary of La Pastora where she talks about what really happened in her life.
It was really interesting a engrossing and I would recommend it but it has never been translated into English.

[Charbel]

I just finished The Monk by Matthew Gregory Lewis. It was okay.

[Elena]

Just got finished with Dark Matter by Michelle Paver, and I loved it! recommending to everyone who loves mystery and horror :)

[Leslie]

Charbel wrote: "I just finished The Monk by Matthew Gregory Lewis. It was okay."

Just OK? That's a bit disappointing. I will move it down a bit in my TBR...

[Shirley]

Elena wrote: "Just got finished with Dark Matter by Michelle Paver, and I loved it! recommending to everyone who loves mystery and horror :)"

I enjoyed that one, too.

[Petra]

Charbel wrote: "I just finished The Monk by Matthew Gregory Lewis. It was okay."

Why just okay? I found it highly entertaining and gothic. It was a humorous romp into hell, I thought.
Lewis wrote this in his teens, didn't he?

[Petra]

Leslie wrote: "Nicole wrote: "Leslie wrote: "I finished The Good Earth today. Once I got over my indignation at 1920s Chinese attitudes towards women, I found it a compelling and at times heart-breaking story. ..."

I did enjoy it - but didn't you get mad at the way girls were treated? As property of the father, to work and perhaps be sold if times were hard?
..."

But that's the way it was/is. I would hope that things have changed and, if I could, would try to help change things. However, this isn't the only society where women are devalued......ours was the same at some point. Girls have been treated as property in all societies at some point or another.
Do we get mad when we read about a young girl given in marriage, without her consent and/or against her wishes, so that the family fortune can be increased?

[Leslie]

Petra wrote: "Leslie wrote: "Nicole wrote: "Leslie wrote: "I finished The Good Earth today. Once I got over my indignation at 1920s Chinese attitudes towards women, I found it a compelling and at..."

Well, yes, I do! But as I said, that doesn't prevent me from enjoying the story. I agree that that was a true reflection of the culture, and that is one reason this book is worth reading.

[dely]

Yesterday I have read a very short book: Fraulein Else by Arthur Schnitzler.
It was a good read about a 19 years old girl who must help her father from a dept. The whole book is an inner monologue with the thoughts of this girl, Else, because she doesn't know what to do.
I recommend it only if you like reading streams of consciousness.

[LauraT]

Just finished L'amore graffia il mondo which I don't think has been translated into english. A pity since it is quite a good book, especially because it overturns the usual "vision" of mother child relationship, where, especially in Italy, it is considered normal for a mother to sacrifice everything for her children: her life, her love, her dreams ... I would have liked it to be written by a woman...

[dely]

LauraT wrote: "Just finished L'amore graffia il mondo which I don't think has been translated into english. A pity since it is quite a good book, especially because it overturns the usual "vision"..."

Added to my wishlist, it seems interesting.

[Beth]

I just finished The Good Lord Bird and I don't recommend it. It was slow and difficult to read - an interesting story but told in such a way that made reading the book feel like a lot of work.

[LauraT]

dely wrote: "LauraT wrote: "Just finished L'amore graffia il mondo which I don't think has been translated into english. A pity since it is quite a good book, especially because it overturns the..."

It is, at least I found it so! Let me know what you think of it!

[Dhanaraj]

Finished reading Christa Wolf's Cassandra: A Novel and Four Essays. A fantastic retelling of the well known story - The Fall of Troy. It is a Five Star book and is highly recommended.

[LauraT]

Dhanaraj wrote: "Finished reading Christa Wolf's Cassandra: A Novel and Four Essays. A fantastic retelling of the well known story - The Fall of Troy. It is a Five Star book and is highly recommended."

One of the book I prefere by her

[Laurel]

I've just finished Daniel Deronda by George Eliot. Loved it! Eliot's writing is so good I just get totally sucked into the novel even if it isn't fast-paced at all and liked the way it was a very sympathetic portrayal of Jewish people for the time.

[Jenny]

I should read more by her! I've added Daniel Deronda, thanks!