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What have you just read? Opinions, recommendations & reviews
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Heart of Darkness- Joseph ConradSecond reading and my feelings toward this book has taken a surprising turn
Marian wrote: "Heart of Darkness- Joseph ConradSecond reading and my feelings toward this book has taken a surprising turn"
I am in suspense! A turn up or down??
Initially I didn't respond well to the story, I felt uncomfortable reading the depiction of Africa and it's native in such a patronising and demeaning tone, but during my second reading I began to appreciate and favour the style of writing-and in doing so my understanding of the characters developed further. So id say a turn up!
That's interesting Marian. Maybe I'll have to read it again then. Because I can very much relate to your feeling of unease the first time around.
I read most of a collection of Truman Capote stories. Didn't bother with the last few though because I didn't really enjoy most of them.
The Virgin Suicides - Meh, its good, not great.
I have finished reading Kafka on the Shore and loved it! Yes, I recommend it above all if you like magic realism.
Beth wrote: "I just finished Twelve Years a Slave and I would recommend it to everyone."Agreed!
dely wrote: "I have finished reading Kafka on the Shore and loved it! Yes, I recommend it above all if you like magic realism."
Good to know, I still haven't read any, though I really want to.
Alan wrote: "The Virgin Suicides - Meh, its good, not great."
I really didn't like this much, though I seem to be in the minority.
I just bought and read this afternoon Dotter of Her Father's Eyes which I adored. I thought the art work was great and the story was really interesting, paralleling the author's childhood with that of Lucia Joyce (James Joyce's daughter) I definitely recommend this to everyone, though it's made me dislike James Joyce a little more than I already did!
Just finished The Woman in White by Wilkie Collinsit was really good. Highly recommended for lovers of Victorian fiction and Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes
Pink wrote: "dely wrote: "I have finished reading Kafka on the Shore and loved it! Y..."
I have read only Norwegian Wood and Kafka on the shore and liked both though they aren't similar. The second one is magic realism and the first one's main theme is youth suicide, so it's a little bit depressing and gloomy. But Murakami's writing style is amazing and he is able to catch the reader's attention.
I just finished Middlemarch. It was really good.
Dely, I've heard that Norwegian wood is more 'normal' in style, whereas Murakami usually writes more magical and strange themes. I've also heard that his female characters can be quite one dimensional and he's been criticised for being misogynistic in his writing. I'd still really like to try something though, I'm thinking of picking up The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle it's so hard knowing where to start with authors that have so many works! Charbel, I'm jealous that you've finished this already, I've been going so slow with Middlemarch, mostly because I've been listening on audiobook, though I'll keep at it even if it takes a while.
Charbel wrote: "I just finished Middlemarch. It was really good."Wow, I didn't realise you were so near to finishing! You must have done some serious reading in the last few days! I'm still plodding on with it, about half way through now...
I enjoyed Eleven on Top. It was a pretty good book 11 of the Stephanie plum series. If you like a story where a girl keeps on getting her cars blown up, you'll like the series plus she has two hot guys stalking her and her friend is a no-nonsense ex ho named Lula. and her grandma is a hoot. If that tempts you, then the Stephanie plum series is for you. :)
Alan wrote: "The Virgin Suicides - Meh, its good, not great."I felt that way about the film... it didn't make me want to read the book either. Have you read other books by Jeffrey Eugenides?
Amber wrote: "I enjoyed Eleven on Top. It was a pretty good book 11 of the Stephanie plum series. If you like a story where a girl keeps on getting her cars blown up, you'll like the series plus she..."I like those books! Although not recommended for people who don't like swearing :P Are you reading them in order Amber?
Yes I am Leslie. ^_^ I just got done with book 11 of 21 now and have decided to read 1 or two of them a year until I finish with the series. started the series when I saw the film because the movie hooked me on the series and I enjoyed it.
If you like spy thrillers, I would recommend From Russia with Love, the 5th James Bond book by Ian Fleming. This one is classic Cold War espionage to some extent, but still plenty of action & very exciting finish. And if you have never read the books, I find Bond is a more realistic person in the books than he is in the movies.
cool leslie. I'm not a big bond fan anyway. :) LOL.
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Gkad you liked it. It is one of my favourite book!
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Same as before: this is a real masterpiece.
Pink wrote: "Dely, I've heard that Norwegian wood is more 'normal' in style, whereas Murakami usually writes more magical and strange themes. I've also heard that his female characters can be quite one dimensio..."I really don't know, in the two books I have read the female characters were good, they had their personality and there was nothing misogynous. On the contrary, there were indipendent female characters.
That's good to hear Dely, as I don't want to be put off before even trying them!
I'm reading You Gotta Have Balls: A Novel byLily Brett. I've read one of her other books and although I'm enjoying the story, it's a little hard to her through. The main character is slightly irritating and selfish which is making it hard to read!
Just finished Grazia Deledda's The Mother - A Novel. A 'forbidden love' and its effects on one's emotions and emotions of one's relations are narrated in the form of a story. For me, it is a Four Star book...
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LauraT wrote: "Finished the overfamous first book of the The Hunger Games. A nice and easy read; I can recomend it if yuo like to break with some easy book..."I was surprised but i actually really liked the book
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I was surprised but i ..."
Same here.
Ditto . I really liked the whole series .
So just finished the Book Thief, so i will give a wee review here for you all. I thought it was pretty damn good. I loved the narrative structure, really quite a quick read, never bored, plot was excellent. I really liked Rosa/Hans/Max and Rudy but never REALLY got into Liesel, which might have prevented me calling this top 3 books I have ever read. Overall would give this 4 1/2 stars. Great Book, read it.
I just finished The Space Between Us and I really liked it a lot. I wrote a review and gave it 5 stars - worth reading, for sure.
Finished reading Fernando Pessoa's L'ora del diavolo. I am not sure that it is translated into English. But it is a fantastic entertainer that makes you to meditate on many philosophical questions (Nature of God, Nature of Devil, Nature of Religion/s, etc.). I had a great time with it.
Just finished and reviewed Life After Lifeit was a brilliant exciting and moving.Loved the main character and her plethora of siblings and especially her wayward Aunt 'Izzie'.
Tracey wrote: "Just finished and reviewed Life After Lifeit was a brilliant exciting and moving.Loved the main character and her plethora of siblings and especially her wayward Aunt 'Izzie'."
ooh good, I will look forward to reading that as it's on my kindle.
In these days I have read two books about cats (and now I will start the third) for my personal challenge.The first one is Felidae by Akif Pirinçci and it is the first book of a mystery series for children. Francis is a cat and also a detective and wants to know who and why is killing cats in his district.
The second one is a collection of very short stories about cats and other animals, written by a famous Italian ethologist: Gatti, gatti, gatti e altre storie and there is no English edition.
Both were ok reads, nothing special. I have read better books about cats so I don't recommend these two a lot.
I just finished My Mother Was Nuts which was written by Penny Marshall. It was a fast, easy read (I read most of it on the plane from Florida to New Jersey) and it was quick and light which is a nice change of pace from all of the serious and intense stuff I read in February.
I read The Enchanted Castle by Nesbit yesterday which is a nice children's story about a magic ring. I don't know why I hadn't read this as a child since her book Five Children and It was one of my favorites...
Just finished The Reluctant Fundamentalist: A Novel today and yes I'd recommend it. It wasn't quite as brilliant as I'd hoped, but was a really good read.
Just finished The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History, and it was quite excellent and eye-opening. A very readable summary of the devastation man is exerting on planet Earth.
@Alan I have also just finished The Book Thief. It was a re-read for me and I couldn't recommend it more. The thing that grips me most is the way Death (who is the narrator) sees life it's fascinating. I would advise read with tissues because I blubbed. Is anyone planning to see the film?Recently finished A Tale of Two Cities also. It took a while to get into it but the end is so worth the wait.
Just recently finishedThe Year of the Flood for the second time around. Felt compelled to write a review. I feel sure Margaret Attwood's Maddaddam trilogy is set to become a classic. Let's hope it doesn't become a reality! Do do do read these. Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood, MaddAddam.
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I love almost all her books. Daniel Deronda is really good