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General Archive > What have you just read? Opinions, recommendations & reviews

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message 101: by Katy (new)

Katy | 422 comments Gemma wrote: "I am going to have to admit defeat with The Virgin Suicides. I am at page 100, half way through. And have realised that I have absolutely no idea what is going on. It grabs my attention, and then g..."

Don't worry, Gemma. I just finished it and found it completely unrealistic.


message 102: by Melissa (new)

Melissa | 74 comments I just read The Silver Star and it was wonderful. Jeanette Walls creates an interesting main character who you just want to keep learning about.


message 103: by Rowena (new)

Rowena | 364 comments Mod
I just finished Hallucinating Foucault by Patricia Duncker. I would highly recommend it!


message 104: by Leslie (new)

Leslie | 16369 comments I just finished a short story collection, Tales of the Night by Peter Hoeg. It was lovely; if you like short stories at all, I would recommend it.


message 105: by LauraT (new)

LauraT (laurata) | 14372 comments Mod
Finished wuth Prestiti scaduti: really well written. I don't know if it has been translated into english


message 106: by Charbel (new)

Charbel (queez) | 2729 comments I just finished The Cuckoo's Calling. It wasn't bad at all. Though the investigating ran a bit long, the confrontation was thrilling and I could feel my heart beating as the killer was revealed (don't want to spoil it to those who haven't read it yet).


message 107: by LauraT (new)

LauraT (laurata) | 14372 comments Mod
Charbel wrote: "I just finished The Cuckoo's Calling. It wasn't bad at all. Though the investigating ran a bit long, the confrontation was thrilling and I could feel my heart beating as the killer was revealed (do..."

I had the same feeling, I quite liked it on the whole. But for almost the first time, only 40/50 pages before the end, I can boast to have guessed who the killer was. And I never guess right!!!


message 108: by Alannah (new)

Alannah Clarke (alannahclarke) | 14719 comments Mod
Charbel wrote: "I just finished The Cuckoo's Calling. It wasn't bad at all. Though the investigating ran a bit long, the confrontation was thrilling and I could feel my heart beating as the killer was revealed (do..."

I would love to read it sometime.


message 109: by [deleted user] (new)

Finished Where Rainbows End by Cecelia Ahern last night. It made me cry haha :-) a solid 4 stars. I would recommend it if you like chick lit or are looking for a cute romance. I read it in about 4 hours so it's a nice and quick read also.


message 110: by Joy (new)

Joy Stephenson (joyfrankie) | 243 comments I've just read The King of Torts by John Grisham and ultimately it was rather disappointing. Up to about half way I found it very gripping, but then there needed to be something more unexpected in plot development; it became quite pedestrian.
However because the first half was so good, I might try another by the same author in a while.


message 111: by Alannah (new)

Alannah Clarke (alannahclarke) | 14719 comments Mod
Becca wrote: "Finished Where Rainbows End by Cecelia Ahern last night. It made me cry haha :-) a solid 4 stars. I would recommend it if you like chick lit or are looking for a cute romance. I read it in about..."

I have been seeing that everywhere. I might check it out for myself.


message 112: by Leslie (new)

Leslie | 16369 comments Joy wrote: "I've just read The King of Torts by John Grisham and ultimately it was rather disappointing. Up to about half way I found it very gripping, but then there needed to be something more unexpected in ..."

I found his earlier books better - I had the same reaction you describe with a couple of the later ones and have now stopped getting the new ones.


message 113: by Leslie (new)

Leslie | 16369 comments I finished my monthly poetry book, Answering Back: Living Poets Reply to the Poetry of the Past and a play by Swedish author August Strindberg, Miss Julie.


message 114: by Jenny (new)

Jenny (jeoblivion) | 4893 comments How did you like Miss Julie Leslie?


message 115: by Joy (new)

Joy Stephenson (joyfrankie) | 243 comments Leslie - thanks for tip re: John Grisham - I'll try an early one.

I've just read The Ocean at the End of the Lane and loved it. Definitely going to try some more Neil Gaiman.


message 116: by Leslie (last edited Aug 21, 2013 06:31AM) (new)

Leslie | 16369 comments Jenny wrote: "How did you like Miss Julie Leslie?"

Very good play! I wrote a bit about it under the play thread here. I seem to be stuck in Scandinavian mode :D

@Joy, a lot of people think A Time to Kill is his best (I had some issues with it but it was well-written). I like The Client and The Rainmaker...


message 117: by LauraT (new)

LauraT (laurata) | 14372 comments Mod
Leslie wrote: "Jenny wrote: "How did you like Miss Julie Leslie?"

Very good play! I wrote a bit about it under the play thread here. I seem to be stuck in Scandinavian mode :D

@Joy, a lot of people think A Time to Kill is his best (I had some issues with it but it was well-written). I like The Client and The Rainmaker... "


The Rainmaker was my first Grisham - on a marveluos beach in Cuba, Playa Pilar, and I think it's his best. But probably because I have it linked with such a great time!!!


message 118: by Dhanaraj (new)

Dhanaraj Rajan | 2962 comments I have not read much of Grisham. But among the books I have read I liked The Firm, The Pelican Brief and The Rainmaker.


message 119: by Alannah (last edited Aug 21, 2013 01:39PM) (new)

Alannah Clarke (alannahclarke) | 14719 comments Mod
Just finished Wanted for a read to review, it was really something different. I loved it. Before, I still felt in a bit of a slump so hopefully this would take me out of it.


message 120: by Jo (new)

Jo (new_romantic) I've just finished reading The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry today, I liked it but there were parts that were a little boring. I gave it 3 stars.

I've also finished Brunderfold which was given to me free in exchange for a review. It was okay, the characters were a bit flat and whilst the plot was interesting more could have been done with it. It was one of those books that, for me, didn't work as book but it would have made an awesome film.


message 121: by Leslie (new)

Leslie | 16369 comments I finished The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn today. A good British police procedural mystery but probably not the book to change your mind about mysteries if you don't like them already. (Does that make any sense?)


message 122: by Maggie (last edited Aug 23, 2013 06:37AM) (new)

Maggie | 537 comments I finished A Vision of Loveliness by Louise Levene last night - when I started it I did think 'oh no' but actually I really enjoyed it. I loved the description of London - and life - in the '60's. I thought it was going to be a silly book but actually it wasn't. I'd definitely recommend it.
A Vision of Loveliness - Louise Levene


message 123: by Leslie (new)

Leslie | 16369 comments @Maggie - can you please include the book title in your posts in the future? I can't see book covers in the mobile app on my iPod... Thanks!


message 124: by Maggie (new)

Maggie | 537 comments Ooops, sorry Leslie - new to it all!


message 125: by Dhanaraj (new)

Dhanaraj Rajan | 2962 comments Finished reading a short story collection by Virginia Woolf titled The Lady in the Looking Glass. A three star book. The last story in the collection, titled LAPPIN AND THE LAPINOVA was the best of all.


message 126: by Petra (last edited Aug 22, 2013 07:25AM) (new)

Petra | 3324 comments @Joy: I enjoyed The Eyre Affair, too. The second book is better yet. I'm looking forward to continuing the series.
Also, if you've only read the one Neil Gaiman book, you're in for a treat. His books are so much fun. I really enjoyed Neverwhere (my favorite), American Gods and The Graveyard Book

I finished listening to the audio of Slaughterhouse-Five and thoroughly enjoyed it. This is a book that begs to be read in the written form. I'm looking forward to reading other books by Vonnegut.


message 127: by Joy (new)

Joy Stephenson (joyfrankie) | 243 comments Petra - Yes I'm a big Jasper Fforde fan - the Thursday next series is one I keep re-reading. Thanks for the Neil Gaiman suggestions - I don't know why I've never tried them before, but I'm going to remedy that now.


message 128: by LauraT (new)

LauraT (laurata) | 14372 comments Mod
Petra wrote: "@Joy: I enjoyed The Eyre Affair, too. The second book is better yet. I'm looking forward to continuing the series.
Also, if you've only read the one Neil Gaiman book, you're in for a treat. His boo..."


Me too!


message 129: by [deleted user] (new)

Alannah wrote: "Becca wrote: "Finished Where Rainbows End by Cecelia Ahern last night. It made me cry haha :-) a solid 4 stars. I would recommend it if you like chick lit or are looking for a cute romance. I re..."

I have had it for ages so when I saw that it was being turned into a movie with Lily Collins in it I thought I may as well give it a go. It's really easy to read.


message 130: by Leslie (new)

Leslie | 16369 comments Just finished rereading The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax, which is a spy thriller with a humorous twist. Written in 1966, the Cold War attitudes might seem dated to younger readers but I love it!


message 131: by Alannah (new)

Alannah Clarke (alannahclarke) | 14719 comments Mod
After finally finishing The Pact and The Watchers, I can see why I was in a bit of a reading slump. They weren't interesting books.

Hopefully Fracture and The Light Between Oceans will be better. Just have to wait for my kindle to charge.


message 132: by Alannah (new)

Alannah Clarke (alannahclarke) | 14719 comments Mod
Becca wrote: "Alannah wrote: "Becca wrote: "Finished Where Rainbows End by Cecelia Ahern last night. It made me cry haha :-) a solid 4 stars. I would recommend it if you like chick lit or are looking for a cut..."

That's cool, I think that's the sort of thing I want when I'm at university. Something that will take my mind off uni work and not feel like I'm reading another book for English. That's the downside of an English degree sometimes.


message 133: by Paige (new)

Paige | 33 comments Hello!
I just finished "Fractured" by Karin Slaughter and at first I thought it would be a quick thriller, but I found that I was often losing track of the characters. I don't know if it was because I kept getting interrupted when reading?? I did not think he really gave any depth to his characters. There was no plot really they were just trying to find the killer. Has anyone else read this book? What do you think of this author?
I have now switched and am reading "life Code" by Dr Phil McGraw. Quite a change in subject huh? I often do that, read a thriller then read a non fiction book or a Biography. Got to keep life interesting! ;.)
Paige


message 134: by Chris (new)

Chris (cdavies1951) | 80 comments I just finished The Winter Sea and thought it was amazing. Of all the books I've read this year, this is the one I wish I could have written. I gave it ♥♥♥♥♥ and meant it!


message 135: by Tracey (new)

Tracey (traceypb) | 1193 comments finished Bitter GreensBitter Greens I loved it and would recommend it to anyone who likes adult fairytales with great historical fact woven into the story 41/2 stars from me :)


message 136: by Leslie (new)

Leslie | 16369 comments Paige wrote: "Hello!
I just finished "Fractured" by Karin Slaughter and at first I thought it would be a quick thriller, but I found that I was often losing track of the characters. I don't know if it was bec..."


Karin Slaughter is an author I have considered reading but haven't as yet. Thanks for the review - I'll move her (him?) to the back burner.


message 137: by Amber (new)

Amber (amberterminatorofgoodreads) I read The Fault in Our Starsrecently and it is a pretty good and sad read. I'd definitely recommend it for others to check out. It was the One Book pick for this year in the Read to Succeed's One Book program at my local library and I finally got a chance to read it.


message 138: by Laurel (new)

Laurel | 283 comments Just finished Sea of Poppies - would recommend this to anyone who likes historical fiction and seafaring.
Also Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal which was so sad but uplifting at the same (does that make sense?) - he does actually find a lot of these children's parents which is amazing!


message 139: by Tweedledum (new)

Tweedledum  (tweedledum) | 2167 comments I have just finished listening to The Antigallican by Tom Bowling , an audiobook I only picked up in the library because my daughter now lives near a pub of the same name and I wanted to know what it referred to. It proved to be a very exciting book about a particular period of naval history specifically 1794 when the French navy was really reeling from the impact of the revolution while being charged with getting grain to France to feed the country. I thoroughly enjoyed it even though the minute detail about life on board at times was immense. I think I may have struggled because of this if I been reading it in the traditional way but really glad to have found it. By the way an Antigallican was a term used then by British sailors who were charged with fighting the French.


message 140: by Tweedledum (new)

Tweedledum  (tweedledum) | 2167 comments Abi wrote: "I've just finished Swimming Home by Deborah Levy, which I started and finished on a train journey from Eastborne to Birmingham - so I think that shows how much I liked it!

I'm not overly sure ho..."


I have this book on my shelves and had "collected it" purely because I was in a phase of collecting Faber and Faber books. I will check it out!


message 141: by Tweedledum (new)

Tweedledum  (tweedledum) | 2167 comments Leslie wrote: "I just finished A Coffin for Dimitrios by Eric Ambler - 4 1/2 stars. This is a classic thriller (written in 1939) but not big on action (although the ending is quite suspenseful) so it won't be to..."

Ah Eric Ambler. Just discovered him 2 years ago and have read just one book of his...not this one...must go back and check...my memory is letting me down here.


message 142: by Tweedledum (new)

Tweedledum  (tweedledum) | 2167 comments Shirley wrote: "Jo wrote: "I've just this moment finished Possession by A. S. Byatt. It has taken me ages to read. I wanted to put it down but I didn't want to miss anything but I didn't miss out on anything. The ..."

I discovered Possession because of the film which I loved. I too had a similar reading experience to you. It was a hard slog to get through but I was glad I did. I couldn't decided afterwards whether it was written that way to emulate the introspective way many less than famous Victorian authors wrote or whether this is A.S. Byatt's style!


message 143: by dely (new)

dely | 5214 comments I have finished La verità sul caso Harry Quebert by Joël Dicker (you must wait for an English edition but I have heard it will be soon translated).
It is a mystery/thriller, kind of book I would have never read but a neighbor lent it to me. For me it was just an ok read. It is too long and prolix and after a while I had enough of all the twists and turns. I had also enough of a love story among two characters because the dialogues were so trivial and childish; there were some parts who should have been funny but also these ones, after a while, were irritating and useless. Some parts are really repetitive and stereotyped like the rude policeman that at the end was kind and helps the other investigator and they become friends.
I don't know if it could be a book to recommend to mystery readers. I didn't enjoy it a lot but, as said before, I am not a mystery reader.


message 144: by Leslie (new)

Leslie | 16369 comments I finished Treasure Island yesterday and would recommend it to anyone who likes adventure stories or pirates!


message 145: by LauraT (new)

LauraT (laurata) | 14372 comments Mod
Finished Death In OsloDeath In Oslo: didn't like it at all: it doesn't stand on its feet!!!


message 146: by Joy (new)

Joy Stephenson (joyfrankie) | 243 comments Leslie wrote: "I finished Treasure Island yesterday and would recommend it to anyone who likes adventure stories or pirates!"

Treasure Island is great isn't it - and it reads in a surprisingly modern way.


message 147: by Amber (last edited Aug 27, 2013 07:44PM) (new)

Amber (amberterminatorofgoodreads) I just finished No Return and it was a pretty good read. I just reviewed it. Here's the link to my review of no return: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... . I hope you guys will check it out. They are doing a giveaway on it too. :-)


message 148: by Leslie (new)

Leslie | 16369 comments For anyone who likes thrillers, crimes stories, or noir, I highly recommend Graham Greene's A Gun for Sale (published in the U.S. as This Gun for Hire)! It is quite short (my copy was 121 pages) but I literally couldn't put it down once I started reading it.


message 149: by Shirley (new)

Shirley | 4177 comments I've just finished The Light Between Oceans - will talk about it more in the group reads thread, but I would recommend it!


message 150: by Ramona (new)

Ramona Boldizsar (ramonaboldizsar) I just finished reading The Libation Bearers by Aeschylus. I've been going through the antique literature -well, just a little bit- this summer. I've been reading Sophocles and am currently reading Aeschylus.

Do I recommend The libation bearers? well, now that is a rough question. I wouldn't recommend starting with it because it would not make much sense. This play is part of a trilogy, Orestia (Aeschylus wrote most trilogies, even though many of them are lost today), and it is the second, the first is 'Agamemnon' and the third 'Eumenides' (that I shall be reading tomorrow). For someone who hasn't yet been initiated to the antiques, it is rather scary to start reading them out of nowhere. They may bore and you could also -just possibly - miss the hint of it. I, for myself, believe they are incredibly beautiful and I am always amazed by the fact that we are still able of reading them today -ages away from the time they actually wrote them.

The Libation Bearers is a great play (even though I prefer Sophocles' 'Electra', which tells the story of the same Orestes...).
As it is, I had an exquisite read


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