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What have you just read? Opinions, recommendations & reviews
Nope, I can't say I agree I am glad you liked it, Kristi!
Jamie wrote: "@RahatI've been wanting to read Mr Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore for ages now but the Central Library here does not have it. I might have to buy it now :-)"
Jamie do buy it, it will be an awesome addition to your personal library :)
Kristi wrote: "Chrissie wrote: " wrote: "I finished All the Light We Cannot See last night. I was as good as the GR ratings led me to believe it would be. It's of course sad, since it's abou..."Kristie ,
I loved the book as well . I agree with you about the diamond - you don't have to believe in the magic but it was a part of the story . This book really moved me . Glad you liked it too .
I recently finished Daughter of Smoke & Bone and rated it 4.5. I liked the uniqueness of the storyline and authors style.Also The Invention of Wings which started off slow for me but ended up really enjoying the second half and gave it a 4.
Meera, I loved The Invention of Wings also , especially after reading the author's notes getting a clearer picture of the courageous women she based the book on .
After Virgina Woolf I needed something easy and light so I've read a short book with anectodes and short stories about cats: Ketta & company. I gatti vedono attraverso i muri? by Laura Sergi 3/5Sorry, but there isn't an English edition.
The author and her husband are volunteers of a cat shelter in the city where I live and they also write and sell these books to help the shelter (the incomes are used entirely for the shelter).
There are only true stories and they are enjoyable and nice.
Yes, I recommend it because you read something nice and in the same time you help the shelter.
Over the past few days, I finished The Polished Hoe and Someone Knows My Name (also called The Book of Negroes).I really enjoyed Someone Knows My Name. Aminata is a very solid character and her story is one of hardship but also of courage and strength.
I did feel that Hill rather romanticized slavery a little bit. Aminata seems to meet the right people & be in the right place for good things to happen to her. She also seems to have all the bad things happen to those around her to add to her suffering.
I came away not liking The Polished Hoe. I listened to the audio, which was wonderfully done. The accents and personalities of Sarge & Mary Matilda really came through well. The story of Bimshire (Barbados) (history, people, culture) was interesting as well.
However, all of that was buried under repetition, dullness and general tedium. There were parts that were fascinating, then there were so many other parts just went on and on, repeating was was already said....and then, just in case you missed it, was repeated again soon after.
In the end, this could have been good but needed a lot of editing.
I've just read two very different books: To Kill a Mockingbird and The Calling. Both very good in very different ways. I have some catching up to do with reviews, but hope to catch up this weekend now I'm back home...
Shirley, you might want to check out Truman Capote's Other Voices, Other Rooms. Capote's Idabel Thompkins, in this book, is said to be Harper Lee, just as Lee's Dill is young Capote in To Kill a Mockingbird. I hope you loved TKAMB!!!!
I've just finished Homage to Catalonia, which is amazing! Apart from telling his real life experiences with the Spanish Civil War, Orwell gives an elucidating analysis of the complexities (some sinister) of the political scene in Spain in the pre-World-War-II period.My review:-
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Chrissie wrote: "Shirley, you might want to check out Truman Capote's Other Voices, Other Rooms. Capote's Idabel Thompkins, in this book, is said to be Harper Lee, just as Lee's Dill is young Capote in ..."Chrissie, I did! It was my second time of reading, and I thought it was excellent, far better than I remembered from school. I haven't read anything by Truman Capote yet, although I do intend reading Breakfast at Tiffanys. Perhaps I will also look out for Other Voices, Other Rooms too, so thanks for the recommendation!
I just read a wonderful book Five Quarters of an Orange which I found on the shelves of our holiday cottage. The book tells the story of a young girl in rural France during the second world war. There is a wonderful mixture of descriptions of French cooking and a rural childhood on the banks of the Loire alongside a very dark storyline. I would highly recommend and gave it 5*. The author, Joanne Harris, also wrote Chocolate which I have not read but have seen the film of. That is next on my list now
Shirley wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "Shirley, you might want to check out Truman Capote's Other Voices, Other Rooms. Capote's Idabel Thompkins, in this book, is said to be Harper Lee, just as Lee's Dill is..."I haven't read Other Voices, Other Rooms yet, but I want to.
Me too - I reread To Kill a Mockingbird a year or two ago, having earlier read it as a child. It was even better on the reread!!! I appreciated even more how the characters relate and the lines.
I definitely recommend In Cold Blood. It is a "true crime novel". It is exciting and will keep your head whirring. I think it will be most interesting to those of you who like books about psychology, what makes people tick. It is all about what is going on in the heads of the criminals, the victims and the people in the community where the murders occurred. Exciting and interesting and fascinating. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
You are the only other person I know who's ever read Five Quarters of the Orange, Heather! I much preferred it to Chocolat - it seemed to have more...layers. I did a short review of that one. I've also written reviews of "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "In Cold Blood," - and "Jamaica Inn" which I've recently read again, all of which can be found on my page. I'm taking note of the other books people mentioned recently.Yesterday I read a quickie "The Magic Pudding" and reviewed it here. It's a very droll, laugh-out-loud Australian children's classic, which I can't believe I'd never heard of before. A great one to start and finish in one afternoon sitting in the garden ;)
I have read both of those books by Harris and I did like Chocolat a little better but enjoyed them both . :-)
Jean wrote: "You are the only other person I know who's ever read Five Quarters of the Orange, Heather! I much preferred it to Chocolat - it seemed to have more...layers. I did a short..."You know me too, Jean! I preferred Chocolat a little bit.
Re Joanne Harris. I loathed Blackberry Wine the first time I read it, but have been drawn back to it twice and now love it. The 2007 follow-up to Chocolat, The Lollipop Shoes is as magical as Chocolat and follows the main character and her daughter a few years later. Very different but also very good is Gentlemen & Players, based around a public school, and really intriguing, with a stunning denouement. I have Coastliners and Holy Fools on my shelves to be read. Anyone have views on them?
I've never read those, John but I may check them out. It was such a perfect read for a holiday. One of the people I was with had read it before so it was nice to discuss it with her
My eyes have been opened! Several of you have read Five Quarters of the Orange and more! Evidently we just have not discussed Joanne Harris much in this group. I'll have a look at people's bookshelves to see if there are any reviews...
John wrote: "Re Joanne Harris. I loathed Blackberry Wine the first time I read it, but have been drawn back to it twice and now love it. The 2007 follow-up to Chocolat, The Lollipop Shoes is as magical as Choco..."I have read both Five Quarters of the Orange and Chocolat, both highly recommended by a friend, and enjoyed them both thoroughly. Picked up The Lollipop Shoes at a used book sale recently and it is sitting waiting patiently for me to get to it!
I have just finished reading The Year of the Death of Ricardo ReisThis book grew on me as I read my way through it. It took some time to get used to the lack of punctuation, other than full stops and commas, and to sort out who was speaking when.
I liked Saramago's style and meanderings. I found I was looking up a lot on the internet as I went, and feel I now know a bit more about Portuguese history than when I started.
I liked the way Saramago built up the relationship between Fernando Pessoa and Ricardo Reis, one of his heteronyms. I will return to the poetry of Fernando Pessoa, our seasonal poet, with more enthusiasm now.
I just finished reading Delirium by Marin Preda (romanian literature; not very known worldwide). The book's purpose is somehow historical: following Tolstoy's historical fatalism of how it is not possible for only one person to bestir so many disasters, M. Preda wants to subtly argue that this is actually possible: that one person alone is capable to bestir cafastrophes. The historical figure he uses to illustrate this idea is Adolf Hitler, the place Europe and the time the second World War. The book is very interesting because of its perspective -and I might have appreciated it more because it is obviously related to my country's history. Along with this idea, there are also several others ideas and details very important in the book. I would recommend reading it after reading Morometii -Delirium is a sequel of the series Morometii and it makes more sense if when reading Delirium you have already read the other one. On the other hand, I was pleasantly impressed by one of the character's actions and personality. The young man Stefan comes to Bucharest from his village to follow his purpose of becoming a journalist - and his adventure will not be void of emotions, actions, and relevant circumstances.
I finished The Seven Who Were Hanged by Leonid Andreyev. A short but thought-provoking book about death penalty. Andreyev was against the capital punishment and through seven characters he shows that a murder is as human as other people and that death penalty shouldn't exist and isn't a solution for crime.
Chrissie wrote: "In Cold Blood also concerns capital punishment and it too shows the idiocy of the practice."Didn't know it! I thought it was a reportage about the murder of a family.
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I did feel that Hill rather romanticized slavery a little bit. Aminata seems to meet the right people & be in the right place for good things to happen to her. She also seems to have all the bad things happen to those around her to add to her suffering.
"
As usual you've made me curious!
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Didn't know it! I thought it was a reportage about the murder of a family."
And the foolishness of some murders ...
Dely and Laura, you try to understand why the murderers acted as they did, then when they are accused of their crime you follow what happen in death row. Capote even has documented the other prisoners sitting there. The question is are thy insane? How do you define insanity? Is the legal procedure before execution inhumanely long or is it long in an effort give the murderers every last change? There are so many questions.
Chrissie wrote: "Dely and Laura, you try to understand why the murderers acted as they did, then when they are accused of their crime you follow what happen in death row. Capote even has documented the other prison..."It seems very interesting. The one I have read by Andreyev is a little bit different. First of all because it is set in Russia in a different time; there wasn't a real trial because the five revolutionaries were sentenced to death also if the attack failed and they had the same sentence as two murders (one was a little bit stupid and had killed only once, the other was evil).
Will surely look for it.
Dely, YOURS sounds interesting too.It is always fascinating when you get a different time and place. And isn't it interesting that a discussion of capital punishment was going on back then? That is what hits me over and over again when I read books set in historical times. It seems to me that people have been thinking about the same issues for ages. And do we ever get answers?! Why does it take so long to progress and make changes?
Chrissie wrote: "Dely, YOURS sounds interesting too.It is always fascinating when you get a different time and place. And isn't it interesting that a discussion of capital punishment was going on back then? That is..."I absolutely agree with what you have said! I think that unfortunately things will never change.
dely wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "Dely, YOURS sounds interesting too.It is always fascinating when you get a different time and place. And isn't it interesting that a discussion of capital punishment was going on b..."Yeah, people are strange. That is why I like dogs.
Chrissie wrote: "Yeah, people are strange. That is why I like dogs. "And me cats :D
dely wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "And me cats :D"Same thing, people need some animal pet.
I just finished reading Tom Sharpe's Porterhouse Blue, which I found hilarious! An academic satire of a college at Cambridge university; the staff and faculty are shocked by the new Master's plan to change things and a power struggle ensues. I liked this much more than I did David Lodge's Changing Places, and even a bit more than Amis's Lucky Jim.If you like British academic satire, I would definitely recommend this.
I just finished a book I really liked by an author named Kem Nunn: Chance. I thought it was excellent. I hope there's a sequel. I wish I could find more books like it. It was kinda a cross between literary fiction and noir. Really, really cool, I thought. I totally got into it.
Kristi wrote: "I finished All the Light We Cannot See last night. I was as good as the GR ratings led me to believe it would be. It's of course sad, since it's about a blind French girl and a Germ..."I'm reading this right now - really good so far!
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Too many suggestions!!! Please, my life is already crammed thi way!!!
LauraT, yeah GR is hard, but remember how life used to be, when you had to browse book stores to find a possible read? Then you really didn't know what you would be getting. Our current dilemma has got to be better.
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You're right!!!
@Leslie There is a great adaptation of that. My dad owns it on VHS! I don't know if it's available on DVD now but it's very funny and worth checking out if possible
I'm another Joanne Harris fan and have read most of hers. I think the only one I didn't like was Blueeyedboy. Did you know she does the occasional 'storytime' on Twitter, when she posts an original short story in tweets?
I didn't know that, joy. I will have to find her and follow!
I've just finished "Tomorrow in the battle things on me". It's my first book by Marìas and I was captured by the "incantamento" of his style, by the haunting thoughts of the protagonist.5 stars
I've just finished "Tomorrow in the battle think on me". It's my first book by Marìas and I was captured by the "incantamento" of his style, by the haunting thoughts of the protagonist.5 stars
Chuck wrote: "I just finished a book I really liked by an author named Kem Nunn: Chance. I thought it was excellent. I hope there's a sequel. I wish I could find more books like it. It was kinda ..."Put a hold on this one today at my library. Thanks Chuck.
I've just finished "The hunting gun" (Inoue Yasushi) and I literally loved it, even if it's very short. It's easy to understand, but I think it hides a secret meaning.. i don't know, but it took me so much.
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I didn't consider the diamond to be fantasy at all. It was a real stone (not saying that it really existed, but it existed in the book) that changed the course of the lives of these characters. You don't have to believe in the myth of diamond to see that, without the physical diamond, the events of the book would not have happened as they did. (I don't want to give anything away by giving examples.) To me, the diamond was a character of its own. I wanted to know what happened to it just as much as I wanted to know what happened to the people.