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What have you just read? Opinions, recommendations & reviews
Finished Gracelin O'Malley, historical, Irish family saga. 4 stars - my review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Better BookAddict wrote: "A book I read before joining AAB and one I really liked: The Paris Wife by Paula McLainMy review is at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
I really enjoyed The Paris Wife, too, Bette! It got me reading some Hemingway again (I've avoided his writing since high school).
I read Islands in the Stream and could see many parallels between this story & The Paris Wife. I enjoyed the book quite a bit (both of them).
Petra, I have dithered about that one by Hemingway; do the three parts hold together? Also, sine it was published posthumously is it really ready for print? Do you understand my hesitation? I don't understand the parallels with The Paris Wife. Please explain.
dely wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "We all seem to love Fathers and Sons if for perhaps different reasons. The varied ingredients do end up working for many readers."This is true. For me the themes by ..."
dely wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "We all seem to love Fathers and Sons if for perhaps different reasons. The varied ingredients do end up working for many readers."
This is true. For me the themes by ..."
Don't you think it is pretty fabulous that such a short book covers so many themes? I do.
Chrissie wrote: "Petra, I have dithered about that one by Hemingway; do the three parts hold together? Also, sine it was published posthumously is it really ready for print? Do you understand my hesitation? I don't..."Islands In The Stream contains a lot of reminiscing about the ex-wife, what went wrong, their lifestyle, etc. and a lot of it is the same as in The Paris Wife. Paula McLain may have read this book and used the information to build the Hemingway's relationship in her book. My impression from Islands In The Stream is that Hemingway loved Hadley and regretted their separation.
I thought the three parts held together nicely. It's been awhile since I read it but my recollection is one of a complete story; not one that was published in an unfinished state. Each part is very different and tells a different time of Thomas' life.
Petra, your recollections are very helpful to me. Thanks, and very interesting. Maybe I will pick that one instead!
Chrissie wrote: "Don't you think it is pretty fabulous that such a short book covers so many themes? I do"Yes, Turgenev has been really able to talk about such interesting themes in one book and also with a marvelous writing style. If I don't remember wrong it was the first Russian to be translated for Western so it was a very important book also in his time (outside Russia because in Russia this book hadn't a lot of success) and it introduced Russian literature to the Western countries.
I finished reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone yesterday. I've been willing to read the books for a while now, and I finally got the 'chance' to start them. I know Harry Potter is consider to be a children book series and, as far as the first book is concerned, I can clearly state it is true. However, I have to say I am into this type of literature and don't find any shame whatsoever in reading it now. I hear that as one advances in the read, one finds the story more complex and the writing style more mature. I am willing to see that, even though I like it even like this. I am currently reading the second book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and I find it a little better than the first one (which, of course, is engaging). J.K. Rowling has a wonderful book series right here, and I can't wait to get through it. I'm in love with the story, as some of might be -I've watched and re-watched the movies several times and I used to enjoy them a lot in the past. I am also enjoying the books.
@Ramona I am very envious of you getting to read Harry Potter for the first time. Certainly no shame in that and they do get more complex and darker in nature
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Me too!
Finished A Distant Father, a novella about a father-son relationship. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
@ Heather. I am trying really hard to get my husband to read Harry Potter. He says it's never appealed to him, which is exactly what I thought..until I read them. I'll crack him eventually ;)
@Gemma,Tell me if it works. My partner doesn't want to read them either, but I am thinking of a way to make him read them. He never watched the movies either, but I persuaded him in that prospect and we will be watching them together some time next week.
I just finished Of Things Gone Astray, J and The Room. I'm currently writing reviews and will let you know when they are posted :).
Ramona - I read Harry Potter for the first time just a few years ago, at age 23. I fell head over heels for them! I'd never been opposed to reading them before that, just never really thought about it. (Hadn't seen the movies either.) I'm so glad I read them and I'm glad you're enjoying them for the first time too!
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My husband refuses!
I read the Harry Potter series some years ago and really enjoyed them. I consider them to be good books! And I read the last volume in two days, I couldn't put it down!
Mod
Me too
Finished So We Read On: How The Great Gatsby Came to Be and Why It Endures wonderful book about The Great Gatsby, this time period and so many other things. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I started reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban today. I've read about 120 pages already while I was out doing some errands (read them on my phone, you know, couldn't stay away). I finished the second book yesterday and it was charming -I enjoyed every bit of it. It's a very good series, indeed. I can't wait to get through this one, enjoying it while doing so -of course, and start the fourth book. The fourth movie was my favourite from the HP series, and I am really curious whether the fourth book is also going to be my favourite. So excited -Also, thank you everyone for your thoughts on the matter - I am glad to hear I am not the only one who started reading HP so late, and I am also happy to hear you also enjoy(ed) it as much as I do.
Off I go, then, to see what Harry is up to on the next page.
I've just finished reading Pride and Prejudice and True Confessions of an Army Wife by Ali Aimes. Ive read Pride and Prejudice about 20 times and enjoyed it like I always do. True Confessions of an Army Wife was fantastic! I would highly recommend both books and give them both 5 stars.
I just finished the memoir of Richard Dawkins. My review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I've finished Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood 4★Brilliant portrayal of a woman who will linger with you long after you have finished the book. Attwood's writing, construction and tone is simply perfect. Most Highly Recommended.
I recommend that you read the excellent review by Jean.
Wow. So many people who need to persuade their partners to read HP! My boyfriend loves them, luckily for me
Sandy wrote: "Chuck wrote: "Can anyone please recommend books along the lines of The Sense of an Ending? And is there a name for this type of story? It essentially seems to be the opposite of a "..."Nope, sorry to say I haven't. :(
Chuck and Sandy: Try reading The Secret Scripture. It is not exactly written in the format of The Sense of an Ending. But the theme of memory and how the mind re-organizes events in memory is present in this book too. If that is what interests you, you might like this book. If interested only in the way of rendering of the novel, then do not go for Barry's book.
I just finished Our Lady of the Nile: A Novel, a story about Rwanda before the genocide. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished Island of a Thousand Mirrors, Sri Lanka and their genocide https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Sandy wrote: "Dhanaraj wrote: "Chuck and Sandy: Try reading The Secret Scripture. It is not exactly written in the format of The Sense of an Ending. But the theme of memory and how..."I loved The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennoxwhich is in the same vein of The Secret Scripture.
Diane , that's on my list since I loved The Hand That First Held Mine .
I hope to read that one soon but Esme was wonderful. She is a wonderful storyteller though.
I just finished reading Forever. I really liked the premise and the mystical elements throughout the book. The first section with its Irish/Celtic myths and magic was wonderfully done. The majority of the book tells the history of New York, where Cormac is granted eternal life as long as he doesn't leave the island of (what becomes) Manhattan. New York's history is long and wild and perhaps a bit much for 600 pages. It gives the book a rather rushed feeling at times.
All in all, though, this is an interesting story but not a great one.
Dhanaraj wrote: "Chuck and Sandy: Try reading The Secret Scripture. It is not exactly written in the format of The Sense of an Ending. But the theme of memory and how the mind re-orga..."Thanks, I actually have that one!
Sandy wrote: "Chuck wrote: "Sandy wrote: "Chuck wrote: "Can anyone please recommend books along the lines of The Sense of an Ending? And is there a name for this type of story? It essentially see..."You're welcome, I'll let you know if I read one I think has the goods.
Starting a book of essay, just in the mood Phoning Home: Essays and reading a book about an amazing 74 yr. Old woman who lives her life on her own terms Florence Gordon.
Thanks to Anastasia, I have read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.My review is at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A GR friend in another group has just finished The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber.Her review is at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I have the greatest respect for her choice of novels and have added this one to my tbr.
Bette I loved that book! It has also been made into a miniseries for TV
Have an ARC of his new one The Book of Strange New Things, but never read his other. Will add it too.
I have finished The Good Life Elsewhere by Vladimir Lorchenkov and I would recommend it to everyone.I've laughed a lot reading this book though the theme of illegal immigration isn't funny but the author was able to talk about a sad issue with irony. The story is set in a little village of Moldova and the inhabitans try to flee from there inventing always something new to reach their dreamland, Italy. Of course the Italy they dream isn't the real one; for them it's a new paradise but it isn't how they see it in their immagination.
LauraT wrote: "We'll consider it!"I'm pretty sure you will like it! Unfortunately it is expensive (16€), I found it at Libraccio, secondhand.
@Evelyn. Good to hear about the miniseries of The Crimson Petal and the White but I'll not seek that out until I've read the book. And I'll be hoping that it's a BBC production (always the best in my opinion).
Bought it for my Nook, Dely. Thanks.
Just re-read The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey EugenidesMy review (from first read) is at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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This is true. For me the themes by order of importance are: nihilism (also because it was Turgenev who talked about it for the first time in this book explaining what it was); the historical period (the abolition of serfdom of the peasants), the gap among two generations who have different principles and believes and the relationship father/son that helped to support this gap in this story.