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What have you just read? Opinions, recommendations & reviews
I finished The Casual Vacancy yesterday and rated it 4 stars. Some people find the book slow and a bit dull but I think that it is beautiful. The story takes it's time to explain everything but that's the charm of the book. I enjoyed a lot.
read Princess Lizzie and the Time Travelling Magic Cloak and it was a cute children's picture book you can read here on goodreads.
Love the Gone Girl series...can't wait for the movie to come out. Anyone read "First Night of Summer" my book club said it was a very controversial love/hate book. So of course I had to find out for myself. OMG It was the most disturbing yet compelling read that I have read in a long, long time. I went through every emotion you could possibly imagine. I didn't think it got too graphic as some of the reviewers stated. It was really well-written with strong imagery and maybe that was just too much for some, but their is no graphic language. If you haven't read this book, you must if you aren't the faint of heart.
Rahat wrote: "I finished The Casual Vacancy yesterday and rated it 4 stars. Some people find the book slow and a bit dull but I think that it is beautiful. The story takes it's time to explain everything but tha..."I liked it too. I thought the characters were convincing and the relationships were explored in an interesting way. I did long for just a moment or two of humour to lighten the atmosphere now and then, however.
Yesterday afternoon I've read a very short book that I've won with the giveaways. It is Mother Earth by Mario Pacchiarotti. For me it was a 4 stars because I really liked the writing style and the themes of the stories (they deal with changes in life). Though the stories are very short the author was able to make a good characterization of the characters and the reader was able to feel their emotions. It was as if we would be in the story and felt with the characters.I would recommend it to everybody!
Finished The Meaning of Namesabout a German farm family In Nebraska confronting German prejudice in 1918. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I just finished Sleep in Peace Tonight - 4 stars for me on this intriguing story of WW II. My review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....
Finished Twenty Years After the sequel to The Three Musketeers last night, which was a four and a half star read for me. It lost a half star as my attention flagged a little bit in one or two places where we lost sight of the main protagonists but for the most part it, it was every bit as good as it's more famous predecessor. I didn't find Cardinal Mazarin as good a villain as Richelieu, and thought Mordaunt would have been a better bad guy if he had been used a bit more - he seemed to come into the story a little late for me so didn't quite live up to milady's high standards. One thing I did love though was that as the musketeers are all a little older and wiser now, D'Artagnan really come into his own. In the first novel, he was the baby of the group, in this one he has grown into himself and become a leader and the others all look to him when it comes to making plans - he is always the one with the ideas! Would definitely recommend to anyone who enjoyed the first book - this is nowhere near as well known but it's just as good.
I've finished Animal Farm by George Orwell and loved it.My review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I've read two pretty good children's picture books too:Princess Lizzie and the Time Travelling Magic Cloak and A Brand New Day - A Banana Split Storyrecently. they were both pretty cute.
Paula wrote: "Finally posted my review of The Room. So good! Please let me know what you think of the review, thanks!https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
That looks hysterical. I listened to the audiobook narrated by the author - in Swedish! Thanks for the tip.
I just finished reading A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout and Sara Corbett. I found it hard to put down
I've just finished The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. It's a bestseller apparently, and has a good premise, but I found it a bit - trite? I reviewed it anyway here.
Wendy wrote: "I just finished reading A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout and Sara Corbett. I found it hard to put down"Wendy I was at a book fair last weekend and Amanda Lindhout was a guest speaker. I can't tell you how emotionally wrung out I was after her hour long talk. She is a petite brunette, very pretty and very young.
To see her speak and then to try to imagine that she actually experienced and survived the horror she described.....it was very hard to reconcile the two. My hair stood on end, I cried, and I stood to applaud her.
I just finished We the Living by Ayn Rand. Gooooood writing, but you sort of have to like the author's philosophy. Do you like strong people? Are you interested in the Bolshevik era, Petrograd in the 1920s? There is a love story thrown in too. I liked it very much.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Evelyn wrote: "Wendy wrote: "I just finished reading A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout and Sara Corbett. I found it hard to put down"Wendy I was at a book fair last weekend and Amanda Lindhout was a guest s..."
I was stunned as to how she survived. It is too bad we never did find out about the woman who tried to save her when she first escaped.
I will have to loo into the book A House in the Sky. I have not heard of that one until now.
Finally read Gone Girl and wish I hadn't. I gave it 2 stars as I did keep reading, sort of like not being able to look away from a car wreck. These are not people, they are concepts, or even cartoons . Maybe if I read more thrillers, I'd find this satisfying, but I thought it was ludicrous, and at the same time depressing. I certainly won't be seeing the movie.
Robin wrote: "Finally read Gone Girl and wish I hadn't. I gave it 2 stars as I did keep reading, sort of like not being able to look away from a car wreck. These are not people, they are concepts..."I couldn't agree more, Robin.
Finished Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. It talks about the story of Chris McCandless who decided to go away from home living like a tramp because he wanted to live in the most simple and natural way. During his weeks in Alaska he gets sick and dies at only 24.I liked how Krakauer talked about Chris' life and motivations that lead him to the decision to flee from his previous life. Krakauer doesn't judge and I liked also how he was able to follow Chris' life after he left home; he gathered the testimonies of who met Chris during his life as a tramp so we can know a little bit more about his personality. A thought provoking book, very interesting.
I've finished 2 books recently. The first was Anne of Green Gables and thought it was a very lovely read. It's the kind of books that is similar to Little Women which you can never outgrow. The second was The Walking Dead, Book One which was pretty much disappointing, being a fan of the TV series and all. I think it was poorly written and the illustration lacked consistent quality.
Wendy wrote: "Evelyn wrote: "Wendy wrote: "I just finished reading A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout and Sara Corbett. I found it hard to put down"Wendy I was at a book fair last weekend and Amanda Lindhou..."
Yes, she spoke about her last week and called her 'her Somali sister'. That was the point where I cried.
Shellie do see if you can find A House in the Sky, amazing.
It is currently in screenwriting to be filmed into a movie, an actress has been selected to portray Amanda, and Amanda is consulting on it. She did say she has another book in her, about her experiences of setting up her foundation and trying to come to grips with her time in captivity and how that has affected her life and her family's life, but the book isn't ready to come out of her yet.
dely wrote: "Finished Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. It talks about the story of Chris McCandless who decided to go away from home living like a tramp because he wanted to live in the ..."Dely It does sound thought-provoking. I read an item on Google about the idiocy of a number of young people who, having read the book, have decided copy McCandless' trek. So many of them have had to be rescued by rangers and medical people; I have no sympathy for them and feel annoyed at the large amounts of money it costs to rescue them, not to mention the risk they put the rangers' lives at. What a stupid thing to do!
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Hmm, maybe another book I should read for Halloween, but The Goldfinch is so long!
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Sorry Greg - I had just deleted my comment as I can't find a copy! I will still look though. May buy it on Kindle - I've put it on price alert to see if it comes down a bit :) Penguin always seem to charge more for downloads than everybody else :(
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Greg wrote: "I don’t think I've read The Haunting of Hill House yet, but I bought a copy that's waiting to he read. :) The 1963 movie adaption with Julie Harris was excellent however. http://en.m.w..."Hey Greg if you go to youtube and put the haunting of hill house audiobook there, they have the full audiobook there. I listened to that and it was pretty good as a bbc audiobook recording.
Just finished House by Ted Dekker. Not my favorite. It was good for the first part. It was suspenseful and kept me turning the pages but by the end of the book I felt like I was being hit over the head with the good vs evil message.
Greg the goldfinch is worth it :)
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How are you liking A Boy's Own Story and Cat's Eye?
Bette BookAddict wrote: "Dely It does sound thought-provoking. I read an item on Google about the idiocy of a number of young people who, having read the book, have decided copy McCandless' trek. So many of them have had to be rescued by rangers and medical people; I have no sympathy for them and feel annoyed at the large amounts of money it costs to rescue them, not to mention the risk they put the rangers' lives at. What a stupid thing to do!"Lol, reading the book people should understand that it's better not to try it!
I don't agree with you. Those young guys must be rescued, you can't compare the value of a person's life with the money spent for the rescue. And the rangers should be prepared to do such a job; also rescuing people is part of their work. They must be rescued and then they could be used for some social usefull work: cleaning beaches or woods, painting walls of the city, giving food to the homeless...like a fee to pay for the caused alarm if someone feels the urge to punish them.
Finished Architects Of Eternity: The New Science Of Fossils by Richard Corfield the other day - a 3 star read, definitely enjoyed it, at times it was very compelling but my attention flagged with some of the later chapters which were very focused on molecular biology etc. In the earlier chapters I felt that Corfield explained the concepts behind the science very clearly (I don't really have a 'science-brain') and I got what he was talking about but in those later chapters he lost me a bit (although this could be down to me being extremely tired and ready for a holiday lol!). Definitely enjoyed hearing the stories behind the scientific discoveries that have led to the discipline of paleontology as we now know it and I'm keen to know more which is always a good sign!Also just finished Inferno by Dante Alighieri - 5 stars plus, absolutely amazing piece of work and I can't believe it's taken me this long to get round to it, especially given it's importance in literature and culture from it's publication up to modern times. Looking forward to reading Purgatory and Paradise now ;)
I just finished The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox. It was heartbreaking and moving. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....
Angela wrote: "I just finished The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox. It was heartbreaking and moving. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...."I agree heartbreaking. Such a beautifully written story, and so terrible to realise how close to fact it is for some people.
Finished All Will Be Well: A MemoirMy review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I felt like I was sitting in the middle of a prolonged family argument.
A boy's own story by Edmund White.
@Gill , if you haven't read O'Farrell's The Hand That First Held Mine , you might like that nod too .
I finished The Odyssey a couple of days ago. No words can express how positively surprised I am with it: I was expecting something boring and too dense, almost impossible to be understood. I only decided to read it as a preparation for Ulysses. Well, The Odyssey simply became one of my favorite books ever. It's that good! I wrote a review for it: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...I really recommend it! :-)
Thanks to Diane whose review of The Gravity of Birds by Tracy Guzeman lead me to reading this very readable novel. 4★
Not yet sandy, it's a good book but with a disappointing ending
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All About Books
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