What have you just read? Opinions, recommendations & reviews Showing 3,351-3,400 of 12,687

[Greg]

Jean, I've only been on Goodreads since last December, and I've never back added anything; so unfortunately most of what I've read isn't even listed :)

[Greg]

Jean, I just looked at the review by Everyman that you linked. I agree with the vast majority of what he says; from what I remember, I felt similarly. But having (at that time) recently read a number of Victorian perspectives on "the woman question" (essays, novels, etc), I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Bionic Jean]

Greg - Yes, I'm in a similar position, although I add the titles plus a rating (if I can) from my diaries, but not a review. Going back through the years in reverse order when I can face it!

I thought "The Odd Woman" looked intriguing enough for me to add it anyway! Being fairly counter-suggestible in these matters, (I hate being told "You must read this," - especially in real life!) that's more likely to make me add a book than a rave review, which in some cases tells me more about the person than the book.

Everyman - If you see this I trust you do not mind me linking your review ...

[Chrissie]

Boy did I enjoy Any Human Heart

Here is why. I explain in my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Angela M]

I'm catching up on some of my advanced copies and I have just finished The Given World. 3.5 stars if I could. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....

[Kristi]

I finished Black Swan Green yesterday. I've heard that you're (kind of) supposed to read David Mitchell's books in order, but I don't think that was why I didn't enjoy this book very much. I loved Cloud Atlas, and I really liked The Bone Clocks, and this one just didn't live up to those books. Maybe it's because I expect something more complex from Mitchell, a big story with big meaning. And there was a lot of 1980s British teenager slang that I just didn't get. I did like the connections to Mitchell's other books, and I could appreciate Jason's experiences. It was still a good book, just not as great as I have come to expect from David Mitchell.

[John]

Just finished Thomas Hardy's Under The Greenwood Tree. 1872.

What a delight. An early Hardy, giving an affectionate picture of rural life and young love in 'Wessex' in the mid-19th century.

Favourite extract: "'tis a talent of the female race that low numbers should stand for high, more especially in matters of waiting, matters of age, and matters of money."

[Petra]

I finished reading Curiosity by Joan Thomas this afternoon. I had some difficulty with the writing style at first but got used to it quickly enough.

I enjoyed this book. My review can be found here.

[Robin P]

John wrote: "Just finished Thomas Hardy's Under The Greenwood Tree. 1872.

What a delight. An early Hardy, giving an affectionate picture of rural life and young love in 'Wessex' in the mid-19th century.

Favou..."
Yes, It's charming, I think I listened to it on audio which worked well.

[Chrissie]

Petra wrote: "I finished reading Curiosity by Joan Thomas this afternoon. I had some difficulty with the writing style at first but got used to it qui..."

I gave up on that one, but neither did I enjoy Remarkable Creatures by Chevalier.

[GeneralTHC]

I finished the new book from Stephen King, Revival, recently. Big disappointment.

[GeneralTHC]

I just finished a surprisingly good book a little while ago: Bird Box. I came pretty close to giving it 5 stars.

[Chrissie]

I finished Bertie: A Life of Edward VII. :0)

It is a good book but it isn't going to fit all readers. It didn't fit me. I explain in my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Leslie]

John wrote: "Just finished Thomas Hardy's Under The Greenwood Tree. 1872.

What a delight. An early Hardy, giving an affectionate picture of rural life and young love in 'Wessex' in the mid-19th century.

Favou..."

Love that quote John!

I finished a debut novel, Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng, the other day. It is about a mixed race family (Chinese-Caucasian) in 1970s America struggling with the death of the teenaged daughter. I give it 4 stars because Ng managed to evoke a strong emotional response from me (mostly anger at the parents) even though I felt some of the issues were a little out of place for the 70s (felt more like the 50s).

[Angela M]

Leslie , glad to hear you liked this . It's gotten good reviews . I recently bought it and hope to get to it soon . Thanks .

[Diane S ☔]

Leslie wrote: "John wrote: "Just finished Thomas Hardy's Under The Greenwood Tree. 1872.

What a delight. An early Hardy, giving an affectionate picture of rural life and young love in 'Wessex' in the mid-19th ce..."

I enjoyed that one too and agree about the time period.

[Kristi]

I finished The History of Love a couple days ago. I haven't given it a rating yet. I did really like it, but I had some issues with the plot. The characters were great, but I didn't always follow what was happening, and there wasn't enough resolution for me. It is definitely worth reading, but it didn't meet my really high expectations.

[Cynthia]

Discovered Debbie Doesn't It Anymore while browsing for something light and easy to read at the library. The title caught my eye and made me smile; the cover was exquisite. I've read some of Mosley, but am not a great fan. Debbie Doesn't... while not entirely clean is written in a mix of sex and violence as experienced by Debbie (aka Sandra Peel).

Debbie Dare is a super star in the adult film business. With dark black skin, long blond hair, piercing blue eyes, and white beauty mark tattoo on her face she is extraordinary. Deb comes home after a hard day of screwing in front of the camera only to find that her husband is dead. He was electrocuted when a video camera fell in the hot tub while attempting to film a home sex tape with a sixteen year old girl. Debbie doesn't want to do "it" anymore and fights to reclaim Sandra Peel and move forward with her life but doesn't know how to, especially since her husband spent every penny they had.

Thus begins Debbie's journey in search of who she really is. Her journey invites conversations with a cast of characters - Nurse Depression and her boss, Dr. Suicide, with gangsters, loan sharks and hit men, with parents and siblings, with the mother-in-law whom she has never met, with mortuary directors, with old and current colleagues in and out of the business, etc. In these interaction and events you get a view of where Debbie's been, where she is and hope she makes it to the other side.

Debbie Doesn't... is off the beaten path and runs hot and cold on the attention scale nonetheless an interesting insight into the porn world without it being nasty.

[GeneralTHC]

I think I'm going to try my hand at some Phillip Roth and Don DeLillo soon. I get the impression those guys are supposed to be the best of the best of contemporary American authors. Any suggestion for titles?

[Chrissie]

Finally I completed Of Human Bondage. If it feels like a book drags on and on something is wrong. I am not saying its bad, but in no way remarkable. It left me lukewarm.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... which I hope will help those of you trying to decide if you want to read it or not. I preferred Christmas Holiday, which moves rapidly forward and is more interesting.

[Diane S ☔]

Finished The Right Thing, a light Southern read to balance out some of the darker ones I have been reading lately. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Petra]

I've finished 2 books this past week:

This Has Happened: An Italian Family in Auschwitz, which I found horrifying on a completely different level than I usually find Holocaust memoirs to be horrifying.
This family were sitting ducks with no way to help themselves! It was horrifying reading and knowing that they wouldn't be able to help themselves and yet hoping that things would change.
In Italy, the Jews were not sent to camps so, in that way, were "safe".....until the Italian government fell apart and the Germans entered Italy. This family had no clue what that meant. So sad.
My review is here.

Timothy, or Notes of an Abject Reptile, which was sweet and touching in many ways. Told from the perspective of Timothy, a tortoise living in the garden of a Naturalist and observing life in England, this tale spreads over many years & generations as Timothy learns about humans, watches Nature and ponders Life.
My review is here.

[B the BookAddict]

Kristi wrote: "I finished The History of Love a couple days ago. I haven't given it a rating yet. I did really like it, but I had some issues with the plot. The characters were great, but I didn't alw..."

I have this one on my coffee table waiting to be read.

[Diane S ☔]

FinishedTwilight, a very dark and atmospheric southern gothic novel. Very well written and an author I will read again.

Also finished Hiding in Plain Sight https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[GeneralTHC]

Diane S. wrote: "FinishedTwilight, a very dark and atmospheric southern gothic novel. Very well written and an author I will read again.
"

Sounds interesting.

[LauraT]

Finished Stig of the Dump, the recomnendation from the Suggestion swaps. I liked it quite - extreamly well the idea of a caveman living in the XX century England - even if I don't particularly love "adventure books"
I stringly recommend it; I suggested it to a frind of mine teaching in the primary school and she said she'll use it soon in her class, that is studying the prehistory right this moment!

[Bionic Jean]

I often used to read that one to my class at school :)

[LauraT]

Jean wrote: "I often used to read that one to my class at school :)"

See what I mean? In Italy even the primary school teacher don't know it!

[Andrew]

Jeremiah's Codes all the way thanks....awesome

[Evelyn]

Finished The Bone Clocks. Similar to Cloud Atlas in that the story began in the past and ended quite far in the future, and there was a realm of fantasy throughout. I liked the writing in Cloud Atlas much better though.

[Angela M]

I just finished While the Gods Were Sleeping. Beautiful writing - 4 stars - my review :https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Read The Boston Girl a few weeks ago. My review - 3.5 .https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Also read Secret of a Thousand Beauties .
My review " https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Bionic Jean]

Laura - Well don't be too hard on him or her. Offhand I can't think of one Italian author whom I used to read to my class!

[Diane S ☔]

Finished Sweetland, https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Chrissie]

I can highly recommend Rainbow's End: A Memoir of Childhood, War and an African Farm.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Evelyn, you wanted to know what I thought about this - it is VERY good!

[Evelyn]

Thank you Chrissie, I have added it!

[Chrissie]

Evelyn, glad I could help!

[LauraT]

Jean wrote: "Laura - Well don't be too hard on him or her. Offhand I can't think of one Italian author whom I used to read to my class!"

No no it's only that I'd like Italian schools to be more open to other countrues literature ...

[Bionic Jean]

Laura - It's the same here. I think the English are some of the most insular from that point of view. Not even American literature gets much of a look in. And sometimes Irish writers are claimed as English! Don't get me started on the paucity of translated works here.

Things are improving, but it seems too slow!

[LauraT]

;)!

[Kristi]

Evelyn wrote: "Finished The Bone Clocks. Similar to Cloud Atlas in that the story began in the past and ended quite far in the future, and there was a realm of fantasy throughout. I..."

I agree with you, Evelyn! I thought the connections between the different time periods were more solid in Cloud Atlas, and The Bone Clocks contained a larger fantasy element than I prefer. I think David Mitchell is amazing. How does he come up with this stuff?!

[Evelyn]

Good question Kristi. I liked that his made-up words were easy to decipher. Obviously if you are writing fantasy, or future - which to be honest is also fantasy - then our language as it is today will have evolved. So I found it very insightful of David Mitchell to throw in some of these future words in a way that we the reader could understand what he meant without any cumbersome explanations.

[Shirley]

I've just finished reading Landing Gear by Kate Pullinger. I gave it three stars, although I'm not sure if that score was influenced by my not really liking the last book I read. I might have given it two stars if I had just read something great.

[LauraT]

Ah Ah Ah!!!

[Chrissie]

Completed The Night I Danced with Rommel which I enjoyed. It is historical fiction, but based on the author's mother's life. It is the first of a planned trilogy. So rarely does one read about the life of ordinary GermansWW2. This one is not about spies or partisans or the Jews, but about an ordinary German mother, a perspective that is noteworthy too.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Angela M]

I finished last night Lila and I couldn't put it down. My review : https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....

[Chrissie]

OK, I guess I will have to read that next month! Great review, Angela.

[Angela M]

Thank you , Chrissie .

[Chrissie]

You are welcome.

[Kristi]

I finished Sacré Bleu: A Comedy d'Art yesterday. I have had difficult assigning ratings to books lately, but I'll probably end up giving this one 3 stars, with an actual rating of 3.5. It was a little more serious than other Christopher Moore books that I've read. I was hoping to laugh out loud a little more. The book itself is gorgeous. I have a signed first edition. It would have been a waste to read this as an e-book, since it contains art from several French Impressionists.

[GeneralTHC]

I think I'm going to try to get in a quick little read this morning before I get ready to do the Thanksgiving thing:The Ghost Writer.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!