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What have you just read? Opinions, recommendations & reviews
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Angela M
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Feb 14, 2015 06:08AM
Finished Of Irish Blood. 3 stars - my review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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Diane S. wrote: "Finished A Backpack, a Bear, and Eight Crates of Vodka: A Memoir
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
That sounds great. Add it to my tbr to look up in the future.
@Alannah I haven't read any Jojo Moyes but had Me Before You recommended. Have you read that one?
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
That sounds great. Add it to my tbr to look up in the future.
@Alannah I haven't read any Jojo Moyes but had Me Before You recommended. Have you read that one?
Finished I Was Here by Gayle Forman. Not a real worthwhile YA book.
I've finished The Darlings by Cristina AlgerMy review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Jean wrote: "Ditto Angela.Sorry Bette, I think you call it Vegemite? Love it or hate it."
lol, Jean, I do know marmite and the, in my opinion, much nicer Vegemite:) I must have been a little 'docile' yesterday morning because the 'spectrum' part of your sentence threw me. I am awake today and fully understand your reference. signed Suitably Embarrassed Book Addict:D
Angela M wrote: " I'm not sure that cheating husbands and psychotic wives are indigenous to any one nationality. "Well, I can assure you they're not.
But look, what I'm saying essentially is we could pick titles that people either would or wouldn't like with a decent rate of success for a given demographic. Age and culture are going to be a huge part of that, obviously.
Heather wrote: "@Alannah I haven't read any Jojo Moyes but had Me Before You recommended. Have you read that one? ..."I'm reading it at the moment, Heather, it came highly recommended from friends for me too. I don't normally read chic-lit or romance, but I have to say that it is better than expected.
I don't know if Me Before You is representative of Jojo Moyes work but I am enjoying this book a lot.
No need for embarrassment, Bette! My fault. There were probably others who knew yeast extract by another brand name anyway.Oh I do hate stereotyping. So often this can develop into unreasoning prejudice. I'm just saying ...
I love it; started reading it in the late 1990 early 2000 and haven't stopped. I think she started writing mid 80's
Jean wrote: "No need for embarrassment, Bette! My fault. There were probably others who knew yeast extract by another brand name anyway."I'll admit that I only knew "marmite" not as a food, but as "an earthenware cooking pot". So I thought you were talking about the cooking spectrum: utensils used "in the olden days" vs more modern, i.e. microwave. :-)
I've never heard that usage, Monica! :)
Sometimes I get scared of writing anything on the internet. So often confusion occurs. If you talk to someone in person the flow of info is so much clearer.
Oh Chrissie I know! There are no facial gestures or even any intonation. Sometimes it's best to just read everything at least twice before responding. Even then though what people say can be ambiguous. There are differences of language usage even from those whose mother tongue is English. The pitfalls seem endless. I try to give everybody the benefit of the doubt ... but often have my heart in my mouth when I myself post!Funny though, we all still do it, so we must like it an awful lot to take these risks ;)
Jean wrote: "Oh Chrissie I know! I try to give everybody the benefit of the doubt."That is exactly what I try to do.
To everyone: I have an added problem. Sometimes my head doesn't work properly when my blood glucose (bg) is too low. PLEASE forgive me, people, when I say something totally stupid or strange or weird. If I later happen to see what has happened I get so embarrassed; I feel like hiding my head. And sometimes I don't see the screen properly.... But I simply cannot quit GR. I need GR.
We're here for you, Chrissie :)
Chrissie, hope you get that glucose level back on tract . Goodreads and all of us need you too !Feel better.
Chrissie I never remember you saying anything bad, hope you get your levels back to normal. Worried about you, my friend.
Thanks for understanding, and please always keep this in mind if something I do seems strange. I have had diabetes for more than fifty years and absorption of insulin is uneven.
Diane, I miss things; I don't understand what everyone else understand. I can't remember to say what I intend to say. I read things incorrectly. I will notice the next day - sometimes. Other times I don't see my mistake and that is even worse. I cannot make a correction then.
Finished A Handful of Dust last night. Woke up this morning still thinking about it. It is a satire that deals with the end of a marriage and the end of a way of life for the owners of large British estates between the two world wars. I laughed out loud and gasped in horror on alternating pages. The end, is it heaven or hell, being forced to read Dickens out loud every afternoon???
Evelyn wrote: "Finished A Handful of Dust last night. Woke up this morning still thinking about it. It is a satire that deals with the end of a marriage and the end of a way of life for the owners..."Sounds intriguing...I'll bite! Added to my reading list.
Evelyn - one of my favourites. I cringe every time I read it, at the prospect of the cruel, almost arbitrary events that unfold!
Chrissie wrote: "Diane, I miss things; I don't understand what everyone else understand. I can't remember to say what I intend to say. I read things incorrectly. I will notice the next day - sometimes. Other times ..."Chrissie, that would make two of us :) Sometimes in the middle of the night I would even worry about whether something I said on GR might be taken as insensitive or offensive - after all English is not my mother tongue. I can only ask for forgiveness if I ever upset anyone here. I would never mean any ill or to be rude.
Alice, so I am not alone. There is a great feeling in this group. Everyone wants to be nice and forgives each other if we make silly errors.
Evelyn - your question about "being forced to read Dickens out loud every afternoon" isn't serious, surely?! ;) What larks!
But writing a review of it is a different matter. I feel like you, Chrissie! I have been struggling with my latest, of Barnaby Rudge, for over a week, but here it is at last.
Oh my, I have been trying to write, but I am going to bed instead. It is midnight.
Finished Ulysses by James Joyce. A difficult read at times but a really rewarding read. It's one of those books you really have to experience for yourself to truly understand what's said about it.
Great to hear that you enjoyed reading it Tom. I am intimidated by Ulysses, but I've got Dubliners by James Joyce on my TBR, which I believe to be a bit more accessible
Kiwi wrote: "Great to hear that you enjoyed reading it Tom. I am intimidated by Ulysses, but I've got Dubliners by James Joyce on my TBR, which I believe to be a bit more accessible"That's a good call actually. I didn't know (until I'd getten a few chapters into Ulysses) that Portrait of an Artist and Dubliners were kind of prequels to Ulysses. Characters referenced in Ulysses originally appeared in the first two books, particularly the artist in the portrait, Stephen Dedalus.
Chrissie wrote: "To everyone: I have an added problem. Sometimes my head doesn't work properly when my blood glucose (bg) is too low. PLEASE forgive me, people, when I say something totally stupid or strange or weird. If I later happen to see what has happened I get so embarrassed; I feel like hiding my head. And sometimes I don't see the screen properly.... But I simply cannot quit GR. I need GR. "Chrissie, don't worry my head doesn't work properly too since many years and I don't have glucose problems! :D
Till now you have never said weird or silly things so take it easy and don't worry too much!
dely wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "To everyone: I have an added problem. Sometimes my head doesn't work properly when my blood glucose (bg) is too low. PLEASE forgive me, people, when I say something totally stupid ..."This makes me feel a bit better. I AM a worry wart.
Jean wrote: "Evelyn - your question about "being forced to read Dickens out loud every afternoon" isn't serious, surely?! ;) What larks!
But writing a review of it is a different matter. I feel like you, Chr..."
Jean, your reviews have to take time; they are filled with detailed literary facts! They are wonderful. It is like going to school again...in measured doses.
Great review!
OK, here is my review of Gora:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
More people should read this book; it deserves to be read and loved by more than just Indians. Probably it is best untranslated.
Just finished Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult, ★ ★ ★ ★ ★my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Jean wrote: "Evelyn - your question about "being forced to read Dickens out loud every afternoon" isn't serious, surely?! ;) What larks!
But writing a review of it is a different matter. I feel like you, Chr..."
Jean truly that is how the story goes! The reader is left to decide, based on the events of the story, what the fate of the character is. I am feeling like it was a bit of a toss-up. Did I mention he was being held captive?
Just read The Book of Ebenezer Le Page. 4 stars . My review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Angela, that is such a nice book. Well written. Great review.
Evelyn - Sorry, I hope you know that I was poking fun at myself rather than the book. I've put that right now by reading your review and getting more of a handle on what you meant ;)Chrissie - Thank you for the compliment. I know you were being nice, so don't worry. But I shall definitely have to do something about making people feel they are back at school, I think :(
So my latest review, about "Kes" is here. It is a very personal review.
Jean wrote: "So my latest review, about "Kes" is here. It is a very personal review."oh boy, Kes! What a book, what a film. The book made me cry, but that was okay because I was alone. We saw the film during English class at school and I sobbed and sobbed. Major embarrassment!
Bette - That is so good to hear, that it also affects someone on the other side of the world. Sometimes I wonder if something is speaking to me because of something similar in my experience (in this case, a similar age, class, and location.) But perhaps the true classics will speak to all :)
Jean, I have never read Kes, but I have seen the film. I'm often reluctant to read the book if I have seen a film of it first, but I'm guessing you would say this one is worth it, as you have read this more than once?
I have only read it this one time, Shirley, but it has gone straight on my favourites shelf.
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