All About Books discussion
note: This topic has been closed to new comments.
General Archive
>
What have you just read? Opinions, recommendations & reviews
I flew through a couple of mysteries - Excursion to Tindari and The Masuda Affair. I liked them both. Despite being different in setting and tone, they both a) avoid being too gory or graphic; b) involve a main character who is at (most) times at odds with his superiors; and c) balanced the mystery with the personal life just right for me.
Finished Dark Origins. I actually thought it was pretty good for what it is--a "trash read" if you know what I mean. Very James Patterson-like, I thought. Only Patterson at his absolute best.
Finished After the Quake a book of short stories by my author of the moment Haruki Murakami. There were for me 2 stand out vignettes Thailand and Super frog saves Tokyo :) However I definitely prefer Murakami in the long version.
Tracey wrote: "Finished After the Quake a book of short stories by my author of the moment Haruki Murakami. There were for me 2 stand out vignettes Thailand and Super frog saves Tokyo :) However I definitely pre..."
Murakami is perfect! I also prefer him in the long version, his prose is so calming. He writes the kind of book perfect to read by the window on a winter day :D
Studying children's lit and just finished the block about picture books, Where the Wild Things Are was mentioned a lot so just read it and enjoyed it. I always thought it was a more recent book.Actually did my essay on Voices in the Park so been reading that which is amazing! Think Anthony Browne's illustrations are fab - so much in them you don't notice first time reading.
I completed Revolution 1989: The Fall of the Soviet Empire, and it is a book that I highly recommend. Excellent book. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Iris I've just started Norwegian wood and omy love it already :)
Tracey wrote: "Iris I've just started Norwegian wood and omy love it already :)"What a wonderful book! Which did you read of his so far?
I've read After dark Kafka on the shore and after the Quake. I have All 3 IQ 84 books on my bookcase and Hard boiled wonderland plus just ordered yesterday The wind up bird chronicles I think I have a Murakami addiction lol :)
Thanks for the add Iris. :)I will search your shelves for Murakami
Katie wrote: "Studying children's lit and just finished the block about picture books, Where the Wild Things Are was mentioned a lot so just read it and enjoyed it. I always thought it was a more re..."I love that book! Especially the pictures :)
Mod
Katie wrote: "Studying children's lit and just finished the block about picture books, Where the Wild Things Are was mentioned a lot so just read it and enjoyed it. I always thought it was a more re..."I love Voices in the Park, in fact pretty much all of Anthony Browne's books are great!
LauraT wrote: "Just finished Life of Pi. It's 3 stars and a half. Interesting, humorous at bits, but too long..."We agree again :)
Finished The Great Leader by Jim Harrison. He's the author behind the story that became the film LEGENDS OF THE FALL. For me it was a case of seriously talented writer writing a story that was all too "meh." Others might enjoy it, though. The guy obviously has extreme skills-- I just didn't connect with the story.
I grew into liking The Awakening. It is also inteesting since it is one of the earlier books of feminism.My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Sandy wrote: "I finished reading The Absolutist by John Boyne this morning. My first book from this author -- it won't be my last. He writes very well. The story touched me in a ver..."I've only read one from him as well--it was fabulous! The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Jen wrote: "Just finished Orphan Train,,.Here is my review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."Completely agree with your assessment. I gave it 3.5 stars.
Chuck, i didn't realise The Absolutist was by the same author as The boy in the striped pyjamas, I loved that book!
Just finished Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter 4.5 stars if I could. Really enjoyed the story and all the nuances to it. Also finished I Shall Be Near to You, which is a great love story set during the Civil War. Now on to Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace ... One School at a Time.
Finished yesterday evening The Family Carnovsky by Israel J. Singer. 4 stars for me and it was the right book in this stressful period because despite the many serious topics it had a relaxing and slow pace. I was totally engrossed by the story so I could forget for a while all the things I have to do.The book deals with the story of a Jewish family, the Carnovskys: from the beginning of the 20th century to WWII; from Poland to the United States.
My bilingual review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished The Night Circus. Thoroughly enjoyed the exceptionally imaginative aspects. Chapters fit together like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle. Sometimes you pick one piece up and look at it, but no matter how colorful it is it just does not fit the spot you're trying to connect...but it will all come together in the end, as did the chapters in this story.
Sandy wrote: "Monica, thank you for this helpful analogy. I will try to remember this image when I encounter a puzzling story. One instance, in recent memory, was The Charioteer by Mary Renault. So many odd piec..."Had to look twice, Sandy...very nice "new" Avatar. Looking through reviews, I did notice that several people commented on the unusual flow of the book, which didn't bother me. I trust an author to lead me through the story to a satisfying conclusion. This time, it worked.
Colleen wrote: "Just finished Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter 4.5 stars if I could. Really enjoyed the story and all the nuances to it. Also finished I Shall Be Near to You, which is ..."You should probably be aware of this one as well: Three Cups of Deceit: How Greg Mortenson, Humanitarian Hero, Lost His Way.
Pink wrote: "Chuck, i didn't realise The Absolutist was by the same author as The boy in the striped pyjamas, I loved that book!"Lol! I was kinda hoping you hadn't read it. It was very good.
I've just finished The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom. Really liked it and gave it four stars.
Just finished When Saigon Surrendered. Really enjoyed it. Good characters and a plot twist that you don't see coming. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
Last night I finished reading Monsters of Menthe final book in the Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness. Here is my review, enjoy!Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Shirley wrote: "I love Voices in the Park, in fact pretty much all of Anthony Browne's books are great!"I want to read more of his books now - Gorilla and Zoo both look good.
I've just finished reading The Song of Achilles. I gave it 5 stars. Here's a link to my short review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Chuck wrote: "Colleen wrote: "Just finished Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter 4.5 stars if I could. Really enjoyed the story and all the nuances to it. Also finished I Shall Be Near to You....Chuck, I know. Ive owned it forever and finally put it on a challenge list for this year to get it done and over with. It's pretty interesting but I know it should all be taken with a grain of salt. Which is too bad. Sounds like I should also read Deceit.
I also have his Stones Into Schools: Promoting Peace With Books, Not Bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan.....derrrr.
Gill wrote: "I've just finished reading The Song of Achilles. I gave it 5 stars. Here's a link to my short review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
Thanks for this, Gill. It sounds like something I'd enjoy reading. Just placed a hold at my library.
Colleen wrote: "Chuck wrote: "Colleen wrote: "Just finished Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter 4.5 stars if I could. Really enjoyed the story and all the nuances to it. Also finished [book:I Shall Be N..."I've known about it for a while--Krakauer is one of my very favorites-but I actually read it last night. It's only like 70 pages. Mortenson's books are fiction essentially. He duped a lot of people to the tune of millions.
I have completed Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the LusitaniaMy review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I wanted to like it more than I did. The second half is much better than the first.
I finished Oh Dear Silvia but I wouldn't recommend it! Only 1 star for me https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished A Little Life and absolutely loved it.
Here's my review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Here's my review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A recent book that I did really enjoy and have now finished after 7 months is The Letters of Nancy Mitford and Evelyn Waugh it's a great collection, especially if you like this era of writing. Here's my review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Today I finished listening to the audio of Vanessa and Her Sister.I enjoyed it but found it a bit passive. I only had to listen, not think or consider. It took me awhile to figure out why, although I enjoyed every word, I wasn't that involved and didn't anticipate my next car ride more.
Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Last week, I finished reading Peace Like a River. I was blown away it. I really enjoyed the story and the characters.
Although I can see what some 1-star reviewers said, these things didn't impact the story for me at all and I found the points insignificant. I loved this book.
Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I can't remember whether I posted this or not, so excuse me if it's a repeat.
I (finally) finished reading The Diaries of Sofia Tolstoy. She's a fascinating woman! But she only writes in her diary when she's bemoaning something. The book is filled with paranoia, tears, wailings, fears, insecurities, etc. I had to take it slow and read only a small section at a time. Because of this book, I'm interested in reading a "real" biography of Sofia, written by someone other than herself and with some historical & life context (outside of the moaning).
Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
WHAT A STINKER! Hard times by Charles Dickens.In the last year I've been reading Dickens novels in order. Of the first nine, I have given six 5stars and three 4stars. But Hard Times is awful - thin in plot and thin in characters. This deserves a2star - it should have been a short Dickens Christmas story at best.. Luckily, I've now started the great Bleak House - what a relief. Can't do better than copy what the great socialist novelist J B Priestly wrote:
Why Hard Times is a bad novel
J. B. Priestley [GPL]
Hard Times . . . . has had its special admirers, particularly among those who see Dickens as a propagandist for their own political-economic ideology. We are told that one Cambridge pundit [F. R. Leavis?], a few years ago, declared that the only Dickens novel worth reading was Hard Times — surely one of the most foolish statements of this age. It would be far more sensible to reverse this judgment, to say that of all the novels of Dickens's maturity Hard Times is the least worth reading. It is muddled in its direct political-social criticism. As a novel it falls far below the standard set by Dickens himself from Dombey and Son onwards. Here for once it is almost as if we are seeing Dickens through the eyes of his hostile critics, for in Hard Times there really are reckless and theatrical over-statements, there really are characters that are nothing but caricatures, there really is melodramatic muddled emotion- alism. On the other hand, only in a few odd places is there any evidence of Dickens's unique grotesque-poetic genius, so obvious in Bleak House. We may join him in condemning an industrialized commercial society, its values, its economics, its education, its withering relationships, but this does not mean we have to pretend an unsatisfactory novel is a masterpiece, just because it favours our side. . . .
The truth is, Dickens did not know enough about industrial England. He had given a public reading in Birmingham, which provided him with some horrifying glimpses of the grim Midlands. Because there was a big strike in Preston, he paid it a visit, but he found no drama there. He came away deeply sympathizing with the men but feeling doubtful about trade union organizers. He was not on any ground familiar to him. So his Coketown is merely a horrible appearance, and in order to offer us a sharp contrast to Gradgrind and Bounderby, their outlook and style of life, he sketches a travelling circus to represent arts, skills, warm personal relationships. But he could have found all these, together with many odd attractive characters, in Coketown, if he had really known it and not simply looked at it from a railway train. As it is, Coketown belongs to propaganda and not to creative imagination. [167-68]
References
Priestley, J. B. Victoria's Heyday. New York: Harper & Rowe, 1972.
Victorian Web Overview Charles Dickens Hard Times
Last modified 4 January 2006
Petra wrote: "I (finally) finished reading The Diaries of Sofia Tolstoy. She's a fascinating woman! But she only writes in her diary when she's bemoaning something. The book is filled with paranoia, tears, wailings, fears, insecurities, etc. I had to take it slow and read only a small section at a time. Because of this book, I'm interested in reading a "real" biography of Sofia, written by someone other than herself and with some historical & life context"I think it was Diana who suggested this: Sophia Tolstoy: A Biography. She said it was excellent. I would like to read it too.
Thanks, Chrissie! I'll check that one out.
This topic has been frozen by the moderator. No new comments can be posted.
All About Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Red Shoes for Rachel: Three Novellas (other topics)Kindred (other topics)
Kindred (other topics)
Kindred (other topics)
The Promise Girls (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Octavia E. Butler (other topics)Octavia E. Butler (other topics)
Octavia E. Butler (other topics)
Marie Bostwick (other topics)
Deon Meyer (other topics)
More...
I enjoyed it but wouldn't say it was a great read! ;) The atmosphere and sense of male-dominated, strict Calvinist culture was very well created and I found the story read easily. However I would agree with Evelyn's comment that the miniaturist as a character is not central and is never fully explained.