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What have you just read? Opinions, recommendations & reviews
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Angela M
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Apr 07, 2015 06:05AM
I finished The Children's Crusade. 3.5 stars . My review : https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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I finished The Very Best of Charles de Lint - a collection of short stories, mostly magical realism. I gave it 4★; you can read my brief review here.I also finished the audiobook of Open Season, which is the first book in a police procedural mystery series set in Vermont. I interrupted my other reading for this as the author is coming to my town for our Book Festival this weekend. While a little grittier than my current taste in mysteries, I liked this enough that I would like to read more in the series. 3.5★
Leslie wrote: "I finished The Very Best of Charles de Lint - a collection of short stories, mostly magical realism. I gave it 4★; you can read my brief review here..."I'm slowly making my way through this one, Leslie.
Monica wrote: "Leslie wrote: "I finished The Very Best of Charles de Lint - a collection of short stories, mostly magical realism. I gave it 4★; you can read my brief review here..."I'm slowly ..."
Yes, I took my time with it. It would be easy to overdose on his stories I think, especially the darker ones.
Jen wrote: "Finished We Are Water...here is my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."Our reviews are similar and we rated the book the same.
My review for We Are Water: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I finished two books: Aunt Dimity And The Duke by Nancy Atherton
Nancy Clancy - The Secret of the Silver Key - Book #4 in the Nancy Clancy Series by Jane O'Connor.
Both of these books are really good. I dearly lov these books.
I am going to be buying the Nancy Clancy Series....they are kinda like Nancy Drew Books. There is a total of 7 books in this series.
Happy Reading
Patricia wrote: "Heather wrote: "Just finished The Tiger's Wife for my bingo challenge. Unfortunately I have been left feeling a bit 'meh' by the book. I didn't love it but there wasn't anything bad ..."Ditto. Glad I'm not the only one not feeling it with that book and glad it wasn't any longer.
Finished a new one: The Animals: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...* edit--I should be clear about my "reviews." I don't write reviews per se. I just give a couple of sentences about my thoughts on the book, and I almost always, always, always, avoid giving a synopsis, as I'm convinced they spoil the book for potential readers. I generally try to avoid them until I've read the book. I won't even read reviews if I have any intention of reading a book for fear of encountering a synopsis.
Coleen and Patricia, you two are not the only ones to dislike The Tiger's Wife. I almost gave it one star, but was generous with two. Gosh, I remember when that first came out and all you heard was praise. It was way too fantastical for my taste, but what I really disliked was how it felt written to shock the reader, gruesome animal sections. Neither did I alike the author extreme ambiguity. I don't want an author to tell me what I should be thinking but you can go to the other extreme with a totally ambiguous message.I think people should explain their views, so I am putting a link to my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
When you picked up the book I didn't want to open my mouth but now you have finished.
I finished Seven Deadly Sins - Romance Horror Anthology From The Fringe which was written by a fiction writing group called Fringe Fiction so here's my review, enjoy!Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Just finished The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice. It was quite the eyeopener to say the least.
Mod
Were you convinced Chuck?I'd need to read it of course, but several things ring alarm bells for me straight off:
1. It's short - 98 pages
2. Goodreads says, "Hitchens was a polemicist and intellectual. While he was once identified with the Anglo-American radical political left, near the end of his life he embraced some arguably right-wing causes" Bit of a shift there ...
4. He was a journalist - and maybe keen for a story, or an unusual angle?
5. Goodreads again, "Hitchens was an anti-theist". Now I'm not religious either, so know you can still admire the person without believing in their religion. But couple this term with the earlier one "polemicist..."
So I'm just wondering how reliable you found this account to be. Like Greg I'd be very saddened if it turned out to be accurate, but I suppose you can never be sure ...
@Jean and @Chuck Re: Christopher Hitchens: A staple of talk shows and lecture circuits, his confrontational style of debate made him both a lauded and controversial figure. Known for his contrarian stance on a number of issues, Hitchens excoriated such public figures as Mother Teresa; Bill Clinton; Henry Kissinger; Noam Chomsky; Diana, Princess of Wales; and Pope Benedict XVI.
Long describing himself as a socialist and a Marxist, Hitchens began his break from the established political left after what he called the "tepid reaction" of the Western left to the controversy over The Satanic Verses, followed by the left's embrace of Bill Clinton, and the "anti-war" movement's opposition to intervention in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Even though Hitchens did not leave his position writing for The Nation until post-9/11, stating that he felt the magazine had arrived at a position "that John Ashcroft is a greater menace than Osama bin Laden."[8] The September 11 attacks "exhilarated" him, bringing into focus "a battle between everything I love and everything I hate," and strengthening his embrace of an interventionist foreign policy which challenged "fascism with an Islamic face".
The preceding two paragraphs are from Wikipedia.
Personally, I'm not sure I'd ever read anything he wrote!
Crikey Bette! Thanks for the info :)
A sad loss when he died a few years ago, I always found everything Hitchens wrote interesting, arguable, and well-written, with passion. A bit like George Orwell, about whom he wrote a good book. And he liked P G Wodehouse and Evelyn Waugh, which is a plus!
Oh wow, I thought everyone knew who Christopher Hitchens was.@ Jean: Yes, it's true--I'm absolutely convinced.
John wrote: "A sad loss when he died a few years ago, I always found everything Hitchens wrote interesting, arguable, and well-written, with passion. A bit like George Orwell, about whom he wrote a good book. A..."
Absolutely.
Mod
@ Jean: Yes, it's true--I'm absolutely convinced..."
:(
I'd heard she was imperious in her management style, but I always thought it was in the interests of giving people the best care. But I know very little about it; so I'm sure others could judge much better than me.
Greg wrote: "Chuck wrote: "@ Jean: Yes, it's true--I'm absolutely convinced..."
:(
I'd heard she was imperious in her management style, but I always thought it was in the interests of giving people the best..."
That's the part that really gets to me: the horrible way people were treated in her clinics: People who had terminal cancer, absolutely severe pain, couldn't get anything more than aspirin; Hypodermic needles were reused; People whose lives could have been saved via a simple surgery or antibiotics were denied. Of course, when she needed care it was nothing but the best for her.
Wow, that's a shocker! I've never heard of Christopher Hitchens, but if he liked George Orwell, he should be alright :)
I'm now completely nonplussed. Christopher Hitchens was just a name to me previously. Obviously I must explore a little and make my own mind up.
C. Hitchens is known for his confrontational style as it is stated very well in the Wikipedia passage. His confrontational style is very much evident in the title that he chose for the book about Mother Teresa. It was not his intention to title it as Missionary Position. He had another title which was more reviling. That was his intention right from the beginning. Before reading Hitchens, it is also good to be informed of it.
Interesting, thanks Dhanaraj! I had assumed that he thought of a snappy title (and I must admit the cynical side of me even thought that the book may have been written around it.)How have I not come across this author? He sounds so controversial! Expensive on Kindle unfortuately but I now have him on "Watch".
I have a natural aversion to these "warts and all" exposés ... but also do not like to prejudge!
Mod
I don't think he's one of those polemical writers that just cynically lies in a spectacular way in order to maximize controversy and hence sales & profit. We do have plenty of those over here, and they sometimes get comfy jobs on a certain news station which is beyond me.
I do think though that he wasn't cautious or measured, and he definitely loved expressing things in shocking & controversial ways. He had a high octane mind that sometimes carried him a bit past the mark. That's just my opinion. I haven't read the Mother Teresa one, and I haven't done any research; so I can't comment on it. But I'll hold onto my uncynical view of her until I have time to look into it fully - by default I prefer to believe in goodness when I can; I think that makes life happier. :)
I can comment on the book I linked. In it, there were some kernels of truth, but some statements were highly unfair I think, and I certainly didn't agree with his conclusions. I definitely think that he meant and believed them though.
@Greg: I too had read the book that you linked in your comment. And I share most of your opinions.
Alice wrote: "Wow, that's a shocker! I've never heard of Christopher Hitchens, but if he liked George Orwell, he should be alright :)"Alice, I, too, thought he was probably very smart and worth reading until I read his Wikipedia page. He seemed to like to create outrage, more than anything else.
Chuck wrote: "...People who had terminal cancer, absolutely severe pain, couldn't get anything more than aspirin; Hypodermic needles were reused; People whose lives could have been saved via a simple surgery or antibiotics were denied. Of course, when she needed care it was nothing but the best for her."I'm only guessing here, in part, but I have a nagging notion in my head that that is all which would have been available in India at the time.
But we must also remember, Mother Teresa was a nun and care in her Houses of the Dying were administered by nuns and volunteers. Should expert medical care be expected from nuns and volunteers?
I'm not arguing with you, I've never been to India so I know none of these facts. I went to Catholic school and Teresa was one of our modern day 'saints'. That may be why I've come out to bat for her even though I'm now a lapsed Catholic.
Hitchens may have had a brilliant mind but he sure could be very antagonistic in all his writing.
I haven't heard of this author nor read anything by him, I'm not sure I'm going to either. I don't like deliberate antagonistic attacks however brilliantly and cleverly expressed. I share Greg's view and wholeheartedly agree with:
Greg wrote: "by default I prefer to believe in goodness when I can; I think that makes life happier. ..."
B the BookAddict wrote: "Jen wrote: "Finished We Are Water...here is my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."Our reviews are similar and we rated the book the same.
My review for [bo..."
WE obviously have great taste :)
Chuck wrote: "Just finished The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice. It was quite the eyeopener to say the least."hmm...that title sounds sacrilegious to me....didn't see your review so not sure what kind of eye opener that one was, Chuck!
Greg - thank you for those thoughtful and meaningful comments. I am getting a real idea of the person with all these comments now :)Although Wiki can be very useful, there are mistakes in there, some of which are deliberately and maliciously included. And though the piece about Christopher Hitchens probably wasn't inaccurate in that way, I do wonder if it was overly partisan. Personally I have found that some articles are much more objective and informed than others, although they do try to keep an eye on it and say when something need proper citation and verifying.
One of my friends regularly adds to Wiki actually, though I reckon it must be a minefield!
Jen wrote: "hmm...that title sounds sacrilegious to me....didn't see your review so not sure what kind of eye opener that one was, Chuck!"
To the truth: she was anything but a good person, much less a saint. BTW, I'm not sure anything is sacred.
Personally, it doesn't matter to me if Hitchens was a socialist, or an atheist, or has a confrontational tone or people think he's mean, or whatever, what matters to me is if what he's saying is true, can you refute his arguments. Anything else is fallacious as far as I'm concerned.
Mod
Greg wrote: "That's true Chuck - on the Mother Teresa subject I just don't know enough yet to judge what's true. That was my main point."And that's a commendable approach in my view. I've always thought people should take what they read and hear with a grain of salt, whether it be Hitchens or anyone else, you know.
I don't know if others do this or not, but since I read eBooks exclusively on my laptop (or listen to audiobooks), I tend to do a lot of research while reading. I even do so with fiction, especially historical fiction. I'm about as skeptical as a person can be and still be open to learning, heh.
Mod
I have the Mother Theresa's book since a long time in my wishlist but I never managed to read it. But I've done some researches on the internet and there are a lot of people who have known her, also doctors, who say that a lot of people could have been saved if they would have been in a hospital. Sadly I don't have anymore the links to these sites. B the BookAddict wrote: "I'm only guessing here, in part, but I have a nagging notion in my head that that is all which would have been available in India at the time.
But we must also remember, Mother Teresa was a nun and care in her Houses of the Dying were administered by nuns and volunteers. Should expert medical care be expected from nuns and volunteers?
"
If a person can be saved in a hospital the nuns aren't allowed to make brainwashing with the usual topics "suffering is a gift of God...you will be rewarded" and other things like this. Ill people must be cured in a hospital by qualified people and not by nuns and volunteers. I've read that Mother Theresa didn't allow her patients to go to a hospital; of course not, she received a lot of money thanks to her "help".
Mod
Greg wrote: "I often do the same thing Chuck! A lot of times that flushes things out for me so I understand better, especially with historical fiction as you say. I think a little outside research helps me reta..."Yeah, it never ceases to amaze me how much you can learn from HF, and just the amount of work some of these authors must have done. I have to be real careful as to not get sidetracked when I start researching something that's piqued my interest, though, lest I end up reading something else, as one thing can often lead to another, and I'll end up reading about something else entirely, heh.
I tend to believe that most people are good people. I truly believe that. I think it's very simple: a good person is someone who acts with the intent to minimize suffering. If it's at all within their power to do something about it, they do it. And I believe most of us would.When MT was asked if she taught the poor to endure their lot she responded: “I think it is very beautiful for the poor to accept their lot, to share it with the passion of Christ. I think the world is being much helped by the suffering of the poor people.”
I think that's called being blinded by dogma to the real suffering people are going through in the here and now. And, IMO, it's morally bankrupt.
Two days ago I've finished Around India in 80 Trains by Monisha Rajesh and this morning I had some time to write a review.Didn't like it that much for many reasons. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I've read a bit by Christopher Hitchens, including Arguably: Essays by Christopher Hitchens. He is often confrontational, though I suspect he would have seen it as forthright. His brother is Peter Hitchens, also confrontational, but as different as chalk and cheese from Christopher politically.Edited to add I have also read Mortality, very good I thought.
Chuck, Greg - Yes I too do a lot of additional research around an area I'm reading whether fact or fiction. The internet has been an enormous boon in this! And the bottom line is always the truth, for me too. I will never knowingly be blinded by what would have been more palatable. Unfortunately, some good events have resulted from questionable actions. Whenever this is proved beyond question then it is bound to make us reassess those involved a little bit. Do the ends always justify the means? And there you have one of the questions moral philosophers have been struggling with for centuries!
Chuck - I agree entirely that suffering is never justifiable. I take this across all species. Clearly the view you quote though is a particular spiritual view, based on a code which has its own internal "morality", based on a specific belief system, and nothing to do with the here and now. It makes no sense to me either in terms of logic unless you accept the basic premise. I'm afraid I cannot begin to get inside the mindset of someone who does.
Finished The Shadow of the Crescent Moon: A Novel. 4 stars . My review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Chrissie wrote: "I really liked París:0)
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
A friend of mine really likes Rutherfurd and has been suggesting his books for year to me.
Tom, I like history and it fits well such people. There is a good story too.
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