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What have you just read? Opinions, recommendations, reviews Part 2
Enjoyed book 2 of Den Patrick's series, The Boy who Wept Blood, and reviewed it - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2639528434.
My review of Only We Know by Victoria Purman
3 and a half stars.
goodreads.com/review/show/2598634748
Mod
by Jonathan Coe.Really a great book; as I've written in my review (for once in Italian even if the book I've read was in English!) Victorian as approach - family saga of many voices, scattered time and space, conicidences ... - but wholly XX Century in its writing: ironical, surreal, iconoclast. Coe at his best!!!
My last read book of the year: Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. It feels good to begin ad end this year on literary high-notesMy review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Alice Hoffman has written some very popular novels, but Everything My Mother Taught Me is a short story that's included in the new Amazon Original Stories series. I was VERY happy with what the daughter learned!
4★ Link to my review
The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports by Jeff Passan - 4 stars - My Review
Read and enjoyed Misogynation: The True Scale of Sexism
My 4⭐ review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
currently reading Shakespeare's four tragedies
Phrynne wrote: "My review of Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom 
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
Oh, that is on my TBR for next year!
LauraT wrote: "Finished right now to re-read What a Carve Up! by Jonathan Coe.Really a great book; as I've written in my review (for once in Itali..."
I'll have to add that to my mountain of books to find!
What will probably be my last book for the year. Cockroaches by Scholastique Mukasonga.
A harrowing memoir about growing up as a Tutsi in Hutu-dominated Rwanda. Scholastique manages to escape before the 1994 genocide. Nearly 40 members of her family are not so lucky.
An important book even though it is difficult to read about the atrocities perpetrated by human beings.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Mod
I'll have to add that to my mountain of books to find!"
Do! And let me know what you think
LauraT wrote: "Leslie wrote: "LauraT wrote: "Finished right now to re-read What a Carve Up! ...I'll have to add that to my mountain of books to find!"
Do! And let me know what you think"
It's a deal!
And here is something a bit off-topic as it isn't about what you just read but an end-of-the-year meme. Complete the following idioms with the title of a book you read in 2019. Words in parentheses are optional (and you can add your own parenthetical words as needed). Here are mine:
A stitch in time... (saves) Spinsters in Jeopardy
Don't count your chickens... Before Midnight
A penny saved is.... Making Money
All good things must come.. (to) The Brother Of Daphne
When in Rome... (follow) Local Custom
All that glitters is not... The Truth
A picture is worth... All The King's Men
When the going gets tough, the tough get ... Money for Nothing
Two wrongs don't make... (a) Design for Living
The pen is mightier than.... Diplomatic Immunity
The squeaky wheel gets... A Few Quick Ones
Hope for the best, but prepare for... The Day of the Locust
Birds of a feather flock... (in) Heavy Weather
I've finished Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev.https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A must-have to keep around for visitors (after you read them yourself)!Midwinter Mysteries: A Christmas Crime Anthology is a collection of short, entertaining mysteries with only the season in common. Dates range from 1665 to today. I always love Graham Brack's Prague police stories, and his is the first.
4★ Link to my review
Finished reading the fantastic The Bridge of Beyond by Simone Schwarz-BartMy review
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My faves of 2019. Hope 2020 brings more joy of reading. My year in review.https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I'm finishing my reviewing year with an outstanding new book, coming out in January. American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins is the terrifying story of a woman trying to escape the deadly, insidious Mexican cartels.
5★ Link to my review
My review of The Eye: An Insider's Memoir of Masterpieces, Money, and the Magnetism of Art by Philippe Costamagna:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
4 stars
My review of Good Dogs Don't Make it to the South Pole by Hans-Olav Thyvold
2 and a half stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished reading The Book of Light
by Lucille CliftonLoved it and here my review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
First review of the year for me is The Aeneid
by Virgil. Though The Iliad is still objectively tops, this is maybe my personal favorite Classical epic poem that I have read. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I'm currently catching up on some reviews, but have three classics I can highly recommend:The Lion in Winter by James Goldman
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
And the second in the Kristin Lavransdatter series, The Wife by Sigrid Undset
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
All three were five star reads.
My review of Better Homes and Corpses by Kathleen Bridge:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
3 stars
I had hoped to finish In Other Worlds: SF and the Human Imagination in 2019 but, alas, the Holidays splendidly got in the way.If you enjoy Margaret Atwood's insights and humor; and you like sci-fi, you'll find this an interesting read.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My first read for 2020 was Nineveh by Henrietta Rose-Innes. It was an unusual book about a beetle infestation. But it's not really about that, at all. I read it as an allegory about all things creepy-crawly that lie beneath the surface. The writing was lush and full of evocative detail. It was a good way to start the year because I really enjoyed it.My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My first book for 2020 was Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips.https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished
The Girl Who Wrote in Silk by Kelli Estes. Compelling and educational. 4.4 stars.My short review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My review of Murder on Astor Place by Victoria Thompson
4 stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Tamara wrote: "My first read for 2020 was Nineveh by Henrietta Rose-Innes. It was an unusual book about a beetle infestation. But it's not really about that, at all. I read it as ..."Thanks for your brief blurb - it made me intrigued by this book (even though it isn't really my typical kind of reading)!
Leslie wrote: "Thanks for your brief blurb - it made me intrigued by this book (even though it isn't really my typical kind of reading)!."You're welcome! Hope you enjoy the book.
I spent New Year's day reading a sci-fi omnibus - Alien Emergencies by James White. It contained books 4-6 in the Sector General series (Ambulance Ship, Sector General & Star Healer) which is about a space station hospital with patients & staff from over 60 different species. Good straight up science fiction for those who like that type of thing (which obviously I do!).
All About Books
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My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...