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What have you just read? Opinions, recommendations, reviews Part 2
message 7051:
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PattyMacDotComma
(new)
Jan 11, 2021 01:47AM
I finally decided to 'review' my own 2020 on Goodreads by choosing the books I liked best. It's a strange assortment, but that's what makes reading fun for me.
5★ of course! Link to my good reads of 2020
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Surprrisingly modern, for a book written over 2000 years ago! And not so chauvinist as it could be thought!
I read Iza's Ballad by Magda Szabó; translated from the Hungarian by George Szirtes.A meditation on love, grief, and aging. The writing is beautiful, powerful, moving, and heart-wrenching. The character portrayals are compelling. Especially effective is the portrayal of Ettie, the mother.
If you are looking for a translated book, a book on mother/daughter relationships and/or a book with a 70 year old female protagonist, I recommend this very highly. It is the first book I've read by Magda Szabó, but it certainly won't be the last.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
After a few prior attempts, I finished and loved The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton.
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
First two reads of 2021:The prequel in Lian Hearn's fantasy inspired by medieval Japan Heaven's Net Is Wide - reviewed - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2747905534"
and
a non fiction study by Norman Cohn, Warrant For Genocide: The Myth Of The Jewish World Conspiracy And The Protocols Of The Elders Of Zion - reviewed - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3746444460
I'm sure many of you have read this one, but I just got around to reading this co-winner of the 2019 Booker Prize:Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo - 4 stars - My Review
I started off the year with two great reads,Oathbringer - my review
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - my review
My review of The Bridge in Sunset Park by Danielle Stewart:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
4 stars
My review of Queenie Malone's Paradise Hotel by Ruth Hogan
2 and a half stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I read Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell. A beautiful story, beautifully told. O'Farrell immerses the reader in Elizabethan England as she tells the story of Shakespeare's wife and son.My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Amalia wrote: "Finished Mystery in White
by J. Jefferson Farjeon5 stars
My review:www.goodreads.com/review/show/3768637367"
I read this several years ago and quite liked it, though not as much as you apparently did! I gave it 4*… Those Golden Age mysteries are such a treat.
My review of The Brothers York: An English Tragedy by Thomas Pennhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My review of Saving Justice: Truth, Transparency, and Trust by James Comeyhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My review of The Return by Nicholas Sparks
4 and a half stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Yesterday I read Asterix and Cleopatra - the 6th comic book (or graphic novel) in René Goscinny's series. These delightful comics, beautifully illustrated by Albert Uderzo, contain enough juvenile humor to entertain children while having enough content to be enjoyable for adults. My 'inner child' delights at all the puns, especially in the names!
Leslie wrote: "Yesterday I read Asterix and Cleopatra - the 6th comic book (or graphic novel) in René Goscinny's series. These delightful comics, beautifully illustrated by Albert Uderzo, contain e..."Have loved these books for years.
Pam wrote: "Leslie wrote: "Yesterday I read Asterix and Cleopatra - the 6th comic book (or graphic novel) in René Goscinny's series. These delightful comics, beautifully illustrated by Albert Ud..."I wish that I had discovered them years ago - I don't know if my parents were unaware of them or if getting English translations was difficult back when I was growing up but I am sure that both they and I would have loved them back then. Ah well, at least I can enjoy them now!
I read Mud and Stars: Travels in Russia with Pushkin, Tolstoy, and Other Geniuses of the Golden Age by Sara Wheeler.An engaging mix of history, literary criticism, travelogue, and memoir as Sara Wheeler visits the homes and favorite haunts of famous, nineteenth century Russian novelists.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I managed to read 5 titles off my Netgalley shelf in the past week:
Trafficked by M.A. Hunter ⭐⭐⭐.4https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
Bibliomysteries Volume 1 edited by Otto Penzler (audiobook) ⭐⭐⭐⭐.6https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
The Ocean House: Stories by Mary-Beth Hughes ⭐ my first dnf for 2021 and, I hope, my last. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
The Boatman's Wife by Noëlle Harrison ⭐⭐⭐.6https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
And
Pianos and Flowers: Brief Encounters of the Romantic Kind by Alexander McCall Smith ⭐⭐⭐.6https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
PLUS one library book
The Lost Man by Jane Harper ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...And another audiobook
Flesh House by Stuart MacBride ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
This is an unusual addition to the Little People BIG DREAMS series for children by Mª Isabel Sánchez Vegara. Louise Bourgeois was a troubled, unique artist who created disturbing sculptures.
4★ Link to my Louise Bourgeois review with illustrations and a few photos of her "Maman" spiders
Amazing Things Are Happening Here is a collection of short stories by Jacob M. Appel, a doctor who has a knack for writing stories with a twist.
3★ Link to my Amazing Things review
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A fresco of the "left aside" of society during WWII and the years immediately following. The story of a woman, her two sons, and all the choir of people around them. Heart breaking, breath taking, describing a country - alas - no longer being alive
My review of The Diary of a Good Neighbour by Doris Lessing.https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
It was a wonderful book, exploring our fears of old age and death.
Raul wrote: "My review of The Diary of a Good Neighbour by Doris Lessing.https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
It was a wonderful book, exploring our fears of old age ..."
Nice review, Raul. The book looks really interesting. I've added it to my TBR. Thanks.
Tamara wrote: "Raul wrote: "My review of The Diary of a Good Neighbour by Doris Lessing.https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
It was a wonderful book, exploring our fear..."
Thank you, Tamara. It was an incredible read, one that made me think a lot and so I hope you get to read, I would certainly love to hear your thoughts about it when you're done.
Slightly disappointing historical fiction... The Titanic Sisters
My 2⭐ review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I really enjoyed The Crossing, the first of Aussie author B. Michael Radburn's mystery series about a park ranger escaping his grief by taking a posting in Tasmania. It's frying pan into the fire stuff, except it's so bl**dy freezing that the fire might be welcome. Good read!
4.5★ Link to my review of The Crossing
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