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What have you just read? Opinions, recommendations, reviews Part 2
spoko wrote: "Raul wrote: "Finished reading The Master and Margarita by Mikhail BulgakovIt was a very funny and very serious read that I enjoyed very much. My review:
https://www.go..."
This is so wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing this!
Mod
I love it! I wish I could "bo..."
Great pic!
It took several weeks of intermittently dipping into it while reading a few other books in between, but I finally finished the 700 page The Annotated Arabian Nights: Tales from 1001 Nights, translated by Yasmine Seale and edited by Paulo Lemos Horta.This stunning tome provides a wealth of information, its pages adorned with beautiful illustrations. It is a volume to be read slowly, savored, and enjoyed.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished another wonderful ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ read -
Unforgiven by Sarah Barrie https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My review of Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding by Rhys Bowen
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My review of What Storm, What Thunder by Myriam J. A. Chancyhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
There should be lots of books like this for kids (and their grown-ups). It's beautiful, it's informative, it's scary, and it's funny! What's not to like about Nenek Tata and the Mangrove Menace (set in Sabah, Malaysia) by Judith Vun Price
5★ Link to my Nenek Tata and the Mangrove Menace review
This has to be one of the most remarkable debuts I've ever read! The Booker Prize people liked it, too. If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things by Jon McGregor has a mysterious event at its heart. Who did what?
5★ Link to my review of ...Remarkable Things
My review of A Life on Our Planet: My Witness Statement and a Vision for the Future by David Attenboroughhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished the⭐⭐⭐.7
The Sunshine Club by Carolyn Brown https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished two books:Lian Hearn's The Harsh Cry Of The Heron - reviewed - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1404856422
and
Murder In Absentia by Assaph Mehr - reviewed - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4356135379
Finished the ⭐⭐⭐.5
Prose and Cons by Wendy Corsi Staub and I am looking forward to reading more in this series. https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I enjoyed Aussie investigative journo John Bailey's second outing so much, State of Fear, that I'm now reading the third one! Tim Ayliffe is an excellent writer whose characters are hunting terrorists - right now! 
4.5★ Link to my review of State of Fear
I’ve just reread The Mermaid of Black Conch having recommended it to a book club I recently joined ( now I am a lady of leisure I have time for such indulgences! ) I love the book but was somewhat taken aback to find several members “ hate magical realism” and that the very idea of reading a book with “mermaid” in the title had been disturbing before they even opened the book. And there was I imagining that the sex would be the problem… Anyway I am so glad I reread and used this as an excuse to delve deeper into official reviews and Roffey’s own comments. Here’s my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished the ⭐⭐.9
Outback Creed by Jonathan Macpherson. This would make a great movie. But for me the book has a little too much action and is short on subtlety. https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This book is unique. Not just kind of different - unique. Naoki Higashida wrote a memoir The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism, which is not only informative but entertaining! For a kid who couldn't "communicate", he sure learned well, and he has a good sense of humour, too.
5★ Link to my Reasons Why I Jump review
Finished The Grass Is Singing by Doris Lessing. Not a pleasant read, but excellent in every way.Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Mod
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
I thought that was excellent too! It was the first but definitely not the last I read by Lessing. So far, the only book by her that I wasn't sure about was Briefing for a Descent Into Hell. The rest of the several I read were all good!
PattyMacDotComma wrote: "This book is unique. Not just kind of different - unique. Naoki Higashida wrote a memoir The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism, ..."A brilliant book. The sequel is excellent too. Fall Down 7 Times Get Up 8: A Young Man's Voice from the Silence of Autism
Greg wrote: "Kathleen wrote: "Finished The Grass Is Singing by Doris Lessing. Not a pleasant read, but excellent in every way.Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show......"
Good to know--thanks, Greg! I've read three now, and I can see she's not the type of writer that will be a win every time for me or any individual reader. Not sure which I'll read next--maybe The Cleft.
Finished the ⭐⭐.8
Boy Underground by Catherine Ryan Hyde This was a disappointing read for me. https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Read book 1 of N K Jemisin's trilogy, The Fifth Season - reviewed - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4392639153
This was sweet, young book lovers would love it. 
by Aussie author Katrina NannestadMy review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Kamala Harris by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara is a colourful look at the current US Vice President. She is a first in so many ways! Little people BIG DREAMS is a great little series of books.
4★ Link to my Kamala Harris review with several illustrations
This may help people approach challenging holiday conversations.The graphic publication The Pronoun Book, by Cassandra Jules Corrigan tries to explain how people choose to identify themselves and how we should refer to them and each other.
Bi, non-binary, trans, other gender issues are here. It's certainly a tricky business, and this is one place to start to understand it.
3★ Link to my review of The Pronoun Book wil several illustrations
A little something to help put you in the Christmas spirit.My review of Christmas at Pebble Creek by Vannetta Chapman
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I read The Last Hours by Minette Walters.The novel is the first in a historical trilogy about the Black Death in 14th Century England. The research was impressive, but the characters were flat and the pacing dragged. A little disappointing.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Mod
The novel is the first in a historical trilogy about the Black Death in 14th Century England. The research was impressive, b..."
That's too bad Tamara. That was such a terrible time, full of so much that is human and so many stories to tell. A shame the author wasn't suited for the task!
Finished the ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Past Life by David Mark.This is a gripping book that, although it is part of a series, can easily be read as a stand-alone. https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Greg wrote: "That's too bad Tamara. That was such a terrible time, full of so much that is human and so many stories to tell. A shame the author wasn't suited for the task!.."Greg, I checked reviews after I posted mine. A lot of folks liked the book, so it could just be me :)
I just finished The Enemy Within, the enemy being radicalised suburban Muslim youths, local right-wing extremists, and bent Aussie cops. Take your pick! Journalist Tim Ayliffe knows his stuff. This is January 2020 JUST before Covid hit.
4★ Link to my review of The Enemy Within
Read wonderful poetry Collected Poems by Robert HaydenMy review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Read book 2 of NK Jemisin's Broken Earth trilogy - The Obelisk Gate - and reviewed it - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4397597349
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Ha ha, love it spoko!