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What have you just read? Opinions, recommendations, reviews Part 2
Oh I loved this one!
by the talented Katherine CenterMy review, five stars:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Read Dean Koontz's The Big Dark Sky - reviewed - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4965596723and
Star Trek, Volume 1 by Mike Johnson - reviewed - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4974581014
A book about the series that started my life long passion of reading!
by Jenna BallardMy review, four stars:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I wish all books written for young people were as appealing as
Blueback
is to readers of any age. Much-awarded Aussie author Tim Winton knows exactly how to talk to kids, without talking down, when describing his beloved coast and its precious underwater world.
5★ My review of Blueback
It's impossible to figure out who all
The Liars
are in Aussie author Petronella McGovern's new small town mystery. From colonial crimes to more recent rapes and disappearances, it seems nobody is safe and anybody could be under suspicion.
3★ My review of The Liars
This was an interesting premise, I'm sure others would like this more than I did. I readjusted my review to be 3.5 stars.
by Peggy FrewHere is my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I often think about boys like Paul, the ones with such strong desires but no idea of what it takes to fulfill them. Willa Cather's short story, Paul's Case, is unforgettable. 
5★ My review with a link to the story online
I finished reading an incredible book The Garden of the Finzi-Continis by Giorgio Bassani. An account of a Jewish community during Mussolini's fascist regime, my review can be read here:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
An intriguing Willa Cather short story about a misfit,
Paul's Case.Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
And a lesser-known George Orwell, with loads of lovely British nostalgia
Coming Up for AirReview: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This is a book I had wanted to read for a long time. 
by Jacqueline BublitzMy review, five stars: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I read The Lost Art of Scripture: Rescuing the Sacred Texts by Karen Armstrong.Armstrong's knowledge of the subject matter is impressive. I enjoyed major parts of the book and appreciated her basic premise. But I think it got bogged down in a little too much detail.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I also read a moving novella set in Ireland in 1985. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan is quiet, unassuming, and packing a powerful punch.My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I enjoyed this one, althoug dark themes. There are descriptive scentes, sexual in nature.Four stars, my review of
written by Kate Elizabeth Russellhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The first of this author for me.
by Michael MosleyHe does know what he's talking about!
My review, three stars:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
John Boyne finally wrote an adult sequel to his much-loved The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and it is terrific! All the Broken Places is older sister Gretel's 'autobiography' from when she was the 12-year-old daughter of a Nazi officer, then passing as French in Australia, and finally to the age of 92 in London. What a story!
5★ My review of All the Broken Places(The link should work this time!)
A couple read a little while ago and reviewed but forgot to post the links:Hunger by Michael Grant - reviewed - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4978476191
The Djinn by Graham Masterton - reviewed - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4982389044
and a couple just read and reviewed -
Star Trek, Volume 2 by Mike Johnson - reviewed - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4988299461
Blott on the Landscape by Tom Sharpe - reviewed - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4988279991
My review of The Promise of Dawn by Lauraine Snelling
4 stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Hands
is a moving short story from Sherwood Anderson's highly regarded collection, Winesburg, Ohio (1919). Wing Biddlebaum doesn't understand what is wrong with his hands, but it's obvious to the rest of us.
4★ My review of Hands with a link to where you can download the story
Elizabeth Strout's Lucy Barton returns in her new book, Lucy by the Sea, where ex-husband William takes her to Maine to escape the pandemic which has brought New York City to its knees. It's American, real and current, but the relationship strengths and strains go beyond geographical boundaries and times. Families are families. Neighbours are neighbours.
5★ My review of Lucy by the Sea
A lighter read to refresh my palette, four stars for
by Fleur McDonaldMy review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I read The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes.A meditation on memory and how we manipulate it to bolster our self-image. It started off well with an engaging first-person narrator, but then I felt it dragged. The ending wasn't very satisfactory.
Pre-teen (ALMOST 13!) Ricky Bird is struggling with parents' split, sick little brother, and moving to a different estate in another part of London. Aussie author Diane Connell's The Improbable Life of Ricky Bird deals with many difficult subjects. I think it would be a good YA read.
3★ My review
One should always pay attention to what the animals are doing. Jack London is well-known for his tales of the frozen north, and his short story, To Build a Fire, is colder and more desperate than most. 
4★ My review of To Build a Fire
How I could have missed C.S. Lewis's
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
in my childhood is beyond me. Surely someone should have directed me to it! It's still fun, of course. Better late, etc. 😊
5★ My review
On a completely different note,
No Country for Old Men
by Cormac McCarthy is only for seasoned readers. Simple, direct, and violent, but thought-provokingly tender in places. Phenomenal writer.
5★ My review
All About Books
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Death at Hungerford Stairs (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Ashley Kalagian Blunt (other topics)Daniel Suarez (other topics)
Willow Rose (other topics)
L.P. Hartley (other topics)
Luis Alberto Urrea (other topics)
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My review, all the stars:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...