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What have you just read? Opinions, recommendations, reviews Part 2
My review of The Bushranger's Wife by Cheryl Adnams
4 stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
and
The Girl on the 88 Bus by Freya Sampson
5 stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Neapolitan Novels: My Brilliant Friend, The Story of a New Name, Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay The Story of the Lost Child: The Complete BBC Radio Collection by Elena FerranteMy review 3.5★
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
LauraT wrote: "Dale wrote: "The Girl on the 88 Bus by Freya Sampson
5 stars."
So good? I'm intrigued!"
Thanks. Hope you read it Laura.
Dwayne Johnson
is admired by adults and kids alike. In Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara's children's biography of The Rock is a good introduction to how he came from wrestling to be the highest paid actor in the world.
5★ My review of Dwayne Johnson (aka The Rock)
SMUT. Yes, really. That's what the title means (among other things).
Shmutz
by Felicia Berliner, is the unusual story of a porn-addicted teen. Not a boy, but a sheltered Jewish girl from an ultra-conservative Hasidic family in New York. I loved it!
5★ My review of Shmutz with nothing graphic
My reviews of Maybe This Time by Jill Mansell
2 stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
and
The Country Guesthouse by Robyn Carr
3 and a half stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth StroutMy review, all the stars.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
After what seemed like forever on the library wait list, I finally got my hands on Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver.I enjoyed it although I think some parts felt like unnecessary padding. Her political agenda was very obvious from the start. For me, the best part was Demon's voice.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Read The Silence of the Girls: From the Booker prize-winning author of Regeneration by Pat Barker - reviewed - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2520850439
My review of The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick
4 stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Just finished an excellent collection of short stories, set in Ireland during Covid measures:-Life Without Children: Stories by Roddy Doyle
Rated these as 4* (9/10). My review is here:-
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
If you haven't been collecting the Buzz Books, you're missing a lot of free previews. Buzz Books 2023: Spring/Summer is the usual great selection of excerpts from upcoming books.
5★ My review of the current Buzz Books with several suggestions and a link to download for free
Born to perform, Colombian singer
Shakira
has belly-danced her way around the world and founded her own charity. Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara has added her to the Little People BIG DREAMS series - always good.
4★ My review of Shakira with illustrations
Creative Differences and Other Stories byGraeme SimsionMy review 5★
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Earlier today, finished the excellent recently-publishedThe Drift by C.J. Tudor
Rated this twisty thriller as 5* (9.5/10). My review is here:-
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Read The Three-Body Problem bt Cixin Liu and reviewed - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5332621429
I read Animal Life by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir; translated from the Icelandic by Brian FitzGibbon.Her novels aren't for everyone because very little happens in them. But I've loved everything she's written. There is a quiet, subdued, contemplative quality about them I find very appealing. This novel is about a midwife who discovers decades worth of her great aunt's writing in which she explores a wide range of topics, including the interplay of light and darkness. The setting is Iceland during the depths of winter, the darkest time of the year in Iceland.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I really like the sound of that Tamara. I have a soft spot for quiet novels where the plot is not really the driving force. I also clearly have a soft spot for Icelandic names, though I am probably butchering the pronunciation. ;)
Jenny wrote: "I really like the sound of that Tamara. I have a soft spot for quiet novels where the plot is not really the driving force. I also clearly have a soft spot for Icelandic names, though I am probably..."Jenny, her novels are understated and quiet. I've read all her translated novels and have loved them all. I think my favorite is still Hotel Silence but this is a close second.
I can't pronounce Icelandic names, either. But I love Iceland. We went for a vacation there a few years ago. Its stark, rugged beauty just blew me away. I have gobbled up novels and movies about Iceland ever since. I can't seem to get enough :)
Tamara wrote: "Jenny wrote: "I really like the sound of that Tamara. I have a soft spot for quiet novels where the plot is not really the driving force. I also clearly have a soft spot for Icelandic names, though..."My library has a copy of Hotel Silence, so I will pick it up on my next visit.
Never been to Iceland, but the language bizarrely tugs at my heartstrings without me understanding a word. (Ásgeir's "Lifandi Vatnið" being a good musical example )
Jenny wrote: "My library has a copy of Hotel Silence, so I will pick it up on my next visit. Never been to Iceland, but..."Great! I hope you love it! I love sharing books I'm excited about with others. Please let me know what you think of it.
Catching up:
The Diary of a Provincial Lady by E.M. Delafield was fun and light. Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Mantel Pieces: Royal Bodies and Other Writing from the London Review of Books by Hilary Mantel - very impressive.Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Nether World by George Gissing was an unusually dark classic.Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
And
Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor was perfection.Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
*My reviews of In Pursuit of Happiness by Freya Kennedy
3 stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
and
Peril in the Cotswolds by Rebecca Tope
1 star
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Transit of Venus, by acclaimed Australian author Shirley Hazzard, is now a modern classic that was reissued in 2021, 25 years after its first publication. Aussie sisters grow up in post-WW2 England, where their beauty is admired, but their southern hemisphere origins are disparaged. GREAT READ!
5★ My review of Transit of Venus
Hedy Lamarr was a true Hollywood bombshell, as this children's picture book by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara describes in an addition to the Little People BIG DREAMS series. She was not only beautiful, she was technologically brilliant.
5★ My review of Hedy Lamarr with several of the lovely illustrations and a drop-dead gorgeous photo of her
Read Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie - reviewed - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5344341305and
Pest by Anna Willett - reviewed - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5320468622
Aussie author Michael Robotham is a favourite of mine.
Bleed for Me
is the fourth in his clinical psychologist Joe O'Loughlin series. It could easily be read as a stand-alone because he fills in the back stories so well but manages not to spoil the earlier books if you go back and read them later (as I have done). 
5★ My review of Bleed for Me
Freddie Mercury had a remarkable impact on today's music. The recent children's biography by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara gives us a bit of his life and the founding of the phenomenon that became Queen.
5★ My review of Freddie Mercury with several illustrations and links to some of the unforgettable music
I hit the jackpot with some impulse reads for Black History month.
Read Until You Understand: The Profound Wisdom of Black Life and Literature by Farah Jasmine GriffinReview: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
and
The Awkward Black Man by Walter MosleyReview: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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My review 3.5★
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...