All About Books discussion
General Archive
>
What have you just read? Opinions, recommendations, reviews Part 2
My review of Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My review of The Magpies by Mark Edwards July hasn't been a great reading month for me. Thankfully I have a been reading a long book that I am enjoying alongside these duds. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Jess wrote: "My review of The Magpies by Mark Edwards July hasn't been a great reading month for me. Thankfully I have a been reading a long book that I am enjoying alongside th..."What is the good book you are enjoying?
Chrissie wrote: "Jess wrote: "My review of The Magpies by Mark Edwards July hasn't been a great reading month for me. Thankfully I have a been reading a long book that I am enjoying..."The Cartel by Don Winslow it's an epic crime book about the drug trade in Mexico. It's a sequel to The Power of the Dog, which I read earlier this year but it spans from the early 2000s rather than the 80s and 90s of the previous book so it's amazing to see how these crime syndicates grow and change over the decades.
Jess wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "Jess wrote: "My review of The Magpies by Mark Edwards July hasn't been a great reading month for me. Thankfully I have a been reading a long book t..."Thanks for the info.
Greg wrote: "Hope you enjoy it!"I did though it was only a 4 stars because of the end.
I think people know the ballet of The Nutcracker and the Mouse King by Tschaikowski or the animated movie about it (I think there should be one); well they are based on Hoffmann's story though they took away the more creepy parts. I have read in the introduction that the ballet was based on an adaptation of Alexandre Dumas .
Here's my English review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I enjoyed the short story The View from Castle Rock by Alice Munro.My review with a free online link to the short story:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I definitely enjoyed this more than the last short story I read by the author.
Amalia wrote: "Finished The Heart Goes Last
by Margaret AtwoodSevere disappointment....2 stars...
My review:www.goodreads.com/review/show/24..."
I disliked this book immensely. Not up to Atwood's regular standards.
Amalia wrote: "Finished The Heart Goes Last by Margaret AtwoodSevere disappointment....2 stars...
My review:www.goodreads.com/review/show/24..."
I disliked this book immensely. Not up to Atwood's regular standards.
Finished The Marginalized Majority: Claiming Our Power in a Post-Truth Americahttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The last book I read was The Black Widow by Daniel Silva. This was the author’s 16th book featuring Gabriel Allon, an art restorer and Israeli Spy. I think so many books with the same premise becomes a bit written like a formula and I found the best books in this series were the first books which Silva wrote.
Nancy from NJ wrote: "The last book I read was The Black Widow by Daniel Silva. This was the author’s 16th book featuring Gabriel Allon, an art restorer and Israeli Spy. I think so many books with the same premise becom..."I have 3 of those on my shelf - inherited from someone, I can't remember who - I should probably try one and ditch the rest.
No, no Esther- don’t dump anything. Silva’s two first books The Kill Artist and the English Assassin are really good. They are poignant thrillers and present you with a great, complicated character.
I have stuck in a short story by William Trevor that is read by Jhumpa Lahiri--A day. In my review I have provided a link to it at The New Yorker.My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Nancy from NJ wrote: "No, no Esther- don’t dump anything. Silva’s two first books The Kill Artist and the English Assassin are really good. They are poignant thrillers and present you with a great, complicated character."OK!
Phrynne wrote: "My review of Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
Thanks Phrynne, that's another series for my TBR as if it isn't long enough already ;-)
Esther, on my review of Arabian Sands you left a comment. I have the suspicion that you did not receive my reply. I got the impression you were interested in a book with women. Check out Desert Queen: The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell: Adventurer, Adviser to Kings, Ally of Lawrence of Arabia. It is very good,
Mod
My review: https:/..."
I found some of Lahiri's short stories very moving when I read a collection of her stories a while ago. Unfortunately since it was a while ago, I don't remember which stories to recommend.
Finished Karen Maitland's The Owl Killers and reviewed it - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2353302273.
Greg, I found it interesting that she said in the interview with The New Yorker, that she did not yet have the skill that was required to make stories as ambiguous as Trevor's are. I personally would have preferred less ambiguity in Trevor's story.
Mod
Yes, there are definitely different approaches to short stories, some where everything is below the surface and only obliquely suggested and some where the "meaning" is much closer to the surface. Personally, I think both require a lot of skill to write and can be effective; which is preferred is just a matter of taste. I like both.
It's funny she said that though. In general, I do like her work.
I've never read anything by Trevor; so I have no idea how ambiguous he is. Sounds like it might be quite a lot! :)
Mod
Sometimes the tighter focus of short stories can be a real asset.
Just started
Snap by Belinda Bauer after finishing a 😍😍😍😍 read
The Boy at the Door by Alex Dahl. My spoiler free review can be found at https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/... and https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Greg wrote: "Chrissie, have you read Jasmine by Bharati Mukherjee? I liked it ok, but I think I liked the short story "Jasmine" she wrote earlier in [book:The Middleman and Other St..."No, i have not read that. I do agree that the special thing with a short story is to make a big punch in just a few words, otherwise you might as well read a longer novel where you can go into more detail.
my review of Seven Days of Us by Francesca HornakSadly, only 2 stars from this reader.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished
by Brandon McMillanI'm ready to start testing it out!
My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My review of The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Chrissie wrote: "Esther, on my review of Arabian Sands you left a comment. I have the suspicion that you did not receive my reply. I got the impression you were interested in a book with women. Check ..."Thanks, I did. I just read it late at night and promptly dozed off!
I wish somebody would write a book about this woman
https://www.jpost.com/Magazine/Judais...
Esther wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "Esther, on my review of Arabian Sands you left a comment. I have the suspicion that you did not receive my reply. I got the impression you were interested in a book w..."Interesting. I would like a non-fiction book about her too.
There have been strong women throughout history. They have not been the norm but they are there.
Look: La Kahéna: Reine d'Ifrikia. It is a book of fantasy but I wonder if it has some history packed into it too.
Chrissie wrote: "Esther wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "Esther, on my review of Arabian Sands you left a comment. I have the suspicion that you did not receive my reply. I got the impression you were interes..."I wonder if my rusty French could cope with that. Most good books about the Maghreb are in French so I really should give it a go.
I just finished The Death Of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware. What a waste of paper and ink. My review is at Goodreads. Sorry I don’t know how to link this or a book title.
Read book 5 of Louise Cooper's Indigo series, Troika and reviewed it - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2460147532.
Catching back up, here's what I've read in July so far:
Five Children and It by E. Nesbit. Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by "Newt Scamander" Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Revelation and the End of All Things by Craig KoesterReview: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I have completed The Death of the Heart. Elizabeth Bowen is a totally new author for me. I like very much how she writes.My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Starting
The Silent Sister by Shalini Boland after finishing a 😍 😍 😍 😍 read
Snap by Belinda Bauer. My spoiler free review can be found on https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/... and on Goodreads.com https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
All About Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Dark Mode (other topics)Critical Mass (other topics)
The Go-Between (other topics)
One, Two ... He Is Coming for You (other topics)
Death at Hungerford Stairs (other topics)
More...
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)
More...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...