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What have you just read? Opinions, recommendations, reviews Part 2
I just finished reading The Lost Family by Jenna Blum. I was very disappointed in this book- think there are far better titles about the Holocaust and the effects on people’s lives afterwards than this title.
Just read the first two books in Lyndon Hardy's series: Master of the Five Magics - reviewed - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1420513467 and Secret of the Sixth Magic (Magics, #2) - reviewed - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2473275963.
I found Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow to be a very good book.My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My review of Maze Master: A Thriller by Kathleen O'Neal Gear:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Phrynne wrote: "My review of The Owl Service by Alan Garner 
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
I loved that as a child and would love to read it again.
ETA I have just read your review - now I must read it.
Finished
by Thi Bui - 4 StarsIncredible memoir told via graphic novel.
My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Esther wrote: "Phrynne wrote: "My review of The Owl Service by Alan Garner https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
I loved that as a child..."
Yes great review Phyrnne. I've put it into my TBR to re-read - not for the first time!
I finished A Key to Treehouse Living. 4+ stars . My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Esther wrote: "Phrynne wrote: "My review of The Owl Service by Alan Garner https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
I loved that as a child..."
I found the original TV series on YouTube Esther. It is very dated but reflects the book well.
My review of Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished reading The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret AtwoodHere's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I finished The Shakespeare Requirement: A Novel. 3 stars. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings and Queens Who Made Englandhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My review of First One Missing by Tammy Cohen2 and a half stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My review of Miss Hazel and the Rosa Parks League by Jonathan Odell4 and a half stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I have completed The Old Maid: The 'Fifties by Edith Wharton. WOW!My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I was fascinated by My World on Wheels: The Posthumous Autobiography of Russell Mockridge. A great Aussie story of a unique international champion who beat not only the amateurs in the Grand Prix of Paris, he beat the professionals as well - so they banned amateurs after that!It's an old book, so I summarised rather than review so people can enjoy some of the stories. He was a good writer, too.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...======
A more recent biography of him is Russell Mockridge: The Man in Front by Martin Curtis
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished The House of Broken Angels. Totally took me by surprise. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I have just finished Hush Hush by Mel Sherratt
courtesy of NetGalley. Absolutely loved it. You can see my review under the title.
Just read book 3 of the magic trilogy by Lyndon Hardy, Riddle of the Seven Realms and reviewed it - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2473327558.
Cameron wrote: "I have just finished Hush Hush by Mel Sherratt courtesy of NetGalley. Absolutely loved it. You can see my review under the title."Cameron, we can't see your review unless we are linked as friends or go trawling thru all posted reviews. Can you post it in a link here?
Finished
by Lisa Ko -- Right down the middle for me.
My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Oooo it makes me so mad! Stone-age indeed! Bruce Pascoe’s slim book Dark Emu: Black seeds agriculture or accident? should be required reading in schools. Fix history books.
5★ Link to my review
My review of We See the Stars by Kate van Hooft3 and a half stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I finished listening to Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley yesterday while jogging. This was a perfect story to listen to while outdoors. I was quite surprised at the story and enjoyed waiting for it to unfold. It's incredible that Mary Shelley was only 18 when she wrote this.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Mod
This was a perfect story to listen to while outdoors. I was quite surpri..."
Is this the first time you've read it Petra? It is surprising how different all the movies are than the book - they latch on to the scary monster part, occasionally the outsider part, but not much else. It's a fascinating book.
Mod
This was a perfect story to listen to while outdoors. I was quite surpri..."
A great book, as Drakula, to be rediscovered!
Mod
With our Circolo dei lettori here in Perugia we've discussed the book and the films one month ago, saying exactly this: how the films have always ignored the deep meaning of understanding of the novel itself
I finished Where the Crawdads Sing. 4.5 stars rounded up . My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I have completed The Last Train to Zona Verde: My Ultimate African Safari by Paul Theroux. He is a very talented writer.My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Greg wrote: "Is this the first time you've read it Petra? It is surprising how different all the movies are than the book - they latch on to the scary monster part, occasionally the outsider part, but not much else. It's a fascinating book. ..."It is, Greg. I was a bit dismayed that the movies made the monster an actual monster. In the book, I thought the monster had more courage, determination, understanding and compassion than Viktor, who gapingly lacked all.
This was a really good read.
LauraT wrote: "A great book, as Drakula, to be rediscovered! ..."Laura, I can see myself rereading it one day.
I don't remember being as delighted with Dracula....but it's been awhile.
Mod
Laura, I can see myself rereading it one day.
I don't remember being as delighted with Dracula....but it's been awhile."
I felt as well that it wasn't quite as philosophically "deep" as Frankenstein, though I did enjoy it.
Mod
Petra, it's extraordinarily bloody and racy; so I would not recommend it for all, but the first season of the show Penny Dreadful has an intriguing depiction of Frankenstein's "creature" that I think captures some of the flavor of the book. It also has some voiceovers of appropriate Romantic era poetry that I found quite powerful.
Like you, I also found the "creature" and his predicament very sympathetic. At first, he is certainly all the things you say. As things progress though, I see him also as somewhat chilling - he's outside of the normal social order and so self-conscious of being outside of it ... to the point that he can exact vengeance without being stopped by either conscience or remorse. It's an extreme position of "anomie," and I can understand why the doctor is afraid to (view spoiler).
When I read it, I felt for the doctor though as well, more than you did. I understood the powerful draw on Viktor of bringing back what was dear to him. There was something that attracted me in his insane ambition to go beyond the limitations that were set - he was so desperate to set it right. I can see how that obsession made him completely lose perspective on what he was doing, and though it's certainly cowardly of him to (view spoiler), I can also imagine how unsettling it would have been for him to come to himself, look down at his feet and suddenly realize how very far he was outside the track that men of his era trod.
The book has so many dimensions: philosophically, psychologically, socially. It definitely deserves its place as a classic!
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)
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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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