Bridget's Bookshelf

[Bridget]

40% - Scarlet has returned to Tara. I am enjoying this more than I thought I would, I like the style of writing and the detail. I admire the loyalty of the characters, to their way of life and to their customs, not wanting to give up or believe that they would ever lose the fight.

[Bridget]

I have finished Gone with the Wind, and I loved this story. Below is a link to my review. The characters were so complex, but so predictable at the same time. I especially found Scarlett to be quite tragic and not very lovable. I think a great writer will make you feel some connection to the characters, and like in "The Help", I thought a lot about the characters during the day when I wasn't reading.
I don't know if I'll read this again but I always remember the story. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Bridget]

I have finished The Handmaid's Tale, the writing was good, I just wasn't thrilled with the story. The end just was too strange. Here is my review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Bridget]

The Pillars of the Earth, so this is next. I've already read a few pages and think I'll enjoy this one.

[Bridget]

I'm at about 32% in "The Pillars of the Earth" This is an interesting book, and I'm reading it fairly quickly. Sometimes I don't know if I read quickly just to be done, or because I can't wait to see whats next. Anyway, I made several observations under the topic for this book. I find that the characters are staying with me when I set the book aside, which happens a lot when I read,

[Bridget]

73% For me this is just an okay read, and I'm hoping it gets better. This is not really a spoiler but I'd hate to discourage anyone from reading this as they might love it. (view spoiler)[ I struggle with the detailed descriptions of the architecture that seem to go on and on, and then what seems to be the glossing over of the characters interactions. And for heavens sake don't be successful or happy. (hide spoiler)]

[Bridget]

Here is the link to my review of The Pillars of the Earth I realized that I really said the same thing in this review as my previous comment. Obviously I didn't change my mind much.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Bridget]

I have stalled........part way thru Wuthering Heights, and I have White Teeth ready to go. I just have to focus my attention on reading again and not all these other distractions that have wormed their way into my world.

[Bridget]

I'M SO FAR BEHIND

[Bethany]

IT'S OKAY! WE GOT YOUR BACK!

[Bridget]

I finally finished Wuthering Heights and while the characters were so tragic and it kind of bugged me that the adults kept wanting cousins to marry. I really enjoyed the story, not sure why. I think that if Emily Bronte had lived longer she would have been an amazing writer, I thought this was a really great first novel. I think I'll keep this one.

[Bridget]

I started White Teeth, I'm only on page 10 and already I'm loving the way it's written, I'm probably finding it funny where it's not supposed to be funny, a bit sarcastic maybe?, I think I'm going to enjoy this one.

[Bethany]

It's supposed to be funny. I read somewhere that this book coined a new genre of literary study--hysterical realism. It's a combination of absurd and/or ironic writing, situations, or characterization and careful study of society.
It becomes really obvious later in the novel (Not really a spoiler) when she describes a family of social progressives and writes about how offhandedly racist, classist, and misogynistic they are.

[Bridget]

Bethany wrote: "It's supposed to be funny. I read somewhere that this book coined a new genre of literary study--hysterical realism. It's a combination of absurd and/or ironic writing, situations, or characterizat..."

I may have to read this one twice to catch it all, there's a lot going on.

[Bridget]

I really loved this book and will buy a permanent copy for my library. I read the kindle version and agree with other comments that it had a few errors that were distracting. But this story is just so full of images and complicated "grown-up" ideas told in a very simple manner, it was a joy to read.

[Bridget]

I just finished White Teeth and here is the link to my review.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I will be keeping this one in my library and will read it again. I think the writer did a great job of depicting everyday life and everyday people, with struggles of class and race, and expectations. It's not over the top, or too melodramatic, and I enjoyed the humor and the interactions with the characters.

[Bridget]

Well, I finally finished Invisible Man, not because it was boring or slow, but just because I'm not reading as much as I did. Anyway, I really enjoyed this book, it was different from anything else I read, and I'm sure if not for GAR I would not have picked it up.

[Bridget]

Finished The Outsiders, really enjoyed the story. I know there was a movie adaptation, but I'm not sure if I'll watch it, the book was good, but I can kind of see the movie being a little too much. Has anyone else read the book and then watched the movie?

NEW YEAR plan, less solitaire more reading !!!

[Bridget]

Just finished And Then There Were None, I really enjoyed this one, it was a fun read. I have not read Agatha Christie before and think I might like her writing. I know I have some of her mysteries sitting on my book shelf, so I'll have to check them out.

[Bridget]

I just noticed I had not posted about Ready Player One. I finished it a while back, it was not one of my favorites, but I did like the 2nd half better than the first. I'm sure it appealed to a much younger audience and the movie might interest me more.

[Andrew, moderator]

The Ready Player One movie is OK, but not great. I liked the book a lot more. Of course, I'm in the perfect demographic for the book: I'm a computer nerd who grew up in the 80s.
And this reminds me that I still need to pick up a copy of the sequel, Ready Player Two.

[Bridget]

Andrew wrote: "The Ready Player One movie is OK, but not great. I liked the book a lot more. Of course, I'm in the perfect demographic for the book: I'm a computer nerd who grew up in the 80s.
And this reminds me..."

Let me know what you think of the 2nd book, it will be interesting to see how the story goes.

[Bridget]

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao Now this is a sad story. I don't think I'll re-read this one, and I'll probably give the book away, but I'm glad I read it. The cultural differences and struggles to fit-it reminded me of "White Teeth", the references to all of the books and movies, etc, reminded me of "Ready Player One". Here is a link to my review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Bridget]

I've started the kindle version of Outlander and I'm reading the book version of Siddhartha, it is so strange jumping from one writing style to another, but that's the fun of reading.

[Bridget]

I finished Siddhartha pretty quickly and I really enjoyed it. It reminded of the "Little Prince", with a lot to think about in such a short story. I will keep this one in my library and read it again someday. It was funny, this edition had a pretty lengthy introduction that I just couldn't get through, but when I finished the story, I went back and read the introduction and it made perfect sense.

[Bridget]

The Lovely Bones This was a very interesting story. Here is the link to my short review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I read this one in 2-days, couldn't really put it down, it wasn't great writing, but it was entertaining, A few twists and turns that could have been a lot scarier, maybe a little more suspenseful. I don't think I'd read it again, but that's okay.

[Bridget]

So yesterday I went to the website for Better World Books to look for Don Quixote and couldn't find the copy I wanted, so I ended up buying Charlotte's Web, Where the Red Fern Grows, The Picture of Dorian Grey, Grapes of Wrath, & To Kill a Mocking Bird" for $20.74, I checked on Amazon, ordered Americanah for $7.79 (the book was cheaper then Kindle), and a Kindle copy of Don Quixote for $7.99. All-in-all 7 books for $36.00 about $5.00 a book. I think I'm all set. Nothing like impulse shopping to brighten up ones day.

[Andrew, moderator]

That's a pretty good deal. Hope you enjoy them all!

[Bridget]

I finished reading Outlander. I really enjoyed the story and the historical setting and I quickly became invested in the characters. I rather wished Claire would travel back and forth in time, but that may happen in future books. This reminded me a lot of The Clan of the Cave Bear and a series I read years ago called Angelique. I may read more of this series in the future, but as much as I enjoyed it, I think it would be hard to read one book right after the other. I'll come back to it.

[Bridget]

Finished To Kill a Mockingbird, this was such a good story. I really didn't remember reading this before until I was halfway thru. I could always relate the story to the movie, but there were just some things I remembered that weren't in the movie. It's hard to write a review when there are so many parts of the story that were special. This will definitely stay on my bookshelf.

[Bridget]

I just realized one of my favorite things that Atticus tells Scout in "To Kill a Mockingbird" was "it's not time to worry". and in Charlotte's Web", Charlotte was telling Wilbur, "never hurry and never worry". Just thought that was cool.

[Bridget]

Charlotte's Web, I'm surprised I'd never read this cute story before. I've always heard about it, but never picked it up. I really enjoyed the humor and the honesty. There are good days and lazy days. Some characters are nice, some are not, some are just nosy, some are brutally honest. and then there are those that are friends, and who will do anything to keep one little pig safe. There are also the hard facts of life, and the lessons that good things can also come from sadness.

[Andrew, moderator]

I'd never read Charotte's Web either. (I'm pretty sure I saw the cartoon version when I was a kid though.) It was a surprisingly deep book.

[Bridget]

The Grapes of Wrath When I read this in high school, I could only remember the gloom and darkness of this story. There is so much more depth to the story that I didn't understand before. As gloomy as it is, it is still a hopeful story, there's the feeling that as bad as things get, times will get better, they really have to, as the only choice is to give up. The migrating families just aren't willing to give up, they will keep forging ahead.

[Bridget]

Where the Red Fern Grows, This was not one of my favorite books, here is the link to my review. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I think when I was younger and about the right age to read this I was reading "Call of the Wild" and "Black Beauty", This just seems a little more depressing, I could see more being added to the story, to maybe round it out a bit better. A new puppy, or a visit back to the farm. This just left me sad.

[Bridget]

The Picture of Dorian Gray This was really a fun read and probably worth reading again at some point. I rather felt sorry for Dorian as he was terribly manipulated and viewed as an experiment. But then again he was pretty weak in character if he couldn't see what was happening and change things.

[Bridget]

Just an observation, "Don Quixote", "Dorian Grey", "Oscar Wao", "Ready Player One", all of the authors that wrote these books seem to have taken great pleasure in name dropping and the heavy use of cultural references that were popular at the time the books were written. It can be a bit distracting at times.

[Bridget]

Americanah I enjoyed reading this story, completely different then what I've read before, and as I've said before without GAR, I probably would not have read this one. Different country references, different languages, loved the humor and the honestly.

[Bridget]

Don Quixote I'm really enjoying this novel, it has quite a bit of humor, and is very interesting to read. There are stories with-in stories which are well written, I like it, some people consider it a distraction. This is a slow read, I'm at 34%, at 20 mins a day, I'm looking at about 2 months to finish if I don't get distracted. Which is always a possibility.

[Bridget]

STILL reading Don Quixote, 60% along. They do know how to talk in circles.

[Bridget]

I'm finished with Don Quixote and here is a link to my review. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... I really really enjoyed this one. I read it on my kindle, but I think I need to buy it for my permanent book shelf.

[Bridget]

Ok, next up on the hit parade is Ghost, I'm headed back to the beginning of the books that were read as a group to catch up a bit.

[Bridget]

I finished "Ghost" and now I'm reading Patina. I really enjoy Jason Reynolds writing style. You can just visualize, his characters, where they are from, and the struggles they are facing.

[Bridget]

"Patina" was a good story, she was trying to be so brave to take care of everyone that she wouldn't let anyone be part of her team. Next up Sunny

[Bridget]

Sunny, I really like the way this story was written, and not calling a Diary a Journal. It seems like it's just a small thing, but I thought it was an interesting detail. Did you see the bookmarks? Sunny's a cool kid.

[Bridget]

Lu, This was a perfect end to the series, a good emphasis on Teamwork, Family, Trust and Integrity. Very good series, I'll keep these on my bookshelf.

[Bridget]

Just finished The Book Thief, I thought this was so good. Death as a narrator was so different, he had a job to do, but he could also be sad and tired. I remember seeing the movie and it follows the book very closely. This one I'll keep on my bookshelf.

[Heather L]

Bridget wrote: "Just finished The Book Thief, I thought this was so good. Death as a narrator was so different, he had a job to do, but he could also be sad and tired. I remember seeing the movie and ..."

One of my favorite books!

[Bridget]

Just finished Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier here is a link to my review. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I read this on Kindle, so I might need to buy a copy for my bookshelf. It was a pretty good story.

[Bridget]

Gulliver's Travels, This was such a weird book, here is my short review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show.... I can kind of understand how it made the GAR list, I liked some of the travels and could see how the stories would be political satire of the age, maybe even relevant today. But I thought it got rather tiring at the end, but then I'll spare you the reader those details.