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Book Chat > What have you just read? Opinions, Recommendations, and Reviews, part 3

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message 451: by Dale (new)


message 452: by Tamara (new)

Tamara Agha-Jaffar | 1426 comments I read All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews. One would think a novel about the beautiful relationship between two sisters, one of whom wants to kill herself while other wants to save her would be bleak and maudlin. This novel was nothing like that. It was engaging, heartfelt, compassionate, and funny.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


message 453: by PattyMacDotComma (new)

PattyMacDotComma Saboteur is a very short story about a man who is arrested for no good reason and finds an unexpected way to deal with it. Great little read!
Saboteur by Ha Jin My review of Saboteur with a link to the story online


message 454: by PattyMacDotComma (new)

PattyMacDotComma Garry Disher is a favourite Aussie author whose offbeat Wyatt series features the crook. In Deathdeal, while avoiding his main enemies in Melbourne and Sydney, Wyatt is summoned to Queensland to pull off a job. I reckon you could read these out of order.

Deathdeal (Wyatt, #3) by Garry Disher My review of Deathdeal


message 456: by LauraT (new)

LauraT (laurata) | 14377 comments Mod
Rosh wrote: "LauraT wrote: "A book with such a review deserves a try!!! I'll give a look around to see if I find it.

Thank you! I hope you do - it is an indie work that deserves a wider audience. :)"


I'll let you know!


message 457: by PattyMacDotComma (new)

PattyMacDotComma How It Unfolds by James S.A. Corey is the first quirky sci-fi story in The Far Reaches collection. How many lives can you live in how many different places?
How It Unfolds (The Far Reaches, #1) by James S.A. Corey My review of How it Unfolds


message 458: by Kathleen (new)

Kathleen | 401 comments I read Burmese Days by George Orwell Burmese Days by George Orwell, his first book and my least favorite of his.
Review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

These were all good though:

Malgudi Days by R.K. Narayan Malgudi Days by R.K. Narayan, a lovely, gentle collection of short stories.
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The Crystal Cave (Merlin, #1/Arthurian Saga, #1) by Mary Stewart The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart, a fantastic Arthurian adventure about Merlin's childhood.
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and
Medea by Euripides Medea by Euripides, a classic Greek tragedy--short, but definitely not sweet!
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


Rosh ~catching up slowly~ (roshreviews) | 425 comments Kathleen wrote: "I read Burmese Days by George Orwell Burmese Days by George Orwell, his first book and my least favorite of his.
Review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

T..."


I enjoyed your review of R.K. Narayan's anthology. His work is a tad dated now, but still relevant. Glad you enjoyed it. :)


Rosh ~catching up slowly~ (roshreviews) | 425 comments A Midnight Kiss on Ever After Street by Jaimie Admans
A Midnight Kiss on Ever After Street by Jaimie Admans
If you like fairy tale romances in a gorgeous setting, this one will work for you.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


message 462: by Kathleen (new)

Kathleen | 401 comments Rosh wrote: "Kathleen wrote: "I read Burmese Days by George Orwell Burmese Days by George Orwell, his first book and my least favorite of his.
Review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/s..."


Thanks, Rosh! Yes, it felt a little old-fashioned in style, but that gave it a special charm for me, and as you say, the content is still relevant. I look forward to reading more from him!


message 464: by Dale (new)

Dale Harcombe | 1964 comments My review of Hometown Girl by Courtney Walsh
Hometown Girl by Courtney Walsh
4 stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


message 465: by PattyMacDotComma (new)

PattyMacDotComma Sci-fi, mystery. Void by Veronica Roth is an entertaining short story about the murder of a tourist in space.
Void (The Far Reaches, #2) by Veronica Roth My review of Void


message 468: by PattyMacDotComma (new)

PattyMacDotComma The Long Game by Ann Leckie is another quirky and still topical sci-fi short story about people and humans - two different things.
The Long Game (The Far Reaches, #4) by Ann Leckie My review of The Long Game


message 470: by Christine (new)

Christine Hatfield  (christinesbookshelves) | 1615 comments Sandy how are 2 of your books going?


message 473: by PattyMacDotComma (new)

PattyMacDotComma Killer Traitor Spy is a very current Aussie thriller in former journalist Tim Ayliffe's Greater Good series. It's not just Reds under the bed anymore! It's a big world and it's full of spies

I love the series, but this would be just as good as a standalone.
Killer Traitor Spy (John Bailey #4) by Tim Ayliffe My review of Killer Traitor Spy


Rosh ~catching up slowly~ (roshreviews) | 425 comments The Housekeepers by Alex Hay
The Housekeepers by Alex Hay
This made me realise that heist stories are better watched than read. A decent debut though.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


message 477: by PattyMacDotComma (new)

PattyMacDotComma I loved Katherine Heiny's latest book, Games and Rituals: Stories. Unconnected stories ranging from imagining who taught Ted Bundy to drive (yikes!) to worrying if your wife's Marie Kondo decluttering is going to turf you out next. (Do you still spark joy?!) Thought-provoking as well as entertaining.
Games and Rituals Stories by Katherine Heiny My review of Games and Rituals


message 479: by Dale (new)

Dale Harcombe | 1964 comments My review of Bay of Secrets by Rosanna Ley
Bay of Secrets by Rosanna Ley
3 and a half stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


message 480: by LauraT (new)

LauraT (laurata) | 14377 comments Mod
Finished yesterday The Girl in the Woods by Camilla Läckberg. I've found it extreamely interesting, couse to the well constructed Mystery plot, she adds here - on all three temporal levels in the book (i.e. 1600, end of 1900 and nowadays) - the same "file rouge": all disaster come from fear, fear of what we deem different, of what we don't know...


message 481: by Kathleen (new)

Kathleen | 401 comments Here's a really good classic that I'd never heard of before reading:
Precious Bane by Mary Webb Precious Bane by Mary Webb

Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


message 482: by Patrick (new)

Patrick ^ There are excellent accounts of Mary Webb in Beyond the Lighthouse: English Women Novelists in the Twentieth Century and The Rural Tradition In The English Novels, 1900-1939. Another author who might be on your radar, and who is also treated in both of those books, is Constance Holme.


message 483: by Patrick (new)

Patrick Oh man. You thought Ulysses was difficult, but I assure you it has NOTHING on Robert Browning’s knotty narrative poem Sordello (1840), about 13th Century Italian politics and troubadouring. I used Arthur J. Whyte’s 1913 annotated edition - very helpful it was and very grateful I was for the help. But still, a tough go, lightened by beautiful lines and passages, but the difficulties always remain in view: Like, what is going on, what IS he talking about? Nonetheless, for true hardcore littérateurs, I unhesitatingly recommend.

Browning interrupts his narrative at the mid-point for a 400-line digression discussing whether he will finish it, which is not merely a modern but indeed a post-modern gesture, and has to be considered one of the most striking such oddities in any 19th Century text.


message 484: by Kathleen (new)

Kathleen | 401 comments Patrick wrote: "^ There are excellent accounts of Mary Webb in Beyond the Lighthouse: English Women Novelists in the Twentieth Century and [book:The Rural Tradition In The English Novels, 1900-1939|..."

I appreciate this recommendation, Patrick!


message 485: by PattyMacDotComma (new)

PattyMacDotComma As the title suggests, The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies is an amusing historical fiction about the daring adventures of twin aristocratic sisters who risk more than their reputations to rescue women living in desperately awful circumstances. Fun, but also dark.
The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies (The Ill-Mannered Ladies, #1) by Alison Goodman My review of ...ill-mannered Ladies


message 486: by LauraT (new)

LauraT (laurata) | 14377 comments Mod
PattyMacDotComma wrote: "As the title suggests, The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies is an amusing historical fiction about the daring adventures of twin aristocratic sisters who risk more than the..."

Sounds interesting!


message 487: by Tamara (new)

Tamara Agha-Jaffar | 1426 comments I read Dulcinea by Ana Veciana-Suarez.
I was hoping and expecting it would feature more of Don Quixote (one of my favorite novels) and Cervantes. I was disappointed when it did neither. It's a historical romance with intermittent appearances of Cervantes as the on-again, off-again, lover.
The book just wasn't for me.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


message 489: by Dale (new)


message 490: by Dale (new)

Dale Harcombe | 1964 comments My review of Two Weeks by Karen Kingsbury
Two Weeks (The Baxter Family, #5) by Karen Kingsbury
5 stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


message 492: by PattyMacDotComma (new)

PattyMacDotComma The Thing at 52 by Ross Montgomery is the most beautifully illustrated story of a small child and an enormous creature learning about life. The artwork by Richard Johnson is stunning and as moving as the story. Every child should read this one.

The Thing at 52 by Ross Montgomery My review of The Thing at 52 with several of the illustrations


Rosh ~catching up slowly~ (roshreviews) | 425 comments Finally read the unabridged version of David Copperfield by Charles Dickens.
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
Enjoyed the story almost as much as I did decades ago. Loved the free Audible version narrated by Martin Jarvis.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


message 494: by Suz (new)

Suz | 1104 comments Falling behind on my reviews, have been busy.

Loved this.

A Week in Winter by Maeve Binchy A Week in Winter by Maeve Binchy

My review 5★

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


message 495: by PattyMacDotComma (new)

PattyMacDotComma Return to Valetto by Aussie author (living in US) Dominic Smith felt like someone's real story to me. Old women in an ancient Italian village conduct Google searches from their crumbling villa. War crimes are not forgotten.
Return to Valetto by Dominic Smith My review of Return to Valetto


Rosh ~catching up slowly~ (roshreviews) | 425 comments The Door-to-Door Bookstore by Carsten Henn
The Door-to-Door Bookstore by Carsten Henn
A good book with an average ending. The 'book about books' aspect is superb.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


message 500: by Suz (new)


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