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What have you just read? Opinions, Recommendations, and Reviews, part 3
I read the 2021 Booker Prize winner, The Promise by Damon Galgut. Set in South Africa, it is a powerful novel about an Afrikaner family and an unfulfilled promise. I thought the novel was really well done. I particularly enjoyed the narrative voice.My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro. A very unusual mystery!Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I finished two books over the weekend.
Heart of the River by Cheryl Adnams ⭐⭐⭐.5 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...and
Murder at an Irish Wedding by Carlene O'Connor ⭐⭐⭐⭐.2 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My review of Daisy's Vintage Cornish Camper Van by Ali McNamara
4 stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel
A 2017 release, but luckily, Macmillan made the audio available on NetGalley. Loved this beautiful family drama so much!
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My review of Miss Wilton's Waltz by Josi S. Kilpack
4 and a half stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Sandy how are 17 of your books going?
I finished two very different books yesterday , both excellent reads.
All Of Us Are Broken by Fiona Cummins ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...and
The Girls from Sandycove by Siân O'Gorman ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
What fun to see the new release of Don Freeman's 1961 children's picture book, Come Again, Pelican, where a free-ranging little boy goes fishing alone on the beach.
My review of Come Again, Pelican with several of the cheery illustrations
Life on a small Australian farm in the 1950s means contentment and freedom for Rex, but confinement and restriction for wife Irene, who seems to be the Snake in this novel by Aussie author Kate Jennings. No actual venomous creatures, so no trigger warning 😊necessary. Irene's a piece of work, though!
My review of Snake
My review of The Seekers by Wanda E. Brustetter
4 and a half stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I'm glad I chose a dozen of Michael Connelly's Bosch series to read through 2024 because it means I'm assured of at least one good read a month. Nobody missed The Concrete Blonde, an obviously interchangeable porn performer, until her body is discovered, which could ruin Bosch's career.
My review of The Concrete Blonde
A reread of
Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen FieldingMy review, upped from the original 3★ to 4★
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
From my 2022 backlist, a wonderfully touching 5⭐ read.
Carolina Moonset by Matt Goldman ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A sweet and sentimental Dickens:
The Battle of LifeReview: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
And another Rumer Godden onto my favorites list:
China CourtReview: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Mod
Read The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. Historical fiction about WWII in France. It is a best seller, but I'm not as enthused about her books as others seem to be.My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Just finished the very surprising
The Last Stars in the Sky by Kate Hewitt ⭐⭐⭐⭐ https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My review of Mountain Shadows by Noelene Jenkinson
4 and a half stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Another title from my 2017 NetGalley backlist -
Finding Claire Fletcher by Lisa Regan ⭐⭐⭐.5 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I loved the Convenience Store Woman who refused to be pigeon-holed ... except by herself. Who cares what everyone else thinks? Sayaka Murata has created a memorable character indeed.
My review of Convenience Store Woman
Tommy Orange introduces the urban Indians of Oakland, California in his award-winning There There. What used to be there, isn't there anymore, Great read.
My review of There, There
Mod
I read Sacred Nature: Restoring Our Ancient Bond with the Natural World by the religious scholar, Karen Armstrong. Garnering concepts from world religions, especially the Eastern traditions, she argued we have to re-envision nature as a spiritual entity as our ancestors had once done if we want to restore our damaged planet. It's a short, quick read. I thought it was good, but I would have liked the discussion to be more in-depth.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This was a DNF for me. The Memory House by Rachel Hauck
no rating since DNF. My reasons why
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My review of The Christmas Town by DonnaVanLiere
4 and half stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Best Girls by Min Jin Lee
If you haven't yet read this brilliant and shocking short story, please do!
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I read A Boy of Good Breeding by Miriam Toews.The is the third novel I've read by Miriam Toews, and I've loved all of them. She always has quirky characters and paints them with a delightful and tender paintbrush.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A book I'm glad I read, full of all of society's interesting things.
Such a Fun Age by Kiley ReidGreat debut.
My review 4 stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My review of The Flower Farm by Rachael Lucas
3 and a half stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The House On Sun Street by Mojgan Ghazirad
Quite an interesting OwnVoices Iranian historical fiction. I liked much of it, except for the final quarter.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I read a Japanese classic published in 1906, Kusamakura by Natsume Sōseki; translated from the Japanese by Meredith McKinney.An unnamed artist embarks on a walking trip across mountains to stay at a hot spring inn in the remote mountain village of Nakoi. His goal is to cultivate an uninvolved aesthetic response to what he sees and hears. He meditates on art, poetry, and life.
A novel to be read slowly and savored. I enjoyed it.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I am a great fan of Mick Herron's Slough House series but didn't realise that The Secret Hours was so wonderfully connected to it. Loved seeing some old favourites, back in the day in Berlin.
My review of The Secret Hours
Relit: 16 Latinx Remixes of Classic Stories, edited by Sandra Proudman
Enjoyed this anthology of retellings with a Latinx SFF twist. It's YA, but other than that, it's worth a read. ;)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A little-known Dickens
The Battle of LifeReview: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A new favorite
China Court by Rumer GoddenReview: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
And an excellent Steinbeck
Cannery RowReview: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
All About Books
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Kerry Greenwood (other topics)Suzanne Collins (other topics)
Jane Yang (other topics)
Aman J. Bedi (other topics)
Robert Thorogood (other topics)
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My review 3★
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...