Aussie Readers discussion
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Help reduce my TBR. Any on my list that you really disliked?
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Not really just_a_girl
Hated Running with Scissors
You can get rid of Gone Missing as you've given it 2 stars (I loved it!)
Disliked The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (but others loved it! It's hard work though)
Didn't like The Alchemist
Or The Lie
Disliked Pop Goes the Weasel (Helen Grace,#2).
Bombproof (the only one of his I haven't liked)
That's your whole list done - and don't forget; that's only MY opinion:)
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OK - just checked your first 11 pages - here is my advice:Hated, loathed and detested The Slap - was a DNF for me. BUT it won heaps of awards and people raved over it. First time I have felt i could do serious damage to a book - I have refused to read all his subsequent books as my own little protest. I will never forgive him for this one!!! (Hated the TV version too - watched the first little bit - saw it was true to the book and switched off)
Loved (5 star):
Mao's Last Dancer
The Kite Runner
Running with Scissors
The Hypnotist's Love Story
The Girl in the Yellow Vest (all her books)
Someone Like You (all her books)
Really Enjoyed (4 star):
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Room (would have been a 5 star but for one little niggle at the end)
The Mothers' Group
An Irish Country Doctor (whole series)
Matilda Is Missing
Enjoyed (3 star):
Addition
Through the Cracks
The January Wish (have just bought the 3rd in the series)
The only one I didnt go much on was Handle with Care which most other people loved, so I'm probably not much help :)
Great idea Suzanne! Out of the books I have read, there is nothing I have given less than 3 stars. Sorry I couldn't help.
Suzanne wrote: "This might be an interesting one for me. I won't be offended by suggestions and will take any info on board! Here is the link to my too long list:https://www.goodreads.com/review/list......"
Hi Suzanne
Just compared the books on your to read list with the ones that I have read.
Liked The Forgotten Garden and The Distant Hours by Kate Morton
Liked Nightingale by Fiona McIntosh.
Liked Frantic by Katherine Howell, more than I did Sleight Malice by Vicki Tyley. They are both murder mystery books set in Sydney and Melbourne.
Didn't like The Chemistry of Tears by Peter Carey. Found it hard to get through
Didn't like Eyrie by Tim Winton. Found it hard to understand and relate to.
Liked The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas
Enjoy Colleen McCullough book's. I find them a challenge, but feel well rewarded and she writes about diverse subjects.
Really enjoyed Orphan Train by Christian Baker Kline. This was a very pleasant surprise and enjoyed reading and learning about locations and issues not familiar with.
Everyone has their personal preferences and these are my preferences
Hope this is of some help and that you find something from your list that you will enjoy.
RitaSkeeter wrote: "I'm with you on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Brenda. I read it years ago, but I'm still traumatised by it and haven't been able to bring myself to read the other two even though I have them. .."I too couldn't cope with it - but hubby loved the whole series
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And Steve in our group just read the whole three of them back to back and 5 starred them all (I think)
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You guys are great to help and so comprehensively! I'll have a good look when the kids are in bed ;) I knew my fellow Aussie Readers were very nice people lol!
Brenda wrote: "I wouldn't read The Slap as I've been told by a very reliable source (my son) that I'd hate it:)"Me either on that one Brenda.and not Gone Girl either.
The Paying Guests was another that bored me witless but others like Bette loved it.
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Me either on that one Brenda.and not Gone Girl eithe..."
I disliked Gone Girl enough to make me not read any others of hers Dale:)
you kids :P
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Suzanne, I went to your profile and clicked on 'Compare Book' and these books I rated low (as in 1 to 2 stars) :The Good Daughter by Honey Brown
Incendiary by Chris Cleave - but loved Little Bee
Cloudstreet by Tim Winton
The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold - but loved Lucky & The Lovely Bones
Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult - read a lot of Jodi Picoult and this is her weakest
Mystic River by Dennis Lehane - but I know Brenda liked it
I say I don't have time to clear off books to reduce my list, but you've spent time helping me :) Thanks one and all..
I personally wouldn't bother with Danielle Steele, Nicholas Sparks etc... But that's just me.
Of you to reads I gave Carrie just one star (I tried to like King but I really didn't) and I gave Bridget Jones's Diary 2 stars (it was that rare experience, a movie I liked better than the book)Out of your to read kids books I gave Boy Overboard 5 stars (I do love all things Gelitzman) and besides it won't take you long.
The Silver Button will also not take you long and I gave it 4 stars. Thanks to Mish for the "compare books" idea and I am sorry I couldn't help more
comparing ones we have both read I seem to be a meaner critic than you and usually seem to give a lower rating, so maybe that helps
According to the 'compare books" our tastes are 71% similar and we have 88 books in common.Therefore the ones I loved from your list were:
Songs of Willow Frost
Burial Rites
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
The Invention of Wings
A Monster Calls
All the Light We Cannot See
The Book Thief
Don't even bother with (all one or two stars from me...and I'm not that tough):
On the Island (worst book I ever read, teenage boy's porn fantasy about being stranded on an island with a hot teacher...ugh)
Cutting for Stone - long winded and boring, I skipped huge chunks of this
Mad About the Boy - Bridget is now an incompetant middle aged mother of two with horrible kids and still eats grated cheese for dinner. Plus she gets on to twitter and a good chunk of the book is in "tweet speak"
I agree with you Mish about Cloudstreet - I really struggled to get through that one. Very unengaging.Just recently read Finding Cassie Crazy - absolutely loved it!!
I could take or leave The Book Thief but think I am in a minority there.
The Night Guest is brilliant - definitely leave that on there.
Also, I didn't really like Tuesdays with Morrie which I always feel I should apologise for!
Overall our TBR's are quite similar so the comments are helping me out too. Thanks for starting the thread Suzanne :o)
Angela wrote: "I agree with you Mish about Cloudstreet - I really struggled to get through that one. Very unengaging.Just recently read Finding Cassie Crazy - absolutely loved it!!
I could take o..."
Like Angela I was one of those rare people that didn't enjoy Cloudstreet yet have enjoyed and loved some of Tim Winton's other books.
There are a few books on your list that I really enjoyed (4&5 star), also a few 3 stars that I though were a bit meh but others liked them, none that I ranked lower. Quite a lot are on my tbr and some of them tried to get on but I resisted!The ones I really liked that I think you'd enjoy:
Mao's Last Dancer
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
The Crane Wife
Jasper Jones
The Kite Runner
Never Let Me Go
A Thousand Splendid Suns
All the Light We Cannot See
Before I Go To Sleep
Big Little Lies
Cloudstreet
Through the Cracks
About a Boy
Everything I Never Told You
Mr Wigg
Nest
The Eye of the Sheep
A Man Called Ove
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
Hello From the Gillespies
Letters from Skye
The Book Thief
I'm one of those who loved Cloudstreet and also The Millennium Trilogy but agree it's not light reading and there are a few nasty scenes that you won't easily forget.
Thanks so much everyone... I actually deleted a fair few today. by searching by author instead of date added, which meant I saw so many books I hadn't seen for a while and didn't need to be there. I can't wait to get a quiet moment and go through everyone's messages. That spare moment will take a fair while to arrive around here ;)
Brenda wrote: "I wouldn't read The Slap as I've been told by a very reliable source (my son) that I'd hate it:)"Your son is very wise!!
Carolyn wrote: "There are a few books on your list that I really enjoyed (4&5 star), also a few 3 stars that I though were a bit meh but others liked them, none that I ranked lower. Quite a lot are on my tbr and s..."We enjoy a lot of the same books - a couple on that list I haven't read - but they are on my library 'to borrow' list :)
Sally906 wrote: "Carolyn wrote: "There are a few books on your list that I really enjoyed (4&5 star), also a few 3 stars that I though were a bit meh but others liked them, none that I ranked lower. Quite a lot are..."I hope you enjoy them as much as I did Sally.
Interesting to scroll through your looong TBR list Suzanne. A general comment - I think some titles are listed twice, so you may be able to reduce the number just by checking that.Our reading tastes seem fairly different, so I am not familiar with many of the titles you've listed.
The Children of Men by P.D. James was a Did Not Finish for me. I found the writing really lacklustre and the story structure confusing.
Along with several other commentators here, The Slap was also a DNF for me. Christos Tsiolkas's writing style is quite confrontational. He uses a lot of gratuitous swearing, and several rather confronting homosexual scenes/viewpoints, as he is a gay man himself.
As for Cloudstreet, it is one of my all-time favourites and I want a copy buried with me in my coffin. It means that much to me. Obviously, others do not find it so enjoyable. It is often a matter of taste.
Good luck with your TBR house-keeping!
I've been enjoying deleting a fair few off, very theraputic! I think The Slap worked its way onto my list as I bought it for my dad. Re. Tim Winton, I think what's happening there is that I think there are some authors I 'need' to read and that's probably not helping my TBR either! Thanks for your suggestions Mary :) Over the last couple of days I noticed about 10 or so listed twice, so it's steadily been going down.
Angela wrote: "I agree with you Mish about Cloudstreet - I really struggled to get through that one. Very unengaging.Just recently read Finding Cassie Crazy - absolutely loved it!!
I could take o..."
Thanks Angela, it's funny with Tuesdays with Morrie, I picked it up at a second hand bookshop like many of mine, and one of my US GR friends lives (or lived can't remember) next to his son.
Carolyn wrote: "There are a few books on your list that I really enjoyed (4&5 star), also a few 3 stars that I though were a bit meh but others liked them, none that I ranked lower. Quite a lot are on my tbr and s..."There's so many great ones aren't there Carolyn? Thanks for taking the time to help me on my quest. It's not something that 'has' to be done but it's so unrealistic being at the 1200 mark I think! Especially if I go to the charity shops as much as I have been lately!!
Brenda wrote: "I didn't like Gone Girl (but a lot did)Not really just_a_girl
Hated Running with Scissors
You can get rid of Gone Missing as you've g..."
Thanks Brenda, only left Gone Girl, I'm a sucker for hype but will probably regret it at the time.. Was the same with The Fault in Our Stars. My list is going down..
Phrynne wrote: "Too many that I haven't read so I can't really help you! I personally hated Room but everyone else loved it so don't believe me:) You are just going to have to read faster!!!"Thanks Phrynne, this is actually one I've taken on and off numerous times. I'm taking it off as I'm on a mission ;)
RitaSkeeter wrote: "Brenda wrote: "I didn't like Gone Girl (but a lot did)Not really just_a_girl
Hated Running with Scissors
You can get rid of [book:Gone Missing|131308..."
Just took it off, sometimes I don't know how books get there. I think it's the hype at times. I'll have a look at our lists and compare. Thanks for helping me out Ritaskeeter :)
Stef wrote: "Of you to reads I gave Carrie just one star (I tried to like King but I really didn't) and I gave Bridget Jones's Diary 2 stars (it was that rare experience, a movie I li..."Thanks Stef, I just took Carrie off, I think with that author I think I need to try him (still haven't) so I'm only keeping the ones on my list that I own. Isn't The Silver Button cute? I still haven't read Morris Gleitzman but will need to soon. So you're a mean critic hey?! Thanks for taking the time to help me.
Patricia wrote: "According to the 'compare books" our tastes are 71% similar and we have 88 books in common.Therefore the ones I loved from your list were:
Songs of Willow Frost
Burial Rites - I really struggled to get through that one. Very unengaging.
Just recently read Finding Cassie Crazy - absolutely loved it!!
I could take o..."
Thanks again Odette, ended up taking them all off ;)
Suzanne wrote: "Phrynne wrote: "Too many that I haven't read so I can't really help you! I personally hated Room but everyone else loved it so don't believe me:) You are just going to have to read f..."Not everyone, Phrynne. I got so far and gave it a big miss.
Dale wrote: "Suzanne wrote: "Phrynne wrote: "Too many that I haven't read so I can't really help you! I personally hated Room but everyone else loved it so don't believe me:) You are just going t..."I hated Room as well and didn't actually finish it.
Carolyn wrote: "Dale wrote: "Suzanne wrote: "Phrynne wrote: "Too many that I haven't read so I can't really help you! I personally hated Room but everyone else loved it so don't believe me:) You are..."Same, Carolyn. Drove me crazy. But unlike Angela I did like Tuesdays with Morrie. Just shows how we are all different in what appeals.
I enjoyed Tuesdays with Morrie too. We are all so different so Suzanne will have to go with what appeals to her when deciding whether to read some of them :)
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Your son is very wise!!"
He is!
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And I really enjoyed Room - so there you go;)
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I really enjoyed Reconstructing Amelia.I would definitely keep Gone Girl, even if you have seen the film.
I also enjoyed Little Children.
I loved Bridget Jones's Diary and The Edge of Reason.
The Reader is a must read.
Definitely keep The Secret History.
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Further evidence that we all enjoy a great variety of different things! And doesn't that make the world a better place:)
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Thanks Annika :) My list is so long that I'd forgotten Reconstructing Amelia! Unsure about The Secret History, but did just notice a glowing review from a friend so it stays!
Aussie Readers
Books mentioned in this topic
The List of My Desires (other topics)Second Glance (other topics)
Beach Road (other topics)
The Crane Wife (other topics)
The Slap (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Jojo Moyes (other topics)J.K. Rowling (other topics)
Mary Ann Shaffer (other topics)
Di Morrissey (other topics)
Stephen King (other topics)
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https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...