Final Thoughts

[Lyn (Readinghearts)]

Sorry you didn't like it. I thought it was cute, quirky, and clever. And I really liked the way that they came up with the end. Although, I have to agree, I didn't think it was good enough to get a phrase tattooed on my arm from the book! That is a bit overboard IMO.

[Colleen]

"Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs"

[Colleen]

It is I suppose...

[Donna, The Pusher]

Finished The Dead and the Gone.

Read the full review here on GR or http://booknazi.blogspot.com/2010/08/...

It was a pretty scary read but I pulled through and wanted to give it 3.5 stars but settled for 4.

[Lyn (Readinghearts)]

I finished both The Alchemist and The Zahir by Paulo Coelho and all I can say is WOW. Great recommendations, Colleen. Both were excellent, although I liked The Zahir a little better. I think that was because it came across as less of a story. The Alchemist is definitely a story filled with metaphors about life and spirituality, while The Zahir is more of an example or illustration of those concepts in the life of a famous author. I would not only recommend them to everyone, but I would recommend reading them back-to-back.

[Donna, The Pusher]

Trish wrote: "Donna wrote: "Read the full review here on GR or http://booknazi.blogspot.com/2010/08/...
It was a pretty scary read but I p..."

Donna, your book blog is soooo co..."


Really?? I find that mine is sooo vboring in comparison to everyone elses...

But thank you!

[Donna, The Pusher]

Lyn M wrote: "I finished both The Alchemist and The Zahir by Paulo Coelho and all I can say is WOW. Great recommendations, Colleen. Both were excellent, although I liked T..."

I have almost all of his books but yet to read them LOL. I will read The Zahir next soooo I am hoping i will feel the same in which I am sure i will.

[Lyn (Readinghearts)]

It was fantastic, Donna. Hard to put down.

[Donna, The Pusher]

That is so good to know! I have been struggling a little with my past reads.

[Sarah]

I just recently finished reading Mornings in Jenin, which I won from a Goodreads giveaway. I was a bit hesitant to read it at first because I expected it to be a poorly written copycat of A Thousand Splendid Suns, but I couldn't have been more wrong. While the settings and circumstances of both books are somewhat similar, that's where the comparisons begin and end. Mornings in Jenin is a masterfully told story in its own right in which unfolds the tragedies and unspeakable horrors endured by those unfortunate enough to live in a wartorn area. This story broke my heart and took me on an emotional roller coaster that didn't end until the very last page. One of the best books I've read this year.

[Donna, The Pusher]

I got a copy of that too. Not from a giveaway but from a GR member wo won it.

[Colleen]

Lyn M wrote: "I finished both The Alchemist and The Zahir by Paulo Coelho and all I can say is WOW. Great recommendations, Colleen. Both were excellent, although I liked T..."

I would say reading them back to back is a good idea as well. I agree with what you said; I liked The Zahir so much more than The Alchemist. The author is so incredible! If I had half his writing skill I would be one happy camper!

[Donna, The Pusher]

As I said I read his Bio and he is a celebrity! People fall at him!

[Stacy]

Sarah wrote: "I just recently finished reading Mornings in Jenin, which I won from a Goodreads giveaway. I was a bit hesitant to read it at first because I expected it to be a poorly written copyc..."

Sara, Thanks for this information. I will put this on my TBR list right away!!!

[Sarah]

No prob Stacy! Hope you like it as much as I did :)

I just finished reading Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and gave it 3 stars. Definitely not my typical choice of reading materials, but the cover was intriguing, so I decided to give it a try. I gave it 3 stars because it was an interesting, entertaining story. I was amused by the author's use of historical facts about one of the greatest Presidents to weave a story about the role of vampires in American history. Fun story, but nothing to get too excited about.

[Lyn (Readinghearts)]

The other book was The Sherlock Holmes Mysteries: New Expanded Edition by Arthur Conan Doyle. Being a lover of classic mysteries and having read everything Agatha Christie, I'm actually surprised that I hadn't read any of these before. I really enjoyed them, so much that I bought the complete works and am going to read them from start to finish. 4.5 stars for this one.

[Lyn (Readinghearts)]

I finished two books over the weekend. The first one was Cranberry Queen by Kathleen DeMarco. I both liked and didn't like this book, but in the end I liked it more than I didn't if that makes any sense. I am giving it 3.5 stars.

[Donna, The Pusher]

I wish I could finish one of the weekend LOL

[Lyn (Readinghearts)]

Actually, I finished them both, but I started both of them about a week before, so I didn't read them both over the weekend. I could never even start and finish one over a weekend. Well, maybe every once in a while, but not often.

[Jennifer]

Lyn M wrote: "I finished two books over the weekend. The first one was Cranberry Queen by Kathleen DeMarco. I both liked and didn't like this book, but in the end I liked it more ..."

LOL I wish you loved it! I know there were some weird parts but I definitely enjoyed this book.

[Lyn (Readinghearts)]

I did like it, in fact, parts of it I really liked, it just didn't speak to me quite the way it did to you and Colleen. Oh well, it was still good, though.

[Jennifer]

I think for C & I it had a lot to do with where we were and are in our lives. The book is obviously about a different type of loss than what we're going through but a loss still the same, you know? I'm glad you did like it though. I hate recommending books that people don't like lol

[Colleen]

I am sorry you didn't like the book Lyn. Like Jen said though she and I are at just the right time in our lives that the book really spoke to both of us. It called to her and then it called to me, that I think is the best way to chose ones next read :)

[Jennifer]

But she did like it, just not like we did! lol

[Colleen]

Still, I was hoping she would like it more :(

[Lyn (Readinghearts)]

I finished The Confessions of Catherine de Medici by C.W. Gortner, and I was enchanted and enthralled. As good Historical Fiction should, it made me want to read more about Catherine and her children, especially Margot and Henri. Mr. Gortner is a great storyteller, and I am looking forward to reading his other book, and eagerly await his new book. I may have a new favorite author in this genre.

[Donna, The Pusher]

I read Paulo Coelho: A Warrior's Life - The Authorized Biography by Fernando Morais back in January 2010. I won an ARC from Goodreads and I just fell in love with him. I love that an author can be a celebrity. Here in the states, everyone writes a book, from Justin Bieber to Laurena Bobbett so when people read a great piece of work it's just like "ahh, a refreshing book" but no one ever really thinks of the author so much and after reading The Zahir it makes me look at writer's in a whole new light. I have always thought of writers as being celebrities but many writers don't feel that way. I met a few authors and they just act like it's another day in the office but then again how do I expect them to act? I remember meeting a bunch of author's and thinking" Wow, why am I the only one who is excited and nervous?" and when I asked the other people who were with me how they felt about meeting him/her they just shrugged it off. Why go and meet an author if you aren't gonna be completely celebrity-shocked? I never reacted out of the ordinary when meeting anyone famous but I did respect that they do something that I could never do, such as write, act, or even sing.

Anyway, I may be getting a little ahead of myself. I loved The Zahir and I love how it is one man's journey of finding his wife who left him because she loved him so much that she did not want their "usual" relationship to get in the way of their marriage. Usual by means of comfort and losing touch with what is important and what is true and real. People become so used to their way of life that they forget the most important things and take advantage of what is most important. I found myself writing all his quotes in my little book so that I could never forget his words but I know that writing it was a waste because I will always know his words and always understand what he means when he says them. I can totally understand now why he is such a celebrity. His writings and ideologies are fascinating and true that encourages me to read everything he writes. I follow his blog and get his tweets but having his books on my shelves seem to hold more meaning.




To quote form The Zahir "...if a book isn't self-explanatory, then it isn't worth reading."

[Colleen]

Well said Donna!

[Lyn (Readinghearts)]

Immoral by Brian Freeman. This was my first book by him and I would give it 4 stars. It was a really good thriller with a lot of twists and turns to the story. I really like what I hope are going to be the four main characters of the series.

Shanghai Girls by Lisa See. Lisa See has another hit on her hands with this beautifully told story of two sisters from Shanghai who emigrate to America. I think I even liked it better than Snow Flower and the Secret Fan if possible

[[deleted user]]

Hey Lyn

I think because of you I got interested in some of Lisa See's books, I went to the bookstore and ordered some of her books.

[Lyn (Readinghearts)]

That is great to hear, Niecole. I hope you like them! I have really enjoyed everything I have read by here, and she is definitely on the top of my author list.

[[deleted user]]

I went to read her bio on GR, and she seems an interesting author. I'm looking forward to getting some of her books...

[Donna, The Pusher]

Well, I just finished up on The Art of Devotion by Samantha Bruce-Benjamin and it was filled with drama, poetry, scandal and god knows what else. I was confused in the beginning but after the first 30 or so pages you catch on and then it's all messy from there. Messy in terms of thse crazy characters! You would just have to read it to understand what I mean.

[Lyn (Readinghearts)]

So is that a positive review or a negative, Donna?

[Donna, The Pusher]

I will go for positive?

[Lyn (Readinghearts)]

I might have to read it just to see what you are talking about, lol.

[Sarah]

Just finished The Night Watch and gave it 2 stars. Here's my short review:

I had really high hopes for this book, but I was terribly disappointed. I had read Affinity, another book by Sarah Waters, a few years ago and I loved it, so I expected this book to be pretty good as well. First of all, the story was incredibly slow and extremely anticlimactic. Secondly, the characters started to blend together after a while and I had a difficult time keeping them straight. Third, there wasn't even a real plot to the story. It was just the story of four people during WWII in London and how their lives interconnected.
One thing I did find interesting about this book is that the story was told backwards. It begins in 1947 and goes backward to 1941, which was an interesting way to explain why the characters were the way they were, but the story was just too slow and uninteresting for it to really work. Overall, I'm unimpressed.

[Donna, The Pusher]

Boo. I have this book and it is coming up soon because it is on 2 of my challanges.

[Sarah]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Who knows, you may like it. I checked out the reviews here on Goodreads, and it seemed like this is one of those books that people either loved or hated - not too many middle-of-the-road opinions about this book.

[Lyn (Readinghearts)]

I just finished The Late, Lamented Molly Marx by Sally Koslow and though I really liked the very beginning and the very end, I was hoping for more from the rest of the book. Three stars because I enjoyed it, but it did not live up to expectations.

[[deleted user]]

I just finished The Other Queen. At the beginning it was really hard for me to get started, but after the first 100 pages it got more interesting. The end is a bit cut off for me, because the end is out of only one perspective, where the rest of the book are in 3.

[Lyn (Readinghearts)]

I just finished The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen. I can't decide how to rate it, somewhere between 3 and 4 stars. It was a quick, light, read with a cute story line. I liked the characters and thought it was a perfect end of summer read. Nothing spectacular, but good.

[Lyn (Readinghearts)]

I just finished American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld and although I liked most of the book, it was not at all what I expected. The story was good, though, and I liked the characters. Even though I really did not like the end, I am giving it 3.5 stars. I will put more about why I did not like the ending in my review.

[Lyn (Readinghearts)]

Kisscut is the second book in Karin Slaughter's Grant County series. I would class it as a first rate thriller, but it could have used a few more twists and turns for me. It just didn't surprise me. I will say, though, it had an unconventional ending for this type of book, which was interesting. I plan to continue with the series.

[Donna, The Pusher]

I am really enjoying The Lotus Eaters. It takes place during the war in Vietnam and it's full of heartache, passion, devestation, and beauty. All those oxymorons of war is within these pages and I am glad that my work book club voted on this book (even if I was not there to vote).

[Stacy]

Donna wrote: "I am really enjoying The Lotus Eaters. It takes place during the war in Vietnam and it's full of heartache, passion, devestation, and beauty. All those oxymorons of war is within the..."

Donna, This is all good to hear. This is on my TBR list and I think I'll bump it up a notch or two! Thanks for the info.
Stacy

[Donna, The Pusher]

Oh it is so good!

[Lyn (Readinghearts)]

I have finished three books since I last posted here:

Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier. This was a well written story about the friendship between two unconventional women in the early 1800s all told around the backdrop of fossil hunting and the discovery of new species. It was a great book, 4 stars.

Monsieur Pain by Roberto Bolaño. Thank goodness this book was short. I did not like it at all. The premis was good, and it was historical fiction about characters that existed in real life. It should have been my type of book, but it read like general ramblings by the author, and the story line was weak.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, I can't believe that I waited this long to read this book!! It was fantastic from start to finish, and I didn't even find the first part slow.

[Donna, The Pusher]

Well, I just finished out 2 of my thesis books:

The Reading Group Handbook: Everything You Need to Know, from Choosing Members to Leading Discussions and Good Books Lately: The One-Stop Resource for Book Groups and Other Greedy Readers and both were very informatiive but I did like Good Books Lately. It gave me a tons of new books for my TBR!

[Lyn (Readinghearts)]

Final thoughts on The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory. This book told a great story!! I love historical fiction, and telling the story of the Boleyn's from a different perspective was great. PG certainly had an interesting take on Anne. Even though she is not historically accurate, Philippa Gregory can sure tell a great story!