On the Southern Literary Trail discussion
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General Bookishness
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Retired: What are you reading?
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Laura, "The Tall Woman"
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May 10, 2017 01:55PM
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I finished Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin. My review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I finished reading Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. My review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I finished "Since We Fell," by Dennis Lehane. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... if you follow the link, this should take you to my review. It is above average writing and is literary as well as a thriller. But less thriller with lyrical, fine writing.
Brina wrote: "My review of The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration byIsabel Wilkersonhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show......"
Brina - On my Favorites list as well!
Book Concierge wrote: "
A Man Called Ove
– Fredrik Backman – 5*****
What a joy this book is! Backman peoples the novel with an assortment of quirky characters, who form a communi..."
I too lOVEd this book - One of my Favorites read in 2017 so far.
Faith wrote: "I finished My Name is Leon by Kit de Waal. My review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
Faith I really fell in love with this title when I read it last year. Leon is a great kid!
Guy wrote: "Faith wrote: "I finished My Name is Leon by Kit de Waal. My review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
Faith I really fell in love with this title..."
I agree that Leon was really charming.
I am SOOoooo far behind in posting ...
Stargirl – Jerry Spinelli – 5*****
I’m long past high school, but I still remember the “pack” mentality that required conformity. It’s painful to revisit that, but Spinelli does a great job exploring what might happen, and how the events might affect some of the students.
LINK to my review
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Where the Mountain Meets the Moon – Grace Lin – 4****
What a delightful story for middle-school readers (and adults). Inspired by Chinese folklore, Lin weaves a fantasy tale of one young woman’s quest to help her family. Minli’s courage, grace, kindness and perseverance are to be admired. I am reminded of the stories my grandparents, aunts and uncles told on many a night, as we sat on the front porch in the dark, my imagination running wild with tales of adventure.
LINK to my review
I finished Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing. My review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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I recently read Jennifer Haigh's novel "Heat and Light," about fracking in rural Pennsylvania, and found it excellent. The characters were well drawn, the setting described vividly, and the book showed multiple sides of a complex issue. I'd highly recommend it.
Reading Edith Wharton s , "House of Mirth" which I thoroughly recommend : five star read
I loved that book so much, and thought the adaptation was well done. I remember watching At the Movies with Roger Ebert & the young guy who took Siskel's place...Ebert was trying to explain culture of the time to his partner, as he was dissing the movie as he could not understand the impossible constraints women of the time lived under. He did not get the societal constraints in The Age of Innocence, either.
I just finished the first Charlie Parker novel by John Connolly, Every Dead Thing. It is being re-released. I was struck by the rather graphic violence of the serial killer involved but I do like Connolly's writing. I had reviewed a recent book in the series, A Time of Torment, which I did not find quite so graphic but which was very effective as a thriller with paranormal overtones. Perhaps, Connolly gradually left some of the graphic detail behind as he moved ahead with the series. I do plan to continue with it as I have also very much enjoyed his short story collections. Perhaps I'll jump forward a few books :-)
Darrell wrote: "I recently read Jennifer Haigh's novel "Heat and Light," about fracking in rural Pennsylvania, and found it excellent. The characters were well drawn, the setting described vividly, and the book sh..."Nice! The only thing I've read by her was The Condition which was a really good character study, if I remember correctly. I wish I'd started writing reviews much, much sooner! Will go take a peek at this one...thanks!
Anybody else with school age kids will understand the reading desert that comes with year-end performances, ceremonies, parties, and so forth that come when school lets out.Finally, I just finished the debut by the author of the Man Booker short-listed His Bloody Project. HBP was a really good story at surface level, but when one starts to think about randomly dropped tidbits early on in the story, the REAL tale comes to light. Loved it big time and was excited to start his debut from a few years back.
The Disappearance of Adèle Bedeau is a quick, crime story - noir in the first degree and set in a small town on the French border with Switzerland. The physical landscape is not part of the story, but character development is. I gave it a 4.5, however, that is excluding the "afterword" which is a metafictional account of the faux-real writing of the book. Read the story. Skip the postscript. Great beach read!
I recently finished Joe by Larry Brown. It was good, but not great. I preferred the other two novels by Brown that I have read, especially Father and Son.https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I also finished The Ballad of the Sad Café and Other Stories by Carson McCullers. A most excellent read.https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Leanne-- I make my kids earn tv time by reading so then I get time to read too. But I hear you. I read a James Bond book last week and then nothing for a week and then a novella and a light nonfiction. Definitely looking forward to school being done!
As it did not win the poll I have started , " The Year the Lights Came " would love to know if anyone else has read it or if anyone would like to read along with me ? Georgia is one of my favorite states - spent a lot of time there and am interested in the era it is set
Darrell wrote: "I recently read Jennifer Haigh's novel "Heat and Light," about fracking in rural Pennsylvania, and found it excellent. The characters were well drawn, the setting described vividly, and the book sh..."I love Haigh's writing. Have you read
?
Jane wrote: "Reading Edith Wharton s , "House of Mirth" which I thoroughly recommend : five star read"The House of Mirth was a 5-star read for me as well.
Trying to catch up on posting some of my reviews ...
The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins – 3***
In a future dystopian North America, twenty-four contestants fight to the death on live TV. Collins draws the reader in and made me care about Katniss. She’s a strong, intelligent, resourceful female heroine. The cliff-hanger ending is a pet peeve and I dropped a star for that.
LINK to my review
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Maurice – E M Forster – 4****
Written between 1913 and 1914, Forster’s novel of a young man’s awakening homosexuality was not published until 1971, a year after the author’s death. I loved the way that Forster developed this character, showing Maurice’s progress from a naïve student, to a young man awakening to the possibilities that a mature and loving relationship might offer him.
LINK to my review
Book Concierge wrote: "Darrell wrote: "I recently read Jennifer Haigh's novel "Heat and Light," about fracking in rural Pennsylvania, and found it excellent. The characters were well drawn, the setting described vividly,..."
Summer reading list above any suggestions ?
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Are you able to pull-up the list? It may be my phone.
Jane wrote: "Summer reading list above any suggestions ?"The article is password protected.
Jane wrote: "Summer reading list above any suggestions ?"Jane, the link says that it is password protected, so we cannot access the list. Maybe copy and paste the titles?
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I tried 12345 as the password and it said page not found, but on that error page there was a link that took me to the list. I've heard of several of the books but haven't read any of them.
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I finished Empires of Light: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and the Race to Electrify the World by Jill Jonnes. My review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
That's one I'm looking forward to.
I am finally reading a southern/western book-- Lonesome Dove-- and it is as good as advertised so far. This summer my theme seems to be based on my library holds-- non fiction and classic books made into movies. I also tend to read a lot of baseball books in season including this one- Making My Pitch: A Woman's Baseball Odyssey. Here is my review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Live that novel , Brina and read it out West too
Love oops I am re reading My Cousin Rachel and it is amazing
Fates And Furies – Lauren Groff – 4****
The book is told by the two central characters: Lotto (Fates) and Mathilde (Furies). Groff is masterful building these characters, with qualities that draw the reader into their circle. One revelation breaks the bond. Forcing first Lotto, and then Mathilde to examine their relationship. By the end I’m left feeling battered and bruised and stunned. I want to start reading it again from the beginning so I can pick up any clues Groff may have buried.
LINK to my review
22 Britannia Road – Amanda Hodgkinson – 4****
Hodgkinson’s debut novel is a beautifully told story of how a family torn apart by war slowly comes back together. Hodgkinson divides her chapters by location/time and by character, telling parallel stories: Poland during the war, England after the war. I was engaged and interested in the story from beginning to end.
LINK to my review
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On the Southern Literary Trail
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