September 2022 - What are we reading?
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What are we reading in September?
Comments (69)Oly, do you mean Rules of Civility? I just put a hold on it at the library. Funky, I'm going to disagree with you on the ending. I did not see it coming. It had never occurred to me, and yet, it was so perfect and complete. I started getting fearful and imagined it turning out differently. Trying not to give any spoilers here. At the beginning of the book, when I was trying to decide if I liked it or not (!) I went to Goodreads, where I'd gotten the original recommendation, and scanned a review or two. There was one who said she wept at the end. That was enough for me and I stopped reading the reviews and committed to the book. However, I began to dread what caused her to weep. With those very final words, I sat back, and my own tears appeared and they surprised me. There were times during the book when I kinda wished I was reading on my iPad so I could find an exact spot earlier on when a person or small incident was mentioned so I could refresh my memory. Nothing mentioned was unimportant; it all came together. And if you love the movie Casablanca, you'll be richly rewarded....See MoreFebruary 2022 - What are you reading?
Comments (84)I've been reading The Gulag Archipelago and have managed to get through Volumes I & II. However, before I tackle Volume III, I decided to take a break to read a couple of "Golden Age Mysteries." Ha! The book I chose first was written by an obscure-to-me author, Annie Haynes, and was first published in 1924. The Secret of Greylands thoroughly confused me! I thought I was reading a Victorian sensation novel along the lines of Wilkie Collins or Mary Elizabeth Braddon's Lady Audley's Secret, maybe even Anne Bronte's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Everyone was either walking or being transported around the north-country (Northumberland?) in farm wagons, dog carts, or carriages. Then out of the blue a 'motor' (motor car) appeared on a road. The King was mentioned, but the Great War was not. Women still wore long skirts and 'sunshades' (evidently some sort of bonnet, not a parasol or tinted spectacles). I worked out that the time setting must have been Edwardian or perhaps early in the reign of George V before the war. The story was melodramatic, the characters were usually histrionic, and the plot was almost transparent. Still, I kept reading because it was entertaining in its absurdity. The male love interest spent years traipsing Australia, South Africa and Central America on big game hunts and other manly activities. Was he hunting jaguars and iguanas in C. America? It was never revealed. This was a very creepy book, in its own way. I read the notes about the author and learned Haynes was born in 1865. She had some sort of degenerative disease that wheelchair bound her. She was an ardent feminist who lived in London but created her stories mostly from her imagination and remembrance of an earlier age. Her books are said to be a bridge between popular Victorian-Age books and ones of the Jazz Age in the 1920s. She died in 1929 and her reputation faded. Perhaps unjustly, but I really don't think she could ever have given Agatha Christie or Sayers much competition. But if a reader is in the right mood to read a 'real' throwback, Miss Haynes did a creditable job!...See MoreWhat are you reading? July 2022 Edition
Comments (123)I have been reading local authors including Small World by Jonathon Evison and The Final Case by David Guterson. Small World was very good 4+ in my opinion. I haven't finished Final Case but it is hard to put down. I was surprised to see so many negative reviews on Goodreads. The book is based on a true story of the abuse and death (in 2011) of an adopted Ethiopian girl placed in the WA home of extreme fundamentalists. Guterson (in real life) had also adopted from Ethiopia, and he said it struck him that his daughter could have been in the same situation. He attended the trial (not as a writer but as a parent and person involved with the Ethiopian community). This book is a novel, not nonfiction. It is not a pleasant topic and his descriptions of abuse are searing. Unless the book falls apart in the last third, I don't understand the poor reviews....See MoreWhat are you reading? August 2022 Edition
Comments (132)I just finished Fellowship Point by Alice Dark. 3 stars, and that's being generous, but it kept me reading through 580 pages, so that's good for something. I would imagine an all-woman book group would eat this up. The good: Some of the writing was sublime, especially Polly's thoughts and words as she journeyed through grief, both her husband's recent death, and the long ago death of her only daughter. They resonated very much with me and I highlighted them so I could go back and remember them. The not good: It was too long. Even through the better parts it was simply too long. One of the main characters was a writer and another an editor. Surely this book could have benefitted from some judicious editing. I grew to like Polly and found Agnes somewhat insufferable. I didn't care about Maud and Clemmie (or Heidi for that matter) and found their abrupt welcome and integration into the family felt unrealistic and contrived. The big aha moment made me groan. Seriously?!! I really wanted to like this book. After I finished it I read a bunch of 1, 2, 3 ratings on Goodreads. I had to agree with so many of them. Still, it kept me turning all 580 pages, so for that, plus some beautiful turns of phrase, it rose to a 3. ETA: I'm trying to avoid spoilers so my comment about the "aha moment" might be mistaken for something else. The very end, the very last page, that wasn't a groaner for me. It was some character reveals that made me groan....See More- 3 years ago
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