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Post by lillielangtry on Apr 5, 2024 1:07:32 GMT -5
No punning name, sadly ;-) But as always, all your bookish reviews etc welcome here.
If a mod would like to pin this and unpin the other one, that would be lovely.
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Post by lillielangtry on Apr 5, 2024 1:10:09 GMT -5
I've just finished my first Dorothy Sayers, Have your Carcase
I've listened to radio adaptations of the Lord Peter Whimsey stories before, but never read a whole one. Sayers' style is very witty, a bit convoluted - I think it would start to grate on me if I read several back to back. Anyway, a fun detective story that I didn't have a hope of figuring out.
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Post by HalcyonDaze on Apr 5, 2024 1:31:06 GMT -5
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Post by sprite on Apr 5, 2024 5:00:34 GMT -5
I have 2!
Margaret Atwood: Old Babes in the Woods. I was thrown off initially because I didn't realise this was a collection of short stories but with several recurring characters. I enjoyed this. I usually hate short stories because they often have the sort of ending where the reader is supposed to deduce what is going one from symbolism and unspoken words, and I just want people to say what they mean. But these were interesting, and ended in a way that either felt like a natural ending, or one where it felt like a snapshot of life and we could easily imagine what happens next.
Elizabeth Peters: The Golden Bird Amelia Peabody and her clan descend on the Valley of the Kings, just as Howard Carter is about to excavate Tutenkahmen's tomb. Chaos ensues, romance abounds, Christmas shopping is done. A good romp.
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Post by Liiisa on Apr 5, 2024 5:12:30 GMT -5
Thank you lillie! As you see, I finished reading Silvia Moreno-Garcia's "Silver Nitrate" last night but forgot what month it was.
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Apr 5, 2024 6:13:59 GMT -5
Thank you Lillie. Bookmarking. I read all of Dorothy Sayers decades ago. Loved them.
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Post by Liiisa on Apr 5, 2024 8:22:49 GMT -5
I love Sayers too! But yeah, best to space them out a bit.
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Post by Liiisa on Apr 5, 2024 17:39:35 GMT -5
18) Claire Keegan, So Late in the Day
Three little stories about women and men. I particularly loved the second one, especially the ending! She's such a good writer.
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Post by lillielangtry on Apr 6, 2024 7:09:23 GMT -5
18) Claire Keegan, So Late in the Day Three little stories about women and men. I particularly loved the second one, especially the ending! She's such a good writer. Ah you see, this is the US edition. The UK for some reason packaged up the title story as a book on its own - when it really is a single short story. It's not like you pay by the word or anything but it didn't feel great value for money ;-)
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Post by Liiisa on Apr 6, 2024 7:27:20 GMT -5
Wow, really. Even this barely makes "book" status - it's only 118 pp. and done in a big, airy font. If you can find the second story ("The Long and Painful Death"), I think you'll find it entertaining (yes, despite that doomy title).
One weird thing about this book is that it smells interesting, like the last person who took it out of the library was wearing a lot of cologne or something.
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Post by scrubb on Apr 6, 2024 13:56:02 GMT -5
I've had 2 comfort rereads.
A Paul Gallico - The Poseiden Adventure - which was a book before it wasa movie. Of its time but interesting characters and compelling story.
And a Dorothy Gilman, Kaleidoscope -second book about a clairvoyant who helps solve mysteries. I almost always enjoy her writing, and this one is not an exception.
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Apr 7, 2024 3:44:12 GMT -5
17. C A Larmer. The Widow on the Honeymoon Cruise, Murder mystery by an Australian author set on the Great Barrier Reef. I didn’t pick the murderer.
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Post by sophie on Apr 8, 2024 19:07:36 GMT -5
The Earth Transformed: an Untold History by Peter Frankopan. A door stopper of a book which took me a while to appreciate. I bought it months ago but it stayed on the coffee table, anchoring my to be read pile. Finally last week I got serious about reading it. The author (interesting man!) has incredible breadth of knowledge, leaping from one volcano to another climatic event within a sentence or two. The book chronicles how climate and weather (and volcanic events) have determined the human history of the earth. It is a true academic production, not light reading, but very well organized and interesting. I liked his ‘Silk Roads’ book better but that was probably due to me being more interested in that topic than this one.
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Post by scrubb on Apr 9, 2024 11:29:39 GMT -5
The Sentence, by Louise Erdrich.
I liked it, a lot, but it didn't have the same intensity as a couple of her other books that I really loved.
The characters are in Minneapolis during the pandemic, and through George Floyd's murder and the aftermath.
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Post by sophie on Apr 11, 2024 22:07:52 GMT -5
David Baldacci, Calamity of Souls. His newest .. snagged it at the library yesterday just as it was being put out for the first time. His best books (imho!) are the courtroom dramas, and this is one of them. It takes place in Virginia late 1960’s, where the whites and blacks still live by the social rules which segregated them previously. A black man and then his wife are charged with murdering a rich white couple. The evidence and witnesses are questionable, the (white) lawyer and his (black) co counsel are having to watch their backs. Good action, good character and plot twists.. enjoyed it.
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Post by scrubb on Apr 11, 2024 23:56:24 GMT -5
I watched "Cloud Atlas" on a plane a couple days ago and it inspired me to reread the book. It'll take me a few days.
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Apr 12, 2024 22:55:20 GMT -5
18. The First Astronomers, by Duane Hamacher. I first got interested in this topic while teaching high school science in Solomon Islands. What was the point teaching a whole lot of European myth used to identify constellations? So I asked my students to tell me the stories they grew up with. Hamacher is a professional astronomer who spent a good deal of time with indigenous Australians, learning their lore of the heavens. At times he extends this to indigenous knowledge across the world. Fascinating.
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Post by sprite on Apr 13, 2024 9:05:22 GMT -5
In Defence of the Act, by Effie Black
Jessica is an evolutionary biologist who researches altruistic suicide--animals that kill themselves in order to benefit their species. Her dark secret is that she believes this could apply to humans--largely influenced by surviving a toxic and abusive childhood due to her father, whose suicide attempt failed.
It's actually a lovely book, funny at points, some interesting spiders, and a clear look at how complex families can be--it's not as simple as hating the person who caused the hurt.
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Post by sophie on Apr 14, 2024 13:07:19 GMT -5
The Secret Keeper by Genevieve Graham. This novel follows twin Canadian sisters who joined the Wrens in 1942 and had different yet intertwined adventures. It’s another WW2 novel, told from another angle. I keep thinking I’ve had enough of them, but it’s somewhat interesting and a quick, easy read so I went for it.
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Post by Liiisa on Apr 15, 2024 17:33:45 GMT -5
19) Vajra Chandrasekera, The Saint of Bright Doors
An incredibly imaginative novel with a setting that feels very south Asian and a plot that has elements that feel like a retelling of some myth. I thought it was great - on best of the year list. Highly recommended.
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Apr 16, 2024 6:34:36 GMT -5
19. Aunt Bessie Provides. Another taste of the Isle of Man as aunt Bessie helps the police solve a cold case.
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Post by sprite on Apr 16, 2024 15:50:19 GMT -5
I had to return it before finishing, but Braiding Sweet Grass has been beautiful so far. An American botanist describes how she learned to intertwine her scientific training and her Indigineous heritage.
the writing is lyrical, calming, and thought provoking. Perfect bedtime reading.
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Post by scrubb on Apr 16, 2024 16:50:11 GMT -5
That book was recommended in Louise Erdrich's "The Sentence". (Her characters, which include herself, all work in a bookstore, which she owns in real life.)
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Post by Liiisa on Apr 16, 2024 16:52:56 GMT -5
I loved Braiding Sweetgrass - finally got around to it last year. I have to read her moss book next.
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Post by sophie on Apr 16, 2024 19:54:08 GMT -5
I loved that book! It was one our book club selections about 2 years ago..
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Post by sprite on Apr 17, 2024 15:27:50 GMT -5
I loved Braiding Sweetgrass - finally got around to it last year. I have to read her moss book next. Moss! Have to look that one up.
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Post by scrubb on Apr 17, 2024 16:16:41 GMT -5
Just finished my reread of Cloud Atlas. Still a really great book!
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Post by Liiisa on Apr 17, 2024 18:06:06 GMT -5
Just finished my reread of Cloud Atlas. Still a really great book! One of my favorites!
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Post by lillielangtry on Apr 17, 2024 23:36:07 GMT -5
Mine too! Ooh, I'm tempted to reread it too.
Robin Hobb, Assassin's Apprentice I'd heard this recommended as fantasy for people who enjoy literary fiction and, well, I don't need too much reality right now so I gave it a go. It has an interesting world with a complex main character, Fitz, the apprentice of the title. I think I might continue with the series on audiobook.
Emma Donoghue, Learned by Heart A novel based on the true story of Ann Lister - 19th century lesbian diarist and inspiration for the TV series Gentleman Jack - and her early relationship with Anglo Indian Eliza Raine. They met at school in York, so I knew all the locations of the book. The set up and descriptions of the school are fantastic, but the novel is a little slow even for my taste and the ending is sad. That's not Donoghue's fault, it's history! But a beautifully written but somewhat melancholy read.
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Post by sophie on Apr 18, 2024 0:16:13 GMT -5
The Women by Kristin Hannah. It’s probably classed as Chick Lit, but this is a fairly good novel about one woman’s experience as an army nurse in Vietnam and dealing with (yet unrecognized) PTSD upon her return and her country’s treatment of the returning veterans. It’s not great literature but it’s a good novel and while predictable to some degree, it explores some aspects of military life from a female POV which is seldom done. I liked it.
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