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Post by scrubb on May 26, 2019 22:48:45 GMT -5
The Q by Beth Brower. Set in a fictional place somewhere near England and France (but across 2 channels from ENgland, and with a king) in the late 19th century, it's a very enjoyable story about a very unconventional heroine. It's very warm-hearted and charming in many ways.
I'm pretty sure people from here have read it but I don't remember who. I don't know if they liked it!
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Post by HalcyonDaze on May 26, 2019 23:11:41 GMT -5
I had The Island of the Sea Women out on loan from the library but couldn't finish it before it had to go back - in fact, I had so many books piled up I scarcely started it. The problems of all the reserves hitting the card at the same time.
I will try again later in the year.
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Post by lillielangtry on May 27, 2019 1:24:05 GMT -5
#33 Jon Ronson, So you've been publicly shamed (Audio) I love Ronson's Podcasts so listened to this, which he reads himself. It's enough to put the fear of God into anyone who uses social media.
#34 Jonathan Safran Foer, Eating Animals As mentioned above. This book is now 10 years old and it's specifically US-focused, so 1) not relevant to me in some ways and 2) its Focus on factory farming and very much secondary Treatment of environmental issues seems outdated. Not that intensive farming is not also important. I found it gripping, as in I literally wanted to Keep turning pages in a way that is rare for non-fiction. And I ended it Feeling, again/still, that it is my Moral duty (does that Sound awfully preachy?) to cut down on the amount of animal products I eat to very, very Little... I'm working on it, though that is probably for another thread.
#35 Qiu Miaojin, Notes of a Crocodile (translated by Bonnie Huie) Queer literature from Taiwan for my reading-around-the-world challenge. Originally published in the mid-90s and pretty apt that I Chose to read it last week as Taiwan became the first Country in Asia to introduce equal marriage (yay!). It's a Little fragmentary novel about a Young lesbian Student in Taipai. Good, but sad - particularly as it's difficult to read without the awareness that its author committed suicide at the Age of 26.
#36 Caroline Fraser, Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder As an English kid who couldn't have found Wisconsin or the Dakotas on a map but had the Little House series as one of her defining childhood reading experiences, I loved this, although it was sobering. Great Research. LIW had an amazing life and I was Aware it was a lot darker and more difficult than is presented in the books, but even so. I knew next to nothing about Rose Wilder Lane and her right-wing politics - the book is almost as much about her as it is about Laura. Anyway highly recommended if you're interested in the subject and don't mind having your childhood dreams shattered.
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Post by mei on May 28, 2019 3:30:47 GMT -5
#9 as mentioned above: The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert. Very good. I loved how she brought together so much information, connected by her own visits to people and locations. And how it she also wove in historical background to paleontology, geology, etc to explain about other extinctions.
Pretty depressing though. Especially because her conclusion is also that however well-meaning our conservation attempts are, we can't really undo what we've unknowingly set in motion.
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Post by ozziegiraffe on May 28, 2019 9:27:58 GMT -5
30. Money can be deadly, Cindy Bell. Probably not as good as the other two books I have read in this series. Character development in the four sleuths lays foundations for more happenings in their retirement village. This and the first of the series were my Goodreads Cozy Mystery challenge for the month. Cozy mysteries are great term time reading!
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Post by Oweena on May 29, 2019 8:10:43 GMT -5
Women Rowing North: Navigating Life’s Currents and Flourishing As We Age by Mary Pipher
Borrowed from the library after I heard the author being interviewed by Terry Gross on Fresh Air. I liked what she had to say about females and aging and since I'm now closer to 60 than 50 I thought it may have some relevance for me. It became clear I'm not the right person for this book. Much of it was vignettes from women she interviewed and they discussed overcoming of obstacles and learning to enjoy life in their 60s and beyond. There were a couple good points about loss and grief, but since I'm not much of a looking back or reminiscing type of person it wasn't for me.
An example of when the author interview doesn't much correlate to what's contained in the book.
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Post by sophie on May 29, 2019 10:30:41 GMT -5
The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer. Another take on events happening during WW2 and tying into modern lives. I liked it but mostly because of the Polish connection. Well written, interesting.
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Post by scrubb on May 29, 2019 11:36:58 GMT -5
Read a couple of Lemony Snicket books in the last couple days - including the last one in the series. They are really well done for what they are.
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Post by Liiisa on May 31, 2019 11:03:40 GMT -5
24) Verlyn Klinkenbourg, Several Short Sentences About Writing
I took this out of the library, but I’m going to buy myself a copy. It’s really quite amusing, and offers helpful advice on a variety of writing problems.
I particularly loved the section at the end where he critiques badly written sentences.
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Post by sophie on Jun 1, 2019 0:02:14 GMT -5
The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker. ...loosely sci-fi/dystopian ... easy read, pulled me in easily but I was disappointed with the ending.
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Post by HalcyonDaze on Jun 1, 2019 3:32:00 GMT -5
I need to do a massive update tonight. I finished a book I loved about two weeks ago and have been musing on it for that long -while also reading other books - which means I am behind updates.
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Jun 1, 2019 5:07:44 GMT -5
31. Brownies and Betrayal, Heather Justesen. My last for May. Quite well written, but I kept wondering why the MC thought she should be investigating a murder. And I’m beginning to think there are far too many cooks wanting to be amateur sleuths. The cast of characters does provide plenty of scope for character development in a series. This is the first audiobook I’ve listened to that includes recipes. Interesting!
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Post by Queen on Jun 2, 2019 3:24:26 GMT -5
King's Curse Philippa Gregory
Margaret of Pole was at Henry VII's court, and then at the court of Henry VIII, she welcomed the new king as a change from his tyranical father and in the beginning he was a change, however he later becomes tyrannical.
According to Goodreads this is a reread but I don't remember reading it the first time.
And this time there were certain things - like the moving sands of what is truth, and the absolute refusal to accept criticism that reminded me of another current world leader. Which made me like the book less. (totally unfair but there you go).
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Jun 2, 2019 5:05:29 GMT -5
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Post by lillielangtry on Jun 3, 2019 1:48:51 GMT -5
I have a couple of last ones for May.
#37 Alexander McCall Smith, The Kalahari Typing School for Men Another Audio re"read".
#38 Nicholas Shakespeare, Secrets of the Sea This has been on my shelf for literally years, I'm not sure why. It's set in Tasmania and follows a couple, each of whom has their own baggage. He's a good writer and this is a good Story of smalltown life in a fairly isolated area with some funny moments. I enjoyed it, but I still don't really know why I had this book instead of Shakespeare's The Dancer Upstairs, which is set in Peru - much more my Thing!
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