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Post by ozziegiraffe on Jun 2, 2019 5:00:06 GMT -5
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Jun 2, 2019 5:02:53 GMT -5
32. Black, White or Brindle, race relations in rural Australia. Gillian Cowlishaw. A very densely written book, which took time to read, but really drew me in. A fascinating book written in and about the town I’m now living in, in the 1980s. While some things have changed, it gives excellent insight into the social issues we still face. Interestingly, friends from all 3 groups can be identified at least as groups, and some of the history is fascinating and can be confirmed. Altogether, an excellent view from someone who was trusted to be impartial.
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Post by Liiisa on Jun 2, 2019 6:08:53 GMT -5
Bookmarking, thank you!
That sounds like a worthwhile read, ozzie.
I'm about halfway through "Golden Hill," which is historical fiction about colonial-era New York. Enjoyable.
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Post by HalcyonDaze on Jun 2, 2019 6:44:37 GMT -5
I've recently started the latest Veronica Speedwell book - made my Mum get it out from her library for me. Picked it up on Friday and will finish it soon as I just love this series more and more with each book.
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Jun 2, 2019 8:21:02 GMT -5
I’ve just discovered my local library has free access to ebooks and audiobooks. Dangerous!
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Post by scrubb on Jun 3, 2019 0:00:16 GMT -5
I'm all over the place right now. "A Brief History of Seven Killings' sits taunting me for not making any progress after reading the first 70 or 80 pages back in February. Also started "La Suite Francais" by Irene Nemirovsky a couple weeks ago. Those 2 are both in paperback which I tend to only read on the plane, to and from work (or sometimes in bed at work). I've been at home since last Tuesday afternoon and haven't touched either one.
I've also been reading "The World as I see It" by Albert Einstein since about 10 days ago - a series of short essays and speeches - which is excellent but depressing (I think he would be horrified by the state of the world today). And I started "The Tiger's Wife" by Tea Obreht, which won the Orange prize and she's considered a young author to watch.
But what I'm actually reading is David Sedaris' "Naked", for probably the 4th or even 5th time. And I'll probably read another one of his after that.
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Post by lillielangtry on Jun 3, 2019 1:49:35 GMT -5
Thanks Ozzie! Can't believe it's June already.
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Post by Liiisa on Jun 3, 2019 4:47:25 GMT -5
25) Francis Spufford, Golden Hill
Historical fiction, set in 1740's New York. The protagonist is on a secret mission from London to pick up a large amount of cash. He's a very sympathetic character, but he refuses to reveal what the real purpose of his mission is to anyone. This presents him with various interesting escapades and politically dangerous interactions. The end is very satisfying.
This is a page-turner! I stayed up a little too late last night in order to finish it.
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Post by Oweena on Jun 3, 2019 7:20:30 GMT -5
Had to finish this in 2 days in order to get the book back to the library before I fly out.
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed by Lori Gottlieb
Having never been to therapy, and seeing this book on a couple of lists of new books worth reading, I gave it a whirl. I didn't learn much, and it was disconcerting how much angst she had over a breakup with a boyfriend (which is why she started therapy). But as the book continually pointed out, the boyfriend angst was just a presentation of a different, more important issue in her life.
If you want an inside look on therapy and to read about 4 patients she treated, then this is the book for you. It was not the book for non-reflective me.
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Post by scrubb on Jun 4, 2019 12:22:05 GMT -5
Finished Naked yesterday, and the Einstein essays this morning. My feeling that he would be distressed by the world today remains.
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Jun 5, 2019 7:57:26 GMT -5
33. Really a short story. The Very First Damned Thing, Jodi Taylor. Series recommended as audiobooks by friends. Brilliant. I started this series with the prequel, as I wanted a short audiobook to complete a road trip. I’m hooked. Recommended for Dr Who fans and anyone who appreciates a British sense of humour. Even better with the author as narrator.
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Post by mei on Jun 6, 2019 10:05:27 GMT -5
new book!
#10 Men Without Women by Haruki Murakami A short story collection. Stories about men in love, out of love, with of course some weirdness here and there (a variation on a reversed 'Metamorphosis', loved it) in true Murakami style. The men are pretty much all fairly predictable Murakami-types but I really enjoyed the stories (some more than others of course). Light reading, perfect for after a heavy non-fiction book).
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Post by Webs on Jun 6, 2019 11:11:12 GMT -5
I'm finally giving "The Name Of The Wind" a try. It's huge. I'm listening to it on audiobook and almost didn't have enough room for it.
Ozzie, I just finished reading the first book in the Jodi Taylor series and hated it. It didn't feel very Doctor Who at all.
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Jun 7, 2019 7:20:20 GMT -5
They make great audiobooks, for me. I’ve started the first full book, which so far doesn’t have the Doctor Who feel.
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Post by Liiisa on Jun 7, 2019 19:48:48 GMT -5
26) Tessa Hadley, Late in the Day
Wow! This is a really good book, evidenced by the fact that it made me nearly miss my bus stop three times.
There are two couples who have known each other since school days, and one of them dies. This sets off various events.
The story is told alternatingly in the present and the past. It's told mainly from the perspective of one of the four, a woman who is an artist.
I'm sure it will rate as one of my favorite books of the year.
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Jun 8, 2019 4:10:09 GMT -5
34. Saks and Violins, Mary Daheim. A visit to Hillside Manor and it’s quirky characters is like a visit home for me. Love Judith and her relatives and neighbours, and really appreciate the author’s sense of humour. I even visited Seattle with the main purpose of putting the series in context.
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Post by sophie on Jun 8, 2019 23:00:42 GMT -5
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. I had read this years ago when it first came out. I am rereading it now as it was the selection for book club this month. I loved it then, and still do. It has stood the test of 20 years and, imho, still a great novel. One of my favourite aspects of it is how well the male author get the female voice out. Highly recommended.
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Post by sophie on Jun 10, 2019 17:28:47 GMT -5
The Unlikely Asventures of the Shergill Sisters by Balli Kaur Jaswal. I picked this up as I liked her first book (Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows) and enjoyed it. It tells the story of three very different sisters dealing with a pilgrimage to India in order to fulfil their recently deceased mother’s wishes. Easy read with some thought provoking moments (like dealing with abortion based on the sex of the child).
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Post by scrubb on Jun 10, 2019 22:27:44 GMT -5
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. I had read this years ago when it first came out. I am rereading it now as it was the selection for book club this month. I loved it then, and still do. It has stood the test of 20 years and, imho, still a great novel. One of my favourite aspects of it is how well the male author get the female voice out. Highly recommended. I really enjoyed it when I read it - except, only the first ~3/4 of it. I really, really thought it fell apart at the end; SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT The romance seemed ridiculous to me and really spoiled the last part of the book. I still found it well worth reading overall - but still, the end was disappointing.
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Post by scrubb on Jun 11, 2019 19:05:14 GMT -5
Finally finished "The Tiger's Wife" by Tea Obreht. I think she was under 30 when she wrote it - remarkable! It's set in the former Yugoslavia, narrated by a young doctor who followed in her doctor grandfather's footsteps. She tells stories from his life, and stories of the lives of other characters. There's a bit of magic realism, there's an interesting variety of settings, and it's generally really good. It was interesting to see the perspective of a young person who grew up during the war(s) in Yugoslavia - on the Serbian side. (Although the author never clearly states that; she just refers to the sides of the borders, and mentions that some of the people have reason to resent her when they hear her accent/name/etc.)
I liked it a lot.
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Post by lillielangtry on Jun 12, 2019 1:22:44 GMT -5
That sounds good scrubb. I don't have Serbia ticked off my reading list yet - although I generally prefer to have someone writing in the language, and as I understand it Obreht lives in the US and writes in English. But we'll see.
#39 Nicholas Shakespeare, The Men who would be King I didn't read all of this non-fiction book about deposed kings/men who claimed various thrones. I'd picked it up secondhand because I was interested in the section about the French guy who declared himself king of Patagonia and whose descendants still use various titles they have given themselves, despite never having been to South America. Crazy.
#40 Laura Ingalls Wilder, The Long Winter (audiobook) In Terms of literature I think this is probably LIW's best work. The structure, the descriptions of the cold and hunger are all very well done and quite difficult to read (it is still supposed to be a children's book!).
#41 Patricia Highsmith, Strangers on a Train A classic. Very well-written with a creepy sense of dread and various unlikeable characters and a huge amount of alcohol. I can't say I liked it, but I admired it.
#42 Diana Athill, Yesterday Morning A memoir of Athill's childhood. She was Born at the very end of the First World War to a very privileged Family (later, she did not always have much Money and she worked for a living and mixed with all sorts of People, but in this book, I did have to laugh at the bit where she describes staying in a 5-bedroom house as "having no space" - but then, granny's house did have its own estate!). I was generally enjoying her tales of ponies and nannies, but then she really ups a gear and talks about her brother's pain at being sent to Boarding School and the unhappiness between her parents, and the damage done by her mother's total ignorance of sex at the time of her marriage and by the impossibility of divorce for People of their class and background. That's what I love about Athill - she is so honest and clear-eyed.
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Post by sophie on Jun 12, 2019 9:57:43 GMT -5
Edward O. Wilson ‘Half Earth’. Subtitled ‘Our Planet’s fight for Life’. He is an entomologist (ants being his specialty) and Harvard prof, with a rather revolutionary prescription for avoiding the next mass extinction, which is to restrict human activity to half the planet. He proceeds to discuss why and how this will work. Not an easy book to read, but lots to think about.
Lissa, have you read this?
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Post by Liiisa on Jun 12, 2019 13:59:38 GMT -5
Edward O. Wilson ‘Half Earth’. Subtitled ‘Our Planet’s fight for Life’. He is an entomologist (ants being his specialty) and Harvard prof, with a rather revolutionary prescription for avoiding the next mass extinction, which is to restrict human activity to half the planet. He proceeds to discuss why and how this will work. Not an easy book to read, but lots to think about. Lissa, have you read this? No, I’ve sort of avoided it to be honest... I love E. O. Wilson, but I was skeptical about how he’d make that idea work without making life even more miserable for people in the developing world. But maybe I should read it and find out. (Not for a while, though; I’m currently reading “The Uninhabitable Earth” and I’m going to need a nice long break after that one.)
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Post by Webs on Jun 13, 2019 16:25:31 GMT -5
The Unlikely Asventures of the Shergill Sisters by Balli Kaur Jaswal. I picked this up as I liked her first book (Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows) and enjoyed it. It tells the story of three very different sisters dealing with a pilgrimage to India in order to fulfil their recently deceased mother’s wishes. Easy read with some thought provoking moments (like dealing with abortion based on the sex of the child). I loved this book. I didn't like any of the sisters at the beginning and loved them all at the end. And funny, that was what one of the reviews of the book stated before I picked it up.
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Post by Liiisa on Jun 14, 2019 20:51:56 GMT -5
27) David Wallace-Wells, The Uninhabitable Earth
WOW, this was another really good book. I'd call it a literary summary of climate change. Everything about it - forecasts of what climate scientists think things are going to look like in the coming decades, many chapters of ramifications, and then a discussion of some of the cultural responses that have arisen to date (or not).
I thought it was brilliant. Is it fun? No! But it's so well written, and I can't think of any corner of this highly complex issue that he didn't cover. Really well done, and engagingly written.
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Post by scrubb on Jun 15, 2019 23:43:10 GMT -5
Reread David Sedaris' 'Me Talk Pretty One Day". It had been a long while - it was very funny all over again.
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Jun 20, 2019 6:00:14 GMT -5
35. Just One Damned Thing After Another, Jodi Taylor. I loved this. Perfect for an audiobook on a long road trip as it is fast-paced and fun. Guaranteed to keep the driver alert. The characters, history and technology are all well-written, and, despite their absurdity, completely believable. Not quite as reminiscent of Doctor Who as the prequel, as there is less technical information, and more adventure.
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Post by mei on Jun 20, 2019 13:48:37 GMT -5
#11 of the year: Becoming by Michelle Obama. I don't remember seeing it mentioned here often, but I really loved this. Fascinating account not only of the madness that is being the President's wife and family, but also a great read about making choices in life, being a woman etc. Took it everywhere to be able to finish it this week.
Now on to something else... trying to decide what I will bring with my on my week of hiking (something not too heavy, but still a substantial read for at least two full days on the train).
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Post by scrubb on Jun 20, 2019 21:42:16 GMT -5
I think Oweena also recommended it, mei.
I finished another David Sedaris re-read today - Dress Your FAmily in Corduroy and Denim. It's not as good as his best, but still very worthwhile.
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Jun 21, 2019 7:48:06 GMT -5
36. Lattes and Lies, Christine Zane Thomas. Great short audio mystery for a road trip. It didn’t feel short, as there was good character description, including the animals. I will be looking for more in this series, as I’m anticipating more road trips. This sort of audiobook is great for keeping me alert while driving, as it moved fast enough to keep my attention, but didn’t take my attention from the road, as a more serious book might have.
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