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What Did You Read in August

abecedarian

abecedarian

Well-Known Member
One Hundred Million Hearts- Kerri Sakimoto 3/5

The Genizah of the House of Shephar- Tamar Yellin 1/5

The Crusades Through Arab Eyes- Amin Maalouf 2/5
 
abecedarian said:
The Crusades Through Arab Eyes- Amin Maalouf 2/5
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Really? I thought that was an excellent book. What didn't you like about it?

The Golem - Meyrink, Gustav 3/5
Inherent Vice - Pynchon, Thomas 4/5
We Have Always Lived In The Castle - Jackson, Shirley 5/5
Un Roman Russe - Carrere, Emmanuel 2/5
Nervous Conditions - Dangarembga, Tsitsi 4/5
Men And Cartoons - Lethem, Jonathan 3/5
 
beer good said:
Really? I thought that was an excellent book. What didn't you like about it?
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I toyed with giving it a 3...I think what bothered me was he didn't give enough human interest stories with all those facts. He would start to, then go back to presenting more factoids, almost like a textbook. It WAS better than the average textbook though. I appreciated that Maalouf avoided the temptation to present the Arabs as 'plaster saints', and instead showed us they were just as human as the invaders. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the sheer number of people slaughtered during this time.
 
The Zombie Survival Guide-Max Brooks 3/5
Fearless Fourteen-Janet Evanovich 4/5
Twilight-Stephenie Meyer 3/5
The Purpose Driven Life-Rick Warren 2/5
The only reason I gave this last one a 2 is because I dislike the author's writing style. Otherwise it is a very good instructional book.
 
Warriors: Bluestar’s Prophecy – Erin Hunter
Star Trek New Frontier: Requiem – Peter David
Anastasia: The Last Grand Duchess – Carolyn Meyer
Everything’s Eventual – Stephen King
The Art of War – Sun Tzu
Children of the Flames – Lucette Lagnado & Sheila Dekel
Star Trek New Frontier: Renaissance – Peter David
The Swan Kingdom – Zoe Marriott
A Seduction At Christmas – Cathy Maxwell
Lady of the Forest – Jennifer Roberson
 
When You Are Engulfed in Flames: David Sedaris

Been busy this month.

edit:wrote down wrong book.
 
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (still reading it).

I also read the first half of "The Shack" just to see what all the fanfare was about. Lost interest quickly once "God" appeared.
 
The Amateur Marriage -- Anne Tyler
The Wednesday Letters -- Jason Wright
Without a Map -- Meredith Hall
Home Safe -- Elizabeth Berg
The Joke -- Milan Kundera
She's Come Undone -- Wally Lamb
 
It was a light, easy summer reading type of month :)

The Bright Forever - Lee Martin
Remember Me? - Sophie Kinsella
The Shepherd, The Angel, and Walter the Miracle Christmas Dog - Dave Barry
The Beach House - Jane Green


I haven't done much reading this summer. I am looking forward to winter, so I have nothing to do but read!
 
The Book Thief - Markus Zusak 5/5
Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy - Douglas Adams 3/5
The Brooklyn Follies - Paul Auster 4/5
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer 4/5
 
Finished The Seventh Seal, by José Rodrigues dos Santos
Darkly Dreaming Dexter, by Jeff Lindsay
Dearly Devoted Dexter, by Jeff Lindsay
 
The Slynx-- Tatyana Tolstaya
In The Skin Of A Lion-- Michael Ondaatje
Aura-- Carlos Fuentes
A Wild Sheep Chase-- Haruki Murakami
The Ghost Writer-- Philip Roth
The Book of Laughter and Forgetting-- Milan Kundera
The Green House-- Mario Vargas Llossa (not quite finished)

all (but the last one yet) reviewed on blog....

Three amazing novels in that group.


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The Shack (for philosophy of religion class) :star3:
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Robert M. Pirsig :star5:
Daniel X: watch the skies - James Patterson :star1:
Books Of Blood 4 - Clive Barker :star4:
Virgin Suicides - Jeffery Eugenides :star4:


never again James Patterson........never again....or maybe just that one sucked??
 
Marilynne Robinson

Marilynne Robinson:
Gilead
Housekeeping

John Sanford:
Dreams and Healing

Emily Herring Wilson:
To Fly without Fear;
Hope and Dignity;
No One Gardens Alone

A R Ammons:
Collected Poems 1951-1971
 
Outlaw by Angus Donald 4/5
Peace Like A River by Leif Enger 5/5
Armageddon's Children by Terry Brooks 3/5
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee 5/5
 
jasmine99 said:
What did you think of She's Come Undone?
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Not my favorite Wally Lamb book, but still pretty good. Unpleasant at times, since there's a lot of self-destructive behavior, but I have a weakness for stories about human struggle and coming of age. Well-written, powerful, more realistic than a lot of stories out there. :)

sanyuja said:
How was The Joke?
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Honestly, I had a hard time getting into it, but I'm not sure why. I thought it was quirky and intelligent and amusing and stimulating, but also deeply-rooted in the Czech political climate in the 1960s, which certainly isn't my thing. I could see it being a good movie.
 
Libra said:
Have you read The Storyteller?I found it difficult and put it aside.
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The only other Llosa I have read is The War At The End of the World, but it was a long time ago and my (poor vaporous) memory does not serve me well if it was a remarkable read or not.

The Green House is NOT a novel to be read as an entertaining, plot driven novel, as it is a kaliedescope of narrative threads.. with simultaneous multiple veiwpoints. I am LOVING it....but then again, I am from a lit background, and am attracted to non-traditional novels and un-easy reads.

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