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Location: Montreal -> CT -> MA -> Montreal -> Ottawa
17,330 posts, read 33,018,915 times
Reputation: 28903
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jazzcat22
What didn't you like about it, Dawn? It's still on my queue---and I was thinking about attending his lecture at the book festival, but may need to rethink this, depending on your answer....it all rests upon you now...a big responsibility, but I know you can handle it!
Quote:
Originally Posted by younglisa7
That's too bad. Bettyville looked good.
LOL!
I just didn't like his writing style at all. Then, when I read the poor reviews on Amazon, what bugged those reviewers would have definitely bugged me too, so I figured that I'd cut my losses.
You guys might like it, so I don't want to sway you. Get it from the library and give it a try. It just didn't work for me, right from the get-go.
I just finished listening to "How to Save a Life" by Sara Zarr, and without trying to mimic K' -- I didn't want it to end. It's one thing to say a book is well-written, or I liked the characters, but Ms Zarr's characters were ME. No, not "me" but so real that I could personally related to each of them. I could feel Robin's desire to start life over by adopting Mandy's baby in response to her husband's unexpected death. I could feel Jill's anger and frustration at who she'd become when her father was no longer there. And -- well, frankly I could feel the urgency of Mandy's necessary escape from her abusive "family" to find a better life for herself and her baby. The exchanges were so real that I flinched at the inflicted pains.
It didn't "feel" like a YA story. It was too mature for that, or maybe it is more real YA than the other YA's. Whatever. I loved it. I just loved it.
I just finished listening to "How to Save a Life" by Sara Zarr, and without trying to mimic K' -- I didn't want it to end. It's one thing to say a book is well-written, or I liked the characters, but Ms Zarr's characters were ME. No, not "me" but so real that I could personally related to each of them. I could feel Robin's desire to start life over by adopting Mandy's baby in response to her husband's unexpected death. I could feel Jill's anger and frustration at who she'd become when her father was no longer there. And -- well, frankly I could feel the urgency of Mandy's necessary escape from her abusive "family" to find a better life for herself and her baby. The exchanges were so real that I flinched at the inflicted pains.
It didn't "feel" like a YA story. It was too mature for that, or maybe it is more real YA than the other YA's. Whatever. I loved it. I just loved it.
Feel free to mimic me whenever you want to.
I love your description of the book.
I just finished an incredible book: Life Drawing by Robin Black. It's her first novel; she had a book of short stories previously.
Wow.
WOW.
WOW!!!!!!!
This was amazingly written. (I did have to look up a few vocabulary words---palimpsest, for one, but I kind of like that.) The characters, the writing, the insights, the dialogue, the atmosphere. Some sites bill it as a psychological thriller. I'm not sure about that. I was thrilled by it and there was lots of psychology, but it wasn't a typical sitting at the edge of your seat thriller---more like being incredibly invested in and curious about whether the marriage implodes and whether some characters get what they deserve. It's about a marriage between a painter and a writer, where she betrayed him by having an affair. They have agreed to stay together, but even years later, their marriage is troubled. A woman moves in next door and disrupts their insular life---and then her young adult daughter comes...and you can guess the rest, although you will never see the ending coming. It's about art, life, marriage, friendship, mother-daughter relationships, aging, and so on. Mainly it's about the decisions we make and the behaviors e engage in and their consequences---and how everyone can be a little guilty.
I'm not doing justice to it. Check out the critical reviews, like this one:
Location: Montreal -> CT -> MA -> Montreal -> Ottawa
17,330 posts, read 33,018,915 times
Reputation: 28903
Quote:
Originally Posted by jazzcat22
I just finished an incredible book: Life Drawing by Robin Black. It's her first novel; she had a book of short stories previously.
I read that a little while ago -- I also liked it a lot.
Speaking of which, I'm almost finished one of your recommendations -- Florence Gordon. LOVE! I'm reading the end slowly -- stop and start -- because I don't want it to end.
Yesterday I started Merchants of Doubt This is a heavy book with a lot of facts and proof to back it up. It shows how businesses and/or our government hire scientists to cause doubt in proven theories. It is then sold to the American public as fact. So far I have read about RJ Reynolds and how cigarettes "don't" cause cancer, and also George H W Bush working for Ronald Reagan and their SDI program which cost the US $60 billion on lies. Interesting read about how we are duped into believing lies. I can't wait to read more but it is very slow. I need to absorb a lot of names and information.
Hope you and all the readers here,enjoyed their 4th.I had a nice relaxing reading day.Am reading and very much enjoying~Tsunami Storm-The US has launched secret weapons of mass destruction on other countries. And awaits what might be cataclysmic retaliation…
China is devastated by an 8.0M earthquake that leaves 70,000 people dead with hundreds of thousands injured and untold property destroyed. The Chinese government soon learns that it was no natural disaster, but rather an orchestrated attack by the American government using their High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) weapon. China ceases foreign relations with America and creates their own version of the weapon in retaliation. They plan to attack the US by sending a submarine with mini nuke mines to create a massive rupture of the Cascadia Subduction Zone.
Needless to say[consiracy theorist that I am] Merchants Of Doubt went on my 'must read now list',lol!
Dawn, isn't Florence Gordon excellent? Who shall we cast to play the lead role in the movie?
One of my favorite recent nights was spent reading Florence Gordon at an outdoor jazz concert. Rather than sit on the concrete in the crowd, my husband and I sat in the adjacent park under a tree, where we could still hear the music. There were also some birds chirping and a fountain gurgling. Brought good food to eat. That is my idea of a quality Saturday night!
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