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Didn't enjoy the second book The Golden Sisters by Arlene Hughes, like I did the first book ~Martha's Girls, probably because I ended up disliking another of the sisters, because of the way she treated her husband. Then I was hugely disappointed in Lawyer For The Dog by Lee Robinson, because it is nowhere as fun and cute as the description would lead one to believe. The dog really doesn't become a character in the story, and the characters are unlikeable and boring. Couldn't even finish the last few chapters.
Thinking of trying 'And Then There Were None' by Agatha Christie next. Have never read her work.
Next up finally is Rush Home Road. Still no one on the hold list after me so if I don't get it read in the next 10 days (and I don't know why I wouldn't), I can renew it. Next on the list at the library for The Plum Tree and library ordered Orphan #8 per my request. On the list for 2 or 3 others too.
I finished Boleto and it was a strange read. I absolutely loved the first 2/3 about a young man and a beautiful horse that he was staking his future on. The author (Alyson Hagy) painted a nuanced picture of Wyoming ranch life and the strained dynamics in the protagonist's family. The last third had a different tenor entirely and felt very rushed. It was almost like the author tacked a short story onto the end of her novel and called it done. It was one novel that I think could have been better if it were twice as long.
Moved on to A Spot of Bother, by Mark Haddon, who wrote The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which I really enjoyed. I'm only a few pages in, but it's okay so far.
I finished Jeffrey Eugenides' Middlesex. As I said early on I am not surprised it won the "Pulitzer" for literature. It is so beautifully written. I'm not sure how I feel about the story. It's an odd one and filled with information about Greek families (via Turkey) and on to the US. I found that all to be extremely interesting. The grandparents were interesting characters and their children were equally interesting. The grandchildren (American born)were a different kind of interesting and the reader will probably like the 2nd born grandchild a lot. That grandchild is the impetus of the storyline. And what a story it is. I've never read anything like it. I'm at loose ends having finished it.
It's well worth a read but I liked it rather than loved it.
TRosa, so excited that you are starting Dietland! Let me know what you think. The book was thought-provoking and eye-opening...and left me conflicted (about male-female issues, weight, sexuality, etc.).
I marked it to read
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ketabcha
I started Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides yesterday. I can already tell why this novel won the Pulitzer.
I just got that one at a sale but since I have so many library books it is on hold for awhile.
I just finished Coffin Dancer which is a Lincoln Rhyme mystery. I liked it. The characters are good.
I also received a free audiobook in the mail and I am saving it for my NY trip: Everybody Rise by Stephanie Clifford.
"A masterful tale of social climbing and entrenched class distinctions, as seen through the eyes of an outsider who desperately wants in. Tense, hilarious, and bursting with gorgeous language. Stephanie Clifford is a 21st-century Edith Wharton"
I finished The Magpies. It got better but I can't say it was anything other than ok. So on to another book. Trying to decide between The Interestings and Middlesex.
Finished up the Gear's People of the Masks and it was as wonderful as all the other First American books in the series.
Started Maia by Richard Adams last night and it got its hooks into me quickly. I've spent more of today reading than gaming
....which led me to put A Separate Peace by John Knowles on my list -- it's been called an American classic and the quintessential coming of age novel [Netwit, do you know this one?]).
Quote:
Originally Posted by netwit
Never heard of A Separate Peace. I've sent a sample to my kindle.
What I don't like about Amazon is that I can't seem to find when it was first published - Ketabcha having read it 30 years ago. I always like to see when a book was first published. It could be that I am just not seeing some place that is obvious to everyone else where they put that date.
It was published in 1959. When I was a teen (the 1980s) it was required reading in most high schools. I vaguely remember having to compare and contrast it with The Catcher in the Rye (I liked A Separate Peace much better, and I've already unleashed my venom here about the over-rated Catcher.) All they really had in common was prep school boys and the "coming of age" label. And being considered controversial and banned by many school districts.
I re-read it in my early adulthood and appreciated it differently than I did as a teen. I think as a teen I was caught up with the envy/jealousy stuff, and the idea that today we call a "frenemy." As a young adult, I was more caught up on the regret and guilt themes, and the symbolism of WWII meant more to me. Actually, now that it's been mentioned, I think I wanna read it again. It's been 20 years, so maybe I'll come away with something different.
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