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I'm currently re-reading Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. It's from 1990 but it holds up pretty well. It's a fantasy/comedy about the apocalypse. I decided to re-read it in anticipation of watching the TV series by the same name on Amazon Prime in the US, BBC2 on the other side of the pool. These two writers are geniuses and it's a real shame that they only wrote one book together before Terry passed. If you are a fan of quirky British humor, this book is a must.
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond
I just finished and found it to be well written and informative. It definitely gave me a different perspective on the housing problems that exist (and continue to do so) in most major cities.
I have found that I'm having a hard time finding books to read with my Prime subscription. Lately I've been buying used books online. But it's hard to find interesting fiction when you've already exhausted every book by writers you know.
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond
I just finished and found it to be well written and informative. It definitely gave me a different perspective on the housing problems that exist (and continue to do so) in most major cities.
I have found that I'm having a hard time finding books to read with my Prime subscription. Lately I've been buying used books online. But it's hard to find interesting fiction when you've already exhausted every book by writers you know.
I really liked Evicted. I tend to read more nonfiction, but I've found some very good fiction by first time authors or authors who only have one or two books. Actually, I tend to find that those are the better books. Once authors have written too many, it seems they often decrease in quality.
Location: Montreal -> CT -> MA -> Montreal -> Ottawa
17,330 posts, read 33,025,722 times
Reputation: 28903
I did NOT finish something (a novel): Exposed by Jean-Philippe Blondel. I absolutely ADORED his The 6:41 to Paris but this one, Exposed, had me bailing early on.
Then I DID finishing something (again, a novel): The Body in Question by Jill Ciment. Not my typical type of book but it ended up being more of a character study (good!) than its billing of "legal thriller" (not my thing). Crisp and clean writing (no extras—she packs a lot into so few pages), and she does it so very, very well. Absolutely excellent writing and story-telling. After reading a bit about the author, I realized that the main character has autobiographical elements and I found that interesting. I'm going to read her memoir Half a Life soon—it's high up on my "to read" list.
I did NOT finish something (a novel): Exposed by Jean-Philippe Blondel. I absolutely ADORED his The 6:41 to Paris but this one, Exposed, had me bailing early on.
Then I DID finishing something (again, a novel): The Body in Question by Jill Ciment. Not my typical type of book but it ended up being more of a character study (good!) than its billing of "legal thriller" (not my thing). Crisp and clean writing (no extras—she packs a lot into so few pages), and she does it so very, very well. Absolutely excellent writing and story-telling. After reading a bit about the author, I realized that the main character has autobiographical elements and I found that interesting. I'm going to read her memoir Half a Life soon—it's high up on my "to read" list.
I enjoyed Jill Ciment's short novel "Heroic Measures" ; I will have to look for this one. I do like to read an occasional legal thriller so it sounds perfect.
I did NOT finish something (a novel):
Not my typical type of book but it ended up being more of a character study (good!) than its billing of "legal thriller" (not my thing). Crisp and clean writing (no extras—she packs a lot into so few pages), and she does it so very, very well. Absolutely excellent writing and story-telling. After reading a bit about the author, I realized that the main character has autobiographical elements and I found that interesting. I'm going to read her memoir Half a Life soon—it's high up on my "to read" list.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DogFur
I enjoyed Jill Ciment's short novel "Heroic Measures" ; I will have to look for this one. I do like to read an occasional legal thriller so it sounds perfect.
I suppose I'm often disappointed by legal thrillers because they're so frequently either ridiculous/far fetched or totally predictable. I tend to enjoy true crime more because often you can't make up the crap that actually happens. Also, sometimes the legal thriller is a true crime in disguise and it's more interesting to just read about the real crime that inspired the fictional story.
I'm not surprised to hear there are autobiographical elements to the main character -- that happens more often than not, and it is fun to ponder just how much of the main character is really the author.
Location: Montreal -> CT -> MA -> Montreal -> Ottawa
17,330 posts, read 33,025,722 times
Reputation: 28903
Quote:
Originally Posted by chicagoliz
I suppose I'm often disappointed by legal thrillers because they're so frequently either ridiculous/far fetched or totally predictable. I tend to enjoy true crime more because often you can't make up the crap that actually happens. Also, sometimes the legal thriller is a true crime in disguise and it's more interesting to just read about the real crime that inspired the fictional story.
In this case, I think "legal thriller" was a misnomer. There was a court case but, really, the bulk of the story had nothing to do with the case itself.
As for true crime, after reading In True Blood, I'm ruined. For me, nothing can compare to it.
Quote:
I'm not surprised to hear there are autobiographical elements to the main character -- that happens more often than not, and it is fun to ponder just how much of the main character is really the author.
Exactly. "Write what you know." (Or who you know.)
Status:
"I don't understand. But I don't care, so it works out."
(set 6 days ago)
35,625 posts, read 17,953,728 times
Reputation: 50643
Quote:
Originally Posted by DogFur
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond
I just finished and found it to be well written and informative. It definitely gave me a different perspective on the housing problems that exist (and continue to do so) in most major cities.
I have found that I'm having a hard time finding books to read with my Prime subscription. Lately I've been buying used books online. But it's hard to find interesting fiction when you've already exhausted every book by writers you know.
I read that for continuing ed points that I needed. I enjoyed it also. I'd put that book in the category of "Nickel and Dimed", "Will Work for Food", and "Hand to Mouth". Great perspective.
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