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I just started Cloud Cuckkoo Land by Anthony Doerr (he wrote All the Light You Cannot See). I didn't know what to expect because the reviews are excellent overall, but several readers said it was just way too many story lines, way too many words, way too many characters, way too many descriptions..... However, I'm enjoying it so far (page 48) and look forward to picking it up each evening!
The timeline is massive and weird - 1500s, present day and some time in the future. I am catching on the the thread that is tying these eras together and enjoy the characters that have been introduced so far. Doerr is a talented, ambitious storyteller and I just hope I can keep up with this massive story! More to come!
I just finished All the Light You Cannot See and I actually enjoyed Cloud Cuckoo Land so much more! Loved the book and gave it 4.5 stars.
My current book is Into the Raging Sea by Rachael Slade. It's an in depth look at the sinking of the S.S El Faro during Hurricane Joaquin in 2015. It's an excellent but infuriating book.
I just completed reading "Fantasyland", How America Went Haywire: a 500 year history. Its author is Kurt Andersen.
This book explains how the influences of dreamers, zealots, hucksters, and superstitious groups shaped the USA's tendency toward a rich fantasy life.
The author cites individuals such as P. T. Barnum and Donald Trump in perpetuating conspiracy theories, self-delusion, and magical thinking. He writes that the 'believe-whatever-you want' fantasy is deeply imbedded in our DNA.
Andersen explores whether the great American experiment in liberty has gone off the rails.
"Can you see this? ask the doctors. Can you see this? Marie-Laure will not see anything for the rest of her life. Spaces she once knew as familiar--the four-room flat she shares with her father, the little tree-lined square at the end of their street--have become labyrinths bristling with hazards. Drawers are never where they should be. The toilet is an abyss. A glass of water is too near, too far; her finger too big, always too big."
"What is blindness? Where there should be a wall, her hands find nothing, a table leg gouges her shin. Cars growl in the streets; leaves whisper in the sky; blood rustles through her inner ears. In the stairwell, in the kitchen, even beside her bed, grown-up voices speak of despair."
"Her hands move ceaselessly. gathering, probing, testing. The breast feathers of a stuffed and mounted chickadee are impossibly soft, its beak as sharp as a needle. The pollen at the tips of tulip anthers is not so much powder as it is tiny balls of oil. To really touch something, she is learning--the bark of a sycamore tree in the gardens; a pinned stag beetle in the Department of Etymology; the exquisitely polished interior of a scallop shell in Dr. Geffard's workshop--is to love it."
Oranges are not the Only Fruit was definitely quite different - and not at all what I expected. I'd say I'd give it 3.5 stars and I do think it would be a good book to discuss.
I just read The Only Woman in the Room and thoroughly enjoyed it. I kept thinking what a life this woman led. I really knew nothing before and am just in awe. (It's about Hedy Lanarr). I do wish it continued a bit further along in her life, but it was great. a 5 star read for me.
I just read The Only Woman in the Room and thoroughly enjoyed it. I kept thinking what a life this woman led. I really knew nothing before and am just in awe.
I didn't realize how much historical fiction that author (Marie Benedict) writes. Or that this is the pen name of Heather Terrell. I recently read her book The Personal Librarian and enjoyed it (even more than this one).
I am reading the Cassidy Project by Christopher Cartwright
I work on a cruise ship so I was intrigued by this one be liking it so far!
Also reading a Lonely Planet Alaska guide as that's where I'll be all spring and summer for the first time and can't wait!
I didn't realize how much historical fiction that author (Marie Benedict) writes. Or that this is the pen name of Heather Terrell. I recently read her book The Personal Librarian and enjoyed it (even more than this one).
Wow. I have read several of Marie Benedict's books, and did not realize it was her writing name and that she has written under another name. Live and learn!
I read
Carnegie's Maid
The Only Woman in the Room
Lady Clementine
Her Hidden Genius
I plan to read Personal Librarian.
I've never read any of her other books. So prolific and a relatively young woman.
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