James’s Comments (group member since Nov 17, 2024)

James’s comments from the The Shared Shelf group.

A light and easy read. (I blazed through it in a few sittings.)

Amusing and entertaining, but not particularly profound. (The other book I’ve read by this author—Redshirts—managed both.)

I’d still recommend it as casual diversion. A fun romp of a plot, a sympathetic protagonist and cats (if you’re into that!).

The Will of the Many

Found this to be an entertaining work of low fantasy (i.e. no dragons and elves).

Some solid world building that kept my attention throughout. Deals with themes of politics, trust and culpability.

Buckle in! It’s over 600 pages and ends on a cliffhanger. Sequel will be published this November.

In case anyone is wondering ... here's how the group normally selects the specific books we read.

1) We maintain a running list online of suggested reads that all members can contribute to.

2) Every three months, about 6-8 books are randomly selected from the suggestion list.

3) This panel of selections is sent to the members to vote on via an online survey. For each book, members will rate from 1-5 how interested they are in reading it.

4) The three top-scoring books will be the selections for the next three months.

Here's the link to the google doc where we maintain the group's suggestion list. Members should feel to add books they'd like the group to read.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

A Long Petal of the Sea

This is my first time reading Isabel Allende, a noteworthy contemporary author.

It’s a work of historical fiction that spans events from the Spanish Civil War to the Chilean coup against Salvador Allende. I enjoyed it, perhaps you might too.

I’ve added a separate folder specifically for book recommendations.

I’ve removed and reposted the previous recommendation post.

(Sadly Goodreads wouldn’t let me just move the existing post!)

Just finished reading this. An enjoyable read.

Would recommend it to other shared shelf members interested in fantasy.
Also it falls in our sweet spot: a book about books.

Might could add it to the suggestion list … if there’s enough interest.