Casual Readers discussion

Hey guys! What is the last 5-star book you've read?

I believe it was The Island of Doctor Moreau.

The last thing I rated 5★ was

The last 5 star rating i gave to a book was Family Night by Tim Miller

Tho Moth
I think it was my only 5star this year.

My last one was , absolutely amazing.

The Shadow of the Wind

I think this is up your alley, Chuck, if you haven't read it already. It was absolutely breathtaking.

Courtney wrote: "The Shadow of the Wind

I think this is up your alley, Chuck, if you haven't read it already. It was absolutely breathtaking."

Oh yeah, cool--thanks! The last 5-star book I've read is: . I bet you would like that, Courtney. It's the coolest fantasy-type thing I've read since HIS DARK MATERIALS. And I don't even like fantasy really, but I'm just so into this! I'm trying to finish the second book right now and then I'll start the third. I'm reading along with the audiobooks and loving it. I think the narrator does an excellent job as well. If they don't make several huge blockbuster films out of this, they're nuts.

The Goldfinch
The Caine Mutiny
They were both brilliant books, and I was surprised by the Caine Mutiny. I'm know reading War And Remembrance Part 1 Of 3 and it should be just as good.

Angie wrote: "The Goldfinch
The Caine Mutiny
They were both brilliant books, and I was surprised by the Caine Mu..."

You mean The Winds of War ? That does sound good!

That's the one, my kids got it for me on mother's day:) it is meant to be good, I could nominate this for one of our book reads on the never ending book reads. Finaly , a book from me,lol.

Angie wrote: "That's the one, my kids got it for me on mother's day:) it is meant to be good, I could nominate this for one of our book reads on the never ending book reads. Finaly , a book from me,lol."

Sounds good to me, but you probably don't wait that long. And I don't blame you.

The last two I read are:

I Am Pilgrim

and

Chance

The Time in Between by Maria Duenas

I'd give it 20 stars if I could!

The Way of Kings

and

Words of Radiance

The last book to which I assigned a 5-star rating was Alas Babylon by Pat Frank; first published in 1959. My review was posted on Nov. 30, 2013.

A 5-star rating, as established by the Goodreads system, indicates that the reader considered the book to be Amazing.

Currently, 117 books reside on my Goodreads bookshelf; all of which I have rated and reviewed. Of the total, only 14 (12%) received a 5-star rating.

Of the books I have read during my lifetime, some have been very good, many have been good, a few have been okay, and a couple I considered to be a waste of my reading time. Only a few - 14 to be exact - did I consider amazing.

The last 5 star book I read was Carl Sagan's Demon Haunted World . I read it last month. It went straight onto my 'favorites' shelf. I adore Carl Sagan.

Rachel wrote: "The last 5 star book I read was Carl Sagan's Demon Haunted World . I read it last month. It went straight onto my 'favorite..."

Absolutely! Pale Blue Dot is really good too. I didn't rate it 5 stars because I was comparing it Demon-Haunted World, but it's simply a must-read as well.

Chuck, completely OT: I also watched a few of his Cosmos series on youtube. LOVE! I wish Amazon or Netflix had that series available to stream, but they don't. I'll have to order the DVD from Amazon.

Rachel wrote: "Chuck, completely OT: I also watched a few of his Cosmos series on youtube. LOVE! I wish Amazon or Netflix had that series available to stream, but they don't. I'll have to order the DVD from Amazon."

Yes, the original Cosmos was AWESOME. I recorded a bunch of 'em when the Science Channel played 'em. The new Cosmos I like too--I enjoy anything like that, of course--but Neil De Grasse Tyson is no Carl Sagan, IMO. Sagan just had "it." Just so great at what he did: explain science to normal people in a really engaging and charismatic way, Of course, I reckon some people may really like Neil De Grasse Tyson.

Chuck wrote: "Pale Blue Dot is really good too. I didn't rate it 5 stars because I was comparing it Demon-Haunted World, but it's simply a must-read as well."

That is definitely on my TBR. By the way, I love the story behind that particular photo. Last year Cassini did a similar thing and the photo is simply spectacular: http://a57.foxnews.com/global.fncstat...

Truly a reminder of how tiny we are and our place in the universe.

A great excerpt for PBD:

"Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, ever king and peasant, every young couple in love, every moth and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar,” every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there—on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.
Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.
The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.
It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known."

And 1 more:

"Ann Druyan suggests an experiment: Look back again at the pale blue dot of the preceding chapter. Take a good long look at it. Stare at the dot for any length of time and then try to convince yourself that God created the whole Universe for one of the 10 million or so species of life that inhabit that speck of dust. Now take it a step further: Imagine that everything was made just for a single shade of that species, or gender, or ethnic or religious subdivision. If this doesn't strike you as unlikely, pick another dot. Imagine it to be inhabited by a different form of intelligent life. They, too, cherish the notion of a God who has created everything for their benefit. How seriously do you take their claim?"

Chuck wrote: "Yes, the original Cosmos was AWESOME. I recorded a bunch of 'em when the Science Channel played 'em. The new Cosmos I like too--I enjoy anything like that, of course--but Neil De Grasse Tyson is no Carl Sagan, IMO...."

My thoughts exactly, Chuck! I like Neil De Grasse Tyson a lot, but I think he does better at speaking engagements, radio shows, etc. That's where he truly shines. Though he's still no Carl Sagan. On another note, I also love that Neil is a huge fan of Carl.

In regards to Cosmos, I also think the original version was better because it pared it down to the science. While Carl made it engaging, he stuck to the science--and I feel like we get a lot more science in the original than in the new version, if that makes sense?

Chuck wrote: "A great excerpt for PBD:

"Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived..."

Chuck,

Great reference.

There are five formally recognized religions in the world today: Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism. (Listed in alphaetical order.) Within Christianity alone, there are approximately 750 formally recognized sects and denominations.

All of these religious organizations share one common belief. Each is absolutely certain that it knows for sure, through prayer and divine revelation, that the others got it wrong.

Rachel wrote: "The last 5 star book I read was Carl Sagan's Demon Haunted World . I read it last month. It went straight onto my 'favorite..."

I am intrigued by this, Rachel, thank you. I've never read Carl Sagan, but I adore the film adaptation for Contact.

Dustin wrote: ""

That one is still on my to read list. I will eventually get to it. Glad you enjoyed.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I thought it was Brilliant. I am not sure when I enjoyed a book so much.

Cindy wrote: "Dustin wrote: ""

That one is still on my to read list. I will eventually get to it. Glad you enjoyed."

It's amazing, Cindy! Hopefully you can read it soon.

Hopefully :)

Cindy wrote: "Hopefully :)"

Yes.:)

Oooh, I forgot to mention this.

I read a book that I ABSOLUTELY thought was AWESOME. I'll be amazed if it's not my book of the year. Not that it's my favorite book ever, but in my search for the perfect novel it's as close as I have found:The Little Stranger

Hamlet

was completely different than what I expected

I've enjoyed two books that pop up in my head and crave to reread often. But, you said one.
How to Stop Worrying and Start Living |4866]
Definitely 5 gold stars.

the last American vampire by Seth Graham-Smith

Time is irreverent

Great horror book!

Great dystopia!!

Great sci-fi!

Island in the East by Jenny Ashcroft and The Burning Shore by Wilbur Smith. Both great 5* reads.