75 Books...More or Less! discussion
Archive (2015 Completed)
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Alecia's 2015 Challenge
Mod
4/5 stars
This hardover book has gilt edging around the page, not unlike many editions of...the Bible! Michel Faber is a wonderful writer, an..."
This sounds like a really good book!
I'm not sure it's for everyone, as the concept is a little...weird...but I found it very engrossing and quite deeply layered.
Joy wrote: "I'm not sure it's for everyone, as the concept is a little...weird...but I found it very engrossing and quite deeply layered."It does sound engrossing . . . and so I've added it to my "To Read" list. (First add for 2015!)
Book # 2We Are Not Ourselves 3.5/5 starsI had a hard time deciding how to rate this book. If half-stars were available, a 3.5 would be about right. I rounded down because, although it is well-written, it did not have that "spark" (for me) to put it into a more elevated category.
It is apparently the author, Matthew Thomas's first book. And it is a very long book, over 600 pages. I think it was too long, and could have benefited from some sharper editing. Thomas uses the length to provide a lot of depth and layering for his central characters. It is a character-driven novel, and it explores the lives of Eileen Tumulty and her parents, and moves on to Eileen's marriage to Ed Leary and their life with their son, Connell. No spoilers, here, but it is quite poignant in parts, and I found it to be a very enjoyable read.
Book # 3 A String of Beads 3/5 starsThe Jane Whitefield series by Thomas Perry is dependable and readable. The concept is great. Jane is a half Seneca rescue artist who helps innocent victims who the need to disappear. She must be secretive about her life (she is married to a physician, and otherwise leads a normal life), but when she is called to duty, she feels she must respond.
In this novel, one of her childhood friends, Jimmy, is in trouble, falsely accused of a murder, and on the run. The female leaders of eight Seneca clans gather to ask for her help finding Jimmy. Although recuperatng from a serious leg wound from her last case, Jane feels compelled to act. The case proves more difficult and complex than it appears at first, and they're off and (literally) running.
I always have a slight problem with Perry's writing style and characterizations. It is slightly dry and analytical, and all characters go through similar thought processes, as written by Perry. And in this case, the coincidences in the plotting at times seemed a bit much. But it is always an enjoyable read, and Jane is a powerful leading lady.
Book # 4 West of Sunset 4/5 starsI love Stewart O"Nan's writing, but when I started reading his newest work, I had doubts that he was going to pull this novel off. I think he did, breathing life into the character of F. Scott Fitgerald.
This story is set during the last three years of Fitzgerald's life, when his drinking is uncontrolled, his health is poor, finances are in ruin, and his wife, Zelda, is institutionalized in an asylum. He has already won fame from The Great Gatsby, and has kept writing. But he needs, along with supporting himself, to make a living to pay the asylum for Zelda, and tuition for his daughter, Scottie.
Hollywood beckons, and he starts work at MGM, where a famous cast of characters play background parts in his crazy life there. He falls in love with Sheila Graham, the beaurtiful British gossip columnist, and he tries to keep his fragile world from falling apart. I found O'Nan's depiction of Fitzgerald to be a living, breathing, poignant characterization.
Mod
I love Stewart O"Nan's writing, but when I started reading his newest work, I had doubts that he was going to pull this novel off. I think he did,..."
This sounds really interesting!
I'll be interested to see what you think if you read it.
Book # 5 The Girl on the Train 3/5 starsI am giving The Girl On The Train 3 stars for it's readability. However, in terms of suspense, I'd give it 2 stars, especially as I found the ending to go on and on.
It is told from the point of view of 3 women in alternating chapters. Rachel, however, is the "star" and is The Girl On The Train. She is our unreliable narrator, a woman who rides the commuter train back and forth, fantasizing about the lives of a couple she sees in their house from the train signal stop. She feels like she knows them, and gives them names, Jess and Jason.
Little by little, the reader finds out more about Rachel and "Jess and Jason". The plot thickens, as they say, but this was just OK on the plotting and suspense, while being a decent read.
Mod
I am giving The Girl On The Train 3 stars for it's readability. However, in terms of suspense, I'd give it 2 stars, especially as I found t..."
This is in my TBR but probably not moving up anytime soon.
Mod
Yes, it appears to be, and it seems a lot of people are enjoying it.
Mod
Mod
So unbelievably true! Books that I hated, others loved. It's amazing. lol.
Book # 6 A Pleasure and a Calling 4/5/starsI was hovering between giving this book a rating of 3 or 4 stars and rounded up just for the sheer ingeniousness of our creepy narrator. The author gets into the mind of a self-justifying, very disturbed psychopathic personality.
William Hemming is an estate agent, and we find out immediately that he keeps copies of the keys to every house he shows. At first it seems just voyeurism is all that is involved with Hemming's "hobby". But as the book progresses, we get glimpses into his childhood where very disturbing acts have been done by him, and we realize that he is capable of very heinous acts. He thinks he is righting wrongs by doing the things he does, and he is a very scary, disturbing narrator.
Mod
I was hovering between giving this book a rating of 3 or 4 stars and rounded up just for the sheer ingeniousness of our creepy narrator...."
Oh wow, this sound really good and creepy. Sounds Gillian Flynn-ish!
Related, but a little different. Same narrator, no big twists. Just a creepy point of view taking us through the whole book.
I just put it on my wish list! I love creepy :)
Joy wrote: "Book # 6 A Pleasure and a Calling 4/5/starsI was hovering between giving this book a rating of 3 or 4 stars and rounded up just for the sheer ingeniousness of our creepy narrator...."
CREEPY! Just requested it at the library. Thanks!
Book # 7 Funny Girl 2.5/5 starsI have been hovering between 2 and 3 stars for this review. Three stars would have represented my fondness for some of Nick Hornby's previous works that I liked very much,(About A Boy, High Fidelity, Juliet, Naked). But I think 2.5 stars incorporates the bland, almost distant feeling I got while reading Funny Girl with my fondness for the author's previous works. I was disappointed, but finished it.
Barbara is a beautiful young woman from North England who loves Lucille Ball. When the book opens,set in the early 1960's, she is about to win her local beauty pageant title, but refuses it and decides to try to get a job as a comedic actress. This is a promising beginning, but the narrative of the book kept me at a distance, and it felt just like that, a narrative. I never felt the experience of actually laughing at any of the shows Barbara was in, or felt like I really got to know her character. Some of the other characters in this book had interesting possibilities, but they, too, were mostly shells making up this novel. The many references to old shows and stars in the UK would probably be appreciated more by people in the UK. All in all, although an interesting concept, the characters and situations were not fully fleshed out enough for me.
Book # 8 The Rosie Project 4/5 starsThis was a light and rather delightful novel. The predictibility of it's outcome did not detract from my enjoyment reading this book. The narrator, Don Tillman, a genetics professor, is clearly somewhere on the autism spectrum. He is considered "odd" and has an amazing order to his life, but decides he needs to look for a wife. The humor with which his story is told( I laughed out loud several times, especially in the beginning of the book ) is warm-hearted and very human.
Mod
This was a light and rather delightful novel. The predictibility of it's outcome did not detract from my enjoyment reading this book. The narra..."
In my TBR!
I'm always so happy to find a good book that's fun to read and makes me smile (and laugh:). I hope you enjoy it also.
Book # 9 A Small Indiscretion 4/5 starsI was very pleasantly surprised reading this well-crafted first novel. I had a tear in my eye at the end. Annie writes this entire novel as if in a letter to her son. I found this, although at first off-putting, very effective as I read on.
Youthful mistakes can follow into adulthood with unintended consequences. It is well-written and evocative, exploring young love, lust, modern marriage and parenthood.
Book # 10 The Divine Sharpness in the Heart of God by Karin Spirn Gavin Cheng-Johnson is a young English professor, and it is through his eyes that this novel is told. His take on his students and academia in general can be quite amusing, and he is struggling to find another teaching job...anywhere that will take him. The reader is brought along on his journey of self-realization, which includes love, lust, philosophy, and what is meaningful in life.
The author is particularly creative in interspersing short chapters throughout the book of the (fictional) play that Gavin is teaching. The motif of this play runs through the book.
This is a sharply observed book, populated with very human characters, and it explores deep concepts regarding the course he is teaching (hence the title and the play within the book). I felt a lot of empathy reading about the characters as they struggled to find their path in life, and I was quite touched by the ending.
Just wanted to let anyone who is interested know that my memoir in comics (under my pen name, Joy Spencer) will be available for a Kindle free download.Chronically Me: Flushing Out My Life And Times, a Memoir in Comics by Joy Spencer– AMAZON KINDLE SELECT FREE GIVEAWAY MARCH 2ND AND 3RD 2015!!!!
http://www.amazon.com/Chronically-Me-...
Please post a review when you have read it!
Chronically Me: Flushing Out My Life and Times With IBS: A Memoir in Comics
It's a great book and worthy of the 5 stars I gave it!
Book # 11 Dirty Love 3.5/5 starsThis book is comprised of four lightly linked novellas. I was all set to rate this 4 stars, but the last story, named "Dirty Love" after the book, caused me to rate it down a bit. I found it dragged a little for me. I'd give this work as a whole a 3.5.
All of the stories are very well-written. Dubus goes for big, sweeping, dramatic prose (remember The House of Sand and Fog?), and there are emotional buildups that generally work very well. I enjoyed all of these novellas, as the prose is really quite good. The stories cover infidelity, loneliness, all kinds of relationship issues, and teenage misery and angst. The characters are drawn with honesty, and most ring true.
Book # 12 The Long and Faraway Gone 4/5 starsWhile I was reading this book, I was wavering between 3 and 4 stars. But I was so impressed at how the author drew it all together at the end, I am rounding up to 4 stars.
Berney juxtaposes two multi-layered stories that take place in the present day and also in the summer of 1986. The only link between the stories is Oklahoma City, which is where two tragedies occured. The chapters go back and forth between Julianna and Wyatt, both of whom are obsessively struggling with their past. Although their paths cross only tangentially, somehow it all works as a cohesive whole. There were times where I felt that the jumping back and forth was slightly confusing, but I did settle in to the author's rhythms. And, as I mentioned, I thought the ending was done very well.
Book # 13 The Whites 2/5 starsI have enjoyed novels by Richard Price in the past, and I still think his writing is terrific. That is why I was so disappointed in The Whites, which is written by Richard Price under the pseudonym, Harry Brandt.
I found the plotting to be disjointed, and there were too many characters for me to keep track. The main character, Billy Graves, has become a sergeant in Manhattan Night Watch, a small team of detectives who respond to all post-midnight felonies. He has tried to overcome his past in the 1990's as a member of the Wild Geese, an aggressive anti-crime unit.
A case comes to light that has connections to former members of the Wild Geese, and there is also a subplot of someone out looking for revenge against Billy and his family. There were so many story lines and characters, I found myself a bit confused. Although the writing is still very good, this did not make it for me. I will hope for something better next time.
Book # 14 After Birth 2.5/5 starsI was uncertain how to rate this book...perhaps 2.5/5. After reading a few of the other reviews, I can see why, as I agree with some people. I loved Elisa Albert's angry rant-like writing about many subjects, especially her C-Section and her life after having her son. When the narrator, Ari, is describing her experience, her son is one year old. I thought parts of this book were spot-on, and I really appreciated those parts. But the whole of the book was somewhat amorphous, with an anger that was so displaced that I lost the point of the book. Some of the anger is very funny, other parts were mystifying to me. While liking the general tone and writing in this book, and definitely appreciating parts of it, I found the sum of it lacking in focus.
Book # 15 The Laws of Murder 3.5/5 starsFor the gentle and elegant writing, I would give this book 3.5 stars. This is a Victorian mystery, and the latest one of a series. It is the first one I have read, however, so for me, it is a stand-alone.
Charles Lenox has given up his seat in Parliament to start a new detective agency with three colleagues. He had been London's leading private investigator once, and detecting is his first love. The fledgling company is struggling as a new case comes to their door. Lenox is asked by Scotland Yard to help investigate the murder of an old friend, and the case becomes quite complicated.
Charles Finch does a very good job of setting the Victorian background and lifestyle, and also writing a good mystery within this setting.
Book # 15 The Kind Worth Killing 4/5 starsI'm giving this 4 stars, because although I think the plotting became too twisty and a bit hyperbolic, I still found it a fun, compelling read.
Lily meets Ted in an airport bar, then sits next to him on the same flight to Boston. Their conversation gets this story rolling, and Lily even mentions that the book she's reading is by Patricia Highsmith (just to set the moral tone of the rest of the book). The writing and alternating chapters work, for the most part, and there is definitely murder in the air. I thought the ending was very good.
Book # 16 Searching for Grace Kelly 3/5 starsThis was an enjoyable, readable, rather predictable book in the "Chick Lit" genre. I don't usually read this genre, but I wasn't sure what type of book this was, given the title. It is set in the year 1955, and the story focuses on 3 young women who are staying at the Barbizon Hotel For Women in New York City. Laura has finished her junior year at Smith and is in NYC for Mademoiselle Magazine's College Issue (basically in a group of young women interns), Dolly is in secretarial school, and Vivian is an aspiring singer from Britain, who sells cigarettes at a nightclub. The story follows their loves and heartbreaks, and it's a light, pleasant read.
Book # 17 The Harder They Come 2.5/5 starsI am a fan of T.C. Boyle, and usually enjoy his books but this one was a disappointment. I still like his writing very much, but I feel in this case, the book did not work. It had shades of Tortilla Curtain without that book's powerful message.
The book starts off with a very good, strong section about 70 year old Sten Stensen, who is on a cruise to Central America with his wife. While on a very well-written, detailed bus excursion, the group is accosted by armed robbers. Sten kills one of them, and, after much questioning by the authorities, is allowed to return home. This sets us up with knowledge of Sten's coiled inner rage, but then the story abruptly switches gears.
He arrives home to find that his delusional son, Adam, is apparently out of control with the mental illness (along with the taking of narcotics) he has been battling for years. Adam gets involved with an older woman, Sara, an anarchist type, whose story is also interwoven here. From this point, the story is mainly about Adam's mental state and his actions. It is told with unrelenting, overwrought prose, and there is no break from all of the angst. It is an exhausting, but unsatisfying journey into a troubled mind.
Book # 18 Man at the Helm 3/5 starsNarrated by 9 year old Lizzie, this book tells the story of her family after her mother and father divorce. Lizzie, along with her older sister and younger brother, go with their mother to live in a tiny village. Her mother is having a tough time of it, and the people in this village shun the family, Lizzie is convinced, because they have no man at the helm. Lizzie and her sister decide to make a list of male candidates so their mother will have someone, they will fit into society, and will be spared being sent to the infamous Crescent Home for children, their biggest fear. It is engagingly told, humorous and light, although some deep, troubling aspects are dealt with from a child's pont of view.
Book # 19 Finding Jake 3.5/5 starsThis book, despite it's subject matter, is quite a page turner. The writing is mostly very good, despite some lapses into maudlin and sentimental prose, especially at the beginning.
I see a lot of comparisons to We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver, which is unavoidable, given the subject. I think We Need..was a better-written, grittier and more powerful book, delving into the nature vs. nurture debate and generally leaving the reader rather numb and disturbed at the same time. This is a sweeter, easier-to-take version (if that is even possible) of a school shooting,and it is narrated by Simon Connolly, a stay-at-home Dad. He expresses all the doubts and joys that parenting can bring, and does a fine job of bringing the reader through this horrific experience.
Book # 20 The Marauders 4/5 starsI enjoyed reading The Marauders very much. Cooper's writing is like his own personal hybrid style with bits of Carl Hiaasen, Elmore Leonard, with a touch of Donald Westlake thrown in. The story is engaging, while being a bit frightening and darkly funny at the same time. Not easy to achieve.
After the BP oil spill causes devastation to the waters of the Louisiana Gulf Coast, the citizens struggle to make a living the way they used to. This book has a cast of characters whose struggles fill the chapters. They include a one-armed, oxycontin-addicted shrimper, Lindquist, who spends all his spare time treasure hunting with his beloved metal detector in the marshes and swamps. Also in this group are Wes Trench and his father, who persist in their shrimp boat against all odds, a set of twin sociopaths, two petty criminals, and Grimes, a homeboy-turned BP middleman sent back to this small town by his company to swindle the people, including his own mother.
It was fun reading, and I look forward to Tom Cooper's next book. It's hard to believe it was his debut novel.
Book # 21 The Professionals 2/5 starsThis was a good premise written in a mediocre way. A group of new college graduates, who can't find jobs, decide to commit kidnappings to make their fortune. The difference in their "concept" is that instead of a large amount of money, they ask for smaller amounts from many kidnappings, and criss-cross around the country to elude detection. After researching families who can afford these smaller amounts, and threatening them with harm if they ever go to the police afterwards, they seem to be on a roll. Until they're not. Unfortunately, the writing is sub-standard, and this reduces the story to a hackneyed, trite book.
Mod
Andrea,It's an interesting premise, but I did not care for the writing. Some people liked it.
Alecia (Joy Spencer is the name I used for my book...only one account allowed on GR:)
Book # 22 The Same Sky 3/5 starsI am rounding my 2.5 up to 3 stars, because the chapters of Carla's story were written well, for the most part. This is told in alternating chapters, one thread by Alice, a woman who can't conceive, and Carla, a Honduran child, left without parents, who is trying to get to the USA. Carla's tale of abject poverty and horrible tribulations is quite well rendered. Alice's tale is OK, but not as compelling. This is a fast read, but I was left feeling that more could have been done with the structure of this story.
Book # 23 Luckiest Girl Alive 3/5 starsI think this book could have been edited down to a sparer version, as I found it meandered a bit. Our narrator is an arch, cynical 28 year old. TifAni FaNelli (now known as Ani)introduces herself right off as someone who is hiding a great deal in her present life. She has a prestigious job writing for a magazine, and is engaged to a wealthy handsome man. Under this veneer of seeming perfection is a very troubled history that Ani takes us through.
I enjoyed it a lot in the beginning, but I found it overlong. However, I would read another book by this author, as I liked her narrator's "voice".
Book # 24 Housebreaking 4/5 starsI thoroughly enjoyed this book. Told from the different perspectives of the main characters, it begins with Bernard Mandelbaum getting kicked out of his house by his wife. He has committed various infidelities before, but this time he is actually innocent. He goes to live with his father, Leonard. Leonard is grieving after the death of his beloved wife, and he becomes intrigued by a friend's widow. I loved the character of Terri Funkhauser, Leonard's new raucous love interest. Bernard discovers that his high school crush, Audrey Martin, has moved into his father's neighborhood with her family, and that discovery leads them both into a relationship of sorts.
Each part of the book revisits the previous part, except it is told from that character's point of view. This provides a layered, nuanced look at the people who make up this very well-told story. It brings to my mind the acutely observed writing of Tom Perrotta.
Mod
Book # 25 Jack of Spades 2.5/5 starsAlthough Joyce Carol Oates writes so very well, sometimes I am disappointed in her works. She is so prolific, there is always a book or two out in every given year. This one is very short, and is in the psychological suspense/ thriller genre.
Andrew J. Rush narrates this story, and his mind is unraveling as he is telling it. He is a highly successful mystery writer, but he also writes dark, violent, noir novels under the pseudonym, "Jack of Spades". This Jekyll/Hyde story portrays Andrew's mind disintegrating as Jack of Spades takes over. It's a fast read, but I've read far better from her.
Book # 26 Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania 4/5 starsAfter what I felt was a rather slow (but chocked full of interesting facts) start, I became fully engrossed by the second half of this book. Erik Larson did some stellar research, and I understand much more now about how the US entered WWI. I also found the tragedy of the intersecting lives on board the Lusitania unbearably sad. The vagaries of who lived and who died are stunning and compelling. The reader, of course, knows what is coming. But the unpreparedness of this ship, and the fate of the passengers and crew in the face of warnings, still packs a huge punch. Very well done.
Mod
After what I felt was a rather slow (but chocked full of interesting facts) start, I became fully engrossed by the..."
This is in my TBR. I think someone else in the group read this, I want to say Jan, and I believe she enjoyed it as well.
75 Books...More or Less!
Books mentioned in this topic
Bull Mountain (other topics)A Different Lie (other topics)
Rubbernecker (other topics)
Eileen (other topics)
Eileen (other topics)
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4/5 stars
This hardover book has gilt edging around the page, not unlike many editions of...the Bible! Michel Faber is a wonderful writer, and I only hope the news that he has decided to no longer write turns out to be untrue. He's too good of a writer to lose.
I loved The Crimson Petal and The White,one of his previous novels, but this is as different as can be from that book. The writing still captivates and draws the reader (at least this reader) into this tale set in the future. Peter, a happily married Pastor, is recruited on a mission to another planet, galaxies away from his wife, Bea. For some reason, she was excluded from this trip during their many interviews, and they have decided that Peter should go on this important mission of faith. The native population are hungry for teachings of the Bible (particularly the New Testament), and this Bible is their "Book of Strange New Things".
Peter and Bea's writings back and forth to each other through a mechanism called "the shoot", fill the book with what is happening in Bea's life, the terrible happenings on earth, and Peter's growing disengagement with that life. The separation is proving to be quite traumatic and offers a throbbing, poignant counterpart to Peter's experiences on the planet called Oases. Love, faith, and humanity (and "alien" humanity) are all touched upon in this fascinating and compelling book.