What Are You Reading? Part Deux

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kelliblue

Well-Known Member
Jul 31, 2018
385
2,016
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery:
This novel was cute in its own way, but there were some parts that made me cringe. It reflected the xenophobia of its time in much the same way that Mark Twain's novels did. Anne's close friendship with Diana seemed a bit extreme and obsessive. There are several essays floating around the Internet that analyze this very topic.

Heads You Win by Jeffrey Archer:
I found this book very absorbing and hard to put down. It makes you wonder about your own choices by analyzing two different versions of a Russian expatriate's life depending on whether he had immigrated to London or New York. It's true that Jeffrey Archer has “help” with his novels. They're called research assistants, and he has about a dozen of them. Archer isn't perfect with regards to his personal life, but that has nothing to do with his writing. I'm not perfect either. We all make mistakes.

Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis:
This book was very entertaining, but shorter than I would have liked. The title character is a callous, flawed individual bumbling his way through the faculty of an English university in the 1950's. I laughed out loud several times while reading it. Lucky Jim is an acquired taste, I think. I know that Stephen King doesn't care for Amis. His novels aren't for everyone. I wouldn't call him pretentious, boring, or pedantic. He likes to use big, unusual words. That's just his writing style. If you enjoyed Brideshead Revisited, then you'll probably appreciate Lucky Jim as well.
 

Notaro

Stark Raving Normal
Mar 23, 2007
1,135
7,321
58
Dublin/Ireland
Letting my inner child have couple of hours in control, re-reading these,

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cat in a bag

Well-Known Member
Aug 28, 2010
12,038
67,827
wyoming
In the last few weeks I finished Florida Roadkill by Tim Dorsey do1you9love? I loved it! Book 2 will be on tap soon.

Read The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni. It was pretty good.

60% through How It Happened by Michael Koryta now. It is another page turner! I just have not had time to sit and read much this week.
 

do1you9love?

Happy to be here!
Feb 18, 2012
9,284
70,566
Virginia
In the last few weeks I finished Florida Roadkill by Tim Dorsey do1you9love? I loved it! Book 2 will be on tap soon.

Read The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni. It was pretty good.

60% through How It Happened by Michael Koryta now. It is another page turner! I just have not had time to sit and read much this week.
Yay! So glad you are liking Tim Dorsey!!

I have read how it Happened and Those Who Wish me Dead by Koryta and have If She Wakes on hold at the library. I am really enjoying his works. Almost finished reading The Dirt. It's a wild ride, to say the least!!:O_O:
 

Spideyman

Uber Member
Jul 10, 2006
46,336
195,472
79
Just north of Duma Key
Yay! So glad you are liking Tim Dorsey!!

I have read how it Happened and Those Who Wish me Dead by Koryta and have If She Wakes on hold at the library. I am really enjoying his works. Almost finished reading The Dirt. It's a wild ride, to say the least!!:O_O:
Have read If She Wakes-- excellent story and a def page turner!
 

Kurben

The Fool on the Hill
Apr 12, 2014
9,682
65,192
59
sweden
finished about 17 novels while i were on vacation, mostly crimenovels, for some reason they are best to read by the pool or on the beach. Now at home again, i started China - A History. An area of history where my knowledge is very limited. I know some of the Yuan dynasty and their deeds and emperors. These were the guys that Marco Polo met when in China. But they are late, the Dynasty was founded by Genghis Khan in about 1220 and were emperors for about 150 years. But China has had emperors since 220 BC until Mao erased that tradition. The last emperor ended his life as a gardener. But otherwise i'm a blank sheet that is about to be filled. The difficulties with chinese history is not so much lack of research as the notion as history serving the states interest that some has. China has rewritten its history many many times. Practically all countries have done that (we all like a glorious past and we need our heroes) to some degree but china has probably done it most often.
 

kingricefan

All-being, keeper of Space, Time & Dimension.
Jul 11, 2006
30,011
127,446
Spokane, WA
About 3/4 of the way through The Tower by Richard Martin Stern. It's one of two books that were used as the basis for The Towering Inferno back in the 70's. I wanted to do a re-read of this one (I had read it way back when) to see if my opinion would change. It hasn't- this one is more colder than The Glass Inferno. I don't really care about the characters in this one like I did in The Glass Inferno.