What was I thinking?
A book about kidnapping that involves a seven foot iguana?
Seriously, I had to know that it was going to get ugly. 
Would I recommend this? It did get ugly, in the way that happens when crazy people who own giant iguanas kidnap people but, like I said, I probably should have been prepared for that. I think this was a good book, I just don’t think it was the right book for me.
Anyone else have an opinion on this one?
While I would cheerfully force Harry Potter into anyone’s hands who hasn’t read it yet, I was not as taken with this book.
Once I was hooked I couldn’t put it down and read far later into the night than I should have but it took a long time to get to that point.
Would I recommend it? Eh… Realistic people are impressive to read about, the depth of characters, their realistic quirks, it’s excellent writing. But does all that work make for likable characters? Not necessarily.
This is a story set within Shakespeare’s Macbeth and while you don’t have to be all dorky like me and re-read the play before you read the book, (it’ll stand alone) I’m glad I did.
Would I recommend it? I’d rate this book as intriguing but perhaps not for general consumption. It was good, but it was also hard to like the main character. I love the idea and how the plot is woven through Macbeth, but I’m not sure it would hold the same appeal if I hadn’t re-read the play and enjoyed Shakespeare to begin with. Yeah, I have no idea….
So how about you? Have you read Macbeth, does the book catch your eye like it did mine because of that? How do you feel about Shakespeare?
As for me I own The Yale Shakespeare, it’s so large that when I read anything out of it I end up laying on the floor- I love it!
Sometimes when I read a book I wish the author wasn’t quite so good at what they do. I wish that their characters will seem less believable so that when the story is a bit gruesome I can think to myself – naah, nobody would ever do that for real… But Atwood is like Steven King, characters so well rounded and believable that it sometimes makes the books a bit too realistic – but in a good way- mostly.
This was the prequel to Oryx and Crake which, in my way, I remember about three non-relevant details from along with the sense that it was good/fascinating/icky which is just about exactly how this one was. Now I’ve got to go back and read Oryx and Crake again, quick before I forget!
Would I recommend it? She is a very good author but I’m not sure her post apocalyptic world is for everyone. I just have to much of a slimy feel to me after reading this to give it a broad recommendation – but for what it’s worth I am reserving Oryx and Crake from the library tonight to re-read.
Start with Outlander and then keep going.
I’ve been re-reading them in between other books since Jane has been born and I’m on my 6th book of hers in a month.
I haven’t yet had the words “dinna fash” or “you’ll ken” come out of my mouth yet but it’s a good thing I’ve only got one book left or I’d be yelling “Jesus H. Roosevelt Christ” next time I burn dinner.
Would I recommend them? Having just stared blankly at the computer screen for a many minitues I have no tidy way to sum up the books nor why exactly I’d recommend them.
I think I’m in a Jamie and Claire induced stuper… and now I have to go read what happens next – even though I’ve read this one twice before.
One of the many benefits of having a period of rest with a nursing baby is that there is a lot of time for reading. Some of it may be reading at two in the morning – but that’s never been something that has bothered me. In fact, this is about the only time I can be reading at two in the morning without mentally chastising myself and feeling guilty about being tired the next day. So without further adieu, here is my reading companion and book model showing off the last Phillipa Gregory book I read:
She looks fairly unimpressed but it’s Phillippa Gregory so the book was of course well written and pretty darn good (she is one of my favorite authors after all).
The book was set just post WWI and I liked that if only for the novelty of it. WWII books seem to be everywhere you look but I’ve read very few of this era, does anyone have suggestions for others?
Would I recommend it? I would except that early on I realized that the characters were all headed toward a gigantic train wreck of a catastrophe. The impeding doom of the wreck you know is coming but takes an entire book to get to could really get to a person. Fortunately for me, I had plenty of time in the middle of the night to read the book quickly and so I enjoyed it. Not a happy book, but a good book.
The most wonderfully written car crash of a book I’ve ever read. I couldn’t look away and I couldn’t stop reading even when I wanted to.
Would I recommend it? No. It’s well done, but I just can’t recommend a book full of incest, I can’t do it.
One of those books where you know the end. Right from the beginning you know the chances of a happily ever after are slim, very, very, slim. Then it gets worse, and you see the character falling into trap after trap and then end is coming and all of a sudden it’s back to the car crash that you just can’t look away from.
Would I recommend it? No. See recommendation above and add in verbal and physical abuse and a barn owl that says “whoo, whoo”
Wow.
Would I recommend it? Well, you can’t just go read the last book of a trilogy, it’d make no sense whatsoever. This one almost made the rest worth it.
The end result:
While this won’t be a trio of books I’ll be highly recommending, my lack of recommendation is only due to the content. While they are clearly not for everyone I believe that they are remarkably well written, go read something else of Gregory’s I doubt you’ll be disappointed!
After quite a few “fluff” books I thought I’d go for something a little more serious. This book certainly fit the bill.
The subject matter is deep and often unpleasant and the book is populated with unlikable characters, sounds great so far doesn’t it?
BUT, the characters have depth and realism beyond what I expected when I first started the book and the writing is interspersed with great lines like this:
“I kept my smile tight to hold back my pride and stuck all my fingers between all my toes for the low pull of pleasure.”
Would I recommend it? Yes. Not any easy read but a good read.
This was a historical fiction about a Native American woman traveling west with a company of men a la Lewis and Clark. I find reading about this time period and the whole Lewis and Clark, can we get there from here? travels pretty fascinating to read about, add to this a pregnant female main character with a half breed translator husband who drinks and beats her, then bring two very young boys along on the trip and the fascination level goes even higher. Unfortunately most of it was of the can’t look away from a car crash type.
Would I recommend it? I can’t decide. On one hand I liked the setting, and main character, on the other I wasn’t a big fan of the general flow of the book. Everyone is speaking different languages and few are speaking their native tongues and so much of the conversation is choppy. I’d say this makes it accurate but not enjoyable to read.
