It was a good book for escapist literature because you don't have to think while you're reading it or have your brain turned on at all. This is my firIt was a good book for escapist literature because you don't have to think while you're reading it or have your brain turned on at all. This is my first Hilderbrand book and I thoroughly enjoyed the ride but I don't think I'd be tempted to read another. Ironically, I was reading it at the same time I saw her new series, "The Perfect Couple", another escapist vehicle. Both were great scenarios of rich people behaving badly and visions of beautiful homes, beautiful clothes and great bodies flitting about in a beautiful location: Nantucket.
I could eat a whole mountain of cotton candy such as this and not be satisfied, but the book admirably accomplishes its purpose. ...more
This is a delightful book and one you should keep on your nightstand. It's one that you can read a little of every night and go to bed happy. Truly inThis is a delightful book and one you should keep on your nightstand. It's one that you can read a little of every night and go to bed happy. Truly inspirational, it tells the stories of exceptional people, most of whom became exceptional in the last quarter of their lives. There are so many people and they did so many good things that you will be charmed by the true stories you read here. The authors relish in stories of people, horses, and even fictional characters. It's the perfect book for an older person. ...more
This is a good story and I was lucky to get it in large print which made the experience of reading it very pleasant, but I can't understand its overwhThis is a good story and I was lucky to get it in large print which made the experience of reading it very pleasant, but I can't understand its overwhelming popularity. It's almost as if the book covers too much ground---trying to be an epic for our times, like Forrest Gump. She's covered the whole history of the Vietnam conflict from the war protesters in the USA to the battles in Nam, the popular music, the popular drugs, the assassinations of our various leaders, the rioting. . . . it's almost as if she's got a list of historical events in front of her and she's got to touch on all of them. Still I read on, so I must admit I enjoyed it in spite of myself. ...more
This is the fourth book I've read by this author and I've enjoyed each one tremendously. But this is one of the saddest I've ever read. It tells the sThis is the fourth book I've read by this author and I've enjoyed each one tremendously. But this is one of the saddest I've ever read. It tells the story of an Irish child whose mother tells him that he has a calling to become a priest. And so he follows her dream and becomes a priest and the world changes dramatically from a place where priests were practically worshipped to a place where they are openly reviled and spat upon in the streets when all of the dramatic news of the molestations and the church cover-ups surfaces. Overnight his life changes for him and all those he loves. It's a brutal reversal of fortunes but it is beautifully told. ...more
I love stories about the Communist revolution in 1948 China. They always tell of the poor and ignorant population getting its revenge on the wealthy pI love stories about the Communist revolution in 1948 China. They always tell of the poor and ignorant population getting its revenge on the wealthy people. This leads to stories of such dramatic contrast in which the poor illiterate peasants are seen punishing the educated classes of people, some of whom deserve punishment and others who are simply guilty of being educated. In this book, a mother's crime is to fail to produce a son. So when the family gets word that the angry peasants will soon be at the door with pitchforks, the husband, his parents, and all of their relatives prepare to leave the wife and her 2 daughters behind. The peasants, angry to be without their intended victims decide to take it out on the oldest daughter because someone has to pay for the family's crimes against the peasant class. And that's just the beginning of the suffering these poor people have to endure. I warn you: do not read this book hungry.
The family's tortures and adventures are so beautifully chronicled here that you will be happily stuck to the pages. ...more
I usually reserve one star ratings for books I didn't finish but this is an exceptional book. I read the entire book with pleasure and enjoyed readingI usually reserve one star ratings for books I didn't finish but this is an exceptional book. I read the entire book with pleasure and enjoyed reading it, right up to the end. And then I wanted to throw the book in a nice metal trash can so I could hear the resounding "clunk". I've never read a book with a more ridiculous ending, a more unsatisfactory wrap-up, a more preposterous resolution to the conflict. It was simply absurd.
I'm not a person who is unwilling to suspend disbelief but there has to be room left to play with the natural laws of the universe. And here, we the readers, who have trustfully placed our hearts and minds in the hands of the author are suddenly jerked into reality with an insane resolution which leaves us wordlessly sputtering in disbelief. Nothing could tempt me into reading another Bohjalian piece of fiction. ...more
I haven't read Alice Munro in the past because I don't generally like modern short stories. But I have to say this book proved the exception. These weI haven't read Alice Munro in the past because I don't generally like modern short stories. But I have to say this book proved the exception. These were really in-depth short stories with vividly drawn characters, fully formed plots, and imaginative dialogue. I enjoyed them tremendously and will read more of her collections of short stories. ...more
This was a very interesting story about a group of asylum seekers who travel from Africa to Sicily where they hope to be granted citizenship so they cThis was a very interesting story about a group of asylum seekers who travel from Africa to Sicily where they hope to be granted citizenship so they can begin working and sending money to help those they left behind. Of course it is sad. It's a really interesting story from all points of view. There's a doctor who's trying to keep them healthy, and a director of the organization who's trying to cheer the group along as they wait endless hours for their asylum interviews, an interpreter who is part of the group and yet by virtue of his forte in languages has earned a good paid position to interpret for the members of the group. The diversity of this book was amazing: one minute you're almost in tears from reading about these exploited people. The next minute, you're laughing at the antics of two artists who live on the island, totally oblivious to the apparent problems in front of them. The book hops from person to person like a little jackrabbit so you never have time to get bored in any one section. No matter what your political position is regarding immigration, this book makes you look at all sides of it....more
Years ago I tried to read this book and gave up without finishing. Now I have tried to read it twice. I read further this time hoping to get caught upYears ago I tried to read this book and gave up without finishing. Now I have tried to read it twice. I read further this time hoping to get caught up in the story but to no avail. The writing is so flat and the characters are just lists of names without outward significance. As for the plot----what in th e world is happening? I know this is somebody's favorite book but it's not mine. The narrative is highly stylized and without any attempt to appeal to the reader. There seems to be no narrator and no voice. So it may as well be a collection of snapshots without a story. ...more
This was interesting and I liked this author's style. It's very subtle and keeps your attention because you have to concentrate on what's happening alThis was interesting and I liked this author's style. It's very subtle and keeps your attention because you have to concentrate on what's happening all the time to keep up with the story. It involves a wild goose chase to find a potential soccer star through looking at a video of an unknown stadium in an unknown part of the world. Meanwhile it's also about family dynamics, step-family, inheritance, doctors without borders, the economy of Africa, and workplace rivalry in Pittsburgh. ...more
This is not a book for everyone. First of all it's nonfiction, but if you're like me, the book will strike you as so exotic as to be fiction. It's setThis is not a book for everyone. First of all it's nonfiction, but if you're like me, the book will strike you as so exotic as to be fiction. It's set generally between the 1980's and 2000 mostly in the Bronx. I don't know enough about NYC to know if the Bronx today is different from that period. Secondly, if it were written as fiction there would be such an outcry about the various negative stereotypes represented and their way of life slandered. But since this is nonfiction, it was really shocking to me. All of the people "characters" in the book are poverty stricken and they happily go about producing 6-8 kids by 4-6 different fathers, none of whom are legitimate fathers or husbands. They live in squalor from welfare check to welfare check. They leave their children at random with whoever happens to be living or visiting their apartments and then are shocked, angered, horrified to discover that their children were molested at some point in time, as they themselves were molested in their childhood. Both the mothers and fathers claim that their children are the most important part of their lives and yet they casually dump all of them on a childless aunt or grandmother or other relative with a serious drug problem. Their hobbies appear to be drugs, theft and murder. They are unschooled, ignorant, and without resources. Whenever they get a little extra money they will buy their kids name brand sneakers as a point of honor. I see no relief or solution in the near future. ...more
This book succeeds because it doesn't try to be anything that it's not. It is a lighthearted rom-com involving an attractive but shrinking violet of aThis book succeeds because it doesn't try to be anything that it's not. It is a lighthearted rom-com involving an attractive but shrinking violet of a girl who meets a scruffy looking young man under strange circumstances. However, you will leave the book looking for more Emily Henry books. The author sets up a good story with plausible deniability. I will follow up with more books by this author. ...more
If you're thinking of the tv series starring Tom Cruise, think again. This is a classic and much touted book about a woman who teaches her son to readIf you're thinking of the tv series starring Tom Cruise, think again. This is a classic and much touted book about a woman who teaches her son to read the classics in Greek before he is four years old, and while the subject is most interesting, the actual handling of the material is quite a drag. Once again we find stream of consciousness in place of structure, plot, and dialogue. So the whole book sounds like you're inside someone's mind, and that someone is on the kind of drugs you wish you were on so that you could understand what's going on. The last samurai refers to the last of the 7 samurai who save the poor village that was being exploited by bands of outlaws who came each year to take their harvest. It's a great story and is repeated in parts throughout the book so it's a good thing to have a working knowledge of it before you tackle this book. Good luck. (also one of the books on the NYT list of 100 best of the century)....more
I tried to read this book years ago when it won the Man Booker Prize. And I tried to read it recently when it was listed on the NYT 100 best books of I tried to read this book years ago when it won the Man Booker Prize. And I tried to read it recently when it was listed on the NYT 100 best books of the century but there's nothing that will induce me to try another time. It's tedious and offensive....more
It's easy to get excited about a new way of raising your children. And who doesn't want to get rid of the kid-centric universe we've all become a partIt's easy to get excited about a new way of raising your children. And who doesn't want to get rid of the kid-centric universe we've all become a part of: helicopter parents spending all their time and all their money making sure their children have every experience known to mankind and that they participate in every sport, art and craft available to them? It's become too much. So it was interesting to read about this NPR journalist who went the Yucatan Peninsula, the Arctic Circle and Tanzania to learn what ancient cultures have to teach us about the lost art of raising children to be active, unselfish participants in the family unit. And indeed, the families that live in these distant and obscure places rely upon the village to raise their children together and this produces many benefits in self-reliance and unselfishness that would be good to emulate. And there are nuggets of information and ideas you can glean from this book but it is not the answer. You can't send your toddler down to the corner grocery store to help purchase the ingredients for dinner because you don't have a village watching out for her. ...more
This is a fast paced mystery with something going on all the time. It's like a three ring circus. I didn't realize it was a sequel to another book (ThThis is a fast paced mystery with something going on all the time. It's like a three ring circus. I didn't realize it was a sequel to another book (The Hunter) which I had read a few years ago----long ago enough that I didn't recall the main characters. The author really has her finger on the pulse of the Irish and it's such a pleasure to read a book that has such finely drawn characters, setting, and dialogue. The main character is a retired cop from Chicago, who has bought a house in a small coastal town. He just wants to get along with his neighbors and help out a young girl who he has unofficially adopted. But his fellow towns people won't give him a break so he gets into the thick of things, and then there are so many hairpin turns you'll get whiplash....more
I think I picked up the wrong "Sleepwalkers" and that I must have intended to get Chris Bohjalian's "Sleepwalker". I wish I knew who to blame for thisI think I picked up the wrong "Sleepwalkers" and that I must have intended to get Chris Bohjalian's "Sleepwalker". I wish I knew who to blame for this besides myself. Anyhow, I have discovered a new Ambien and it's this book. I couldn't finish it because every time I picked it up I fell asleep. The story is about a couple on their honeymoon on a remote Greek island at the end of tourist season. This couple is fascinated by the story of another couple who supposedly sleepwalked into the sea and drowned. An interesting premise but a real snooze of a book. ...more
I bought this book on Amazon for nostalgia's sake. It is the first real book I remember reading. It did bring me back to the olden days before cell phI bought this book on Amazon for nostalgia's sake. It is the first real book I remember reading. It did bring me back to the olden days before cell phones, social media, computers, and so many more mind-boggling developments between 1950 and 2024. The characters were endearingly naive and the times were so much simpler but I was most surprised by the amount of food they ate. After school they went to the cafe and got barbecue sandwiches with chocolate malts. Then after a big family dinner, they would get together for a date of some sort that always ended in their having a big piece of cake, milk, and (of all things) olives! Dates were so wholesome and usually consisted of biking to a forest area and having a wienie roast, rowing a canoe to an island to have a wienie roast, or just getting together at someone's house for a good wienie roast in the family fireplace. Those were the good old days before we knew what the ingredients of a hot dog were. ...more
This was a really interesting story mostly focused on the book publishing industry and all the steps an author has to take before, during, and after tThis was a really interesting story mostly focused on the book publishing industry and all the steps an author has to take before, during, and after the publication of a book. This particular struggling author decided to take the easy way out and steal a manuscript from a more successful author, which was just barrels of fun for her. (not) I liked the way the book handled the issue of misappropriating another ethnic group's culture. I know this continues to be a hot topic and I ju st think it's ridiculous. I believe that no culture has ownership of the rights to tell their story. If a story is a great idea and an author can handle it well, then she has every right to develop that story. Her readers can be the ultimate judges of whether the author tells a good story that entertains and educates, regardless of the ethnic group's acceptance or rejection of that version. ...more
If this was a movie there would be suspenseful music played throughout and you'd always be on the edge of your chair but then nothing really unexpecteIf this was a movie there would be suspenseful music played throughout and you'd always be on the edge of your chair but then nothing really unexpected happens. It'a the story of two sisters who live on an island in Sweden in the 1800's. Two hundred years before, 65 women were executed as witches and the history still haunts the island. The two sisters have a very close relationship due to their mother dying in childbirth. There's a lot of description of the flora of the island and the story turns sexy (finally) in the last third. So there's that, but otherwise, it's a lot of sound and fury signifying nothing. ...more
Loading...
