Search
Search results
Suswatibasu (1701 KP) rated A Life of My Own: A Biographer's Life in Books
Nov 29, 2017
A stunning memoir of a life well lived
A biographer's autobiography makes for fascinating reading. Claire Tomalin attempts to recount the past 84 years of her life to the best of her ability, revealing tragic losses without self-pity, and an enduring spirit.
From an unstable childhood, moving from place to place during the war, with her family living across several countries, to having an unstable marriage. She describes her unusual relationship with her first husband, the renowned journalist Nick Tomalin, who was killed while covering the Yom Kippur war in 1973. His constant fleeting from his family to other women, and abusive behaviour is dark and quite a difficult read. In this instance, Tomalin appears to be stuck in a pattern of staying with her abuser for the sake of her children, a common occurrence in the 1960's. In between the chaos of her life, she loses a baby only one month old and has another who is permanently disabled.
In the same way, the dark, inexplicable suicide of her youngest daughter is laid bare, but out of it comes a change of direction of life dimension as Claire's vocation as a literary biographer floods in to fill the gap. These are, ironically, the most touching and well-written scenes. Through her own writings of women such as Mary Wollstonecraft, and Charles Dickens' affair with Ellen Ternan, we see Tomalin's own creativity and resilience. She copes because she must, and because she can.
The literary name dropping is everywhere because it is woven into the huge patchwork quilt of her long life. The candour of her resentment for the Murdoch empire is matched by the awe and admiration she has for Harold Evans and her mother.
One of the final scenes, in which she describes her father's great grandchildren dancing unknowingly on the bed, where he himself lay dead in his coffin only hours before, encapsulates the spirit of this beautiful book. A truly wonderful look into her life.
From an unstable childhood, moving from place to place during the war, with her family living across several countries, to having an unstable marriage. She describes her unusual relationship with her first husband, the renowned journalist Nick Tomalin, who was killed while covering the Yom Kippur war in 1973. His constant fleeting from his family to other women, and abusive behaviour is dark and quite a difficult read. In this instance, Tomalin appears to be stuck in a pattern of staying with her abuser for the sake of her children, a common occurrence in the 1960's. In between the chaos of her life, she loses a baby only one month old and has another who is permanently disabled.
In the same way, the dark, inexplicable suicide of her youngest daughter is laid bare, but out of it comes a change of direction of life dimension as Claire's vocation as a literary biographer floods in to fill the gap. These are, ironically, the most touching and well-written scenes. Through her own writings of women such as Mary Wollstonecraft, and Charles Dickens' affair with Ellen Ternan, we see Tomalin's own creativity and resilience. She copes because she must, and because she can.
The literary name dropping is everywhere because it is woven into the huge patchwork quilt of her long life. The candour of her resentment for the Murdoch empire is matched by the awe and admiration she has for Harold Evans and her mother.
One of the final scenes, in which she describes her father's great grandchildren dancing unknowingly on the bed, where he himself lay dead in his coffin only hours before, encapsulates the spirit of this beautiful book. A truly wonderful look into her life.
Cyn Armistead (14 KP) rated and Falling, Fly (Harrowing #1) in Books
Mar 1, 2018
[a:Sam Chupp|11847|Sam Chupp|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1219698183p2/11847.jpg] has been after me to read this book for weeks, so as soon as I finished [b:All Clear|7519231|All Clear (All Clear, #2)|Connie Willis|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1267552735s/7519231.jpg|9735628], I started it. This book is different from anything else I've read in years. I hesitate to say it's more literary than most fantasy, because I don't like "literary" books - they're usually stuffy, dry, and presumptuous.
After the first few chapters, there's no slowing down, because you're as caught up in what's happening as the characters are. I was transfixed by White's descriptions, which can make even ugliness fascinating.
<blockquote>We are traveling into time, burning two hours for every one I endure beside this babbling, cursed child of Greece. I see them all the time, these bastard half children of stories and mortals, trapped between worlds, the genetic lineage of myth reasserting itself across the inextricable ages. Helen of Troy is born the socialite child of a partial Zeus mated to half of a swan-loving Leda, the mythic DNA in each of them dormant until they breed and damn their offspring with its expression.</blockquote>
White's vampire mythos is like no other I've encountered. I found it far more believable than most of what's being printed over and over and over again. Another refreshing thing about the book is that there's no feeling of a set up for a series. Oddly, though, I'm now seeing the book identified as the first of a series called Harrowing, at least on GoodReads, but as far as I can tell, the second book has no characters in common with the first. Perhaps it's simply set in the same universe?
In any case, I've added [b:In Dreams Begin|7850577|In Dreams Begin|Skyler White|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1269478625s/7850577.jpg|10971303] to my to-read stack, and I'll be keeping an eye on [a:Skyler White|2977214|Skyler White|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1290046039p2/2977214.jpg].
After the first few chapters, there's no slowing down, because you're as caught up in what's happening as the characters are. I was transfixed by White's descriptions, which can make even ugliness fascinating.
<blockquote>We are traveling into time, burning two hours for every one I endure beside this babbling, cursed child of Greece. I see them all the time, these bastard half children of stories and mortals, trapped between worlds, the genetic lineage of myth reasserting itself across the inextricable ages. Helen of Troy is born the socialite child of a partial Zeus mated to half of a swan-loving Leda, the mythic DNA in each of them dormant until they breed and damn their offspring with its expression.</blockquote>
White's vampire mythos is like no other I've encountered. I found it far more believable than most of what's being printed over and over and over again. Another refreshing thing about the book is that there's no feeling of a set up for a series. Oddly, though, I'm now seeing the book identified as the first of a series called Harrowing, at least on GoodReads, but as far as I can tell, the second book has no characters in common with the first. Perhaps it's simply set in the same universe?
In any case, I've added [b:In Dreams Begin|7850577|In Dreams Begin|Skyler White|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1269478625s/7850577.jpg|10971303] to my to-read stack, and I'll be keeping an eye on [a:Skyler White|2977214|Skyler White|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1290046039p2/2977214.jpg].
Becs (244 KP) rated Animal Farm in Books
Oct 2, 2019
I’ve always been a fan of the literary classics, especially ones that also have an underline meaning to do with the history of the world. George Orwell has always been a favorite of mine, I mean I have a lot of favorites but a true reader usually does! The reason why I finally picked up this book was for a job assignment. I will definitely say, I wasn’t disappointed.
Genre: Classic, Fantasy, Fiction, Science-Fiction, Literature, Dystopia
Audience: High School
Reading level: Advanced Fluent
Interests: Classics, Dystopia, Science-Fiction
Style: Advanced Fluent
Point of view: Third Person
Difficulty reading: It was only difficult in the spots that were lacking plot.
Promise: Promise of history related read, it delivers
Quality: Good.
Insights: Animal Farm is a very well-written book and if you like a history-related book along with any literary classic books, you’ll love this book! I, myself, have never really been a huge history buff so to me Animal Farm was lacking an interesting plot. If I broke the book down into two sections, there would be half of the book as interesting and half being monotonous.
Ah-Ha Moment: When the animals overtook the farm and the pigs started to act like the humans.
Favorite quote: “Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to pull the plough, he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits. Yet he is lord of all the animals. He sets them to work, he gives back to them the bare minimum that will prevent them from starving, and the rest he keeps for himself.” – I really like this because it’s a great representation of humans and earth. How we lack with caring for the planet we live on and that isn’t right.
Aesthetics: The copy that I received had an awesome cartoony cover of the animals which I found quite adorable.
“Four legs good, two legs bad.”
Genre: Classic, Fantasy, Fiction, Science-Fiction, Literature, Dystopia
Audience: High School
Reading level: Advanced Fluent
Interests: Classics, Dystopia, Science-Fiction
Style: Advanced Fluent
Point of view: Third Person
Difficulty reading: It was only difficult in the spots that were lacking plot.
Promise: Promise of history related read, it delivers
Quality: Good.
Insights: Animal Farm is a very well-written book and if you like a history-related book along with any literary classic books, you’ll love this book! I, myself, have never really been a huge history buff so to me Animal Farm was lacking an interesting plot. If I broke the book down into two sections, there would be half of the book as interesting and half being monotonous.
Ah-Ha Moment: When the animals overtook the farm and the pigs started to act like the humans.
Favorite quote: “Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to pull the plough, he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits. Yet he is lord of all the animals. He sets them to work, he gives back to them the bare minimum that will prevent them from starving, and the rest he keeps for himself.” – I really like this because it’s a great representation of humans and earth. How we lack with caring for the planet we live on and that isn’t right.
Aesthetics: The copy that I received had an awesome cartoony cover of the animals which I found quite adorable.
“Four legs good, two legs bad.”
Suswatibasu (1701 KP) rated The Blind Assassin in Books
Mar 4, 2018
Novel within a novel with great twists
Once again, literary maestro Margaret Atwood has produced another creative mega-feat. Her novel in a novel reminds me of her other work Hagseed, also exploring the theme of revenge.
However, there is very little to laugh about in this story in which narrator Iris, at the end of her life, describes the mysterious circumstances that her sister, husband and lover all died in. Younger sibling Laura is said to have been killed after her car edged off a cliff, all the while leaving the world with a controversial novel that describes a racy affair.
Iris reveals the truth about the incidents from her perspective, which means we always see Laura as child-like and naive, while her husband Richard and his sister Winifred are portrayed as cardboard villains. With that in mind, Atwood's characters are realistic because they are all just points of view from one person. Great twists in this book.
However, there is very little to laugh about in this story in which narrator Iris, at the end of her life, describes the mysterious circumstances that her sister, husband and lover all died in. Younger sibling Laura is said to have been killed after her car edged off a cliff, all the while leaving the world with a controversial novel that describes a racy affair.
Iris reveals the truth about the incidents from her perspective, which means we always see Laura as child-like and naive, while her husband Richard and his sister Winifred are portrayed as cardboard villains. With that in mind, Atwood's characters are realistic because they are all just points of view from one person. Great twists in this book.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2099 KP) rated Death in Four Courses (Key West Food Critic Mystery, #2) in Books
Mar 9, 2018
Key West's annual literary conference is focusing on food this year, something that excites Hayley since she is now covering food for a local magazine. However, when she finds the keynote speaker floating face down in a reflection pool, her weekend gets crowded with sleuthing as well as food.
I really did enjoy this book. The characters are great and the plot is complex enough I didn't have a clue what was happening until Hayley did. My only complaint is the relationship between Hayley and her mother, who is visiting during the book. It's realistic, but at times the way they interacted drove me crazy. I love how they grew as a result of spending the time around each other, however, so it was a great sub-plot in the end.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2014/07/book-review-death-in-four-courses-by.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
I really did enjoy this book. The characters are great and the plot is complex enough I didn't have a clue what was happening until Hayley did. My only complaint is the relationship between Hayley and her mother, who is visiting during the book. It's realistic, but at times the way they interacted drove me crazy. I love how they grew as a result of spending the time around each other, however, so it was a great sub-plot in the end.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2014/07/book-review-death-in-four-courses-by.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Awix (3310 KP) rated The Masque of the Red Death (1964) in Movies
Mar 26, 2018 (Updated Mar 26, 2018)
Visually lavish Poe adaptation eschews easy shocks and fake gore (mostly) in favour of a more impressionistic and literary flavour of thoughtful horror. Devil-worshipping nobleman (Price) takes refuge from the plague in his castle, but decides to try and corrupt the soul of pious young village girl (Asher) while planning a big party. Will Satan turn up for the shindig, or will it be something worse...?
Classy, well-mounted movie, with a marvellously poetic script ('I have tasted the beauties of terror', and so on) - a bit like a feature-length Twilight Zone episode in glorious technicolour. The various subplots about a vengeful dwarf and Price's jealous mistress could be a bit sharper, but Price absolutely rocks the house in a role you can't imagine anyone else playing nearly as well. If Ingmar Bergman had ever got together with Hammer Films this is the kind of film which would have resulted.
Classy, well-mounted movie, with a marvellously poetic script ('I have tasted the beauties of terror', and so on) - a bit like a feature-length Twilight Zone episode in glorious technicolour. The various subplots about a vengeful dwarf and Price's jealous mistress could be a bit sharper, but Price absolutely rocks the house in a role you can't imagine anyone else playing nearly as well. If Ingmar Bergman had ever got together with Hammer Films this is the kind of film which would have resulted.
Not for me!
Why do I keep doing this to myself? Challenge yourself, Clare! Try something you've never read before!
I really need to stop doing this. It rarely ends well. Tudor authors could really have done with better/ any editors. Fact. Get some paragraphs in there, write some shorter sentences, stop wittering on and on and on.....
On a positive note, I now know where the term 'utopian' comes from, and I can safely say that the meaning has altered somewhat over the last 500 years or so. What was utopian then still seems a bit feudalistic now. At least good old Thomas More got everyone thinking though! As a 21st century reader, I can see how daring this book would have been: Kings without riches, no prisons for criminals, people could worship whoever and however they wanted. Very forward thinking for the 16th century. All the same, not a book for me. It was like wading through literary treacle. Not something I'd recommend!
I really need to stop doing this. It rarely ends well. Tudor authors could really have done with better/ any editors. Fact. Get some paragraphs in there, write some shorter sentences, stop wittering on and on and on.....
On a positive note, I now know where the term 'utopian' comes from, and I can safely say that the meaning has altered somewhat over the last 500 years or so. What was utopian then still seems a bit feudalistic now. At least good old Thomas More got everyone thinking though! As a 21st century reader, I can see how daring this book would have been: Kings without riches, no prisons for criminals, people could worship whoever and however they wanted. Very forward thinking for the 16th century. All the same, not a book for me. It was like wading through literary treacle. Not something I'd recommend!
Joelene Marie (28 KP) rated How to Murder Your Life in Books
Oct 1, 2018
Compulsively readable, feels more like a novel than an autobiography. At times I found myself able to relate to her or almost feeling sorry for her, at least in regards to her childhood, while other times I found her to be truly obnoxious and off-putting, especially in not accepting responsibility for her actions. However, I enjoyed her style of writing and I commend her bravery in putting her life and her struggles with addiction out there for the world to see, and judge. I imagine that every author dreads the bad reviews but when it's a book about your life that has to sting twice as hard. Hopefully her story will inspire others dealing with the same issues to turn things around. Curious to see if/how she will continue her literary career, perhaps a novel will be in her future (I certainly hope so!) *Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!*
ClareR (5603 KP) rated Forget You Know Me in Books
Jan 16, 2019
Talking is good!
This is my first Jessica Strawser book, and I don't think it will be my last. From other reviews, it would seem that this is a departure from the 'thriller' genre of her previous novels: it's definitely more 'Literary Fiction'. There's no real mystery (ok, just the one), and everyone's cards are pretty much laid out on the table. It's just that they all seem incapable of talking to one another: Molly and Liza, once best friends, become more and more estranged as they live so far from one another. Daniel and Molly, although they are married, seem to be growing apart, and due to the demands of work and children, do not seem to have any time for one another. The takeaway message in this seems to be - just talk to each other, for goodness sakes! Relationships need effort from all sides!
Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my copy of this book to read and enjoy!
Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my copy of this book to read and enjoy!
Lorraine Christine Robson (1 KP) rated Devil's Cry : Shade of Devil Book 2 in Books
Dec 6, 2019
The Devil of New York is back!
Contains spoilers, click to show
Sooo many things to love about this book. I mean. Shayne Silvers has found a way to bring Jekyll and Hyde into it. So, we have Olympian forces, Victoria Helsing, Dracula, Doctor F.Stein and Jekyll and Hyde! Some of the most memorable characters from literary history given new life! (He is the Doctor Frankenstein of story writing).
What can I say about Devil's Cry? - I didn't see that coming! Shayne has outdone himself as I found myself immersed in the story to the point I could feel the dirt beneath my fingernails as I read a particular scene in Central Park. As with most vampire stories, things get a little heated. Things get sexy. And there is blood. And magic. I still can't get over how much I am enjoying a Vampire story!
Sorin Ambrogio is no ordinary vampire.
He is the Devil, and he has enraptured me.
What can I say about Devil's Cry? - I didn't see that coming! Shayne has outdone himself as I found myself immersed in the story to the point I could feel the dirt beneath my fingernails as I read a particular scene in Central Park. As with most vampire stories, things get a little heated. Things get sexy. And there is blood. And magic. I still can't get over how much I am enjoying a Vampire story!
Sorin Ambrogio is no ordinary vampire.
He is the Devil, and he has enraptured me.