Chinese Reading and Audio Books for Beginners
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Do you know what is the best way to learn a language? It is reading and listening in that language! ...
Misadventures of a Virgin (Misadventures, #4)
9.7
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It’s been years since June Bell shared a stolen moment with her girlhood crush, Kase McCasker....
Withering Rose (Once Upon A Curse #2)
9.0
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Beauty is cursed, and only the Beast can save her... Don't miss WITHERING ROSE, a fantasy romance...
The Antiquarian
7.0
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A Los Angeles Times Best of Summer pick An Amazon Best Book of the Month (Mystery, Thriller &...
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Book and Shopping
8.5
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Shop over 13 million new and used books at up to 80% off list price The ThriftBooks app lets book...
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Those Who Are Loved
10.0
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'Victoria Hislop's view of history in her novels is, like the writer herself, a compassionate and...
Historical Fiction Modern Greek History
I also tend to find 'book club picks' to be rather off-putting; generally finding those I have previously read to be rather tedious and just not generally all that interesting (while able to admire the literary sophistication of the works).
This is both a crime fiction novel, and a 'Richard and Judy book club pick', so that would - normally - have been 2 marks against picking it up, in my books.
However, I have read - and generally quite enjoyed - most, if not all, of Simon Scarrow's other works - in particular his Cato and Macro series - so, when I saw this on a Kindle deal for something like 99p, I thought to myself 'why not?'.
And, I have to admit, I did actually quite enjoy this.
Set in 1939 Berlin just at the start of WW2, I found this to be unusual in that it told the story from the Point of View of a German criminal inspector - most WW2 novels (that I am aware of) usually feature either American or Brits as their main protagonists - who is not a member of the Nazi party: a fact that, here, is usually held against him but is also the reason he got handed the assignment as he has no links to any factions within the party.
It's both a very different time and 'headspace' than modern sensibilities; interesting to see how the man-on-the-street could have viewed the headline events of the time. As someone from Northern Ireland, there's also aspects of the novel that hit frighteningly close to home for me ...
ClareR (5911 KP) rated The Heroines in Books
Oct 29, 2023
Laura Shepperson gives voice to the women in the myths, and we see the story of Theseus and Phaedra from Phaedra’s point of view. There’s also a chorus of women who are suffering under the mistreatment of the men in Theseus’ palace. Servants and slave women had to do as they were told. The struggle for the women against this patriarchal system is at times violent, and the women rarely come out of it well.
There were a lot of characters in this, and I wonder if all of them were necessary. I’ll be honest, and it could be down to the good ole peri-meno brain, I did get a little confused at all the characters, but it didn’t spoil the story!
I enjoyed this quick read (ok, I didn’t put it down!). It gave me enjoyment for a couple of days - and that’s what reading is all about really, isn’t it!
ClareR (5911 KP) rated The Mother Fault in Books
Aug 1, 2023
The Mother Fault is one of these books. It’s set in the not too distant future in Australia - but a very different Australia. The country seems to be under the control of an organisation called BestLife. They even make sure that babies are implanted with a chip. The adults all have them, and life is made more difficult for those who opt out.
Mim’s husband goes missing whilst working in a mine in Indonesia. But instead of care and support, BestLife respond by asking for Mim’s and her children’s passports, offering to ‘take care’ of the children. It’s a barely veiled threat.
Mim responds by trying to drive away as far and as fast as she can. Everywhere she goes, she’s surveilled, and everyone she sees or visits is in danger.
The descriptions of an Australia ravaged by climate change are haunting. The decisions Mim makes can be questionable, but that just makes it more interesting!
It’s a really tense read, I continually felt that they would be caught, even when they were at sea (especially so really, because who would be there to witness whatever BestLife would do?!).
The part of the book that took place in the boat was so frustrating at times, and really helped to put the reader in Mim’s shoes.
This was a great read, and I’ve added another writer to my watch list!!