What is the last book you read, and your rating?

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Kibet Hillary
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Re: What is the last book you read, and your rating?

Post by Kibet Hillary »

The last book I read was 'The Unbound Soul' by Richard L. Haight. I rated it 4 out of 4 stars. I greatly enjoyed reading it and I have gained a lot from the book.
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Post by Gravy »

I finished Bird Box and quite enjoyed it!

Getting information only from characters who can't open their eyes is oddly interesting, and makes for some fun shocks!

I gave it a 3 out of 4, only because of a few things that seemed a bit off/unrealistic (even for a world where people can't look outside for fear of the creatures).
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Post by gali »

Gravy wrote: 15 Mar 2019, 05:24 I finished Bird Box and quite enjoyed it!

Getting information only from characters who can't open their eyes is oddly interesting, and makes for some fun shocks!

I gave it a 3 out of 4, only because of a few things that seemed a bit off/unrealistic (even for a world where people can't look outside for fear of the creatures).
I am glad to hear you enjoyed it. I liked the book. :)
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Post by gali »

"All the Beautiful Lies" by Peter Swanson, 3 out of 4 stars. I enjoyed it but found it less good than his other books.
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Post by Redlegs »

Nightwood by Djuna Barnes was a major disappointment. I just didn't get it - I spent the whole novel wondering what it was trying to say to me.

Ostensibly about the lives of three lesbians, Robin, Norah and Jenny, (although that word is not used and nor is there any evidence of sexual activity that might alarm the 1936 censors), it is mostly just a miserable tale of the woes of unrequited love.

There is also a weird cross-dressing doctor, who seems to think he should have been a woman, who delivers long-winded, rambling soliloquies in fruity and obscure language about the nature of love and life, but I don't think he makes anyone feel better except himself. He then proceeds to go off and get pissed - again!

The writing is quite unique, and I can appreciate that Barnes has taken extreme care to create poetic and romantic sentences, but it is too often obscure, turgid and excessively purple.

Perhaps this is meant to be art rather than story telling. But, if was a picture of the wall, I wouldn't look at it twice.

I gave it 3 stars out of 5, but perhaps that was generous.
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Post by Han26+ »

U2 at the End of the World by Bill Flanagan. Eleven out of ten. This is actually the third time I’ve read it, it’s one of my favourite books because I am a big fan of the band and the writer is so bloomin’ hilarious!
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Post by Renu G »

Of Zots and Xoodles
by Zarqnon the Embarrassed
My rating: 4 out of 4
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Post by Bighuey »

Rise And Fall Of Free Speech In America by D.W. Griffith. Interesting account of censorship in the early days of motion pictures and censorship over the years, especially about politics. Even tho this was written around 1920 a lot of it is true today. 4 out of 5.
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Post by Maxiemoollious1 »

The last book I read was The Perks Of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. I give it a 5/5 stars because I absolutely love how he decided to write the story. Not only when having Charlie write letters to an unknown friend made me feel like I was the friend he wrote to, it made me feel like I was in the story as well. While reading it, I felt nostalgia and envisioned myself watching everything happen as if I was really there. Another thing I loved was how he portrayed mental illness in a healthy, accurate way. I usually get picky about those sorts of things, especially with a certain show of which I shall not name. I would absolutely recommend reading this book, I enjoyed it from the first to the last page.
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Post by Redlegs »

Two more books completed recently. Firstly, How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff (2004) reads like a Young Adult novel, given that it is told from the viewpoint of a 15 year old American girl, but there is plenty here for an older audience to appreciate.

Rosoff manages to maintain the voice of a mildly rebellious teenager throughout the narrative, even in the darker moments, and there is no shortage of humour and pathos, regardless of the situation. I snorted and chuckled out loud on several occasions.

There was a genuine risk of the narrative become overly sentimental, given that it involves young people dealing with trauma and relationships of love that border on hero-worship at times, but Rosoff has kept a lid on it and created a poignant and heartfelt story that mostly manages to avoid the more obvious cliches.

Easy and enjoyable to read - 4 stars out of 5.

Secondly, The Lost Language of Cranes by David Leavitt, first published in 1986, which deals with male homosexuality in New York from a couple of perspectives, at a time when fear of the AIDS virus was prominent.

I enjoyed the thoughtful, intelligent writing by Leavitt, and the way he handled a sensitive and controversial topic in a manner that could be appreciated by all readers, both gay and straight.

4.5 stars out of 5
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Post by Bighuey »

An audio book of Edgar Allan Poe's Berenice read by Vincent Price. One of Poe's best, very creepy and with a shocker of an ending. Mr. Price's rendition gave me chills, I would like to hear more of his readings.
"I planted some birdseed. A bird came up. Now I dont know what to feed it." Ramblings of a retired senile mind.
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Post by Renu G »

Just finished reading Cat Detectives in the Korean Peninsula by R.F. Kristi

I rated it 3 out of 4 stars.
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Post by CoralFairy »

The last book I read was Magic Sleeps by Cherie Smith. I absolutely couldn't put it down! :)
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Post by CinWin »

The last book I read was The Poetic Vibrations of a Matured Butterfly by Arthur Lee Conway. I gave it a 4 out of 4 star rating. The poetry was dark, but very good!
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Post by Renu G »

The Mystery of the Hidden Cabin
by M.E. Hembroff
My rating: 3 out of 4
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