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

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

Post by rakara »

Last night, I finished You Have a Very Nice Voice, Susan by Susan Fensten. It's a true story of a woman's experience finding her distant relatives that turns into a nightmare of being stalked, harassed, murder, and cannibal slave cults. You know, normal stuff. It turns out some of it was untrue, a ruse. But, she isn't the one who lied...

I felt a connection with this book. A few year ago, I was stalked online. The culprit ended up being someone I never expected it to be. I can't objectively rate this book. I will say if you are into true accounts of this nature, I highly suggest reading it.
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Redlegs
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Post by Redlegs »

Two more books completed, one last night and one this morning.

Firstly, Effi Briest by Theodor Fontane (1895) is set in what was Prussia, now Germany, in the 19th century.

It is the tale of a young woman, Effi, who is married at age 17 to a man more than 20 years older, when she was, in spirit at least, still a girl who liked to play games with her friends.

Fontane's writing is gentle and lyrical, and many events are hinted at rather than described directly. Morals and sensibilities are preserved for the reader, despite the novel being about a wife who was unfaithful and a husband who was unforgiving. There are obvious parallels to Anna Karenina and Madame Bovary, but Fontane's novel lacks the impact of those classics.

This is ultimately a sad and thought provoking novel that is worthwhile reading but not quite as satisfying as it might have been.

I am rating it 3.5 stars out of 5 - just short of a 4.

Secondly, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Other Stories by Robert Louis Stevenson. Apart from the classic and well known Jekyll and Hyde, which itself is no longer than a novella, this edition contains a number of other short stories, which are mostly dark stories of murder and intrigue, bordering on the macabre.

All in all, I was underwhelmed by all of these stories, which I found to be underdeveloped and lacking in dramatic tension and, frankly, I was pretty bored by it all. I will give it a generous 3 stars out of 5.
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NnamAries
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Post by NnamAries »

I can't date Jesus by Michael Acrenaux. 10/10
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Post by maggi3 »

IT by Stephen King. I would rate it 4.5/5. It's a long read, but well worth it.
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Redlegs
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Post by Redlegs »

It is quite impressive just how much Stephan Zweig has packed into his 1922 novella, Amok, in just over 80 pages. The English version I read was translated from the original German in 2008 by Anthea Bell.

This is the intense and compelling story of a man 'running amok', the result of a brief but highly charged encounter with a mystery woman.

On a ship travelling from India to Europe, the narrator meets a cautious man, a doctor who until recently had been serving in a remote village in the Dutch East Indies, who shares his tragic and disturbing tale during the night, while the other passengers sleep.

The majority of the narrative is the doctor's story, while the narrator provides a setting and context for the conversation.

I will say nothing of the circumstances of the doctor's revelations to avoid any plot spoilers.

But this is a gripping, masterful tale from a writer in peak form, who understands that fiction does not necessarily require 300 pages or more to be intelligent, satisfying and genuinely brilliant.

Zweig is a master of of the short story. 4.5 stars out of 5.
So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.

The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
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mjiang
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Post by mjiang »

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. Definitely the best book I've ever read- I read the last half in a single sitting. If there was such thing as a perfect book, this would be it.
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Redlegs
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Post by Redlegs »

mjiang wrote: 01 May 2019, 21:21 The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. Definitely the best book I've ever read- I read the last half in a single sitting. If there was such thing as a perfect book, this would be it.
I agree it’s pretty darn good, and incredibly sad.
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The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
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Post by bookworm2567 »

I've finally gotten to read The Fault In Our Stars by John Green but it ending up being a little underwhelming for me. It's probably because this book has been hyped so much that I created unrealistically high expectations. This book was a little predictable for me so I'm giving it a 6 out of 10.
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rakara
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Post by rakara »

Beyond Belief by Jenna Miscavige Hill. A memoir about escaping Scientology written by the cult leader's sister.
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Post by mmm17 »

I have just finished reading End Times, written by Jerry Jay Carroll. I gave it 4 out of 4 stars. Great book!
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Post by colorsparkle »

The last book I read was Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, which I gave 3/4 stars because it was an interesting story, just a little off topic at times.
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Post by ShannonHBC »

The Red Wave Imperative, which I gave 2 out of 4 stars. Now I'm thinking maybe I should have only given it 1 star.
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Post by camillegermo »

The last book I read was "Wicked" for a literature class I'm taking. It's so much different than the musical; you really can't compare them. I rate "Wicked" 4/5 stars
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Redlegs
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Post by Redlegs »

Night Watch (Discworld #29) by Terry Pratchett was typical light-hearted witty fun that was, as usual, an enjoyable and pleasant diversion into a world of fantasy.

3.5 stars out of 5
So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.

The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
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Post by amjohnson13mommy »

The Biblical Clock was an interesting book about how religious and scientific creation time lines are close. I rated it a 4 out of 4.
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