Tag Archives: recommended by a friend
The White Hotel by D.M. Thomas
Surreal and beautiful. A fantastic book that combines prose and poetry in an intoxicating mixture. Set in a resort style hotel we see people going about a wealthy holiday with seemingly no awareness that the world is changing around them. As the book builds and swirls, however, the enormity of the times and realization that something is wrong becomes inescapable. I am forever indebted to the friend who first gave this to me. Reading it was a thoroughly inspiring and enjoyable experience.
View all my reviews
Leave a comment | tags: 5 stars, book review, books, dm thomas, dream sequence, friday favorites, holocaust, magical realism, recommended by a friend, review, the white hotel | posted in Favorites, Lists, Words
Best Books Read in 2011
2. The Christ-Haunted Landscape: Faith and Doubt in Southern Fiction by Susan Ketchin
The Christ-Haunted Landscape takes its name from a quote by Flannery O’Connor: “I think it is safe to say that while the South is hardly Christ-centered, it is most certainly Christ-haunted.” Having grown up in the South, this rang true. Rarely do I spend so much time thinking about a book while reading it or take 5 months to do so. Comprised of interviews with and excerpts from the works of 12 authors, this book reminded me of where I am from. I recommend it to anyone interested in writing or in the interaction between beliefs and reality.
Original Review
3. Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson
4. The Forever War by Dexter Filkins
5. Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
6. People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
7. The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler
8. Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
9. A Great & Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
10. The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett
2 comments | tags: 5 stars, appalachia, best books read in 2011, bibliophilia, book review, books, christ-haunted, christ-haunted landscape, culture, down south, essays, favorites, heard about on public radio, non-fiction, racial tension, re-read potential, recommended by a friend, religion, review, short story, south, susan ketchin, writing & literature | posted in Best Books Read in 2011, Lists, Words
3 comments | tags: 5 stars, best books read in 2011, book review, books, country, fiction, great frontier, re-read potential, recommended by a friend, review, rural, sherwood anderson, short story, winesburg ohio | posted in Best Books Read in 2011, Lists, Words
Best Books Read in 2011
10. The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett
In this case, The Color of Magic stands in for the Discworld series as a whole. For Christmas last year, my boyfriend gave me the first two and I was hooked. The series is not as consistently good, but I have enjoyed the majority of the books I have read to date. It also has the benefit of each book being able to stand alone or mixed & matched by its dominant characters.
Original Review
10 comments | tags: 5 stars, best books read in 2011, book review, books, discworld, fantasy, luggage, other worlds, re-read potential, recommended by a friend, review, rincewind, terry pratchett, the color of magic, too stubborn for their own good, turtles, witches & wizards | posted in Best Books Read in 2011, Lists, Words
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Incredible. Parts of “How to Tell a True War Story” come to mind regularly. I love Tim O’Brien‘s writing. Those were the three things I had to say about The Things They Carried when I initially “reviewed” this book. I hold to all of those. This is my third reading and I found the book even better than it was eleven years ago. “How to Tell a True War Story” has probably influenced my views on writing and literature more than anything else I have ever read. There is a beautiful clarity and painful honesty that permeates this book. I can’t say enough good things about it.
View all my reviews
Leave a comment | tags: 5 stars, book review, books, favorites, fiction, historical fiction, history, jungles & swamps, military, non-fiction, re-read potential, read multiple times, recommended by a friend, review, the things they carried, tim o'brien, vietnam, war, xposted to OSgA reviews | posted in Words
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I spent some time debating whether to give The Name of the Wind 3 stars or 4. I finally settled on 4, in large part because of Patrick Rothfuss‘s incredible language and the phenomenal job Nick Podehl did as narrator. That being said, the book had several pacing issues, a female love interest I find impressively boring and off-putting, and a protagonist I hated for the first third of the book. Despite this rocky going, however, when I finished the book my impression was largely positive. I think this is an excellent book to illustrate the concept that sometimes the whole is greater than the parts. I am definitely looking forward to listening to The Wise Man’s Fear, but will most likely give my ears a week or so sans headphones before doing so.
View all my reviews
Leave a comment | tags: 4 stars, bloody spiders, book review, books, boozy, denizens of hell, fantasy, fiction, kingkiller chronicles, kvothe, magical creatures, name of the wind, patrick rothfuss, precocious kiddos, recommended by a friend, review, this way there be dragons, witches & wizards | posted in Words
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire proved to be an excellent choice for a non-horror Halloween read. In it, J.K. Rowling sharply continues her addition of darkness to the series. We see Harry, Hermione, Ron and the rest of the gang returning to Hogwart’s for yet another year. As usual, there are also dark deeds going on, but the focus this year is on the Triwizard Tournament. Despite rules requiring contestants to be 17, Harry naturally ends up in the mix. Adventures ensue. Naturally, there is a giant spider. Why is there always a giant bloody spider? *grumbles* In spite of that, the book is excellent. Also, there is a merciful lack of Quidditch game play by plays.
View all my reviews
Leave a comment | tags: 4 stars, bloody spiders, book review, books, children, fantasy, fiction, fooooood, Harry Potter, impending doom, magical creatures, precocious kiddos, re-read potential, recommended by a friend, review, witches & wizards, young adult | posted in Words