Most Recent Book(s) You've Finished + What You Thought Of It

Sequel? Born Again John?

 

Actually, it's John and Dave and the Temple of X'la'naa"thuthuthu (it's supposed to be ridiculous - you'll get it if you read it) The author has it posted online, but aparently really scary images pop up when you read it, so I'm just gonna wait for the book to come out

 

i just read Darfur Diaries. I honestly am not a fan of nonfiction like at all, but i really enjoyed this book. I think that everyone should read it. 4.5/5

 

Though it's a very old book, I just read Jurassic Park. I was amazed at how good it actually was; a hundred times better than the movie. But that is the case of a lot of books that are made into movies.

 

I recently finished reading Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky. It's actually the third time I've finished the whole book, and I have to say that it is most definitely a work of art. The way Dostoevsky weaves the characters together and delves into Raskolnikov's mind, and the whole "Ubermensch" ideal, it's just heart-wrenching the whole way through. Overall, amazing read, just as is everything Dostoevsky wrote. 5/5.

 

Well, I finished two books lately that are almost exactly alike.

What if the Nazi's won WW2?

What if the Confederacy won the Civil War?

Both are really eye-openers to what the future would be like on the other side of the spectrum view. Basically take an episode of the Twilight Zone and base it on a war and these books are the result.

 

I recently finished Al Capone Does My Shirts which I enjoyed immensely. It's all about a kid that lives on Alcatraz during the depression. If you enjoy historical fiction, you have to read this book. It shows what it would be like for a 12 year old kid to move from San Francisco to Alcatraz just so his parents can afford to live in decent conditions.

 

Catcher in the Rye

I liked it. It was pretty different from most other books I read, but I liked how the main character wanted people to stop being "phony" and be real.

 

Dominion by Steven Savile

 

Monster Planet by David Wellington. a decent enough zombie book.

 

Wideacre - phillipa gregory

Hated the protagonist, found the other characters too stupid and thought the one decent character wasn't fully fleshed out. She wrote about ten chapters developing this guy and then he becomes an urban myth until the end. Too much sex, then too much incest (sex, I know - but once you've read about all the romps with the game keeper lad, you don't want to read the same thing between siblings). Then there was too much repetitive action.

Disappointed because I loved the Other Boylen Girl and the Boylen Inheritance

 

I've just read, back to back and for about the fifth time each, cien años de soledad, crónica de una muerte anunciada, and el amor en los tiempos del cólera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Marquez is, in all respects, second only to Faulkner.

edit - I have, over the years, had a spirited debate with a friend who says that Faulkner is, in all respects, second only to Garcia Marquez. All of these are available, I believe, in English translation.

 

The Little Prince: as much as I liked it, it wasn't as good as people make it out to be.
But very insightfull.

 

I read Cassandra Clare's The City of Bones and tried to read her The City of Ashes.

This book was just bad. It had all the cliches of the fantasy genre and she offered nothing new with her words. It had vampires, werewolves, warlocks, demonhunters, fairies... all in the same book. The dialogue was from Buffy, half of the plot was from Star Wars etc. There was very little of anything original in it.

That wasn't the worst part. I could have lived with all the borrowing and being very unoriginal, but I couldn't live with the constant explaining of what the characters were wearing. The author said every time: he was wearing this and that. Never anything that might come out of the story itself, just telling what they were wearing. And the fact that all the characters were beautiful and the main character learned everything quickly without anyone teaching her... Well, lets just say that the author wasn't really interested in developing her characters. She was more interested in all the cute outfits and the way the world worked.

Blargh. And I thought I would like this book, because her Draco Trilogy was quite famous in the fanfiction world. Well, I never was able to finish that either. Maybe I should have remembered that before I asked my husband to buy these for me.

I'm perhaps not the right age group for this, either.

 

I just read The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien and I have to say it's one of the best books I've ever read in my life. I have grown weary of war stories, mostly because I feel like all they do is distance me (the civilian who has never seen war) from "them" (those who have). This book did exactly the opposite in that I understood so deeply and acutely how and why the soldiers were feeling or doing the things that they were. It was spectacular.

 

I just finished Vindarnas Ö, which roughly translates into The Island Of The Winds, by Elisabet Nemert. It is set back in time about 3000 years, in Babylon and on Crete. It was quite a good read, even though the language was a little bit... well, weird at times.

 

I have just finished Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami. It's the first Murakami novel that I have read, so I had no expectations going into it - other than the massive build up friends of mine gave it.

It's certainly a thought-provoking book - filled with characters that I immediately felt attached to, but also quite haunting and sad at times. I recommend it - for those that like their books a little malancholy.

 

Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo. A good read . Reccomended to anyone who likes growing up and war stories. As the book is also about the main characters development as a person before and suring the war.

 

Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill.

I am a big fan of Stephen King. Joe Hill has all of his dads good traits and very few of his faults. I highly recommend this book.

 

The most recent book I finished is Roma, "the epic novel of ancient Rome", by Steven Saylor.
I thought it was brilliant. He tells the history of Rome 1000 BC - 1 BC through two families, and does it really well. The way he incorporates actual historical events and persons (for example Ceasar) is brilliant, and I would recomend it even if you're not into history.

 

I read The Man-Eaters of Tsavo (the book that was the basis for the movie The Ghost and the Darkness). It was an amazing book with tons of neat facts and it may be some of the most entertaining nonfiction that I have ever read. This book would most likely be enjoyed by those who enjoy Africe, hunting, lions, or railroad construction.

 

I just finished reading Stephanie Meyer's Breaking Dawn from her Twilight Saga. If you have not read them, I highly suggest you do. They are amazing!

 

I just read "The Devil You Know" by Mike Carey. It was kindof "meh" but I took an special liking to the main character. I bought the book because I recognized the author from some DC's 'Lucifer'.

 

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer and I am still trying to figure out my overall thought on the book.

 

Secrets of a Shoe Addict by Beth Harbison; I loved it! It was her sequel to Shoe Addicts Anonymous (which is also very good), but I liked this one sooo much better! If you are looking for a good laugh (and love shoes!) you'll like this read!