8 posts tagged “books”
I finally, finally finished the Brothers Karamazov last month. I’d been reading it for about 10 years! I really liked parts of it and it did keep my interest most of the time. It is such a big book that at some point, within the last, say, eighth of the book I put it down and quit reading it for a long time. When I picked it up again, there was a bit of disorientation, but, due to Dostoyevsky’s writing style, I was able to remember what was going on and proceed with the book without any rereading. He writes about what happened previously and characters’ motivations and thoughts about what’s happened so far (again and again, throughout the book), that when I picked it up, it prodded my memory. It’s funny: I was only about 20 pages from a critical part in the book when I put it down. If I had just plodded through those few pages, I probably would have finished the book so long ago.
Would I recommend it? Sure. I would suggest reading it about 20 pages at a time so you don’t get burnt out. If you’re an avid reader, but don’t pick up classics too often, then I would suggest it being your secondary book while you’re reading a thriller, sci-fi, romance, fantasy, or comic book. Make sure you keep making progress on it so you don’t put it down for 10 years or so. There are some really great passages in it that can really provoked me into thinking about my beliefs and actions and how they interrelate. Worth the time and effort.
Happy 7 Month Anniversary, Natalya! I can't wait till you come back!
I bought this book awhile ago, and just got around to starting it today. It seems to make a lot of sense and I plan to start implementing some of the ideas tomorrow at work. As I was reading, I felt impelled to start right then, and, in a small way, I did!
I have had problems posting lately...been busy. In short, this is a good book. It's about Edgar A. Poe's death. If you like fiction that has a lot of historical details, this is a pretty good one. I'm still reading the extras that the author posted online. Poe's death is still a mystery...and a quite interesting one to me. Check out the details at Matthew Pearl's site.
No spoilers. I finished the book yesterday, Tuesday.
I'm not saying that Harry Potter dies in the end of the book or anything (you'll have to read it to find that out) but I'm saying that there's no more Harry Potter books, and that is sad.
I'm not an über-fan, but I've read all the books. They're easy to read, enjoyable, and the plots have depth. The characters are kind of shallow, caricatures of people, but I like a good plot in books where lots of stuff happens and there is stuff abounding in these books. I like the feeling that of wanting to know what happens next, and I definitely got that from these books.
The last book: pretty much like the others, but a more satisfying ending. So, if you've read the other books and liked them, you'll like this one too, perhaps better than the others; and if you haven't read the other books, then start with the first one and find out if you like them.
If you only like books with really deep characters that seem like someone you've known, then look further.
The Historian. Hmmm. I liked it. It was long. It took a long time to read. It was a little slow and I could see how some people could lose interest. It was fairly predictable. There was a bit too much coincidence, but somehow, it was just acceptable as needed to move along the story. When I say “a bit too much,” I mean, “a bit too much for fiction” and “WAY too much for it to be in the slightest believable.”
In my previous post, I wrote how I thought it might be like “The Ring” but it’s not. The hook is good and works in conjunction with the style, which alternates between three different types of views, two of which are through letters. Anyway, I’m not going to go through a full review of the book. I’m going to try and let you know what you really want from a review of a book: Do I want to read this book? So, I’m going to tell you how I felt reading it.
I felt comfortable reading it. The story moves along smoothly and takes place in various places in Europe in two different time periods, the 1950s and the 1970s and a little in another time period but not enough to really go on about here, and goes into the history surrounding Dracula, all of which I found interesting. The story moves along at a slow pace, but still held my interest. When I was reading it, I felt like it was a lazy summer day that I had off and my intent was just to soak up the sun and talk to my friends. I wasn’t trying to get anywhere quick or come to any dramatic realizations or conclusions, but just have a pleasant conversation, although with a book it’s just one way. The ending wasn’t that great but it wasn’t a big disappointment either. After reading through the book I knew not to expect a grand, brilliant wrap up at the end.
It was pleasant to read, but I didn’t feel like I had to stay up to get to the next part, and I did look forward to the next time I would have some free time to read. Doesn’t that sound like a good book?
I just finished Expiration Date by Tim Powers. Let me start out by saying that the other three books of his that I've read, I've loved. This one: not so much. I didn't really like it, actually. I was disappointed. First of all, since I expect a lot from this author because the others were so good. Second of all, it was kind of creepy, but more made me a little nauseous. Some books may describe something gross or sickening and it may intrigue or add suspense or evoke emotion, but the stuff described wasn't really gross or sickening in a usual way, but made me feel a little queasy and the only emotion it evoked was apathy. (Very weird to have apathy evoked.) It was slow. It seemed like the same stuff just kept happening and there wasn't much of a point to all of it. I wasn't too sure where he was going to go with all of it, and I didn't much care.
It takes place in Los Angeles, which I've been to, and maybe that was part of the problem. I don't know what it was, really. The plot consists mainly of characters going to places getting chased and escaping, sometimes with other characters. That's about it. If you're thinking of reading a Tim Powers book, read the Anubis Gates if you like 19th century England and time travel, the Drawing of the Dark if you like 16th century Europe and a little fantasy, or Last Call if you like Las Vegas and poker. Those are all excellent books. I flew through those books. I could hardly put them down. It took me ages to read Expiration Date, which is supposed to be kind of number two in a loose trilogy with Last Call as the first book and Earthquake Weather as the last one. I saw some similarity with Last Call, but if Earthquake Weather continues the trend in declining quality of the the trilogy, I'm not going to get a quarter of the way through that book, which is currently sitting on my shelf, and will continue to sit there until I get up enough courage to risk getting badly disappointed again.
Right now, I'm trying out The Historian; started it last night in fact. It's got a great hook and I'm liking it so far. It is a little freaky. I think it's kind of like The Ring in a way. I'll tell you what I think after I've read some. I heard it's slow in parts and maybe it is, but maybe after the endurance test I just went through with Exp. Date, it will be quick & easy by comparison.
Book: Show us the latest book you bought, borrowed or received.
Received from Amazon.com, but haven't even opened the box. I still have to finish the one I'm on before I crack that one open. Looking forward to it...
Today is my first real post. I just finished a book. Last Call by Tim Powers.
I thought it was very good and I would recommend it to anyone that plays poker, which I don't, or that likes books about magic in the modern world. I would recommend any of Tim Powers books, even though I've only read three so far. His plots are done very well and he ties in historical facts and people. If you think you like the kind of book I'm describing, and you're going to Las Vegas or like Vegas or you play a lot of poker, read it!
My problem is that I get addicted to it (the book), and I just keep reading when I should be doing other stuff. It's that good. I do that often with books, but this one really had me.
As for buying the book, I would suggest going through Amazon.com's used book section and buying it from there. I don't remember how much I paid, but I paid less than retail, it came pretty quick and it was in (seemed to me) perfect condition.
