Monthly Archives: January 2012

River of Smoke

Posted on January 31, 2012 by beckylindroos

River of Smoke by Amitov Ghosh 2011 / 528 pages fiction – 2nd in trilogy  “The Ibis Trilogy” rating –  9 Whew!   I just finished the second time – and I’m counting it twice.   I listened the first time … Continue reading →

Posted in country of author, historical fiction, India, Kindle/ebook | Leave a comment

Moonwalking With Einstein

Posted on January 31, 2012 by beckylindroos

Moonwalking With Einstein by Joshua Foer non-fiction/science 2011 / US / 320 pages Audible 9h 33m Mike Chamberlain Rating 7.5 I enjoyed this for the most part – the mnemonic tricks are pretty widely known but the info on reading, … Continue reading →

Posted in 2011, Audio, non-fiction, science, self-select | Leave a comment

Ferdydurke

Posted on January 30, 2012 by beckylindroos

Ferdydurky by Witold Gombrowicz 1937 / Poland / 281 pages Rating – 8.75  (omg) This is one strange little book. The title is a meaningless bunch of  pronounceable letters possibly indicating the book may be utter nonsense.   It’s major … Continue reading →

Posted in classic, fiction, paper version, Poland | Leave a comment

The Chicago Way

Posted on January 27, 2012 by beckylindroos

The Chicago Way by Michael Harvy 2007 / 320 pages Audible – 8h.10m narrated by Stephen Hoye The story’s pretty good but the narrator about made me unplug permanently.  For some reason – suspense or coolness, I don’t know which … Continue reading →

Posted in Audio, detective/mystery, Thriller, US | Leave a comment

The Hare with the Amber Eyes

Posted on January 27, 2012 by beckylindroos

The Hare with Amber Eyes: A Family’s Century of Art and Loss Edmund de Waal 2011 / 368 pages rating – 9.25 I don’t quite know how to “classify” this book.  I’m certain and glad it’s non-fiction, to say otherwise … Continue reading →

Posted in British, memoir/ bio, non-fiction | Leave a comment

Lord of the Flies

Posted on January 27, 2012 by beckylindroos

Lord of the Flies by Arthur Golding 1954 / 203 pages / Kindle Rating – 9 I don’t know how I never managed to read this book before.  Dad was an English teacher and used this in his classes – … Continue reading →

Posted in British, classic, fiction | Leave a comment

more thoughts

Posted on January 25, 2012 by beckylindroos

Well – I’m not finishing much these days –  I’m rereading River of Smoke by Amitov Ghosh – this time in Kindle format.  I’m about 1/3 finished and throwing up some NOTES.   I’m reading The Hair with the Amber … Continue reading →

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The Crime of Martin Sostre

Posted on January 23, 2012 by beckylindroos

The Crime of Martin Sostre by Vincent Copeland 1970 / 210 pages rating – 7.5  (10 for content) This is an older book but it was very interesting to read, maybe especially in view of recent reading about US Black … Continue reading →

Posted in memoir/ bio, true crime, US | Leave a comment

River of Smoke

Posted on January 23, 2012 by beckylindroos

River of Smoke by Amitov Ghosh 2011  (528 pages) Audible by Sanjiv Jhaveri – 22h. 34m. fiction – 2nd in series rating I really didn’t get “into” this book at all.  The last part was quite good but the rest all seemed … Continue reading →

Posted in Audio, country of author, fiction, historical fiction, India | Leave a comment

thoughts

Posted on January 23, 2012 by beckylindroos

For a long time I’ve followed the discussions about plagiarism and historical fiction – or literature in general – or other matters pertaining to historical fiction particularly.  How much can you quote without plagiarizing?  When an author uses the words of an … Continue reading →

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Elizabeth the Queen

Posted on January 22, 2012 by beckylindroos

Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch by Sally Bedell Smith 2012 /  688 pages biography Rating – 7 This book sounds like it would be long and boring but it’s only one of those –  long.  It’s … Continue reading →

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Byzantium

Posted on January 22, 2012 by beckylindroos

Byzantium: The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire by Judith Herrin 2011 / 440 pages history/non-fict rating 9 I spent several weeks reading this – going a chapter or so a week as the group suggested.  Then I coudn’t stand … Continue reading →

Posted in history, paper version, woman author | Leave a comment