tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55977502668608458472024-03-05T14:57:44.558+01:00Anneish Imaginary Adventuresbook reviews from the cherry treeEszter K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17787112416641770126noreply@blogger.comBlogger62125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597750266860845847.post-2473777651694388782020-07-25T18:16:00.001+02:002020-07-25T18:16:18.240+02:00Review: Rebecca
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54588587" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1595144285l/54588587._SX98_.jpg" border="0" alt="Rebecca" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54588587">Rebecca</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2001717">Daphne du Maurier</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/262173176">3 of 5 stars</a>
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It isn’t easy to review this book. I have been a long-time fan of the Hitchcock movie “Rebecca” with Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine, and also very much liked the mini-series version with Emilia Fox and Charles Dance. Hence, this book has been on my wishlist for years and was very keen on reading it when I first started. <br /><br />But, then everything went wrong… ***From this point forward, the review may contain spoilers; so, proceed with care.*** <a class="jsShowSpoiler spoilerAction">(view spoiler)</a><span class="spoilerContainer" style="display: none">[I hated Maxim de Winter who treated his second wife as a child or a dog as the wife narrating the story rightly observes. Even worse he repeatedly humiliates his wife in front of other people and the servants. However, I was also annoyed by the second Mrs de Winter (her name is not revealed in the book, suggesting thereby that her existence is almost irrelevant) who indeed behaved like a child and loved her monster of husband despite his awful behaviour. For example, Maxim de Winter has not even thought about apologizing by his wife for assuming she did something on purpose (see the fancy dress ball) which she obviously did not. And she kept thinking it was all her fault when it clearly was not. The whole marriage was indeed a failure as, again, the narrator herself clearly observed: they were no partners in anything (very likely not even in sex), communication was practically non-existent between them. Because of this the second Mrs de Winter was living in a world of daydreams, where all the communication and events were only happening in her imagination. The only normal person was Frank, the agent of de Winter with whom she had more communication than with her own husband. I was about 2/3 into the book when I felt a real annoyance – wanted to slap the husband and shake the wife – and also a kind of anxiety, which did not let me sleep at night, and was seriously considering giving up. But I continued… <br /><br />And then came the turn of the events when we find out about Rebecca’s real personality and what happened on the day she died. From this point forward, their relationship seems to improve, not that it made me any happier, because suddenly, I realized that the story is irreconcilable with my own moral compass. Thus, I finished the book with a very heavy heart and was also very annoyed by its ending. The book begins with a prologue which implies many things that happened in the end; still, the ending was very abrupt and did not answer a lot of questions I had: What happened to the servants and especially, to dear Jasper? Why don’t they have any children? Is Mr de Winter blind now? If yes, how did it come about? And if no, how comes that Mrs de Winter reads aloud a lot?<br /><br />In the end, I was pretty disappointed and also astonished how I could have loved this story. Thankfully, my edition contained an afterword by Sally Beauman who explained that the story can be read in two ways: as a romantic story and as a story about two women’s fight against patriarchal power. Hitchcock but also the mini-series clearly went with the first approach. Hitchcock even changed the events of the day Rebecca died because he knew the original story would have been unpopular. Though the miniseries is truer to the book, it also romanticizes the love between these two people. Upon reading Beauman’s explanations of the second approach, I must say that that way of reading this book is how I read it this time. Thus, even though this book was inspired by the story of Jane Eyre, for me, Rebecca is, in contrast to Brontë’s novel, not a romantic novel, it is the tragic story of a young woman who is and will never be more than “the paid companion to a petty tyrant” – be it Mrs Van Hopper or her husband. <a class="jsHideSpoiler spoilerAction">(hide spoiler)</a>]</span> Being a hopeless romantic as I am, I have no desire to read this story ever again.<br /><br />For all the above reasons, I could give this book one star, if I only based my rating on the story itself. However, I thought the writing itself was excellent – five stars. So, based on these two ratings the average or my final rating is three stars.<br />
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597750266860845847.post-30293265905719404832020-07-19T10:05:00.001+02:002020-07-19T10:05:04.388+02:00Review: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22011085" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1428995786l/22011085._SX98_.jpg" border="0" alt="The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22011085">The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5589647">Marie Kondō</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3168177920">4 of 5 stars</a>
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The first book by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5589647.Marie_Kond_" title="Marie Kondō" rel="nofollow">Marie Kondō</a>, in contrast to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25614984.Spark_Joy_An_Illustrated_Master_Class_on_the_Art_of_Organizing_and_Tidying_Up" title="Spark Joy An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up by Marie Kondō" rel="nofollow">Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up</a>, is not illustrated; thus, it may not appeal to everyone. However, I think it’s very important that you read this one first. Many people think Konmari’s method is just about folding or it’s about minimalism. Neither of this is true. I am member of a group on Facebook where we share ideas of cleaning and organizing the household, and just the other day, someone asked for help because she had loads of clothes and despite folding them à la Konmari she was unable to store all those clothes. She also asked how you can decide what to keep and what not. The simple answer to these questions is: read <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22318578.The_Life_Changing_Magic_of_Tidying_Up_The_Japanese_Art_of_Decluttering_and_Organizing" title="The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondō" rel="nofollow">The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing</a>. You may not agree with all of her ideas in the end, but probably it will help you to understand that it doesn’t make sense to organize things that don’t spark joy and just litter your household. First, you must decide what you want to keep. Folding only helps to store those items in a practical and attractive way. (By the way, if you want, you can also hang your clothes, Marie doesn’t say it’s forbidden…) And as to the second question, namely, how to decide what to keep: keep everything that sparks joy. If you read the book you will see that – contrary to the presumptions made by many people who probably haven’t read or did not understand the book – Marie does not want you to become a minimalist per se. If your stamp collection sparks joy, keep it, but store it in a way that you may enjoy it. Is there a T-shirt that sparks joy within you for some reason, keep it, even if you are never ever going to wear it. And so on… Truth to be told, I have always been someone who got rid of clutter and preferred order over chaos and cleanliness over filth. Still, this book was able to change my perspective and provided me with a new approach especially with respect to treating other people’s messiness in your household. In my opinion, this book is indeed a very worthwhile reading. Hence my rating: 4 stars.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3168177920">View all my reviews</a>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597750266860845847.post-14070972944030634622020-07-18T17:43:00.003+02:002020-07-18T17:43:25.420+02:00Review: Clockwork Prince
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13129853" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328327136l/13129853._SX98_.jpg" border="0" alt="Clockwork Prince" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13129853">Clockwork Prince</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/150038">Cassandra Clare</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/583877181">4 of 5 stars</a>
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The second part of <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/54144-the-infernal-devices" rel="nofollow">The Infernal Devices</a> trilogy I found much less exciting than the first part. In fact, I sometimes found that the story dragged, sometimes I found it annoying. The whole book is mainly about finding out where the Magister is hiding, but even at the end, we have not even a vague idea about it. We also do not find out much about Tessa’s origins; though, at least there are some clues about it. The identity of the traitor was not very surprising, even though I thought that in light of the events of the previous book, it was not entirely plausible. What I liked was the story of Will and how Magnus, the warlock helps him and cares for him. I also highly disliked the whole love triangle. I am afraid, I am no fan of those anyway, but this was even less plausible than any other. <a class="jsShowSpoiler spoilerAction">(view spoiler)</a><span class="spoilerContainer" style="display: none">[In my opinion, it was pretty clear who Tessa preferred, her decision was simply an act of kindness, or rather pity. One may argue that the steamy scene proved it otherwise, but sometimes people want to have sex with someone, because that person is available, while the other person who they really feel the desire for is not. It was also telling that upon their engagement Tessa kept repeating to herself that she loved Jem. The thing is, I would not wish a partner who does not love one wholeheartedly on anybody. As harsh or hurting the reality may be, I think it’s better to know the truth. <a class="jsHideSpoiler spoilerAction">(hide spoiler)</a>]</span> Despite these issues, I still liked the main story, the literary references, and the characters (especially Henry and Charlotte), and was keen on continuing with the story, which is why I am giving it 4 stars.
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597750266860845847.post-37164902972711788962020-07-17T17:33:00.001+02:002020-07-17T17:33:31.752+02:00Review: A Pocket Full of Rye
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28287869" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1450949498l/28287869._SX98_.jpg" border="0" alt="A Pocket Full of Rye" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28287869">A Pocket Full of Rye</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/123715">Agatha Christie</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1477752966">5 of 5 stars</a>
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Another favourite A.C. book for me. I have read it umpteen times and watched the miniseries with Joan Hickson also innumerable times. This is so good. If you read it the first time, you will see, it is not that easy to find out who the very cruel murderer is. Although of course, Miss Marple solves the case brilliantly. By contrast to many other crime novels by A.C., in this there is no romance. There is a touch of sadness to the whole book, as the murderer is the worst kind of human being and the solution of the case will bring a very kind person a great heartache. Not for nothing ends the book as follows: “The tears rose in Miss Marple’s eyes. Succeeding pity, there came anger – anger against a heartless killer.” Finally, a note on the narration: Joan Hickson was the perfect choice, nobody can hold a candle to her portrayal of Miss Marple. However, if you are a non-native speaker, you may encounter difficulties with understanding her: she sometimes reads very quickly and does not articulate very clearly.
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597750266860845847.post-59557344691473781012020-07-17T17:32:00.001+02:002020-07-17T17:32:42.339+02:00Review: Her Royal Spyness
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8162167" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1450345778l/8162167._SX98_.jpg" border="0" alt="Her Royal Spyness" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8162167">Her Royal Spyness</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/202867">Rhys Bowen</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1950386139">4 of 5 stars</a>
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This book reminded me strongly of Agatha Christie’s <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16361.The_Secret_of_Chimneys__Superintendent_Battle___1_" title="The Secret of Chimneys (Superintendent Battle, #1) by Agatha Christie" rel="nofollow">The Secret of Chimneys</a>, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/483103.The_Seven_Dials_Mystery__Superintendent_Battle___2_" title="The Seven Dials Mystery (Superintendent Battle, #2) by Agatha Christie" rel="nofollow">The Seven Dials Mystery</a>, and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/102303.Why_Didn_t_They_Ask_Evans_" title="Why Didn't They Ask Evans? by Agatha Christie" rel="nofollow">Why Didn't They Ask Evans?</a>. The basic recipe is as follows: set the story in the 1920s–1930s; have a young heroine who is top-drawer, aka a Lady, but doesn’t necessarily follows the strict rules for nobility; throw in a couple of handsome men for good measure, and of course, you must add some dead body too. Then let the Lady become an amateur sleuth and find the murderer and the king of her heart. Do not forget to “flavour” your story with a dash of humour. If you do it correctly, your readers will have as much fun as I had reading this. I laughed out loud many times while reading this, despite the fact that the historical background is the era of great depression and the heroine, though a Lady, does not have enough food to eat. As for the murder, having been “trained” by reading A.C.’s complete oeuvres more than once, the person of the murderer was not a big surprise for me and the clues were easy to recognize; nonetheless, I enjoyed this whodunnit, even if it can’t hold a candle to the above-mentioned books by A.C. (hence my rating: 4 stars). All in all, this book, which is the first part of a series, made me keen on reading the next books and finding out more about Lady Georgiana Rannoch’s fate.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1950386139">View all my reviews</a>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597750266860845847.post-89824788499102444142020-07-16T16:11:00.001+02:002020-07-16T16:11:09.009+02:00Review: Bringing Down the Duke
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43594271" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1555076491l/43594271._SX98_.jpg" border="0" alt="Bringing Down the Duke" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43594271">Bringing Down the Duke</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18775709">Evie Dunmore</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3398693021">4 of 5 stars</a>
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I agree with other reviewers, this book reminds one of <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1265.Jane_Austen" title="Jane Austen" rel="nofollow">Jane Austen</a>’s books; however, it is set in the Victorian era (hence more modern), the difference in social class between the hero and the heroine is much bigger, and it is much more steamier…<br /><br />I liked the witty heroine (who goes to university, is a suffragist and a single woman by choice) and the handsome, proud (and of course misunderstood), but also very witty and passionate hero. Being a political scientist and having written a doctoral thesis on two female political thinkers, I also very much liked the setting and the backdrop of the suffragist movement, as well as the heroine’s interest in politics and political thought. I found the other characters similarly likeable and am looking forward to reading more about them in the forthcoming book, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49202118.A_Rogue_of_One_s_Own__A_League_of_Extraordinary_Women___2_" title="A Rogue of One's Own (A League of Extraordinary Women, #2) by Evie Dunmore" rel="nofollow">A Rogue of One's Own</a>.<br /><br />The love story was very charming and if you like Cinderella stories (or Pretty Woman) than you will be satisfied. Even though I know that throughout British history there had been aristocrats who married commoners, but while reading the book, I sometimes could not get rid of the feeling that its ending will be very unlikely. The social gap was extremely big, in my opinion. <br /><br />The other issue I had with the book was the degree of steaminess. If you are more conservative or sensitive in this regard, you may want to skip a couple of pages because it contains very explicit descriptions of sexual activities. Remember Colin Firth coming out from the lake in P&P fully clothed? Or when he went fencing to divert his thoughts of Lizzy? If you found those scenes steamy, you should prepare yourself for this book, because here you will have a fully naked “Darcy” doing things and will also know his deepest (most sexual) thoughts. The same applies to “Lizzy”. I do not consider myself prude, but it surprised me, because I was prepared for a more “proper” romance given the topic and the era. Sometimes the genre historical romance can be very misleading because it may contain books like this, but also books for example by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6445698.Sarah_E__Ladd" title="Sarah E. Ladd" rel="nofollow">Sarah E. Ladd</a> without any explicit sex scenes. I am not sure, but I think this story could have worked without the sex scenes equally well, the sexual tension was well built and had been enough. For this reason, I am giving it 4 stars only.<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3398693021">View all my reviews</a>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597750266860845847.post-77929485732627081442020-07-16T16:10:00.003+02:002020-07-16T16:10:44.589+02:00Review: The Clocks
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28287893" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1450949821l/28287893._SX98_.jpg" border="0" alt="The Clocks" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28287893">The Clocks</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/123715">Agatha Christie</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1477754484">5 of 5 stars</a>
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This is one of my favourite Christie's. First, I love Poirot's brilliance: he solves the case from his armchair (this also means, he stays in the background for the majority of the novel, but this was no issue for me). Second, I love spy stories, and this is one of those. Third, I love those Christie novels which also contain a romance. This one does and a love-at-first-sight kind, which is one of my favourites. Fourth, I like the reference to dogs in this book. As Poirot says, “it was not necessary to be the foxhound, the bloodhound, the tracking dog, running to and fro upon the scent. But I will admit that for the chase a dog is necessary. A retriever, my friend. A good retriever.” Finally, I really loved Hugh Fraser’s narration: he is not only the perfect choice as Poirot’s friend, Hastings, but also because he has a wonderfully smooth voice and can also imitate the voice of women pretty well.
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597750266860845847.post-28379883128534366602020-07-16T16:10:00.001+02:002020-07-16T16:10:20.657+02:00Review: Newt's Emerald
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24980521" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1424456475l/24980521._SX98_.jpg" border="0" alt="Newt's Emerald" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24980521">Newt's Emerald</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8347">Garth Nix</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/916340620">5 of 5 stars</a>
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This was such an enjoyable read! <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24737347.Newt_s_Emerald" title="Newt's Emerald by Garth Nix" rel="nofollow">Newt's Emerald</a> belongs to the genre fantasy of manners (= historical romance + magic), which I had never heard of before reading this, but now I am keen on reading more from this genre. The basic story is that Newt’s (aka Lady Truthful Newington’s) Emerald, which apparently is a very powerful magical stone, is getting stolen. Newt’s father fells ill as a result of the theft and Newt decides to find the Emerald and the thief. But because she should not compromise herself doing so (this is the Regency Era after all), she disguises herself as man. Now, of course this brings about some funny, some awkward, and some dangerous situations, but fortunately, our heroine gets a very attractive “partner in crime”, who himself has his secrets as well. The crime is not a brain teaser, the romance is not groundbreaking, and the character development is not exceptional; still, this book is perfect, if you are looking for a light, escapist, and clean romance with a hint of <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18067.Georgette_Heyer" title="Georgette Heyer" rel="nofollow">Georgette Heyer</a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1265.Jane_Austen" title="Jane Austen" rel="nofollow">Jane Austen</a>, or a nautical fantasy adventure.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/916340620">View all my reviews</a>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597750266860845847.post-46586666313350699992020-07-16T16:09:00.001+02:002020-07-16T16:09:23.086+02:00Review: Clockwork Angel
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11137521" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327924329l/11137521._SX98_.jpg" border="0" alt="Clockwork Angel" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11137521">Clockwork Angel</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/150038">Cassandra Clare</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/565137443">5 of 5 stars</a>
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This was the very first book by Cassandra Clare that I've ever read. It has been on my „wish list” for years, this year, I started it at last.<br /><br />This book, the first part of the trilogy, captured my interest from page one and maintained it throughout. I liked the setting (Victorian era is one of my favourites), I loved all the characters (the bad ones not so much
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597750266860845847.post-57777764773190497062020-07-16T16:08:00.001+02:002020-07-16T16:08:49.191+02:00Review: More Perfect than the Moon
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18905730" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1390181585l/18905730._SX98_.jpg" border="0" alt="More Perfect than the Moon" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18905730">More Perfect than the Moon</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/29182">Patricia MacLachlan</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3392783248">2 of 5 stars</a>
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I was not as happy with this one as with the previous books. I liked the topic of the book: Sarah is pregnant, and Cassie is going to get a younger sibling, which she is anything, but happy about it. I could sympathize with her feelings and I believe many parents must face this problem, especially, if there is a huge age gap (8 years in this case) and the older child has got used to being the princess of the family. My problem is that I was not happy with the resolution, there wasn't really a resolution at all: life just solved it. Also, Sarah seemed too passive in her role, she just kept smiling... I understand that a mother loves her baby, even if the baby is bad, but I got to know Sarah as a kind of mother who if needed would be strict with her child or at least who would be very sad about this kind of behaviour. The other thing that bothered me was that I got confused with respect to this timeline. Cassie is 8 years old, so it's been 8 years since Maggie and Matthew left. In this book, it seems they have just returned but are talking about being only gone for 2 years. This is very confusing. Finally, I didn't like in the previous book either, but in this even less, the frequent references to the previous books and quoting their texts word for word. It is unnecessary, especially if the book is only 80 pages or so long. It makes the impression the author has nothing new to say, keeps repeating herself. All in all, I can only give 2,5 stars for this.
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597750266860845847.post-86491052488582190542020-07-16T16:07:00.001+02:002020-07-16T16:07:22.665+02:00Review: Spark Joy: An Illustrated Guide to the Japanese Art of Tidying
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49534735" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1560818578l/49534735._SX98_SY160_.jpg" border="0" alt="Spark Joy: An Illustrated Guide to the Japanese Art of Tidying" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49534735">Spark Joy: An Illustrated Guide to the Japanese Art of Tidying</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5589647">Marie Kondō</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3176084829">5 of 5 stars</a>
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I liked this one better than the first book (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22318578.The_Life_Changing_Magic_of_Tidying_Up_The_Japanese_Art_of_Decluttering_and_Organizing" title="The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondō" rel="nofollow">The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing</a>) because besides the explanation with respect to the basic principles of this method, this book also contains illustrations for folding and also for storing ideas. I also liked that this time the category "komono" was split up into many subcategories to give you an idea. Of course, you must define your categories on your own depending on what kind of things you have in your home. Many people disagree with the idea of getting rid of books, and I also have a lot of books in my library. But this book made it clear for me that it doesn't make sense keeping books that don't spark joy in your life. The main aim is to decide what you want to keep (getting rid of things is the result). So, for example, books that I did not finish, found boring, or even hated, or cookbooks in which recipes contained mistakes that I was very disappointed about or which consisted recipes for which ingredients were hard to find, definitely do not spark joy for me; hence, they must go. It is also made clear here that getting as far as selecting the things that spark joy in each and every category is not an easy task and cannot be done in one day only. This books helps you with developing a plan for that daunting task.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3176084829">View all my reviews</a>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597750266860845847.post-80554410499542495872020-07-16T16:02:00.001+02:002020-07-16T16:02:24.034+02:00Review: Skylark
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18905701" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1437455128l/18905701._SX98_.jpg" border="0" alt="Skylark" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18905701">Skylark</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/29182">Patricia MacLachlan</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/264343344">5 of 5 stars</a>
<br /><br />
<strong>Touching</strong><br /><br />This book teaches an important lesson about what home is. It is like with Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, you sometimes wish you could live somewhere where the grass is greener, but then you realize that home is irreplaceable, even if it’s imperfect. The message is simple but this book conveys it beautifully. Highly recommended read for children and adults who like reading books for children.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/264343344">View all my reviews</a>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597750266860845847.post-57524988994482757442020-07-16T16:01:00.001+02:002020-07-16T16:01:48.395+02:00Review: Sarah, Plain and Tall
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18905707" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388176617l/18905707._SX98_.jpg" border="0" alt="Sarah, Plain and Tall" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18905707">Sarah, Plain and Tall</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/29182">Patricia MacLachlan</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/264343231">5 of 5 stars</a>
<br /><br />
This has been on my wish list ever since my joining Goodreads 8 years ago. I adore the movie series with Glenn Close, and when I learned it is based on books, it was obvious that I would purchase them. My only problem was, I wanted to get hardcover editions, but it is hard to get any. Then, yesterday, upon finishing and being shocked by the ending of I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith, I knew I needed something cheerful, so I purchased the Kindle edition of the whole series. <br /><br />This is book one in the series, in which we get to know the whole family, and Sarah comes to be a wife and a mother for them. I am great fan of any books set on the prairie or on a farm, and all the characters are simply loveable. Papa is very different from the character in the movie – less melancholic, more open – but I understand that the director wanted to emphasize his sorrow due to his first wife’s death. It was a quick read, if I had children it would be wonderful to read this book together with them. You can feel the family’s sadness because of their loss, and the relationship between them and Sarah develops gradually, but the whole book has a very positive vibe, you believe in the end that there’s hope, there’re second chances. My only problem with this book was that it was too short. Luckily, the other books in the series are still to be read, and they are somewhat longer.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/264343231">View all my reviews</a>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597750266860845847.post-89140846499377702912020-07-16T16:00:00.001+02:002020-07-16T16:00:26.848+02:00Review: I Capture the Castle
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35048897" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1493689453l/35048897._SY160_.jpg" border="0" alt="I Capture the Castle" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35048897">I Capture the Castle</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6208">Dodie Smith</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/511575831">1 of 5 stars</a>
<br /><br />
I am absolutely furious... The book had a very good beginning, I first liked the members of the family, and could sympathize with them, although their misery and hopelessness was a tad too much. Upon the arrival of the Cottons, everything seemed to take a turn for better. I wasn't bored by the story like many other readers/reviewers here, but my heart ached very much for Stephen. The thing with the wireless vs. the gramophone was simply unfair and heart-breaking. And I wasn’t happy with Cassandra’s way of handling the situation. As the story continued, I started to feel utter hatred towards Rose, she is definitely that kind of woman whom I mostly avoid in real life. Hence, I am extremely angry that it is exactly her who got a happy ending in the end (although of course I guessed very early on where her real interests lie). With respect to the men, first I had a very good feeling about the Cottons, but very soon I had to come to the realization that they are two very stupid men. They simply fell for the looks of Rose, and that’s that. Besides her looks, she was lacking any virtues, but these men didn’t see or didn’t want to see it. For this reason, I began to have my doubts if it would be any good for the heroine to be with any of them. But I was hoping till the very end that even if she cannot be in love with the best male character of the book (aka Stephen), at least Simon should recognize her worth and his own stupidity. Regrettably, the author disappointed me. The ending was even made worse by the very boring conversation about Mr. Mortmain’s second book. I have a PhD in Political Science, so I read some highly philosophical books, but even for me, it was so out of place here and I couldn’t be bothered to understand half of what they were talking about. This line of the story also had so much potential, but in the end, it was also resolved very poorly. (For example, I wished Mr Mortmain to tell Topaz to leave him in the tower and let him work.) Anyway, I even read this boring part word for word because I knew the end was near and I didn’t want to skip something important. My expectations were really high up when I arrived at the last couple of paragraphs, and I couldn’t believe my eyes that after having been invested in the story so much, I get next to nothing. Some would say: yeah this is a coming of age novel, this is just Cassandra’s first love, etc. But in that era, it wasn’t a strange thing if a 17-18 years old fell in love with a man twice her age and they got married. My grandmother (born in 1933) was 17 when she married my grandfather, who was 31 at the time. To sum up, I can see why many people may like this story, but it disappointed me in so many aspects that I can only give it one star, and am glad that I didn’t buy the hardcover, which I originally wanted to buy; so I don’t have to dust this book every time I clean my bookshelves and won’t get angry over and over again.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/511575831">View all my reviews</a>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597750266860845847.post-32851896904260061972020-07-16T15:59:00.001+02:002020-07-16T15:59:09.366+02:00Review: Pat of Silver Bush
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18615063" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387147741l/18615063._SX98_.jpg" border="0" alt="Pat of Silver Bush" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18615063">Pat of Silver Bush</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5350">L.M. Montgomery</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/863077340">3 of 5 stars</a>
<br /><br />
It was quite different from the Anne books. Pat is obsessed with her home and is unhealthily afraid of changes. I can relate to her story because I also had such a lovely home as a child that I used to be very homesick whenever I had to leave it. I also can relate to her not wanting to have a career only wanting to make home for her family, but I don’t understand why she doesn’t want to have her own family. The lovely home my parents established made me yearn for a similarly happy home which is mine and my husband’s, but Pat doesn’t want this at all. She just want everything stay the same and everybody remain in the house forever, which is of course impossible. I didn’t mind Pat being different from Anne, but I didn’t like the ending and the fact that despite the inevitable changes and the fact that even Pat was able to accept them, her basic attitude to life didn’t change. I also agree with someone else’s opinion that the other characters are not as well developed in this novel. We only get to know Pat and Judy, we learn very few things about the other people. For all this reasons, I’m giving it 3,5 stars.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/863077340">View all my reviews</a>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597750266860845847.post-34985505018904523532020-07-16T15:58:00.001+02:002020-07-16T15:58:46.374+02:00Review: The Switch
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45134200" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1573576865l/45134200._SX98_.jpg" border="0" alt="The Switch" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45134200">The Switch</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13038484">Beth O'Leary</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3129369322">5 of 5 stars</a>
<br /><br />
<strong>Teared me up and made me laugh </strong><br /><br />Once again, Beth O’Leary did it, this book gave me all the feelings, the goosebumps, I cried and laughed my way through it. I simply loved it.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3129369322">View all my reviews</a>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597750266860845847.post-53973011492239230532020-07-16T15:57:00.001+02:002020-07-16T15:57:57.877+02:00Review: The Royal We
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25649976" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1439033113l/25649976._SX98_.jpg" border="0" alt="The Royal We" /></a>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25649976">The Royal We</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1141204">Heather Cocks</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3282254365">4 of 5 stars</a>
<br /><br />
<strong>Funny and touching</strong><br /><br />Being obsessed with everything British, including Wills&Kate, I enjoyed this funny but also full of serious stuff fictional story. I wasn’t really happy with the ending though, that’s why I am giving it four stars only.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3282254365">View all my reviews</a>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597750266860845847.post-88314657108858952632015-08-23T11:51:00.001+02:002015-08-23T11:51:18.035+02:00Review: The Princess Bride: An Illustrated Edition of S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17572327" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1364865494m/17572327.jpg" border="0" alt="The Princess Bride: An Illustrated Edition of S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure" /></a>
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17572327">The Princess Bride: An Illustrated Edition of S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/12521">William Goldman</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/600951888">1 of 5 stars</a>
<br /><br />
* This review may contain spoilers, please proceed with caution... *<br /><br />I am probably the one and only who did not like this book, and NOT because it had been boring or worse than the film. I haven't seen the film yet and I'm not sure I want to. I read the 2013 edition with the two lengthy introductions, and even though I couldn't wait for the real story to begin, I quite enjoyed the introductions and Goldman's satire/humour. Once the story began, I grow very fond of Inigo and Fezzik, although I didn't really care for Buttercup, the heroine, who is an empty-headed Barbie doll. (I have yet to find a male writer who is able to write a strong female character, all of my favourite female characters were penned by women...) Still, up until page 247 I rather enjoyed the book, though there were some disturbing moments, such as the death of a character who wasn't a really bad villain, just a petty criminal. I didn't understand why it was necessary to kill him off. But back to page 247, which is when all the torture began. I DID NOT enjoy it and it came as a shock that in the middle of a "fairy tale" I had to read very detailed descriptions of such a cruel torture. Up until a certain point I was able to continue reading, but when a completely innocent dog was tortured to death in order to test a torture machine, I gave up. I DID not read the scene how the machine was used for torturing the human being. The rest of the book I just skimmed, so as to find out how this awful story ends. Regrettably, even the ending was just as bad, because there was no real happy ending, but what is more, one of the major villains hasn't even been punished!!! After that, I had no interest whatsoever to read the first part of the planned sequel "Buttercup's Baby", especially as its title is "Fezzik Dies". No need to read that. William Goldman may be a wonderful writer, but he has definitely no idea about the genre FAIRY TALE. He keeps repeating that "life is not fair" and that's reason enough to kill off innocent people and animals. He is of course right, life isn't fair, and if I had wanted to read a book on the Holocaust, Kosovo, or Rwanda, I wouldn't have been surprised by the torture. But for goodness sake, I was reading a book which had been characterised by the New York Times as a "funny fairy tale" (see dust jacket)! According to "My Encyclopaedia of Fairy Tales", fairy tales have at least three defining features, namely: (1) Happy Ending, (2) Good Conquering Evil, and (3) Suitable for Children to read. Goldman failed all of these, I'm afraid. I would never ever give this book to a child, because of the cruelty to animals/people it depicts. The whole concept of the Zoo of Death is awful and out of place in a fairy tale for children. Even though I'm an adult and regularly watch TV series containing cruel scenes, such as the CSI, upon reading this book, I will have some nightmares I'm sure. Imagine what a child would feel! As I've mentioned, I haven't watched the film yet, and lots of people say it's better than the book. I can only hope that the torture scenes are less naturalistic on the screen...
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/600951888">View all my reviews</a>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597750266860845847.post-51229744745957398232015-01-28T22:07:00.001+01:002015-01-28T22:07:46.647+01:00Review: The Teashop on the Corner<br /> <a style='float: left; padding-right: 20px' href='http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19842698'><img alt='The Teashop on the Corner' border='0' src='http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1410990377m/19842698.jpg'/></a><br /> <a href='http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19842698'>The Teashop on the Corner</a> by <a href='http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/461497'>Milly Johnson</a><br/><br /> My rating: <a href='http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/967676856'>5 of 5 stars</a><br /> <br/><br/><br /> This was such a charming little book. I'd never read anything by and never heard of Milly Johnson before, so I didn't know what to expect. I assumed it would be a light and fluffy romance. It was much more than that: yes it is a romance, but it also has some dramatic elements to it. Even though there are some happy endings, they're not cheesy at all; they're quite realistic. And not everyone is fortunate to get a 'happily ever after' ending. The book totally reminds me of the movie <i>Love Actually</i>. Several characters are introduced at the beginning, and the chapters alternate between the different plots. But then, some way or another all the characters find their ways to the Teashop on the Corner, so their stories intertwine. New friendships and love relationships develop. And at this point, the book started to make me think about what I call the Facebook phenomenon. I have always thought that Facebook is actually a "Fakebook", meaning that everyone on it pretends to have a perfect life, even though everybody has lots of skeletons in their closets. But online you can pretend not to have any. By contrast, in real life you can only hide your skeletons temporarily. But real friendship/love is about loving each other with/despite our skeletons. All the characters have their skeletons, and of course they try to hide them, but life forces them to reveal their secrets. But thankfully they have people around them who don't mind their skeletons at all. And those are the moments when highly sensitive people (like me) start crying, and then cry and cry... (And then the book becomes a favourite...)<br /><br />What I also liked about the book that there are lots of literary references (especially to Jane Austen), which I totally enjoyed. And the teashop is the teashop of my dreams. A teashop where there are some fantastic desserts and you can buy stationery (bags, bookmarks, notebooks etc.) related to classics. (If I won the lottery, I'd totally open a teashop like this.) <br /><br />But most important, I loved each and every character (except of course the villains). However, my favourites were (whose not, I wonder) Molly and Harvey, who were apparently based on real characters. So, let me finish of this little review with my favourite quote (attributed to Harvey), which is also the last sentence of the book: "It’s never too late to have a happy ending".<br /> <br/><br/><br /> <a href='http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/967676856'>View all my reviews</a><br /> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597750266860845847.post-75735657228587832882015-01-19T20:36:00.001+01:002015-01-19T20:36:11.144+01:00Review: The One Plus One<br /> <a style='float: left; padding-right: 20px' href='http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18186807'><img alt='The One Plus One' border='0' src='http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1384448938m/18186807.jpg'/></a><br /> <a href='http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18186807'>The One Plus One</a> by <a href='http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/281810'>Jojo Moyes</a><br/><br /> My rating: <a href='http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/856204263'>4 of 5 stars</a><br /> <br/><br/><br /> 18.01.2015: Ugh. This book was so hard to read and it is so hard to rate it. Jojo Moyes is clearly a wonderful author, and I will probably read more books by her. But this book was very depressing most of the time. Sometimes I even had to put it down and read something lighter (compared to this book, a crime by Agatha Christie with lots of people dying is light), because I couldn't cope with the depression it made me feel. The worst thing about it was that I couldn't even cry, as I often do. I just had this heavy feelings in my chest and couldn't let them out. I kept thinking that there are indeed women who live in this kind of wretchedness with their children, who and whose children have no hope, and whose Prince Charming will never come. I was prepared for reading a fluffy, light, and funny romance, upon reading the reviews on Goodreads. However, what I got was a heavy drama, even though this is a Cinderella story and there's a happy ending. The heroine and her little family, together with the hero experience almost every kind of problems you could imagine. Even at moments where you think it can't get worse, it just does. There were some moments where I had a moment of happy feeling and found myself laughing out loud. (Moyes clearly has a good sense of humour.) But in the next second, something bad happens, and your feeling of happiness disappears by the "speed of light". Only in the last 4-5 chapters can you enjoy lasting happiness, if you refrain from thinking - what I was thinking - that in real life things definitely wouldn't turn out like this. Of course, I too believe in the "the kindness of strangers" and "forgiveness", but very often, if you make a mistake, you have to live with it, and won't get back what you have lost. So actually, the happy ending felt somewhat odd in light of the whole book. All in all, if you are not as highly emotional as me, or if you don't mind feeling depressed all the time, you will very much love this book, because it is well written and the characters are all very likable. You may also want to re-read it. As for me, I'm not sure when/if I'll ever be able to re-read it.<br /><br />Update 19.01.2015: One day later, I'm having a major book hangover. I've never thought I would miss these characters so much. Jojo Moyes is clearly a magician. Maybe I'm going to re-read it rather sooner than later...<br /> <br/><br/><br /> <a href='http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/856204263'>View all my reviews</a><br /> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597750266860845847.post-67872586962687285652015-01-18T17:06:00.001+01:002015-01-18T17:06:39.783+01:00Review: The One Plus One<br /> <a style='float: left; padding-right: 20px' href='http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24006547'><img alt='The One Plus One' border='0' src='http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1419237622m/24006547.jpg'/></a><br /> <a href='http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24006547'>The One Plus One</a> by <a href='http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/281810'>Jojo Moyes</a><br/><br /> My rating: <a href='http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1138141319'>4 of 5 stars</a><br /> <br/><br/><br /> I listened to this audiobook while I was reading my hard copy. You can read my thoughts on the book itself here: <a href='https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/856204263?book_show_action=false'>My Thoughts</a>. As far as the audiobook is concerned, I liked that they used four different narrators. Each chapter of the book is told from the point of view of one of the four main characters, and the audiobook emphasizes this aspect and also helps you a lot to follow the story and to better understand the feelings/personality of the different characters. I truly liked Ed's voice, but didn't really like Jess's first. However, after a while I got used to it and could even enjoy it. And, the reading speed was just perfect for me.<br /> <br/><br/><br /> <a href='http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1138141319'>View all my reviews</a><br /> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597750266860845847.post-89330300689026321672015-01-18T16:51:00.001+01:002015-01-18T16:51:25.808+01:00Review: The One Plus One<br /> <a style='float: left; padding-right: 20px' href='http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18186807'><img alt='The One Plus One' border='0' src='http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1384448938m/18186807.jpg'/></a><br /> <a href='http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18186807'>The One Plus One</a> by <a href='http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/281810'>Jojo Moyes</a><br/><br /> My rating: <a href='http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/856204263'>4 of 5 stars</a><br /> <br/><br/><br /> Ugh. This book was so hard to read and it is so hard to rate it. Jojo Moyes is clearly a wonderful author, and I will probably read more books by her. But this book was very depressing most of the time. Sometimes I even had to put it down and read something lighter (compared to this book, a crime by Agatha Christie with lots of people dying is light), because I couldn't cope with the depression it made me feel. The worst thing about it was that I couldn't even cry, as I often do. I just had this heavy feelings in my chest and couldn't let them out. I kept thinking that there are indeed women who live in this kind of wretchedness with their children, who and whose children have no hope, and whose Prince Charming will never come. I was prepared for reading a fluffy, light, and funny romance, upon reading the reviews on Goodreads. However, what I got was a heavy drama, even though this is a Cinderella story and there's a happy ending. The heroine and her little family, together with the hero experience almost every kind of problems you could imagine. Even at moments where you think it can't get worse, it just does. There were some moments where I had a moment of happy feeling and found myself laughing out loud. (Moyes clearly has a good sense of humour.) But in the next second, something bad happens, and your feeling of happiness disappears by the "speed of light". Only in the last 4-5 chapters can you enjoy lasting happiness, if you refrain from thinking - what I was thinking - that in real life things definitely wouldn't turn out like this. Of course, I too believe in the "the kindness of strangers" and "forgiveness", but very often, if you make a mistake, you have to live with it, and won't get back what you have lost. So actually, the happy ending felt somewhat odd in light of the whole book. All in all, if you are not as highly emotional as me, or if you don't mind feeling depressed all the time, you will very much love this book, because it is well written and the characters are all very likable. You may also want to re-read it. As for me, I'm not sure when/if I'll ever be able to re-read it.<br /> <br/><br/><br /> <a href='http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/856204263'>View all my reviews</a><br /> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597750266860845847.post-17251062397697121912015-01-18T13:35:00.001+01:002015-01-18T13:35:56.741+01:00Review: New English File: Intermediate Teacher's Book<br /> <a style='float: left; padding-right: 20px' href='http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10635421'><img alt='New English File: Intermediate Teacher's Book' border='0' src='http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348940414m/10635421.jpg'/></a><br /> <a href='http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10635421'>New English File: Intermediate Teacher's Book</a> by <a href='http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/467898'>Clive Oxenden</a><br/><br /> My rating: <a href='http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/884857761'>3 of 5 stars</a><br /> <br/><br/><br /> As I mentioned in my review of the Student's Book, this edition has some flaws. My problem with the Teacher's Book consists mainly in the following things: Firstly, the communicative activities are not very innovative and regrettably, you can only copy the materials; they are not available for download as PDF, even for teachers not. Secondly, I wish there was a section with exercises (gap fill, sentence completion) for each lesson's vocabulary. There are some good exercises for grammar practice and vocabulary recycling, but I think that after teaching/learning new words, students should do a controlled practice with those very words. Thirdly, I wish there was some information on the time frame of the lessons / exercises. I've got the impression that the material this book suggest covering in one lesson is too much for the usual 90-minute-lesson. Finally, I wish some publisher would recognize that what really would help teachers' work were a Student's Book for Teachers, i.e. a Student's Book that looks like the book that the students use, but with filled-in answers and comments. Of course, as a teacher you would know the correct answers to the exercises, if you had time to think. But you don't have time during a lesson. I to carry both books with you, is not really practicable. Hence, I usually copy the answers and comments from the Teacher's Book into the Student's Book before the lesson, so that I'm able to concentrate on the students and their problems during the lesson. I'm afraid, even the new, third edition [b:English File: Intermediate Teacher's Book with Test and Assessment CD-ROM|24558963|English File Intermediate Teacher's Book with Test and Assessment CD-ROM|Clive Oxenden|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1421577430s/24558963.jpg|44162911] is not better in this respect, but at least, there seem to be more digital resources to that one.<br /> <br/><br/><br /> <a href='http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/884857761'>View all my reviews</a><br /> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597750266860845847.post-57695714610436255962015-01-18T11:32:00.001+01:002015-01-18T13:57:39.678+01:00Review: New English File: Intermediate Student's Book<br /> <a style='float: left; padding-right: 20px' href='http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/963633'><img alt='New English File: Intermediate Student's Book' border='0' src='http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348775836m/963633.jpg'/></a><br /> <a href='http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/963633'>New English File: Intermediate Student's Book</a> by <a href='http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/467898'>Clive Oxenden</a><br/><br /> My rating: <a href='http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/884857913'>3 of 5 stars</a><br /> <br/><br/><br /> As a language teacher I must say, this coursebook is good, but has some weaknesses. First of all, the speaking activities are quite underdeveloped. Usually, there are some questions that students should ask each other in pairs. My students feel totally bored by such activities. Hence, I had to invest a lot of time into developing games and other speaking exercises to each topic. Also, I don't know how the authors could possibly think that it would be possible to teach 30-40 words in a lesson. In my experience, one can teach approximately 10-12 words per lesson. The Vocabulary Bank is full of words and exercises, but they can't be used in the lesson, as we have no time for that. Hence, I always had to assign those exercises and learning the words as homework, which is sub-optimal. Also, it would have been nice, if there had been a downloadable Picture Bank with the pictures of the Vocabulary Bank for teachers, so that I could have used the pictures for making flashcards. Instead, I had to browse the internet for ages in order to find some suitable pictures. My students also disliked the Practical English lessons and the love story of Allie and Mark. They found the story stupid, predictable, and clichéd. I found them OK, but once again, there were usually no speaking activities focusing on the use/practice of the functions that these Practical English lessons were intended to teach. Now, there is a fully revised new edition of this book ([b:English File: Intermediate Student's Book with iTutor|23023858|English File Intermediate Student's Book with iTutor|Clive Oxenden|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1421576605s/23023858.jpg|42594304]) which hopefully doesn't repeat the mistakes of this edition. I'm looking forward to teaching from that.<br /> <br/><br/><br /> <a href='http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/884857913'>View all my reviews</a><br /> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5597750266860845847.post-44739132851580372572015-01-13T11:32:00.001+01:002015-01-13T11:32:02.683+01:00Review: Nowhere but Home: A Novel<br /> <a style='float: left; padding-right: 20px' href='http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18917373'><img alt='Nowhere but Home: A Novel' border='0' src='http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388501075m/18917373.jpg'/></a><br /> <a href='http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18917373'>Nowhere but Home: A Novel</a> by <a href='http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/133205'>Liza Palmer</a><br/><br /> My rating: <a href='http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1129802071'>4 of 5 stars</a><br /> <br/><br/><br /> It took me some time to get into this book but in the end I really liked it. I just wish the romance between the heroine and the love of her life had been developed more fully. But what I really liked about the book was that it made me think a lot about the death penalty. Up until now I would have said that the death penalty is clearly a big NO, but reading this book exactly at the time when in Paris some very bad things were happening, made me realize that nothing is clearly white or black. I can see now why some people would argue in favor of the death penalty, even if I'm still against it. I also thought a lot about the people whose job is to carry out the sentence and how they can cope with these situations. In sum, if you're looking for a book that makes you do a lot of thinking and at the same time provides you with some beautiful family feelings and nice romances, don't look further! Grab this one!<br /> <br/><br/><br /> <a href='http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1129802071'>View all my reviews</a><br /> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0