tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6145452263098688113.post6479497048978450789..comments2024-01-20T18:08:44.444-05:00Comments on You Can Never Have Too Many Books: Sunday Salon - Some favourite books of the last decadeSusanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09095246748581382752noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6145452263098688113.post-289960713237196272009-07-02T16:12:52.080-04:002009-07-02T16:12:52.080-04:00Susan - Here's my Amazon review of the Year of...Susan - Here's my Amazon review of the Year of Wonders:<br /><br />I absolutely loved this book until the ending. While reading it, I kept on telling everyone who would listen how good it was-I loved the writing, the subject matter, the characters, the history, the mood, the tone, the title. And then I read the last section and epilogue and cringed as a great story became nothing more than a soap opera.<br /><br />Survival isn't just staying alive, it's keeping the values of your society intact and passing on the learnings from one generation to the next. With her botched ending, Brooks undercut this theme and destroyed Anna's integrity as a character. <br /><br />I wish I could rave about this book-and I can, three-quarters of it is outstanding-but Brooks fell down on the last part and shortchanged her readers. <br />---------------------------------- <br /><br />Most haunting image--when Anna described her mother looking through the bars of the branks that her father put on her for cursing him in public. It is for images like this that I can still recommend this flawed book. <br /><br />------------<br />It's been awhile since I read it, but my overall impression is that the ending was inconsistent with how I saw Anna and what I thought Brooks was trying to say with her story.JaneGShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11094501834387622997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6145452263098688113.post-56516634543587592892009-07-01T23:12:19.490-04:002009-07-01T23:12:19.490-04:00PS I'm glad you enjoyed Sunshine, I've see...PS I'm glad you enjoyed Sunshine, I've seen a few bloggers who don't particularly like it.Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09095246748581382752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6145452263098688113.post-56833053438205991692009-07-01T23:11:18.602-04:002009-07-01T23:11:18.602-04:00Hi Rhinoa! It's funny how that works about wh...Hi Rhinoa! It's funny how that works about when we discover authors, isn't it? It's like they stand on the periphery of our vision waiting for us to let them in. I knew Neverwhere existed, I just didn't pay attention until recently. I love discovering new authors and books, and one good thing about books is they never go out of style. A book written 100 years ago waits until we find it, like me with Middlemarch. I still can't get over how good it is!<br /><br />I really enjoyed the Black Jewels trilogy when I read it a few years ago, too.Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09095246748581382752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6145452263098688113.post-20447419787970839562009-06-30T05:22:39.042-04:002009-06-30T05:22:39.042-04:00I didn't know Sunshine by Robin McKinley came ...I didn't know Sunshine by Robin McKinley came out so long ago, I thought it was way more recent doh. I loved that book. I have lists going back to 2003 but I know I loved The Black Jewels series by Anne Bishop, Lolita by Nabakov and discovered Charles de Lint, Margaret Atwood and Ali Smith all in the last few year.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6145452263098688113.post-16121723493772576382009-06-28T16:35:58.556-04:002009-06-28T16:35:58.556-04:00Jane: I really liked the ending. It was a bit su...Jane: I really liked the ending. It was a bit surprising, which I liked, and I did like what she ended up doing (her work). I found it a very moving and believable work. I know some people are bothered by the witchcraft accusations, but I found it completely believable as well as heart-breaking. What didn't you like about the ending?<br /><br />Emily: I'll come read your journal postings, you know I will! please do them soon, I'm very curious now! :-D especially as I love your reviews, and we do enjoy the same kinds of books.Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09095246748581382752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6145452263098688113.post-6091802359927483142009-06-26T13:12:52.783-04:002009-06-26T13:12:52.783-04:00Boy, you and I really are a lot alike. I'm pla...Boy, you and I really are a lot alike. I'm planning on posting some of the entries from the book diaries I've been keeping over the years soon.Emily Bartonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13971084813206845680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6145452263098688113.post-41468660068211533262009-06-24T11:28:47.296-04:002009-06-24T11:28:47.296-04:00I have to ask what you thought of the ending of Ye...I have to ask what you thought of the ending of Year of Wonders. I also loved the book, at least three-quarters of it, and then I felt she botched the ending. I know I'm not alone in this feeling, and am always curious to find out how others felt about it. Particularly those that liked the ending, as I'm sure you must have, since it made your "best of" list.JaneGShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11094501834387622997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6145452263098688113.post-74409586841428411382009-06-23T21:03:32.787-04:002009-06-23T21:03:32.787-04:00Bybee: Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I&#...Bybee: Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'll come see what you've done now! :-D<br /><br />DesLily: It's fun to do! I have to read the third one in the Sorcery and Cecilia series. I haven't picked it up. I enjoyed the second one very much too. It is good, isn't it?<br /><br />Debi: LOL! I'm so glad I suggested books for you to read! :-D FUN!!<br /><br />I've never read And the Band Played On, though it's been on my radar for years. There are so many good books I haven't read yet, that I'm like you and Booklogged, every time I go to a blog I find more to read! It's funny the books that stick with us, isn't it? And interesting, to see which books move me, that others haven't heard of yet. I hope you enjoy the ones I liked, too!<br /><br />Kailana: I'm glad you enjoyed it, and that I could return the favour and have you add some to your list! lol<br /><br />Julia: Some people didn't like it so much, but I did! I hope you do like it! <br /> I can't say enough about Year of Wonders, it's such an amazing book. I have March now to try. Is that the one you read by her?<br /><br />Booklogged: Oh, I'm so happy I could mention books you haven't read yet!!! I've found enough books on your blog, it's fun to find books you don't know about!<br /><br />Memory: I hope you do a post about the books you really liked reading over the past years, then! I'd love to see what you loved, especially the fantasy books.Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09095246748581382752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6145452263098688113.post-74156278074018371522009-06-23T17:42:03.910-04:002009-06-23T17:42:03.910-04:00This is a really interesting post! I also find th...This is a really interesting post! I also find that many of my noteworthy books are fantasy, but I've also got a real soft spot for general fiction that somehow deals with issues of family and/or morality.Memoryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03922151273874989122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6145452263098688113.post-32561269168209159052009-06-23T16:33:18.644-04:002009-06-23T16:33:18.644-04:00I knew I should have turned away from this post wh...I knew I should have turned away from this post when I was it was a list of your favorites. I knew I would be adding some more to my TBR list and I did!<br /><br />My sister recommended Year of Wonders eons ago. It's on my shelf I just need to make it high priority.<br /><br />I like Jan Burkes' too.Bookloggedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00651016653247142255noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6145452263098688113.post-31858298736906157502009-06-23T09:33:06.239-04:002009-06-23T09:33:06.239-04:00I'm glad you've listed Sunshine here - I h...I'm glad you've listed Sunshine here - I hadn't heard of it before, but now I simply must have it.<br /><br />I'm in the middle of Year of Wonders. My second Geraldine Brooks, and I love it.Julia Phillips Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15392455413201190775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6145452263098688113.post-61598312606967367732009-06-22T22:05:17.873-04:002009-06-22T22:05:17.873-04:00hm, more books to add to my wish list. Thanks! lo...hm, more books to add to my wish list. Thanks! lol Cool idea for a post, though!Kailanahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11136262232046813471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6145452263098688113.post-63731264844540435762009-06-22T09:05:40.099-04:002009-06-22T09:05:40.099-04:00Oh Susan, what a fun post!!! Though I'm not pa...Oh Susan, what a fun post!!! Though I'm not particularly sure I'm thrilled about what you just did to my wish list. ;) So many books I'd never even heard of before. Yes, fun, fun, fun!<br /><br />It's funny, the two books that immediately jumped to mind in thinking over the last decade of reading are both non-fiction ones. We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families and And the Band Played On. Both very powerful. Both excellent. I'm sure I could pick out a dozen more, of course, but those two just stuck right out.Debihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15429881953804634592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6145452263098688113.post-74440956400032234632009-06-22T07:40:28.185-04:002009-06-22T07:40:28.185-04:00hmmm i have not kept a list for very long but I ma...hmmm i have not kept a list for very long but I may try this!<br /><br />I did read the Sorcery and Cecelia trilogy and totally enjoyed it!!DesLilyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02582481597658080464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6145452263098688113.post-12326226749171125842009-06-22T04:01:21.933-04:002009-06-22T04:01:21.933-04:00Oh very cool idea for a post! I'm off to look ...Oh very cool idea for a post! I'm off to look for my reading journal.Bybeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10061186489010154661noreply@blogger.com