Today I'm linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy's Quick Lit to bring you some short and sweet reviews of what I've read in the past month. For longer reviews, you can always find me on Goodreads.
I read some long books this past month, so my total's on the shorter side (for me). Here's what I've read!
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold: I reread this for book club, and my reaction was the same as the first time I read it. First 90% of the book: What a well-written book! So interesting! So realistic! Last 10%: WHAT THE F DID I JUST READ WHY WOULD YOU RUIN THIS PERFECTLY GOOD BOOK WITH SUCH A BIZARRE AND UNNECESSARY PLOT TWIST GO AWAY
Black Coffee by Charles Osborne (based on the play by Agatha Christie): Osborne took a light touch with novelizing this, so I could still envision it as a play, which was quite fun and a nice change from a typical Christie novel.
Aesop's Fables by Aesop: It was very interesting to read this whole collection. It's instructive to see just how many fables Aesop created in order to produce maybe a dozen long-lasting, recognizable ones, and also how some phrases have survived apart from their original stories.
Peril at End House by Agatha Christie: This may be one of my favorite Christie plot twists. I was convinced I'd figured out the mystery, and then it turned out that what I'd figured out was just a tiny piece of the puzzle — Christie fooled me again, though as usual the clues were all there.
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov: I'm clearly missing the historical and societal context necessary to fully appreciate this book, given the book's long popularity. Even if I had more appreciation for it, though, I don't think it would change the fact that my own reading experience (as an American in 2016) found it, at best, mildly entertaining.
The Guns of August by Barbara W. Tuchman: This was a poor choice on audio, but I'm trying not to let that color my view of the book. I'm still not particularly keen on military history, but much of the book dealt with human psychology and made me think about the unpredictability of the future. If you're at all interested in World War I, this is worth picking up.
All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot: This was a truly enjoyable collection of stories from a country veterinarian in the 1930s. The stories are memorable, the characters are colorful, and the descriptions of the location were beautiful. Although the book was on the longer side, I wanted to pause after each story just to savor the writing.
Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon: I had very mixed feelings about this one. I liked all the ways it differed from many other YA books, but didn't like the direction the plot took. I could take it or leave it but probably wouldn't recommend it.
What have you been reading this month? Share over at Modern Mrs. Darcy!
This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. Thanks for supporting A Cocoon of Books!
No comments:
Post a Comment