My Goodreads reviews

author: Heather Rose
name: Kim
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at: 2024/08/28
date added: 2024/08/28
shelves:
review:
Beautiful, gut wrenching, unexpected

Heather Rose is a superb writer, and this is such a well crafted book. It made me wonder, it made me laugh and it made me cry. Just read it…

author: Gabrielle Bergan
name: Kim
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
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author: Jack London
name: Kim
average rating: 4.67
book published: 1904
rating: 5
read at: 2024/07/20
date added: 2024/07/20
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author: Michael Vatikiotis
name: Kim
average rating: 3.89
book published:
rating: 0
read at: 2024/07/13
date added: 2024/07/13
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author: Upton Sinclair
name: Kim
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1940
rating: 0
read at: 2024/07/13
date added: 2024/07/13
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author: Ewan Butler
name: Kim
average rating: 3.44
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at: 2024/07/13
date added: 2024/07/13
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author: Ben Bland
name: Kim
average rating: 3.86
book published:
rating: 0
read at: 2024/07/13
date added: 2024/07/13
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author: Hannah Kent
name: Kim
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at: 2024/07/13
date added: 2024/07/13
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author: Joseph O’Neill
name: Kim
average rating: 3.70
book published:
rating: 1
read at: 2024/07/13
date added: 2024/07/13
shelves:
review:
Not sure why I persevered. Maybe because the storyline had lots of potential. After the silly ending I found myself regretting even starting. An implausible narrative told from two POV’s who were in many ways incidental to the story and neither of them particularly relatable. That the book was largely well written didn’t hide the fact of it being too smart for its own good, trying too hard to be relevant. A missed opportunity for both writer and reader.

author: Jennifer Croft
name: Kim
average rating: 3.48
book published: 2024
rating: 1
read at: 2024/06/15
date added: 2024/06/15
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author: Georgi Gospodinov
name: Kim
average rating: 3.51
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2024/05/29
date added: 2024/05/29
shelves:
review:
A very different kind of book

Written as a series of vignettes that sometimes hangs together, sometimes not. The narrative is about time and place and how we deal with both through life, but it is also about memory loss and the effects of dementia, the impact of war, the end of the Cold War and a lot more. The author tries to cover a lot of ground, sometimes whimsical, sometimes profound, rarely boring but also not sufficiently engaging for me. Kudos to the translator (from Bulgarian), this is not an easy book to get your head around.

author: Antony Beevor
name: Kim
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/04/04
date added: 2024/04/04
shelves:
review:
The forgotten war that rendered the revolution a myth

Anthony Beevor at his best, the detail he gets across is astonishing, although in this book there is little to be known about the people and the soldiers who suffered through what must surely be one of the most horrible ‘civil’ wars in all of history. 12 million dead and so many more in the famine and devastation of the aftermath.

author: Upton Sinclair
name: Kim
average rating: 4.33
book published: 1947
rating: 0
read at: 2024/04/04
date added: 2024/04/04
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author: Jane Harrison
name: Kim
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2024/03/27
date added: 2024/03/27
shelves:
review:
Beautiful, poignant, devastating

The elders of Gadigal Country meets to decided to welcome or repel the mobs arriving on eleven alien ships in1788. They debate for a day, and the rest is history. It’s a very well told tale, it feels authentic, the characters believable and the story both funny and sad. Great imagination by the author. If only…

author: Jill Valentine
name: Kim
average rating: 4.33
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2024/03/20
date added: 2024/03/20
shelves:
review:
A story rarely told from an insightful author

A glowing review in the Financial Review made me buy it, as there are not many books written about contemporary business life. It was a struggle at first, but I persevered because I wanted to know how the story would go. Realistically told in a style that suited the narrative, but also at times excruciatingly repetitive and boring descriptions of what the characters were wearing and where they were sitting, standing or eating. Some poor editing jarred at times, but overall an enjoyable read.

author: Ari Gautier
name: Kim
average rating: 4.11
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2024/02/25
date added: 2024/02/25
shelves:
review:
Lovely writing, confusing story

Tempted by the many glowing reviews, I set out on what was a strange reading journey. Some beautiful writing, the rendering of the neighbourhood where the story is set is delightful, the characters wonderfully strange. But the story remained an unsatisfying mystery to me…

author: Angela Saini
name: Kim
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2024/02/21
date added: 2024/02/21
shelves:
review:
The long and convoluted history of the patriarchy

Many interesting insights into different cultures and the history of why and how men came to rule, albeit not as often as we think. Educational and thought provoking. I learnt a lot.

author: Upton Sinclair
name: Kim
average rating: 5.00
book published: 1962
rating: 5
read at: 2024/02/09
date added: 2024/02/09
shelves:
review:
Fascinating insights into an extraordinary man

I generally prefer biographies to autobiographies, the latter risk being self serving and boring. There is nothing boring about Upton Sinclair’s life, and although he was, of course, rather fond of himself, he was also undoubtedly an interesting man with a vast network and that gift of keen observation (and retention) that all good writers have. A big fan of the Lanny Budd series, it was great to get insights into how and from whom he got so much insight into everything from art to music to people and spies. A most enjoyable read.