What is the last book you read, and your rating?

[Redlegs]

At over 800 pages in length, The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope is a detailed and complex saga of love and business in 19th century England.

I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as The Barchester Towers, but it was nevertheless an intricate, carefully and credibly plotted tale that covered a range of interconnected characters, mostly from the privileged classes.

Like many such novels of the era, much of the plot involves who might marry whom, who has secure wealth and income, who is eligible or worthy, who is marrying for love and who is marrying for convenience, and the like.

Trollope has given us several feisty young female characters who are defiant and strong-willed in relation to their parents' choices for their marriage partners - women of independent thought who are prepared to resist passionately. Trollope has done well with his female characters in general.

By contrast, most of the men are portrayed as deeply flawed - corrupt businessmen, drinkers, gamblers, vain, inconsiderate and disrespectful of women, and generally with unpleasant characters hidden behind faux gentility and respectability. This is toxic masculinity 19th century style!

Despite its length and many chapters, the novel is very well organised and never confusing, as Trollope returns to each of the sub-plots regularly and with utmost clarity.

The ending ties things up perhaps just a little too neatly and conveniently, but this is the kind of conclusion that most readers, particularly of the time, would have wished for.

Entertaining and engaging is maybe a little bit too long. 4 stars out of 5.

[Empan16]

The last book I read was The Hot Zone by Richard Preston. I rate this book a solid 4/4 stars.

[Oliver_books]

The Thundering Herd by John E. Peltier
Rating: 4 out of 4

[intelligentsiagirl]

Read ...

THE NARROW CORRIDOR
STATES, SOCIETIES, AND THE FATE OF LIBERTY
Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson
Penguin Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House, copyright 2019

I did find the first half of the book was better written and better to understand than the second half of the book. True, the book has two authors and I do not like reading books with two authors in general. It does feel like the book was broken into two parts: one author written the first part and the other author written the second half.

[Kelli Dawson]

Destiny's Dagger - Linnea Tanner rated 4/4.
This was a really fun story to read, and I enjoyed it immensely. This book is full of history, romance, intrigue and mystery. I hope to get her 3rd book as it has completely sucked me in to see what happens.

[timur777]

The Picture of Dorian Gray 5 out of 5. A classic book with the deep meaning

[[Danielle]]

EMP Honeymoon. I gave it a 2 out of 4, was not my favorite.

[books_andpoetri]

I just finished Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn and it's a 5 out of 5 for me.

[intelligentsiagirl]

Life after Death
A HISTORY OF THE AFTERLIFE IN WESTERN RELIGION
Alan Segal
Doubleday, a division of Random House, copyright 2004

[Oliver_books]

The McCoys Before The Feud by Thomas McCoy.
Rating: 3 out of 4.

[JaeBlessing]

Jules Verne's "Journey To The Center Of The Earth"
I would give it a 4/5 stars. The writing is very good-- so much clear description. And what an adventure!

[LizzyGirl1]

The last book I read was The MISOGI METHOD by Jody B. Miller. It badly needed to be re-read and edited before publishing! I gave it a rating of 3 mainly because it contained some good information for persons hoping to improve themselves.

[books_andpoetri]

Last book I read is Grouper's Laws by D. Philip Miller and I gave it a 4 out of 5 stars. It's a good coming-of-age novel.

[Redlegs]

The Van by Roddy Doyle, which was short-listed for the Booker Prize in 1991, is a poignant, rude and very funny novel.

Written in the local Irish vernacular, the dialogue is extremely salty, and may offend those who are intolerant of the frequent use of the f_ and c_ words.

Jimmy Rabbitte Sr and his best mate Bimbo, both finding themselves unemployed, embark on a business venture together operating a mobile chipper van.

The van they buy is decrepit and filthy and needs a huge effort to make it operational and, despite their best efforts, the final result is hardly hygienic or efficient. The lads learn on the job, gradually adapting to cope with the grease, the heat, the boisterous customers and the local gangs who stone and rock the van to annoy Jimmy and Bimbo.

It all goes fairly well (after a fashion) for a while, but, inevitably, Jimmy and Bimbo, both a bit short on the fuse and big on the drink (many pints are consumed in this novel!) have a falling out.

At this point, Doyle dials back a bit on the humour and offers a greater focus on the nature of the long-term friendship of the two men, and how they deal with the new tensions in their relationship.

The novel ends on a poignant and hopeful note, completing and joyful, funny and heart-warming tale of male endeavour and mateship.

4 stars out of 5

[Moella1]

The most recent book I read is Amulet Rapture by Linnea Tanner... I loved tye book so much.. it's actually the third book in The series.. I didn't read the first and second books but the Author did such a beautiful job that I was actHallyday le to understand what had happened in previous books... You can please also check out my reviwe of the book. Moella1 is my user name