What is the last book you read, and your rating?
- Redlegs
- Previous Member of the Month
- Posts: 2144
- Joined: 12 Jan 2012, 05:08
- Favorite Book: Lord of the Rings
- Bookshelf Size: 300
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-redlegs.html
Re: What is the last book you read, and your rating?
I can handle crude language, I can handle graphic sex, I can handle some kinky stuff, but this was just depraved to the absolute extreme.
And because it is only about sex, it is repetitious and very quickly boring as well as vile. I didn't enjoy a single moment of the parts of the book that I read.
1 star out of 5
The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
- Ally Robles
- Posts: 1
- Joined: 28 Oct 2018, 17:11
- Bookshelf Size: 0
-
- Posts: 77
- Joined: 14 Apr 2018, 20:29
- Currently Reading:
- Bookshelf Size: 36
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-sharethegift.html
- Latest Review: Will of The Hill by Marshall Cobb
I chose something that is a little lighter for the current book I am reading. Sometimes after a heartbreaking story I need to go for a completely different genre.
- Redlegs
- Previous Member of the Month
- Posts: 2144
- Joined: 12 Jan 2012, 05:08
- Favorite Book: Lord of the Rings
- Bookshelf Size: 300
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-redlegs.html
A mix of rural and urban life, the heroine of So Big is Selina DeJong, nee Peake. As a naive youngster needing to earn a living after the death of her gambler father, who left her little, Selina takes up teaching in the rural community of High Prairie, which comprises mostly Dutch truck farmers who work very hard to eke out a subsistence living, and yet have a strong sense of community.
Selina eventually marries the stoic but stubborn Pervus DeJong, raises a son Dirk (nicknamed from his childhood So Big), until her husband dies of illness and she is left with the full responsibility for the struggling farm business.
The latter part of the book contrasts the attitudes of Selina and Dirk, and picks up on the theme of beauty which was introduced early in the novel. The Dutch farmers were mightily bemused when Selina declared the rows of cabbages as 'beautiful' when she first arrived in High Prairie.
Selina continues in her autumn years as an active, hard working woman committed to farm, while Dirk is more attracted to the softer world of money, comfort, quality clothes, society functions and superficial relationships.
Ferber's writing is elegant and understated, gently rolling out a tale without undue moralising, presenting the realities of a life of rural toil, but showing the emerging urbanisation and development of large cities and their associated commerce in a modernising America.
Definitely a fine piece of work. 4.5 stars out of 5.
The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
- jibby9
- Posts: 30
- Joined: 17 Oct 2018, 15:04
- Currently Reading:
- Bookshelf Size: 12
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-jibby9.html
- Latest Review: McDowell by William H. Coles
Strange, uncomfortable, hilarious, tragic, and heartwarming. 5/5 and would recommend for readers who love quirky characters.
- Redlegs
- Previous Member of the Month
- Posts: 2144
- Joined: 12 Jan 2012, 05:08
- Favorite Book: Lord of the Rings
- Bookshelf Size: 300
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-redlegs.html
3.5 stars out of 5.
The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
- Redlegs
- Previous Member of the Month
- Posts: 2144
- Joined: 12 Jan 2012, 05:08
- Favorite Book: Lord of the Rings
- Bookshelf Size: 300
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-redlegs.html
Hester Prynnne is forever condemned to wear a scarlet letter A (for Adulteress) on her clothing for having a child out of wedlock in a New England Puritan community.
Hester bears the shame stoically, raising her child, refusing to identify the father of the child and also keeping secret the identity of her true husband who has joined the community.
It is a tale of morality, human alienation, religious zealotry and the dangers of assuming the right to judge the actions and motives of others.
I found the introduction of the novel too long and self-indulgent, which was not a positive beginning. The main body of the story was fair, but I found Hawthorne's writing style too flowery for my taste.
The ending was melodramatic and weak - this could have been a much better novel than it was. 3 stars out of 5
The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
- trina215
- Posts: 35
- Joined: 10 Oct 2018, 12:19
- Favorite Book: Betrayal of Justice
- Currently Reading:
- Bookshelf Size: 5
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-trina215.html
- Latest Review: Betrayal in Blue by Mark M. Bello
- Brooklyn_joy
- Posts: 2
- Joined: 02 Nov 2018, 06:47
- Currently Reading:
- Bookshelf Size: 0
-
- Posts: 61
- Joined: 02 Oct 2018, 15:40
- Currently Reading:
- Bookshelf Size: 25
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-gigareads.html
- Latest Review: The Dream Keepers by Linda Keen
- Jmteachmom
- Posts: 176
- Joined: 21 Oct 2017, 10:44
- Currently Reading:
- Bookshelf Size: 33
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-jmteachmom.html
- Latest Review: One Way or Another by Mary J. Williams
I would rate it as a 2 out of 4. The plot was very confusing and too much jumping around. It was like 4 stories in one.
-
- Posts: 161
- Joined: 09 Aug 2018, 14:53
- Currently Reading: World, Incorporated
- Bookshelf Size: 23
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-sahar-majid.html
- Latest Review: Iron Crossed by Renata Rose and Phil Rose
- Redlegs
- Previous Member of the Month
- Posts: 2144
- Joined: 12 Jan 2012, 05:08
- Favorite Book: Lord of the Rings
- Bookshelf Size: 300
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-redlegs.html
It is also another fine example of a light-hearted piss-take on the fantasy genre, full of word play and in jokes, making for easy and enjoyable reading. It never takes itself too seriously.
In this instance, Mort, a young man with few talents and limited job prospects, is taken on by Death as an apprentice, once he is assured that being dead is not an essential requirement. As Death becomes a little bored with his eternal task, and considers alternative careers, he entrusts some tasks to Mort to carry out alone.
Of course, Mort manages to bungle the death of a princess, leaving her and the world in a state of limbo that needs to be rectified.
With the help of Death's adopted daughter Ysabell, his 2000 year old manservant Alfred, and various other forces of wizardry, things are set to right, after a fashion.
Just good fun, and very easy to appreciate the cleverness of Pratchett's writing and to marvel at his cunning sense of humour.
3.5 stars out of 5
The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
- TheRVMom
- Posts: 81
- Joined: 20 Aug 2018, 12:20
- Currently Reading:
- Bookshelf Size: 26
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-thervmom.html
- Latest Review: Undead Redhead by Jen Frankel
- Zoe303
- Posts: 452
- Joined: 17 Apr 2015, 15:15
- Favorite Book: And Then There Were None
- Currently Reading: Around the World in Eighty Days
- Bookshelf Size: 240