MarianHellema

MarianHellema, 6 months ago to bookstodon Dutch

@bookstodon
#AmReading

The Swimmers
by
Julie Otsuka

This book is a beautiful small gem. It's about a swimming pool and its regulars making their daily laps. Central character is Alice, who suffers from dementia.

Otsuka is proof that a good writer can make the ordinary special. No need for spectacular plots.

It has its own, unique style. Using many repeating wordings to describe what people think, feel or say. These are like brushstrokes, painting a touching story.

Wonderful!

Likewise, 6 months ago to bookstodon

What’s a book you’d like to read next year, either a newly published book in 2024 or a book that you didn’t get to this year?

I’ll start:

The Year of the Locust by Terry Hayes (2024 pub. date) & A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (not new 😉).
#2024 #booktoot #photography #read @bookstodon

kimlockhartga, 6 months ago to bookstodon

@bookstodon As we approach the end of 2023, I would love to know about the very best books you read this year. (They don't have to have been published in 2023 for your "best of" list.)

MarianHellema, 6 months ago to bookstodon Dutch

@bookstodon

The Maniac
by
Benjamin Labatut

Wow, this is a truly original contribution to the history of science. Central character is John von Neumann. He pioneered in ideas of the computer, atomic bomb, game theory and artificial intelligence.

Fortunately you don't need scientific knowledge for this book. It's told by the people nearest to him in an interesting mosaic of voices. How close his genius and madness were.

The writing is thrilling, in a beautiful literary style. Masterpiece!

MarianHellema, 6 months ago to bookstodon Dutch

@bookstodon
#AmReading

We Germans
by
Alexander Starritt

The main character looks back on his time as a German soldier at the eastern front in World War II. With the wisdom of old age he describes the horror and absurdity of war. And he reflects on the questions of guilt and shame, of being on the wrong side as a German.

This is a less known perspective on WWII, at least to me. Very impressive. Very well written.

MarianHellema, 6 months ago to bookstodon Dutch

@bookstodon
#AmReading

"Crook Manifesto" is Colson Whitehead's second book about Harlem. In the 1970s it's a sordid world full of crime and racism. But still, both books are a kind of love song to the city and its crooked people. But even crooks have their own sense of honesty, their crook manifesto.

I am blown away by Whitehead's writing. The language is both tough and beautiful, in a mesmerising mix. My favourite line: "Crime is just how folks talk to each other sometimes".

MarianHellema, 6 months ago to bookstodon Dutch

Humanly Possible
by
Sarah Bakewell

What an impressive book!

Bakewell portrays humanism by describing the life and thoughts of a series of humanist people over 700 years. What binds them is freethinking, liberty, critical enquiry and empathy for others.

Much more lively and fun than most philosophy books. Full of enthusiasm, wonderful stories and witty observations.

Highly recommended to anyone who wants to keep their belief in humanity.

@bookstodon
@histodons
@philosophy

MarianHellema, 6 months ago to bookstodon Dutch

@bookstodon
#AmReading

Isaac and the Egg
by
Bobby Palmer

Isaac is at a desperate low-point in his life. Then he finds a huge egg in the woods and takes it home.

What follows is a wonderful tale of how the Egg helps him face his life.

Weird as this is, the good writing makes it truly believable.

A lovely book, highly recommended.

MarianHellema, 7 months ago to bookstodon Dutch

@bookstodon
#AmReading

This book is a real pleasure

On New Year's Eve the 85 year old Lilian takes a long walk in Manhattan. On the way she visits places from her past and talks to people she meets. Meanwhile she looks back on her life as an ad copywriter, poet, wife and mother

You can't help but love her independent, prickly character and her way with words

You can read her as a feminist, but this is not too explicit or preaching, which I liked all the better

Thanks again @JD_Cunningham

MarianHellema, 7 months ago to bookstodon Dutch

@bookstodon
#AmReading

Tin Man
by
Sarah Winman

A really beautiful book about a man after a long period of grief. Slowly he is opening himself up again to other people and to everything that happened in the past.

Very well written. Moving without getting maudlin. This is a thin line that only good writers can get right.

Highly recommended.

MarianHellema, 7 months ago to bookstodon Dutch

#AmReading
@bookstodon

The Garden
by
Paul Perry

The main characters, all with messed-up lives, are hunting for a special orchid to save their orchid nursery.

This description did not really appeal to me, but it turned out to be good.

I liked the style: harsh, brooding, poetic and beautiful. A fascinating mix, although a bit too fatalistic to my taste.

MarianHellema, 7 months ago to boeken Dutch

@boeken

Zojuist heb ik "Een dwaze maagd" van Ida Simons uitgelezen. Oorspronkelijk uit 1959, opnieuw uitgegeven in 2014 als een van de vele 'herontdekte meesterwerken'.

Over een meisje dat opgroeit in het interbellum in Den Haag, Antwerpen en Berlijn.

Ik heb vooral genoten van de licht vileine manier waarop de hoofdpersoon haar (joodse) familie beschrijft. Er is veel ruzie en gedoe over status en gedrag. Voor de hoofdpersoon is dat soms ontluisterend, maar de toon blijft licht en nuchter.

Likewise, 7 months ago to bookstodon

Tell me a good book you’ve read this year that you’d recommend.

I’ll start: Crow Mary by Kathleen Grissom
#books #read #bookstodon @bookstodon

Abibliophobia, 7 months ago to bookstodon

“This was fresh, rich, heavenly, succulent, soft, creamy, kiss-my-ass, cows-gotta-die-for-this, delightfully salty, moo-ass, good old white folks cheese, cheese to die for, cheese to make you happy, cheese to beat the cheese boss, cheese for the big cheese, cheese to end the world, cheese so good it inspired a line every first Saturday of the month”

A cheesy #SundaySentence from Deacon King Kong by James McBride

#Bookstodon #BookQuote #BookRecommendation #Books @bookstodon #Cheese

MarianHellema, 7 months ago to boeken Dutch

@boeken

Zojuist "De macht van het verleden" van Ivo v.d. Wijdeven uitgelezen.

Geweldig boek over hoe machthebbers de geschiedenis inzetten. Door selectief te winkelen in het verleden herschrijven ze de geschiedenis. Die zetten ze in voor hun eigen nationalistische agenda.

Dit fenomeen is zo oud als de weg naar Rome, maar wordt hier uitgewerkt voor Rusland, Polen, Turkije, China en het VK.

Fascinerend onderwerp. Heel goed geschreven.

MarianHellema, 7 months ago to bookstodon Dutch

@bookstodon
#AmReading

Black Butterflies
by
Priscilla Morris

About a woman in Sarajevo during the siege in 1992. Trapped in the city, with water, food, electricity and other supplies cut off. They are keeping their humanity through art, books, kindness (symbolised by bridges).

I found the best aspect of this book the historical setting.

While reading it, the news from Gaza/Israel created unexpected reflections. Of course these wars are very different, but the horribleness is similar.

JD_Cunningham, 7 months ago to bookstodon

My new post is a summary of my October reading and was it was a good month for the books. They ranged from a suitably eerie collection of short stories to a fascinating book on how needlework has been viewed through the centuries and has communicated rarely heard stories. One novel is a gentle story set in Quebec, while another takes place in the creative energy of NYC. Two outstanding novels feature men who take their own paths, but are set worlds apart, and a look at a trailblazing woman artist and writer.

#BookReview #reading #BookBlog #books @bookstodon

https://gallimaufrybookstudio.com/october-2023-overview/

kimlockhartga, 8 months ago to bookstodon

@bookstodon Do you feel like your reading luck follows a wave pattern, or is that just our innate need to seek order out of chance? I'm afraid to start reading something new, after reading three good books in a row, which is silly, I know.

:blobcatbook:

MarianHellema, 8 months ago to bookstodon Dutch

@bookstodon
#AmReading

Road Ends
by
Mary Lawson

I enjoyed this book very much. I always like books where the story is told from different perspectives. In this case three members of a Canadian family in the late 1960s.

It is very well written. Lawson doesn't need all kinds of bells and whistles. The writing is straightforward, almost unobtrusively good.

MarianHellema, 8 months ago to bookstodon Dutch

@bookstodon
#AmReading

The Man Who Died Twice
by
Richard Osman

This book is so much fun, just like Osman's first one about a group of elderly people solving murders.

The plot is nicely surprising. But just like all good detectives/thrillers it's not really about the plot. It's the wonderful characters and dialogues that make it so good.

Looking forward to the third and fourth of the Thursday Murder Club series.

kenthompson, 8 months ago to bookstadon

The Golden Notebook, by Doris Lessing. You are a mid 20th century writer with one successful novel, but also and communist and mother who struggles with all these things, but in particular with men; you keep separate notebooks trying to sort the parts of your real and fictional lives, but it doesn’t seem to be helping. 5 of 5 library cats 🐈 🐈 🐈 🐈 🐈

#reading #books #feminism #southafrica #communism @bookstadon

MarianHellema, 8 months ago to bookstodon Dutch

@bookstodon
#AmReading

The Bee Sting
by
Paul Murray

I loved "Skippy dies", but this time I have mixed feelings.

Murray writes very well, making you want to read on and on. The story is told from four perspectives. The characters are only partly aware of the others' story, so as a reader you have to put the pieces together. This works very well.

But I found it all a bit too much: a bit too long, the psychology a bit too heavy, the storylines a bit too far-fetched.

All in all I enjoyed it.

kimlockhartga, 8 months ago to bookstodon

@bookstodon Tomorrow (today in Australia and New Zealand) is #Ageism Awareness Day. What really good novels have you read that feature older protagonists?

These come to my mind:

Remnant Population, Elizabeth Moon

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, Olga Tokarczuk

Deacon King Kong, James McBride

We Spread, Iain Reid

Old God's Time, Sebastian Barry

#Books

MarianHellema, 8 months ago to bookstodon Dutch

I just finished "Anatomy of a soldier" by Harry Parker.

It's about a British army officer in a war, probably in Afghanistan. The story is told from the perspective of the objects in his surroundings, like a boot, a bicycle and a bed.

At first I had my doubts, but this concept works really well. It creates a certain distance, but this makes it all the more clear how terrible the war is for all involved.

#AmReading @bookstodon #LitFic

MarianHellema, 9 months ago to bookstodon Dutch

#AmReading #LitFic @bookstodon

Before starting on Kingsolver's "Demon Copperhead" I decided to read Dickens' "David Copperfield" first.

Frankly, I find it a bit too slow and long-winded. But I like the little jokes like: "When my thoughts go back ... to my youth, I wonder how much of the histories I invented..., an innocent romantic boy making his imaginative world out of such strange experiences and sordid things!".

Almost post-modern, haha

jillrhudy, 9 months ago to bookstodon

I'm in a reading slump! I had a long weekend and couldn't get any book to "catch." I need ideas! Something that grabs the reader from paragraph one but isn't a thriller. @bookstodon

MarianHellema, 9 months ago to bookstodon Dutch

#AmReading #LitFic @bookstodon

I'm reading "Alice Fantastic" by Maggie Estep and so far I love it.

Until recently I didn't know her, but wow, she can write! The main characters are two sisters, their mother (and their many dogs). All of them are slightly crazy, but Estep makes them very believable and lovable. Funny dialogues and telling details.

Looking forward to the second half of the book.

kimlockhartga, 9 months ago to bookstodon

@bookstodon Are you in the mood to read something which plays with form and style? HANGMAN, by Maya Binyam might be for you. It is one of those novels where you both wonder what the heck is going on, and where in the world you're headed, until it all comes together. I really enjoyed it, like nothing else I've read this year. And it's under 200 pages.

My full review: This novel is deftly, smartly written, and demonstrates a paradox about the nature of life itself, which is that it is equally obscured when the lens is too wide, as it is when the lens is too close to its subject.

The story is told via the narrator's journey, but that's not really the heart of this story. The author's delivery has a funhouse, "there but not there," stretched and surreal feel. There are very real observations, however, and they are all deeply political. It's like a mashup of Kathryn Davis and Helen Oyeyemi books, with an even deeper level of social commentary.

I enjoyed the experimental nature of this short, but impactful novel.

And that ending?!? I'm so glad I didn't put it together until the last minute.

This book satisfied my need for something completely different, where the author takes chances. I will gladly read anything Maya Binyam writes.

#book #books #bookstodon #BooksWorthReading #IAmReading #BookReview #MayaBinyam #Hangman #2023Reads

MarianHellema, 9 months ago to bookstodon Dutch

#13books

Jennifer Egan - A Visit from the Goon Squad
Marquez - Hundred years of Solitude
Kate Atkinson - Case Histories
T.C. Boyle - World's End
Ann Tyler - The Accidental Tourist
Pat Barker - Regeneration trilogy
Paul Auster - New York trilogy
Jonathan Franzen - The Corrections
Jonathan Lethem - Motherless Brooklyn
David Mitchell - Utopia Avenue
Doris Lessing - The Golden Notebook
Annie Proulx - The Shipping News
Jonathan Coe - What a carve up!

@bookstodon
@bookstodon

elsjes, 10 months ago to boeken Dutch

Ik kreeg vorige week voor mijn verjaardag de nieuwste van Ann Patchett: Tom Lake.
Kort: tijdens de eerste Corona-lockdown zijn de drie dochters van Lara naar huis gekomen. Dat is een kersenkwekerij. Lara vertelt aan hen het verhaal van haar jeugd, waarin ze even een beroemde actrice leek te worden. En kort een relatie had met Peter Duke, die daarna doorbrak. En hoe dat eindigde en ze op de kwekerij terecht kwam. Verlangen naar faam en liefde staan centraal. Prachtig!
@boeken

MarianHellema, 10 months ago to bookstodon Dutch

I'm reading "USA Noir", ed. Johnny Temple.

An anthology of short stories, mostly about people surviving in hard, big-city worlds of petty crime.

The stories share a hard-boiled style that I like very much.

By far the best is Dennis Lehane. What a writer he is!

Other gems, by writers I didn't know before: Maggie Estep, Tim McLoughlin, Barbara DeMarco-Barrett.

I'm only halfway through, so there is much to look forward to.

#AmReading #LitFic @bookstodon

jasmijn02, 10 months ago to boeken Dutch

Aardig wat nieuwe volgers van Twitter, maar misschien is het ook interessant voor anderen: er is hier op Mastodon ook een boekengroep voor leestips en recensies. Je hoeft geen lid te worden, je gaat gewoon @boeken volgen en als je zelf iets wilt posten over een boek, dan tag je ze in je toot en wordt deze vanzelf geboost naar de hele groep. #boeken