Book Reviews: Books read in August
I always say I'm a very organized person so I decided to learn from my friend orangerful (she's a librarian so she knows what she's doing ) and, instead of posting my reviews everytime I read a book, I'm going now to make a monthly post with a list of my acomplishments xD
Here's what I've read this month:
The Husband's Secret
Originally published: July 30, 2013
Author: Liane Moriarty
Genre: Fiction / Mystery
(reading time: Aug 09 - Aug 13)
★★★★★
This book took me by surprise. It stated slowly, giving into many futile details about the lives of the 3 main characters, but then - suddenly - it got extremely good and I wasn't able to put it down. Even when I was just past the middle mark and I thought I knew what was about to happen it kept surprising me and making me gasp. The epilogue was so perfect I had to give the book 5 stars.
Liane Moriarty did a great job with this book, and I have another book - from the same author - I was planning to read later on, that might actually jump to the top of my list!
The Last Anniversary
Originally published: 2005
Author: Liane Moriarty
Genre: Fiction / Mystery
(reading time: Aug 14 - Aug 21)
★★★★
This is the second book I read by Liane Moriarty and - although I liked The Husband's Secret better - I think she has a great talent when it comes to create very human characters. They tend to be exquisitely real and you feel like these are people you might know. You don't paint them white or black, there isn't the evil character you love to hate or the annoyingly good one that you have to like or the sidekick you secretly think should be the focus of the whole book... These are real people... And her books are filled with characters, and they are all important and give something to the story.
LM has a great way of writing about different people/families entering into each other's lives and changing them, and you'll never know if it's from the better... You know there's going to be a big change though.
The parts I was more interested about were the ones concerning Grace and the way she dealt with the postnatal depression. That was extremely intense, especially when her mother Laura stepped into the picture.
Every little part of the book is important... Some things might seems fillers, but they're not... I loved how the mystery about the man found dead in his porridge was solved in the end just like that... Or who the mysterious man Aunt Connie choose for Sophie was. So perfect!
The thing I like the most about this author is the way she writes the endings... They are so perfect...
I want to read more books by this author... I'm sure of it! Her stories are never dull and - again, I can't stress it enough - her characters are very well written!
The Catcher in the Rye
Originally published: 1951
Author: J.D. Salinger
Genre: Literary realism, Coming-of-age story
(reading time: Aug 21 - Aug 31)
★★★★
I was very nervous at the idea of reading this book again after all this time, but I wanted to read it in english and I wanted to see how it made me feel almost 15 years later (on my italian copy I wrote in pencil 29 Jan 2002, so yes, almost 15 years) . It is a book that has to be read thinking about its contest to be able to fully enjoy it, otherwise it's just like listening to a teenager for hours, and we all know what we want to do after just 5 minutes listening to a teenager: slap him/her in the face. I think my idea of the book hasn't changed. The thing I appreciate is the way it flows: it's like a day into someone else's mind that, by the end of the day, leaves you with something that you can't quite understand. I love how Holden makes my eyes roll when he complains and hates everything, because it's what he does, but his actions are different and - when he doesn't thing - he says or does something unexpected. We all went through that though couple of years where the hormones were the ones in charge and everything was just the worst... Reading it when you are an adult (I still don't consider myself an adult even if I'm 30) it's kind of scary, because it's a reminder of all that hate you had in you for no reason whatsoever.
TOTAL of BOOKS READ 2016: 27 / aug: 3
TOTAL of PAGES READ 2016: 9271 / aug: 1038
Here's what I've read this month:
The Husband's Secret
Originally published: July 30, 2013
Author: Liane Moriarty
Genre: Fiction / Mystery
(reading time: Aug 09 - Aug 13)
★★★★★
This book took me by surprise. It stated slowly, giving into many futile details about the lives of the 3 main characters, but then - suddenly - it got extremely good and I wasn't able to put it down. Even when I was just past the middle mark and I thought I knew what was about to happen it kept surprising me and making me gasp. The epilogue was so perfect I had to give the book 5 stars.
Liane Moriarty did a great job with this book, and I have another book - from the same author - I was planning to read later on, that might actually jump to the top of my list!
The Last Anniversary
Originally published: 2005
Author: Liane Moriarty
Genre: Fiction / Mystery
(reading time: Aug 14 - Aug 21)
★★★★
This is the second book I read by Liane Moriarty and - although I liked The Husband's Secret better - I think she has a great talent when it comes to create very human characters. They tend to be exquisitely real and you feel like these are people you might know. You don't paint them white or black, there isn't the evil character you love to hate or the annoyingly good one that you have to like or the sidekick you secretly think should be the focus of the whole book... These are real people... And her books are filled with characters, and they are all important and give something to the story.
LM has a great way of writing about different people/families entering into each other's lives and changing them, and you'll never know if it's from the better... You know there's going to be a big change though.
The parts I was more interested about were the ones concerning Grace and the way she dealt with the postnatal depression. That was extremely intense, especially when her mother Laura stepped into the picture.
Every little part of the book is important... Some things might seems fillers, but they're not... I loved how the mystery about the man found dead in his porridge was solved in the end just like that... Or who the mysterious man Aunt Connie choose for Sophie was. So perfect!
The thing I like the most about this author is the way she writes the endings... They are so perfect...
I want to read more books by this author... I'm sure of it! Her stories are never dull and - again, I can't stress it enough - her characters are very well written!
The Catcher in the Rye
Originally published: 1951
Author: J.D. Salinger
Genre: Literary realism, Coming-of-age story
(reading time: Aug 21 - Aug 31)
★★★★
I was very nervous at the idea of reading this book again after all this time, but I wanted to read it in english and I wanted to see how it made me feel almost 15 years later (on my italian copy I wrote in pencil 29 Jan 2002, so yes, almost 15 years) . It is a book that has to be read thinking about its contest to be able to fully enjoy it, otherwise it's just like listening to a teenager for hours, and we all know what we want to do after just 5 minutes listening to a teenager: slap him/her in the face. I think my idea of the book hasn't changed. The thing I appreciate is the way it flows: it's like a day into someone else's mind that, by the end of the day, leaves you with something that you can't quite understand. I love how Holden makes my eyes roll when he complains and hates everything, because it's what he does, but his actions are different and - when he doesn't thing - he says or does something unexpected. We all went through that though couple of years where the hormones were the ones in charge and everything was just the worst... Reading it when you are an adult (I still don't consider myself an adult even if I'm 30) it's kind of scary, because it's a reminder of all that hate you had in you for no reason whatsoever.
TOTAL of BOOKS READ 2016: 27 / aug: 3
TOTAL of PAGES READ 2016: 9271 / aug: 1038