This was a great one to listen to. Had I read it to myself I’m sure I would have had trouble getting finished also. But the reader was excellent and I could consume it while doing chores around the house. Although I suppose the Epilogue was believable I was dissappointed that the author decided to end the story that way.

I purposely read McEwan’s book right before seeing the movie and I’m glad I did. It helped to explain certain things about the film that I think would have left me at a loss. For example, the “flashbacks” seem to me to be not really flashbacks but rather episodes as Briony actually saw them and then how she later wrote about them, filling in details, dialogue, emotion, etc. Much of the dialogue was lifted straight from the book, which also helped me with some difficulties understanding the (perhaps mumbled?) British English. Also, since I was watching the movie on pay per view I rewatched some parts of it. I really think it’s a subtley complex film and could bear a number of “rewatchings”.

This is a very long book, 880 pages in the edition I read and I thought it did drag in a few places. Nevertheless it was an enjoyable read built around a very creative idea.

This will certainly go down as one of my “best books”. I listened to the audio version and the reader was excellent: authentic German accent, different voices for the different characters – I honestly don’t know if my own reader’s imagination would have done as good a job. I will tell you thought that the tears were streaming down my face as I listened to the last CD.

When a mystery is more than a mystery you must figure in Nesbo’s amazing novel. The seeds of what happens in the present can be found in the history of Norway during World War II. I learned so much about those who fought for and against Hitler and even found out where the word “quisling” (meaning a traitor) comes from. The author must have done a tremendous amount of research. The book blurb comments that members of Norway’s book clubs have named it the best thriller/mystery ever to come out of Norway and if you read it you may very well agree. I would guess that this book will be on my top ten list at the end of the year, and it’s only April!

I’m sure this book widened some eyes when it was first published in 1950! It takes place on a Southern Rhodesia farm and I must count the setting as a major character in the series of events which leads to such a sad ending for Mary, Dick and Moses. Highly recommended!

This children’s book is written by a friend of mine. She’s an extraordinary person who deserves every success. I’ve seen the manuscript in its various stages and never before realized how difficult it is to write a very simple children’s book.

I’m happy to see that a number of people (including myself) have marked this book as “worth consuming”. It’s sometimes referred to as a lost classic and I think a lot of people groan when they remember having to read it in high school. For some reason this book appealed to me when I first read it in my twenties and I reread it not too long ago. I guess I like stories about overcoming great adversity!

This autobiographical play was understandably difficult for O’Neill to write. They say that many writers had unhappy childhoods and he was certainly one of them. To have lived in a family like his with the same unresolved issues year after year must have been excruciating. A painful but worthwhile read.

I can’t understand why this book hasn’t been “discovered.” A review by Otto Penzler on Amazon says that if he had to pick one mystery from the 90’s it would be this one. It’s beautifully written and unbelievably sad.