FW TSD à Paris

Such an insightful delight

Revisado: 03-30-24

Truly brilliant, with heartfelt consideration of issues that still plague us daily, long after Napoleonic times. Téméraire has become one of my favorite characters ever — in league with the likes of Elizabeth Bennet, Scout Finch, Saleem Sabai, Jo March, Aslan, Falstaff, Jane Eyre, and Arya Stark! Novik’s wry and insightful writing propels the reader through a vaste array of conundrums, often laced with emotional/ethical issues and, in turn she presents pee-in-your pant’s hilarity one moment, undergirded with poignancy or stark wisdom the next.

These books are not to not be discounted. I found them when doing a deep dive on dragon-related fiction after all the attention given to Yarros’ fun books. I read through half of McCaffrey’s (1968) Dragons of Pern books (which I recommend), then fell in love with these. Just finished the Pulitzer winning Trust, Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun, and some Mary Beard NF. Some of the issues Beard addresses in Women and Power: A Manifesto (and in Trust, but don’t what to be a spoiler) are parsed by Novik’s characters in this series, just wrapped in delightful fiction. Both work very well.

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An insightful entertaining series

Revisado: 03-27-24

Truly brilliant, with heartfelt consideration of issues that still plague us daily, long after Napoleonic times. Téméraire has become one of my favorite characters ever — in league with the likes of Elizabeth Bennet, Scout Finch, Saleem Sabai, Jo March, Aslan, Falstaff, Jane Eyre, and Arya Stark! Novik’s wry and insightful writing propels the reader through a vaste array of conundrums, often laced with emotional/ethical issues and, in turn she presents pee-in-your pant’s hilarity one moment, undergirded with poignancy or stark wisdom the next.

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Even better than becoming.

Revisado: 11-26-22

I’m constantly grateful to this woman’s example and insight. Don’t miss reading this—it is a balm for our times.

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A superb yarn with spectac female characters

Revisado: 03-02-22

While the compelling story had me immediately engrossed, the realistic depiction of true girlfriendship was my favorite aspect of this page-turner. The elbows thrown at some of the ridiculous “leaders” anyone will recognize was icing on this delicious cake. Yet another savvy accomplishment for HRC. Color me unsurprised about that. Merci for r the excellent distraction during the week of the Ukrainian invasion.

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Timely story

Revisado: 01-08-21

Imperative read to finish what Butler’s first parable novel started. Story not as strong as first, but good. The audio was clunky, though. Disjointed transitions between chapters made me first think my phone had skipped, then after repeatedly doing this, I wondered if some of the book was skipped. And, distractingly, the person reading Lauren was obviously sucking on hard candy or similar through the first half of the book; I even heard a crunch once. So unprofessional recording. Reminded me of freebie recordings.

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Nothing short of outstanding

Revisado: 11-15-20

Bravo to the author and also the Audible reader. Possibly the most compelling novel I’ve ever read. Multiple times I felt the story grip me in a way that I felt I was riding on the front of a speeding locomotive hurling through a mesmerizing narrative. Unforgettable and exceptional.

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Luxurious language lacing a lovely tale

Revisado: 08-30-20

Friends told me to read this last year, but I hesitated to read anything linked to any Russian topic. I should not have waited. This novel reminds us of the wealth cultural gifts bestowed on the world and their government’s subsequent eradication of much of the same. Well worth reading.

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Mesmerizing

Revisado: 04-14-20

OMGosh, I luxuriated in falling into the escapist abyss called The Labyrinth of Spirits, my second book by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. A magnificent gothic mystery novel based in Madrid and Barcelona. I read his Shadow of the Wind in the late aughts right after it was translated into English and LOVED it. My heavily underlined/annotated copy is lovingly stashed in the recesses of my Texas garage apartment. But I now thankfully live in Paris, and I’m reading in the time of Coronavirus. Zafón has now written four books that are loosely connected (you don't need to read them all or in order) in what he describes as his Cemetery of Forgotten Books series. I downloaded the current one, Labyrinth, on my Audible so that I would listen when I was walking My dog or cooking, etc. These books are like sinking your teeth into a big juicy savor-every-bite steak surrounded by smorgasbord of eclectic side creations. I can hardly pull myself away to be productive. The tale is mesmerizing, with luscious writing. For example, a tidbit just covered -- when the book's main character (a fabulously wily lead, Alicia Gris) comes upon a journalist cogitating over his writing while nibbling on the end of his pen, surrounded by a citadel of his research, Zafón described the journalist's countenance as looking like: "he tried to trap a sentence that refused to land on the page." OMG, writing bliss (for me). Anyway, highly recommend if you want to fall into a great yarn woven with exquisite thread. ;) perfect lockdown read!

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Perfect Crisis Reading: Gentle gifted wisdom from a master teacher

Revisado: 04-05-20

Having already read this book (hard copy), I downloaded the Audible version because I believed hearing Suz’s beloved voice would be a balm during these crazy covid days. So grateful. But Suzanne Stabile’s wealth of enneagram wisdom helps anyone striving to understand their own responses to this heartbreaking global crisis, whilst also providing valuable insight to understanding others’ responses (especially important if you are now confined in close quarters). Don’t pass this book up.

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Luxurious writing, perfect timing.

Revisado: 03-31-20

I just finished re-reading this gothic novel, and I had forgotten that Jane survived a plague during her years in a orphan's boarding school. She witnessed how the deadly greed, incompetence, and cruelty of the men who ran the boarding school put her and her fellow students at risk.

Hey USA, sound familiar?

Excellent rendition of the book.

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