Here are the books I have read in the last 5 years that I gave a 5 star rating.
The review is what I wrote on my Goodreads account.
2021
I took a lot of pictures of various pages in this book, which means I wanted to remember it so I could discuss it later with friends. It's a "need to discuss" book. My favorite essays are Auld Lang Syne, Wendover, Wonder, the Iceland one.
Actually there were hardly any that I didn't love, but those are the one I had to set aside and sigh about.
That one part, where the soldiers sing over and over "we're here because we're here because we're here because we're here..." ☠️
I keep thinking about this book. I want to reread some of the essays.
Actually there were hardly any that I didn't love, but those are the one I had to set aside and sigh about.
That one part, where the soldiers sing over and over "we're here because we're here because we're here because we're here..." ☠️
I keep thinking about this book. I want to reread some of the essays.
2021
I'm almost exhausted by how much I love this book. It is such a delightful tale and I feel like I need to read it again. It was like a special dessert you save for later when the kids are in bed...Every time I opened the book to read it was like I sat here with my delicious treat. So delicious are the words and descriptions. How precious are words and books and documents that are superfluous and excessive now in the year 2020. We sling them about the internet without thinking. Anna's storyline was so profound in how rare and fragile written word used to be. They can actually disappear from off the face of the earth if it rained too hard.
How do I even ever read another book? This was so lovely and fun and delicious. I loved it so much.
How do I even ever read another book? This was so lovely and fun and delicious. I loved it so much.
2022-2023
Specifically the whole trilogy and The Hobbit. This series is so crazy because when you are reading it, you can think of nothing else.
Gosh this book. So wonderful.
The greatest of victories. Sam, going even though he doesn't know the way.
Gollum's role. It could not have been achieved without his antagonism, his friction to work against.
The last sacrifice of the Captains as a diversion.
So much. I need to chew on it some more.
I know I love a book when all I see is that book in everything. It relates to everything else in life. Every conversation can circle back to a connection to these books.
The greatest of victories. Sam, going even though he doesn't know the way.
Gollum's role. It could not have been achieved without his antagonism, his friction to work against.
The last sacrifice of the Captains as a diversion.
So much. I need to chew on it some more.
I know I love a book when all I see is that book in everything. It relates to everything else in life. Every conversation can circle back to a connection to these books.
2023
This really is a five star book. The writing is amazing. The characters are so great. It's a survival story, a coming of age, great redemption. But it's just too much sadness and awfulness. And drug use/addiction is not my favorite of plot lines. There were no pallet cleansers...just so much bad luck and not enough redemption - for me.
But I do recognize this is GOAT of a book. How does a writer pull this off.
But I do recognize this is GOAT of a book. How does a writer pull this off.
2022 and 2023
Such a beautiful book. I loved the writing, I love the characters, I love the count. So many layers, I fear I have missed some of them. It was slow roasted and cooked to perfection.
Every sentence carefully crafted, example:
"In particular, he was thinking—with a sense of foreboding—that in the course of twenty years this firefly, this pinwheel, this wonder of the world had become a woman who, when asked where she was going, could answer without the slightest hesitation: Does it matter?"
And the sentiments, the ideas...I feel like I want to reread it:
"After all, what can a first impression tell us about someone we’ve just met for a minute in the lobby of a hotel? For that matter, what can a first impression tell us about anyone? Why, no more than a chord can tell us about Beethoven, or a brushstroke about Botticelli. By their very nature, human beings are so capricious, so complex, so delightfully contradictory, that they deserve not only our consideration, but our reconsideration—and our unwavering determination to withhold our opinion until we have engaged with them in every possible setting at every possible hour."
And this: the personifications are perfection:
"Like the wheeling of the stars,"
muttered the Count as he paced.
That is how time passes when
one is left waiting unaccountably. The
hours
become
interminable.
Every sentence carefully crafted, example:
"In particular, he was thinking—with a sense of foreboding—that in the course of twenty years this firefly, this pinwheel, this wonder of the world had become a woman who, when asked where she was going, could answer without the slightest hesitation: Does it matter?"
And the sentiments, the ideas...I feel like I want to reread it:
"After all, what can a first impression tell us about someone we’ve just met for a minute in the lobby of a hotel? For that matter, what can a first impression tell us about anyone? Why, no more than a chord can tell us about Beethoven, or a brushstroke about Botticelli. By their very nature, human beings are so capricious, so complex, so delightfully contradictory, that they deserve not only our consideration, but our reconsideration—and our unwavering determination to withhold our opinion until we have engaged with them in every possible setting at every possible hour."
And this: the personifications are perfection:
"Like the wheeling of the stars,"
muttered the Count as he paced.
That is how time passes when
one is left waiting unaccountably. The
hours
become
interminable.
The minutes relentless. And the seconds?
Why, not only does every last one of
them demand its moment on the stage,
it insists upon making a soliloquy full
of weighty pauses and artful hesitations
and then leaps into an encore at the
slightest hint of applause."
Why, not only does every last one of
them demand its moment on the stage,
it insists upon making a soliloquy full
of weighty pauses and artful hesitations
and then leaps into an encore at the
slightest hint of applause."
I've read this one 3 times. It is at the top of my all time favorites.
2023
So good.
It's such a relief to read such good writing, such good storytelling.
It's beautiful and heartbreaking. There is a rise and a fall, always giving and taking. There's so much symmetry and interweaving - like water. Somehow the whole story mimics the nature of water.
It's such a relief to read such good writing, such good storytelling.
It's beautiful and heartbreaking. There is a rise and a fall, always giving and taking. There's so much symmetry and interweaving - like water. Somehow the whole story mimics the nature of water.
2024
This is the kind book I'm talking about. Where reading the beautiful construction of words is the whole activity. The plot is secondary. The characters are the stars of the show. The way Rainy describes everything is the entertainment.
Absolutely no skimming. Sometimes reread, and reread a third time. Highlight it to enjoy later.
But also the plot. Very good. Bravo. (I read this one twice in a row)
Absolutely no skimming. Sometimes reread, and reread a third time. Highlight it to enjoy later.
But also the plot. Very good. Bravo. (I read this one twice in a row)
