Book Club
Welcome to my books section! Here you will find a list of all the book I’ve read recently, along with my comments and ratings. If it’s an audiobook, clicking on the book cover will bring you to Audible.com’s page. An audio sample is available over there, along with purchasing information. If in printed form, you’ll be taken to Amazon.com.
Interesting Novellas
- The Gingerbread Girl (Audiobook) by Stephen King
at Amazon.com
Contribute?
Read a great book recently and want to suggest it? Want to share your experience of a book listed here? Found a great book you think I ought to read?
Feel free to place your thoughts in the comments section on the right hand side (–>).
- ‘Lisey’s Story’ by Stephen King [next]
- ‘Change of Heart’ by Jodi Picoult [reading now]
- ‘Jack’ by A.M. Homes [reading now]
- ‘Duma Key’ by Stephen King [updated]
Rating:
- ‘A home at the end of the world’ by Michael Cunningham [updated]
Rating:
- ‘Angela’s Ashes’ by Frank McCourt
Rating:
- ‘The Green Mile’ by Stephen King
Rating:
- ‘Carrie’ by Stephen King
Rating:
- ‘The Road’ by Cormac McCarthy
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- ‘The Exorcist’ by William Peter Blatty
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- ‘I am Legend’ by Richard Matheson
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‘Lisey’s Story’ by Stephen King
“Lisey Debusher Landon lost her husband, Scott, two years ago, after a 25-year marriage of the most profound and sometimes frightening intimacy. Scott was an award-winning, best-selling novelist, and a very complicated man. Early in their relationship, before they married, Lisey had to learn from him about books and blood and “bools”. Later, she understood that there was a place Scott went, a place that both terrified and healed him, could eat him alive, or give him the ideas he needed in order to live.
Now it’s Lisey’s turn to face Scott’s demons, Lisey’s turn to go to Boo’ya Moon. What begins as a widow’s effort to sort through the papers of her celebrated husband becomes a nearly fatal journey into the darkness he inhabited.”
Ace: This book is next in my Audible queue.
No ratings yet.
‘Change of heart’ by Jodi Picoult
“Known for tackling hot-button issues in her timely fiction, Jodi Picoult has sold millions of books. Change of Heart explores capital punishment and organized religion through the tale of death row inmate Shay Bourne. Bourne’s last request is to donate his heart to his victim’s ailing sister. The situation gets more complicated when Bourne begins performing miracles in full view of witnesses - including his Catholic spiritual advisor.”
Ace: Currently listening to the audio version of this book.
No ratings yet.
‘Jack’ by A.M. Homes
“Jack is almost 16 as the story opens, struggling to keep life normal in the wake of his parents’ divorce some years earlier. During a weekend outing, Jack’s father admits to being a homosexual, throwing Jack’s psyche and social life for a loop.”
“A moving novel, and a very refreshing one. Jack is such an engaging, attractive human being, it’s a pleasure to believe in him.” —David Foster Wallace
“The engaging, doggedly funny [Jack] is likable from the first paragraph, a good kid caught in circumstances too much for him. And in the particulars of those circumstances, A. M. Homes touches upon something unique. Ms. Homes handles the big subjects subtly, deftly and with an appealing lack of melodrama.”—The New York Times Book Review
“A. M. Homes has created a most endearing teenager, and an intensely real world around him …. A fine book.”—Hilma Wolitzer
Ace: Currently reading the paperback version of this book.
Rating: (first impression)
‘Duma Key’ by Stephen King
“A terrible accident takes Edgar Freemantle’s right arm and scrambles his memory and his mind, leaving him with little but rage as he begins the ordeal of rehabilitation. When his marriage suddenly ends, Edgar begins to wish he hadn’t survived his injuries. He wants out. His psychologist suggests a new life distant from the Twin Cities, along with something else:
“Edgar, does anything make you happy?”
“I used to sketch.”
“Take it up again. You need hedges…hedges against the night.”
Edgar leaves for Duma Key, an eerily undeveloped splinter of the Florida coast. The sun setting into the Gulf of Mexico calls out to him, and Edgar draws. Once he meets Elizabeth Eastlake, a sick old woman with roots tangled deep in Duma Key, Edgar begins to paint, sometimes feverishly; many of his paintings have a power that cannot be controlled. When Elizabeth’s past unfolds and the ghosts of her childhood begin to appear, the damage of which they are capable is truly devastating.
The tenacity of love, the perils of creativity, the mysteries of memory, and the nature of the supernatural: Stephen King gives us a novel as fascinating as it is gripping and terrifying.”
Ace: Duma Key is Stephen King’s latest excellent book. It starts off slow, but it builds up page by page, minute by minute. What seemed to start off as a regular, contemporary story, ends up to made a mysterious turn. With one leg in the world of mystery and the other in reality, you meet Edgar, Wireman, Elisabeth, and others. You will set foot on Big Pink and be confronted with the forces of the unknown.
Another one to add to my list of best books ever. King’s storytelling is unbelievably cunning and convincing, making you feel as if you were there, amidst the diversified characters and scenery. Simply amazing.
Rating: (book)
Rating: (narration)
‘A Home at the End of the World’ by Michael Cunningham
“Michael Cunningham’s celebrated novel is the story of two boyhood friends: Jonathan, lonely, introspective, and unsure of himself; and Bobby, hip, dark, and inarticulate. In New York after college, Bobby moves in with Jonathan and his roommate, Clare, a veteran of the city’s erotic wars. Bobby and Clare fall in love, scuttling the plans of Jonathan, who is gay, to father Clare’s child. Then, when Clare and Bobby have a baby, the three move to a small house upstate to raise “their” child together and create a new kind of family. A Home at the End of the World masterfully depicts the charged, fragile relationships of urban life today.”
The book was read by Colin Farrell, Dallas Roberts, Blair Brown and Jennifer Van Dyck.
Update: Last week I decided to download the unabridged version of this book, since I don’t usually read abridged fiction books (it was a mistake, actually). It turned out to be even more satisfying, at nearly twice the length. In case you want to pick up this book, be sure to purchase the unadulterated, unabridged version.
Ace: Memorable. Heart-felt and sweet. Just excellent.
Rating: (abridged book)
Rating: (unabridged book)
Rating: (narration)
‘Angela’s Ashes’ by Frank McCourt
“Frank McCourt’s Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir, movingly read in his own voice, bears all the marks of a classic. Born in Depression-era Brooklyn to Irish immigrant parents, Frank was later raised in the slums of Limerick, Ireland. His mother, Angela, had no money to feed her children since Frank’s father, Malachy, rarely worked, and when he did, he drank his wages. Angela’s Ashes is the story of how Frank endured - wearing shoes repaired with tires, begging for a pig’s head for Christmas dinner, and searching the pubs for his father - a tale he relates with eloquence, exuberance, and remarkable forgiveness.”
Ace: A painfully slow-moving book, read by the author, Frank McCourt. McCourt reads his auto-biography aloud in his own, Irish voice, which makes it difficult to listen to for hours on end. In my opinion, the movie is a better way to be introduced to McCourt’s life-story. It might be better in print, though.
Rating: (book)
Rating: (narration)
‘The Green Mile’ by Stephen King
“Welcome to Cold Mountain Penitentiary, home to the Depression-worn men of E Block. Convicted killers all, each awaits his turn to walk the Green Mile, keeping a date with “Old Sparky,” Cold Mountain’s electric chair. Prison guard Paul Edgecombe has seen his share of oddities in his years working the Mile. But he’s never seen anyone like John Coffey, a man with the body of a giant and the mind of a child, condemned for a crime terrifying in its violence and shocking in its depravity. In this place of ultimate retribution, Edgecombe is about to discover the terrible, wondrous truth about Coffey, a truth that will challenge his most cherished beliefs…and yours.”
Ace: Like the movie: best ever.
Rating: (book)
Rating: (narration)
‘Carrie’ by Stephen King
“In one way or another, everybody abused Carrie. Her fanatical mother forbade this 16-year-old misfit everything that was young and fun. She was teased and taunted by her classmates, misunderstood by her teachers, and given up as hopeless by almost everyone.
But Carrie had a secret: she possessed terrifying telekinetic powers that could make inanimate objects move, a lighted candle fall, or a door lock. Carrie could make all kinds of startling, bizarre, and malevolent things happen. And so she did one night, when feeling scorned and humiliated…and growing angrier and angrier…she became the vengeful demon who let the whole town feel her power. “
Ace: A chilling short-novel.
Rating: (book)
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‘The Road’ by Cormac McCarthy
“America is a barren landscape of smoldering ashes, devoid of life except for those people still struggling to scratch out some type of existence. Amidst this destruction, a father and his young son walk, always toward the coast, but with no real understanding that circumstances will improve once they arrive. Still, they persevere, and their relationship comes to represent goodness in a world of utter devastation.”
Ace: Starts out slow, but turns out to be a sad, yet heart-warming portrait of a father and his son trying to survive in a world that’s long gone.
Rating: (book)
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‘The Exorcist’ by William Peter Blatty
“Chris McNeil is a successful Hollywood actor, lives in Georgetown and has a 12-year old daughter. One day, Regan (the daughter) became inexplicably ill. She began showing signs of some psychological disorder, diverting into multiple disorders and supernatural strength. Regan claimed she was the demon ‘Pazuzu’, and even the devil himself. An array of doctors and shrinks passed the revue, yet none was able to indicate what disease exactly she’s suffering from, let alone could come up with a cure.
In utter despair, the atheistic Chris turned to the notion of demonic possession. For Rags (her pet name for Regan) was showing all symptoms of it and the situation was getting more earnest as the days passed.
Father Damien Karras, a priest in constant battle with his faith, became close to Chris and helped her find an exorcist. Rare as they were, Lankester Merrin stepped up to cast out the demon…”
Ace: Contrary to the 1973-movie, a great story written and narrated by William Peter Blatty. While many authors don’t exactly excel at reading their own books, Blatty is certainly an exception. An amazingly interesting 10 hours and 33 minutes. Recommended.
Rating: (book)
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‘I am Legend’ by Richard Matheson
“The book illustrates the story of Robert Neville, a man trapped in a world infested with a plague which has turned the most part of population into blood thirsty vampires. He’s the last man on earth. By day he stalks the undead and by night he desperately locks himself in his home, evading the monsters’ hunger for his flesh and blood. The question is, how long can he survive?”
Ace: An excellent book with formidable narration by Robertson Dean. If you’re just starting out with audiobooks, this is an absolutely must-listen! Shivers will run down your spine, guaranteed.
Read my review.
Rating: (book)
Rating: (narration)
March 30th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
[...] and added several books I’ve read by now, along with shiny new ratings. Check out my ‘Audiobook Recommendations‘ page for the following reviews and [...]