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MamaJody

MamaJody

Joined April 2016

From Hell's heart, I stab at thee.
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The Swarm: A Novel by Frank Schatzing
review
MamaJody
The Inimitable Jeeves | P. G. Wodehouse
Mehso-so

Bally, rummy, chappie. Pip-pip! I‘m beginning to think Wodehouse is not for me - I found this repetitive and didn‘t quite tickle my funny-bone like the first (and even that was only just a three-star). I feel sad, as I usually adore British comedy.

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MamaJody
East of Eden | John Steinbeck
Pickpick

This is now my third book by Steinbeck, and I can absolutely see why he‘s so beloved - the man certainly knew how to write. I loved the characters in this, although I did find it took a while to get into, and it meandered a little too much, especially at the beginning. Lots of food for thought here. #aroundtheworldin52books

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MamaJody
Mehso-so

As a big nonfiction reader & lover, this one just didn‘t click for me. I found the incredibly clinical subject matter and the framing such as “on a warm Autumn morning” just didn‘t quite gel for me. I‘m certainly in the minority though! #aroundtheyearin52books

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MamaJody
The Three Musketeers | Alexandre Dumas
Pickpick

I enjoyed this more than Count, but I think Dumas just isn‘t my guy. There‘s just something I can‘t quite put my finger on, other than he‘s a bit wordy (coming from someone who loves Victor Hugo, I realise the irony here). #aroundtheworldin52books

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MamaJody
Pickpick

After feeling fairly lukewarm to the first one, this was an improvement. I found myself laughing out loud in a few parts, which is always good! A cute book - nice bedtime reading fodder.

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MamaJody
Killing Commendatore | Haruki Murakami
Mehso-so

Not my favourite Murakami. His obsession with ore-pubescent girls‘ breasts is disturbing, to say the least. I found the resolution very unsatisfying as well. #aroundtheyearin52books

Emilymdxn I‘m halfway through and finding it the same. I loved the plot but really really needed him to stop talking about young girls like that 5y
MamaJody @Emilymdxn It‘s really creepy. I find the way he writes anything sexual very “off”. It makes me very uncomfortable. 5y
Emilymdxn I was excited at the beginning of this book cause I thought a book about a lonely man living in a house in the middle of nowhere couldn‘t have any creepy sex in it. Wtf 13yo girl starts talking about her breasts with a man she‘s just met? Why does his wife remind him of his dead kid sister? 5y
MamaJody @Emilymdxn And of course the natural and appropriate response to that by the adult man was to start talking about his penis, right? Just no. 5y
Gezemice I finished my first Murakami, Norwegian Wood, a couple weeks ago. I liked it but I don‘t think he is my style overall. 5y
4 likes5 comments
blurb
MamaJody
Killing Commendatore | Haruki Murakami
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Very slow and ponderous, but in a good way. After my insane December (I think I finished 34 books!!), I‘m enjoying taking my time with this one. #aty2019 #aroundtheyearin52books #500plus

hilded 34 books?! That‘s more books than days in December! I knew you were on a roll, but that‘s just amazing 🥳👏🏻 5y
Marina_h You're are a machine at times, Jody! But I fully understand enjoying taking time with a book. I'm doing the same with Russia. 5y
MamaJody @hilded @marina_h I just checked, I sold myself short, it was 36. Frankly that‘s just insane. 😂 I‘m glad I finished 2018 with a bang but 2019 is going to be different. Chonks all round! #gimmethosechonkybooks 5y
Marina_h That's just insane, Jody 😂 5y
6 likes4 comments
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MamaJody
Americanah | Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Pickpick

I'm a little torn with this one, I liked a lot about it, but didn't enjoy the blog posts (they disrupted the flow), the ending or the main character. Still a pick though. I think

hilded Welcome back to Litsy, Jody!! This book is the book of the month in my #reading1001 group in January, but I think I‘ve already overcommitted myself this month 😅 5y
MamaJody @hilded I think it‘s definitely worth a read at some point, and I really should try something else by her. I didn‘t love it though. 5y
hilded Thanks, I will try it one day. 5y
7 likes3 comments
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MamaJody
Men Explain Things to Me | Rebecca Solnit
Pickpick

Thought-provoking and confronting.

Gezemice Just read it and definitely found it thought-provoking. 7y
4 likes1 comment
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MamaJody
The Call of the Wild | Jack London
Pickpick

London writes beautifully, but the story itself wasn't really to my taste. Absolutely would not class this as a children's book - far too violent. I can see why this is a classic though.

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MamaJody
Dead Reckoning | Charlaine Harris
Pickpick

A marked improvement on the last few, but I feel that Sookie's voice has changed. Still, enjoyable fluff.

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MamaJody
Rising Strong | Bren Brown
Mehso-so

Close to a Pan, but it did have its saving graces. Still, would not recommend.

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MamaJody
A Monster Calls | Patrick Ness, Siobhan Dowd
Pickpick

Holy crap, this book was a kick in the feels. I love Ness's writing!

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MamaJody
Little Women | Louisa May Alcott
Mehso-so

Too sickly sweet and preachy for me. If it had ended with Book One, it would have been a 'Pick', but Book Two was unbearable.

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MamaJody
As I Lay Dying | William Faulkner
Panpan

My mother is a fish.

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MamaJody
Pickpick

Equal parts fascinating and infuriating. I'll be thinking on this for a long time.

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MamaJody
Pickpick

I really enjoyed reading Levana's backstory. She's a great baddie!

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MamaJody
Pickpick

I was really surprised at just how much I enjoyed this. It was very difficult to put down at the end!

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MamaJody
The Great Gatsby | Francis Scott Fitzgerald
Pickpick

Re-read for the first time since Year 9 (in 1989 😳). Enjoyed it so much more now that I'm old and bitter. Haunting and evocative. Love his writing.

6 likes1 stack add
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MamaJody
The Sign of the Four | Sir Arthur Doyle
Mehso-so

Preferred this to A Study in Scarlet, but still not converted to Sherlock.

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MamaJody
Cress | Marissa Meyer
Pickpick

Fun again, though I'm a little insta-love fatigued. Definitely an enjoyable series!

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MamaJody
Panpan

Absolute shit. I got nothing out of this whatsoever. The author is nowhere near as funny as he thinks he is.

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MamaJody
Dead Souls | Nikolai Gogol
Pickpick

It's a pick, saved by the first half. Hilarious at times and then it wasn't.

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MamaJody
Pickpick

I didn't love it all, but the parts that were good were amazing.

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MamaJody
Pickpick

A quick read, which I wasn't sure about until about 2/3 of the way through. Very sweet and touching.

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MamaJody
Les Misrables | Victor Hugo
Pickpick

Incredible. Engaging and compelling with brilliantly complex characters (apart from the twaterrific Cosette and Marius). All the stars for this masterpiece.

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MamaJody
Pickpick

A nice addition to the series (far more than Glitches), which has made me keen to get back into it and read Cress!

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MamaJody
Mehso-so

A re-read, and I still find myself ambivalent towards it. I found the whole book underdeveloped - characters, plot, back-story - and didn't connect.

Gezemice Same here - I read it because it is a classic and decided I really don't want to read the rest of the books. It is just meh. I saw no point in it. 7y
1 like1 stack add1 comment
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MamaJody
The Complete Persepolis | Marjane Satrapi
Pickpick

Although I wasn't fond of Satrapi herself, this is an excellent and eye-opening book.

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MamaJody
Pickpick

What a cracker! Saw the movie over 20 years ago and it scared the pants off me. Book was amazing, but, umm, it made my cry. Unexpected.

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MamaJody
A Fine Balance | Rohinton Mistry
Pickpick

Absolutely incredible. On of the best books I've ever read. Soul-achingly depressing.

Mackypup I agree! Amazing story. 7y
5 likes1 comment
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MamaJody
The Executioner's Song | Norman Mailer
Panpan

Bloated and seriously dull. Can't see why this won the Pulitzer. Wish I'd bailed.

Yossarian He approached it very journalistically. I think it benefits from being, essentially, a true story. So there's a bias in favor of that sort of thing. It probably suffers if you approach it just as fiction. 7y
MamaJody I didn't, @Yossarian. Actually quite the opposite, I came at it as a non-fiction novel. For me, there was far too much unnecessary detail. I don't need (just as an example) pages about minor characters' medical issues. There was so much bulk that added nothing whatsoever. Desperately needed a good editor. 7y
3 likes1 stack add2 comments
blurb
MamaJody
The Executioner's Song | Norman Mailer
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Taking a little train trip today, and knocking a chunk of this behemoth off on the way. How this won the Pulitzer is beyond me, but I will not give up!

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MamaJody
The Virgin Suicides | Jeffrey Eugenides
Pickpick

Haunting, evocative. The feeling of desperation was pervasive throughout the book, both from the girls and the boys.

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MamaJody
Old Man and the Sea | Ernest Hemingway
Pickpick

The first Hemingway I've truly enjoyed. Oddly affecting.

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MamaJody
Old Man and the Sea | Ernest Hemingway
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The old lady at the See is reading The Old Man and the Sea. Seems fitting. 😂

Gezemice Looks awesome. Have fun! 8y
1 like1 stack add1 comment
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MamaJody
The Blind Assassin: A Novel | Margaret Atwood
Pickpick

I liked it ... sort of. I didn't love it. The characters. Almost always crucial to my enjoyment of a book, and I just didn't care for them. The book seemed bloated as well. Just too much faff.

Gezemice I love Margaret Atwood, but her characters, well, are flawed at best. They are not meant to be identified with. I absolutely adore her writing. So witty and incisive. This is on my fall to-read list! 8y
1 like1 comment
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MamaJody
The Blind Assassin: A Novel | Margaret Atwood
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I've spent the day by the lake, swimming & jumping off the diving board. Now time to relax and read. #hardlife

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MamaJody
Stuart Little | E. B. White
Panpan

Tiny pompous arsehole. Annoying and unfinished plot. Nope. Nope. Nope. How is this written by the author of the incredible Charlotte's Web?!?!

EricaReads Haha, I also read this recently, and I thought I remembered loving it as a kid, but rereading it made me wonder how I could have possibly loved it. 8y
4 likes1 comment
review
MamaJody
Mehso-so

It kills me ... but this was just ok. I don't think it was necessary, and it read like very average fan-fiction. I wasn't sure I wanted to read it and I'm not sure I'm glad that I did.

Gezemice Apparently the play is very good. This is meant to be staged, after all. Sitting on my night stand, too! 8y
MamaJody True @Gezemice, but I've enjoyed reading other plays. I'm really interested to see what you think! I didn't have high expectations though. 😊 8y
2 likes1 stack add2 comments
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MamaJody
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It's time! I've had this sitting here since the 31st, and it's finally time to start. Yay!

review
MamaJody
Pickpick

I enjoyed this, but I didn't love it. I found it a little disjointed and I struggled to connect with the characters and the story. Certainly beautifully written though.

Gezemice I really loved this. You don't often see a novel written from both sides. 8y
MamaJody I really liked that part of it @Gezemice - especially portraying an actual active German soldier in a positive light. Have you read A Woman in Berlin? If you haven't, I'd really recommend it. It's amazing. 8y
Gezemice @MamaJody No, I should check it out 8y
1 like3 comments
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MamaJody
Pickpick

Loved this - Jenny Lawson is hilarious. I did find I kind of fatigued a little about 75% through though. Her humour is awesome but it does get a bit samey.

Gezemice I had the same experience with Furiously Happy. Loved it but had to take breaks. I am planning to read this one, too! 8y
MamaJody I shouldn't be surprised to hear that @Gezemice 😂 8y
3 likes1 stack add2 comments
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MamaJody
Dead Souls | Nikolai Gogol
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Oh Nikolai, you funny bastard. If you were 170 years younger, and still alive, I'd have all of your babies.

2 likes1 stack add
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MamaJody
Panpan

Pretentious, unlikeable characters. Felt nothing. And I'm a crier. A big one. Nope.

Gezemice Sorry! I loved this one but I know some people don't. 8y
1 like1 comment
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MamaJody
Mehso-so

Eh. I think I might have enjoyed this more as a child. A handful of great lines though.

3 likes1 stack add
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MamaJody
Pickpick

Loved this. My first by Wilde but not my last. So witty. Hilarious.

Gezemice This one is awesome. 8y
3 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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MamaJody
The Stand | Stephen King
Mehso-so

(Uncut Version) Bloated, with generic, forgettable characters. Thin plot. Wanted to bail many times, but the last 20% kept me interested, at least.

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MamaJody
The Bridges of Madison County | Robert James Waller
Panpan

Terrible. Sorry, but infidelity is not romantic, and when all you have together is four days of sex, it's easy to look at it through rose-coloured glasses. Uneven writing. Mercifully short. Blech.

SaraFair Agreed. 8y
MamaJody @SaraFair and the creepy letter she wrote to her kids about all of the amazing sex she had with the guy who wasn't their father ... while married to their father. Yuck. 8y
5 likes2 comments
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MamaJody
The Rocking-Horse Winner | D. H. Lawrence
Pickpick

Haunting, tragic and timeless. And a little spooky.