tinyshoes
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May 19, 2024 11:42:15 GMT -4
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Post by tinyshoes on Apr 7, 2005 2:47:44 GMT -4
The latest book I've thrown away is Elegance by Kathleen Tessoro. Cute premise, and I liked the excerpts she used from an old-school book with the same title. Plus, I'm a sucker for glamorous transformations. My biggest problem came after the halfway point (where the book should have ended, IMO). Afterwards, the book dragged on like she was trying to make the publisher's minimum word count, and then the heroine started turning into a ditsy Bridget clone. I skimmed it just to finish. Off to Half-Price it goes.
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Post by Smilla on Apr 7, 2005 3:56:10 GMT -4
Rosetta, I am laughing hysterically at the idea that a book with a plot like this even exists. Thank you so much.
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Post by Malle Babbe on Apr 7, 2005 11:36:24 GMT -4
I hear ya on Siddartha, NightCat. It does answer one important question, that is, "What would the Buddhist version of the Life of Brian, completely stripped of all vestiges of humor, look like?"
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jennipoo
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May 19, 2024 11:42:15 GMT -4
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Post by jennipoo on Apr 7, 2005 11:55:24 GMT -4
I not only had an English professor who made us read Siddartha but who made us read Child of War, Woman of Peace and then the monstrosity that followed that book, When Heaven and Earth Changed Places. I passed them on to my (very cool) boss to read and she threw them on my desk and shouted, "I wish that damn woman would just close her damn legs!"
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 19, 2024 11:42:15 GMT -4
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2005 11:58:39 GMT -4
The latest book I've thrown away is Elegance by Kathleen Tessoro. Cute premise, and I liked the excerpts she used from an old-school book with the same title. Plus, I'm a sucker for glamorous transformations. My biggest problem came after the halfway point (where the book should have ended, IMO). Afterwards, the book dragged on like she was trying to make the publisher's minimum word count, and then the heroine started turning into a ditsy Bridget clone. I skimmed it just to finish. Off to Half-Price it goes. Yeah, I wasn't so impressed with that one either. The guy that she ends up with seemed really one-dimensional and the whole time they were together I was like "ewww! No!" Have you seen that they've published that old-school book by the same name? I'm tempted to buy that.
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queequeg
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May 19, 2024 11:42:15 GMT -4
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Post by queequeg on Apr 8, 2005 12:22:09 GMT -4
The last book I was really disappointed with was Blow Fly by Patricia Cornwell. Her earlier Kay Scarpetta books were really good and basically taught me everything I know about forensics and the FBI but I think she just got overwhelmed by her massive ego.
The series definitely took a downward turn with all the stupid loup-garou stuff but I though I'd give her another chance but, wow, Blowfly is the most pretentious crime thriller I've ever read and it doesn't even have a proper plot. Needless to say, I haven't bothered reading the next one in the series.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 19, 2024 11:42:15 GMT -4
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2005 14:15:38 GMT -4
Queequeg -- I have a friend who is devoted to those Scarpetta books and felt positively betrayed by Blow Fly. I looked it up on the Amazon readers' review and the book overall has earned 2 stars -- I don't think I've ever seen a book get such a low rating.
(In fact, I've had a conspiracy theory for years that Amazon has some system that doesn't allow overall ratings to get below 2 1/2, since, of course, they want to sell books. But this one blows my theory.)
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tmi
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May 19, 2024 11:42:15 GMT -4
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Post by tmi on Apr 8, 2005 21:27:14 GMT -4
Don't even let me get started on my Scarpetta/Cornwell hatred. I fell for the first couple of books-- the idea of a tough woman dealing with violent crime was original enough at the time, and I liked ornery, fucked-up little Lucy-- but sheesh, the writing! then the faint reverberations between the main character and the author got more and more parodic and ridiculous ( I lived in VA so I heard a lot of rumors/scuttlebut about Cornwell and her love affairs, helicopter, guns, etc-- lady. is. wacked.) And the "plots" of the books? I gave up long ago.
I peeked at the werewolf one, and yes, it became a projectile in my disgust. Talk about a damned publishing franchise.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 19, 2024 11:42:15 GMT -4
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2005 21:38:41 GMT -4
Word on any and all Oprah book club selections. What melodramatic crap. Big word to everyone who mentioned She's Come Undone. People I actually trust recommended this book to me.
I think a lot of books I hate but are hailed as so intellectual are a case of the Emperor's New Clothes. In my twisted mind, the reviewers are like, "I didn't get it, but I don't want anyone to think I'm a slack-jawed yokel, so I'll say it is brilliant! A modern classic! Yeah! I'm SMART, damn it! "
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cattywampus
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May 19, 2024 11:42:15 GMT -4
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Post by cattywampus on Apr 11, 2005 13:53:12 GMT -4
Wow. My mileage varies. I was very impressed by that book. Particularly the art. That was one of the most enlightening books on the pandemic I've ever read. My copy did not have art. Maybe that was the problem. Actually, I felt the introduction with the history of medicine in the western world could have been condensed down to about 1/4 what he included and still have been just as effective and a lot more interesting. Yes, the epidemic itself was fascinating, which is why I picked it up. But the book to me was twice as long as it should have been. It needed an editor badly.
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