In his own words
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To The Lighthouse
Review: Stream of consciousness as narrative form. Beautiful scenery evoked. Another example, like Der Zauberberg of how WWI changed the way people think. An extraordinary book. Fast and delightful. Overall rating: How I discovered or acquired this book: Rando Kindle Noteworthy experiences while reading this book: Check out author’s other books? Y Recommend this book?…
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The Cherry Orchard
Review: Russian tragi-comedy. Hard to follow at times, but still a fine piece of drama. I may read (or see) it again someday. Now I can say I have read a Chekhov play, only short stories so far (which are excellent). Overall rating: How I discovered or acquired this book: Rando Noteworthy experiences while reading…
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King Solomon’s Mines
Review: A ripping yarn! Danger.Gentlemen.Savage natives. Parts of this likely influenced Raiders of the Lost Ark. Very racist by today’s standards, but good and fast paced reading nonetheless. Overall rating: How I discovered or acquired this book: Rando Kindle Noteworthy experiences while reading this book: Check out author’s other books? Y Recommend this book? To…
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Dandelion Wine
Review: Poetry. Not prose. One of the only 5 star books I have ever read. Could not change one word. Brilliance. Overall rating: How I discovered or acquired this book: Audiobook made me want to read it. Noteworthy experiences while reading this book: Tears. Actual proper tears. Repeatedly. Check out author’s other books? Y Recommend…
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The Good Soldier
Review: An outstanding read. Very good insight into “the stiff upper lip” happy looking proper English couple. Overall rating: How I discovered or acquired this book: Rando Kindle Noteworthy experiences while reading this book: Check out author’s other books? Recommend this book? To whom? Ratings (1-10, 10 being exceptional):
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Broca’s Brain
Review: A collection of essays, articles and thoughts of the late great Carl Sagan. Very good read, with keen insights considering it was written in the 1970s. It was the dawn of space travel and he looked ahead with a mix of hope and skepticism. Lots of good info, some seemed so dated now that…
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Lysistrata
Review: Dick jokes! Overall rating: How I discovered or acquired this book: Referenced in the news with Alyssa Milano Noteworthy experiences while reading this book: Learned what a godemiche is Check out author’s other books? Y Recommend this book? To whom? Ratings (1-10, 10 being exceptional):
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Three Men in a Boat
Review: Funny, charming tale of 3 Holmes & Watson era dudes on a boat trip down the Thames. Humor but also lovely descriptive passages that make you feel as though you were there, and bits of history thrown in for good measure. Overall rating: How I discovered or acquired this book: Rando Noteworthy experiences while…
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Dead Souls
Review: Interesting concept: guy buys up dead peasants to cheat the tax system and get rich quick. It fails and he has misadventures. The manuscript was cobbled together after his death and after he burned parts of it, so the first part is mostly good, but the second part is disjointed and difficult to follow.…
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Ticket to the Opera
Review: Refer back to the excerpt section and download all the recommended library selections. Overall rating: How I discovered or acquired this book: One of my Amazon picks from way back Noteworthy experiences while reading this book: One of the 7 pages a day over ages and ages. The last of the 2 page project.…