Book reviews written by ninamann

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Displaying 1-10 of 132 reviews

Dear Cary

by Dyan Cannon
- Rated 1 stars
“Dyan just annoyed me. The story of their romance is interesting in its way...or would be if she weren't so whiny about the whole thing. This book was really more the story of an insecure girl with daddy-issues who couldn't feel loved without a ring on her finger. I feel bad for the obvious emotional abuse she took once she got one, but that wasn't enough to make up for the bad writing and my issues with her personality. ”

ninamann wrote this review Thursday, January 26, 2012. ( reply | permalink )
Death Comes to Pemberley

by P. D. James
- Rated 3 stars
“This was fun. It certainly didn't change my life and I have read more satisfying Austen spin-offs, but it was fun to revisit these characters and the little easter eggs that are left along the way for P&P fans were a nice touch. I enjoyed it: a good quick read - excellent for a mid-winter's night by the fireside. ”

ninamann wrote this review Wednesday, January 4, 2012. ( reply | permalink )
Arcadia

by Jim Crace
- Rated 3 stars
“This book ties into some of my issues with neighborhoods changing over time and urban renewal so as the book went on and that thesis was more developed I found it more meaningful. To start with, I found the book a little dry but then it grew on me. The prose is good, but I am not sure I agree with the reviews that trumpeted its lushness of language, etc. - it was good, but I have read more beautifully crafted wordsmithing. ”

ninamann wrote this review Tuesday, November 15, 2011. ( reply | permalink )
The Gargoyle

by Andrew Davidson
- Rated 3 stars
“Not bad. Not world changing. There were moments when I really liked this book and others when I felt a little trashy for reading it. I liked the stories that unfolded and the details of the burn rehab, but I found towards the end that I really didn't care much what happened to the characters. ”

ninamann wrote this review Tuesday, November 15, 2011. ( reply | permalink )
Freddy and Fredericka

by Mark Helprin
- Rated 4 stars
“I would never have guessed that this was by the same author as Winter's Tale. It's such a different feel, syntax, writing style, but somehow - farcical as this book can be - the quasi-spiritual nature of the narrative should have tipped me off somehow.
It's bizarre, but it's a romp. ”

ninamann wrote this review Wednesday, August 10, 2011. ( reply | permalink )
Dead Certainties: Unwarranted Speculations (Vintage)

by Simon Schama
- Rated 2 stars
“Didn't really get into it. ”

ninamann wrote this review Monday, July 25, 2011. ( reply | permalink )
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

by Lisa See
- Rated 3 stars
“A bit fem-lit for my taste, but not a bad book. ”

ninamann wrote this review Tuesday, June 7, 2011. ( reply | permalink )
Roads to Quoz

by William Least Heat-Moon
- Rated 3 stars
“Erudite folksiness - it is exactly as advertised....a backroads ramble. Good reading if you are short on attention span since the chapters tend to be very brief...good for subway reading too for the same reason. ”

ninamann wrote this review Thursday, June 2, 2011. ( reply | permalink )
Crome Yellow

by Aldous Huxley
- Rated 3 stars
“Like Virgin in the Garden and Brideshead Revisited had a more humorous love child. Charming”

ninamann wrote this review Wednesday, March 16, 2011. ( reply | permalink )
The Haunted Bookshop

by Christopher Morley
- Rated 3 stars
“OK maybe this book doesn't really deserve a full 3 starts, but it is just so dated and so silly that I found it charming. The story is post WWI melodrama at its simple best, with some delightful details about Brooklyn in that era thrown in...BUT what really makes this book hysterical is the slangy writing style: filled with insults like "You filthy Hun!" and references to flappers and "frolicsome hats" - I mean come on! It's a time capsule with a plot. ”

ninamann wrote this review Monday, March 7, 2011. ( reply | permalink )