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Bobblybear's Book List - 2016


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Beatrice and Virgil - Yann Martel

 

This is a very odd book, and when I borrowed it I was hoping for something like Life of Pi, which I loved.

 

Henry is a semi-successful author, who is about to have his next book - which he thinks is spectacular -  published. He is shocked to the core when his publishers criticise and reject his latest manuscript. In a moment of pique, decides to abandon writing altogether and find something else to do with his time, and takes on a variety of different jobs.

 

One day, he is contacted by a taxidermist who happened to enjoy his published work, and is seeking his help with a play he is putting together. The play is based on two animals that are in the taxidermist's shop - a donkey and a howler monkey – and their unusual friendship.

 

Slowly Henry gets more involved in the taxidermist's life (who is a very odd person) and seeks to find what has driven him to write this play and what it was really about.

 

The majority of this was supremely boring, until the end when the whole book was transformed into something else entirely, and I fully appreciated the meaning behind it all. I wish I could have read it with knowing the ending in mind, but at the same time its not a book I want to re-read. The ending is very emotional, and I would recommend not having any knowledge about it before you start. Avoid online reviews as they blatantly give away the deeper meaning, and if you go into it blind, the ending is fairly shocking.

 

It's only short, under 200 pages and a lot of the pages are double spaced, as about half of it is reproductions of sections of the play.

 

Until the last chapter, the book was heading for a 2/6, but the last chapter pushed it to a 4.5/6.

 

4.5/6

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Micro - Michael Crichton

 

Seven graduate students are recruited by a very lucrative micro-technology company who draws them in with promises of cutting-edge technology and a significant boost to their careers. They head to an island in Hawaii where the company is based, but soon find out that they have been misled and something very sinister is going on.

 

This was such a silly book. From what I gather, it was incomplete at the author's death in 2008 and finished off by Richard Preston (he of The Hot Zone).

 

I don't know who wrote what, but I have to say the dialogue is appallingly weak (some of the characters responses are so odd and outright stupid!) and the people are completely one-dimensional. We don't ever get to know them, and ultimately end up not caring about them.

 

The story is far fetched too, but still I found it very fast paced and easy to read. The hardback copy of just over 400 pages long, and although I'm slating it, I ended up finishing it in 3 days. Purely entertainment for those moments when you just don't want to use your brain.

 

Avoid if you want a serious book....pick up if you fancy something utterly stupid. :D

 

1.5/6

 

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Micro - Michael CrichtonThis was such a silly book. From what I gather, it was incomplete at the author's death in 2008 and finished off by Richard Preston (he of The Hot Zone).

 

I don't know who wrote what, but I have to say the dialogue is appallingly weak (some of the characters responses are so odd and outright stupid!) and the people are completely one-dimensional. We don't ever get to know them, and ultimately end up not caring about them.

 

The story is far fetched too, but still I found it very fast paced and easy to read. The hardback copy of just over 400 pages long, and although I'm slating it, I ended up finishing it in 3 days. Purely entertainment for those moments when you just don't want to use your brain.

 

Avoid if you want a serious book....pick up if you fancy something utterly stupid. :D 1.5/6

Fancy something utterly stupid -- definitely sells it. ;) I had no idea that Michael Crichton had died. I wonder if it was still needing re-writes; it sounds appallingly bad.

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Beatrice and Virgil - Yann Martel

 

This is a very odd book, and when I borrowed it I was hoping for something like Life of Pi, which I loved.

 

Henry is a semi-successful author, who is about to have his next book - which he thinks is spectacular -  published. He is shocked to the core when his publishers criticise and reject his latest manuscript. In a moment of pique, decides to abandon writing altogether and find something else to do with his time, and takes on a variety of different jobs.

 

One day, he is contacted by a taxidermist who happened to enjoy his published work, and is seeking his help with a play he is putting together. The play is based on two animals that are in the taxidermist's shop - a donkey and a howler monkey – and their unusual friendship.

 

Slowly Henry gets more involved in the taxidermist's life (who is a very odd person) and seeks to find what has driven him to write this play and what it was really about.

 

The majority of this was supremely boring, until the end when the whole book was transformed into something else entirely, and I fully appreciated the meaning behind it all. I wish I could have read it with knowing the ending in mind, but at the same time its not a book I want to re-read. The ending is very emotional, and I would recommend not having any knowledge about it before you start. Avoid online reviews as they blatantly give away the deeper meaning, and if you go into it blind, the ending is fairly shocking.

 

It's only short, under 200 pages and a lot of the pages are double spaced, as about half of it is reproductions of sections of the play.

 

Until the last chapter, the book was heading for a 2/6, but the last chapter pushed it to a 4.5/6.

 

4.5/6

 

Boy!  That's quite a change in rating!   All great reviews, BB! :)

 

 

Micro - Michael Crichton

 

Seven graduate students are recruited by a very lucrative micro-technology company who draws them in with promises of cutting-edge technology and a significant boost to their careers. They head to an island in Hawaii where the company is based, but soon find out that they have been misled and something very sinister is going on.

 

This was such a silly book. From what I gather, it was incomplete at the author's death in 2008 and finished off by Richard Preston (he of The Hot Zone).

 

I don't know who wrote what, but I have to say the dialogue is appallingly weak (some of the characters responses are so odd and outright stupid!) and the people are completely one-dimensional. We don't ever get to know them, and ultimately end up not caring about them.

 

The story is far fetched too, but still I found it very fast paced and easy to read. The hardback copy of just over 400 pages long, and although I'm slating it, I ended up finishing it in 3 days. Purely entertainment for those moments when you just don't want to use your brain.

 

Avoid if you want a serious book....pick up if you fancy something utterly stupid. :D

 

1.5/6

 

I've only read one of Crichton's books, Air Frame....it was ok, but not something that made me want to seek out all of his writing.   Sorry it was so horrible! 

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Micro - Michael Crichton

 

Avoid if you want a serious book....pick up if you fancy something utterly stupid. :D

 

1.5/6

:giggle2: , but it must be a stinker of a book..... :o

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Boy!  That's quite a change in rating!   All great reviews, BB! :)

 

I've only read one of Crichton's books, Air Frame....it was ok, but not something that made me want to seek out all of his writing.   Sorry it was so horrible! 

 

Thanks, Pontalba. Yeah, the rating did change drastically. It was one of those books where the ending completely turns it on it's head and it makes sense.

 

I enjoyed Airframe when I read it; I've enjoyed most of Crichton's books, but this one was definitely his worst.

 

:giggle2: , but it must be a stinker of a book..... :o

 

It's not my lowest score. Last year I gave a book 0/6. :giggle2:

 

Fancy something utterly stupid -- definitely sells it. ;) I had no idea that Michael Crichton had died. I wonder if it was still needing re-writes; it sounds appallingly bad.

 

It's been a while since I read a Michael Crichton book, but I don't recall any of them being as poorly written as this one. I think it would have been best left unfinished and unpublished.

 

Hahaha I had seen Micro on Goodreads before and was wondering about it..... definitely avoid then! :lol:

 

Yah, one to avoid. :lol:

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Until the last chapter, the book was heading for a 2/6, but the last chapter pushed it to a 4.5/6.

Wow, that's a big difference! The last chapter must have been good.

 

Shame Micro wasn't good at all. I've read The Andromeda Strain by him (in Dutch) and I quite liked that one. I still have a couple of his on my TBR. I'm glad you liked most of his books. Such a shame you didn't like Micro, it sounds like one to avoid. 

 

Fancy something utterly stupid -- definitely sells it. ;) I had no idea that Michael Crichton had died. I wonder if it was still needing re-writes; it sounds appallingly bad.

I didn't know he had died either :(

 

It's not my lowest score. Last year I gave a book 0/6. :giggle2:

Which one was that :o?

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Wow, that's a big difference! The last chapter must have been good.

It completely changed the book. Once I finished it, it made sense, whereas prior to the last chapter I had no idea what to make of it or what the animals represented.

 

Which one was that :o?

An appallingly unfunny book called Missing Gretyl by Si Page. It was nasty, judgemental and tried to be funny (but was actually malicious) about certain classes/groups of people. Mind you, it has an average of 4.5 stars on Amazon, but I just hated it. :censored:

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It completely changed the book. Once I finished it, it made sense, whereas prior to the last chapter I had no idea what to make of it or what the animals represented.

Oh wow, it's worth persevering in that case :).

 

An appallingly unfunny book called Missing Gretyl by Si Page. It was nasty, judgemental and tried to be funny (but was actually malicious) about certain classes/groups of people. Mind you, it has an average of 4.5 stars on Amazon, but I just hated it. :censored:

Wow, how odd it has so many good reviews. I'm sorry you didn't like it at all. The synopsis sounds a bit weird.

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I'm gonna check out that Martel one! (God damn it I added it on goodreads and spotted a word in a review that spoiled it! Dammit!!!!!!)

How incredibly annoying :banghead:. I'm so sorry for you :(!! I don't get that people don't take better care.

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How incredibly annoying :banghead:. I'm so sorry for you :(!! I don't get that people don't take better care.

 

I'm still going to read it because it does seem even more intriguing now, but I'm gutted I'm not going to get 'the shock' from it.

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This always happens to me! I just glanced down and saw the one word and was like oh. Okay. Well that's what the entire book is about, then. Rah. Oh well! Hopefully I'll still be able to appreciate it, though. 

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Ok - I'm curious now. What word was it?

 

 

Holocaust. It was a comment on whether the author has a right to/is in a position to talk about such things? I'm assuming the whole book is like an allegory or something.

 

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I'm adding an extra post here because sometimes if you look at the 'most recent post' dropdown on a thread, you can see the contents of spoiler tags. I've had several books spoiled that way!

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I thought that would be the word. I don't think it will lessen the impact too much but you will spend 95% of the book wondering how that is relevant, as it's only mentioned at the very end. It is indeed an allegory for the aforementioned mystery word, but it's not obvious until spelled out at the end. :D

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How incredibly annoying :banghead:. I'm so sorry for you :(!! I don't get that people don't take better care.

 

I find it incredible as well, although not surprising sorry to say.  A while back a poster on Good Reads reviewed a book by adding to her "review" every few days as she read the book.  Telling all about it, practically a blow by blow description!  It irritated me so much that I posted in the comments that since she'd posted so many details I didn't need to read the book now!  Hah, lol.  Do you know she defended herself, and to my great surprise many others came to her "defense" saying they were glad she'd done that. 

So.  There is no telling about People!  :dunno:  It really does take all kinds!!  Which, in the long run, is a good thing, if inexplicable at times.  :)

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I find it incredible as well, although not surprising sorry to say.  A while back a poster on Good Reads reviewed a book by adding to her "review" every few days as she read the book.  Telling all about it, practically a blow by blow description!  It irritated me so much that I posted in the comments that since she'd posted so many details I didn't need to read the book now!  Hah, lol.  Do you know she defended herself, and to my great surprise many others came to her "defense" saying they were glad she'd done that. 

So.  There is no telling about People!  :dunno:  It really does take all kinds!!  Which, in the long run, is a good thing, if inexplicable at times.  :)

Wow.. that's terrible! How annoying :(. I find it hard to understand how people can defend her. She should at the very least have put at the top of her review that she'd be spoiling the book (maybe she did though). Anyway, ugh, I don't get why some people don't get most people don't like to be spoiled.

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Wow. How can anyone defend that? Did she at least precede the review with 'This is going to be a spoiler filled blow by blow review'? I could understand it a little more then.

 

 

Wow.. that's terrible! How annoying :(. I find it hard to understand how people can defend her. She should at the very least have put at the top of her review that she'd be spoiling the book (maybe she did though). Anyway, ugh, I don't get why some people don't get most people don't like to be spoiled.

 

It was for the book, It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis.  Here is the review and the thread of comments.  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1411374339?book_show_action=true&from_review_page=1

 

I think it was defended because of the sort of book it is.  Fiction, but.  If that makes any sort of sense. :)

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It was for the book, It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis.  Here is the review and the thread of comments.  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1411374339?book_show_action=true&from_review_page=1

 

I think it was defended because of the sort of book it is.  Fiction, but.  If that makes any sort of sense. :)

Thanks for sharing that! I can't believe she got so many positive comments on her review. I really don't get some people. Well done on you for posting a negative comment about the spoilers.

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