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274 ratings (4.13 avg)
243 reviews

Peter Carter

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Peter’s Bookshelves

to-read‎ (394)
currently-reading‎ (5)
read‎ (327)

did-not-finish‎ (2)
owned-read‎ (86)
read-audiobook‎ (71)

library-read‎ (40)
read-kindle‎ (24)
owned-want-to-read‎ (10)

re-read‎ (6)

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Peter is Currently Reading

Peter Carter is currently reading

The Secret History

by Donna Tartt

bookshelves: currently-reading

Reading for the 2nd time

read in October 2025

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Peter Carter said: " *Spoilers*
Amazingly well-written, fun, and engaging... at least through the end of Book 1. The first page of the book tells you the whodunit of the murder, and the journey of the why guides and propels you through the first half of the book (or Book *Spoilers*
Amazingly well-written, fun, and engaging... at least through the end of Book 1. The first page of the book tells you the whodunit of the murder, and the journey of the why guides and propels you through the first half of the book (or Book 1). Book 2 is the consequences of the murder and the spiraling out of the murderers. It's less engaging, but still written with aplomb that had me constantly asking myself how such a talented author was going to end this distinctive story in a satisfying way. Surprisingly, I was left perplexed, as if you anticipating dessert was going to be the best part and discovered after the last course that dessert was not going to be served. I've read many reviews from people who both loved and hated the book, both for reasons I would disagree with, but no one denies that the literary voice is superb. It reminded me of realism and familiarity of Fitzgerald and Salinger, but with the pulpiness of YA literature (e.g. Hunger Games) and the cleverness of a detective novel. What I was hoping for was the some version of the redemption and profundity of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. If there was a glimpse of grace and redemption, as some reviews read that there is, then it was done in such a way as to make Evelyn Waugh's twitch upon the thread of grace feel like in-your-face moralizing... I am still open to being convinced that there is another layer behind the veil that I have yet to see which makes more sense of it all, similar to how many misreadings of Flannery O'Connor's works neglect how much grace and the lack thereof permeates her stories.

As to the claim that the book is pretentious and ultimately obnoxious, I believe that while that is certainly a feature of the self-important and deeply flawed characters but a misreading of the book, telling more about the reader. If there is no sympathy or enjoyment of reading about a group of young adults studying Classics at a small liberal arts college in a bucolic New England setting then the context itself will be off-putting regardless of the direction of the story or the quality of the writing. ...more "

progress:

(25%)
— Nov 03, 2026 05:15PM

Oct 16, 2025 12:41PM · see review

Peter Carter is currently reading

Pride and Prejudice

by Jane Austen

bookshelves: owned-read, currently-reading

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(63%)
— 1 hour, 22 min ago

Nov 02, 2026 07:23PM

Peter Carter is currently reading

The Problem of Pain

by C.S. Lewis

bookshelves: currently-reading, owned-read

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(60%)
— Nov 02, 2026 04:59AM

Oct 31, 2026 05:22PM

See all 5 books that Peter is reading…

Peter’s Notes & Highlights

Silas Marner by George Eliot

24 highlights

If there is an angel who records the sorrows of men as well as their sins, he knows how many and deep are the sorrows that spring from false ideas for which no man is culpable.

Howards End

by E.M. Forster

36 highlights
Twelfth Night

by William Shakespeare

15 highlights

See Peter Carter’s 37 books with notes and highlights…

Peter’s Quotes

“Wherever the Catholic sun doth shine,
There’s always laughter and good red wine.
At least I’ve always found it so.
Benedicamus Domino!”
― Hilaire Belloc

128 likes

“God has created me to do Him some definite service. He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission. I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons.

He has not created me for naught. I shall do good; I shall do His work. I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place, while not intending it if I do but keep His commandments.

Therefore, I will trust Him, whatever I am, I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him, in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him. If I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him. He does nothing in vain. He knows what He is about. He may take away my friends. He may throw me among strangers. He may make me feel desolate, make my spirits sink, hide my future from me. Still, He knows what He is about.”
― John Henry Newman

tags: catholic, catholicism, christianity, god, religion

229 likes