Patricia > Recent Status Updates

Out with the old. In with the new.

To say goodbye to the old year I chose the newest Paul Vidich spy novel.

Analise, a young Lebanese-American CIA agent, recruited out of Georgetown University, is assigned to find and kill a Hezbollah terrorist who is thought to be planning the assassination of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

It's refreshing to see strong, important women at the forefront.

Originally published in England as Maigret And The Flea. Maigret #74.

Very interesting and surprising.

I like historical fiction, and am finding the book very interesting. I haven't read the first two books in the series, so I can't compare them the way other readers have done. I read some, then take a break and go off and read another book because the fights between Catholics and Protestants start to run together. Plus, a 900 page book is heavy and uncomfortable to hold for long.

Not my kind of stories. Not able to appreciate his thinking. Maybe better reading for men.

This rambling tale makes no sense at all.

Margaret Atwood's brilliance continues to shine, illuminating and inspiring the reader towards creative and critical awareness of our quest for a better world.

Wish I'd read her other book first. Very colorful and descriptive writing. It has piqued my curiosity about Cambodia and renewed my intent to travel there. Sadly, it awoke the memory of that period in American history of the Vietnam war, and the scar of intervention and destruction caused by the US. It is a history that needs to be revealed and never repeated. Teera's story is insightful and moving.

Can't get interested in this. Am tossing it in the pile for some future date. Maybe.

An intriguing story and I like it. But- this business of going back and forth in time is irritating. I'm sure the author has his reasons, and it's his story, but to me these flashbacks are spoilers. I dont like spoilers.

Publisher forgot to edit this book. 247 pages that are going nowhere. Lots of words but nothing to say.

I've read some very good short story collections but this isn't one of them.

I am only reading this because it's the selection for my book group, otherwise I would have tossed it long before now. The book cover uses the word "suspense," and I'm waiting for that to materialize.

Finished...sort of.
My paperback copy is missing chapters 24-27, which leaves me disappointed. Chapters 21-23 repeat, so it's an obvious misprint.
It will have to go in the paper recycle bin instead of the library book sale.

This is a collection to be savored. The scope and variety surprises, entertains, and shocks. I don't read a book of short stories straight through the way I read a novel. The short story is often too intense. A novel is diluted with pages and pages of background, character analysis, scene-setting and digression. The short story, on the other hand is a straight shot, 100- proof, and goes right to your head. Shazam!

An engrossing account and beautifully written. So important that this story is told and read by so many.

Terrifyingly apropos to today's political climate.

A sad story well told. Humor was expected but never materialized for me.

This very interesting and important part of American history is finally revealed. A remarkable accomplishment!

An engaging read and clever writing. Original.