Leni Zumas's writing crackles. Her books are sharp, bleak, funny, and possibly dangerous. When her collection of short stories, Farewell Navigator,...
Continue »
A small window providing glimpses of Saramago's life, in an autobiography that reads more like poetry. Honest, vivid, and unforgettable, it feels as though you are able to sit with the author in the landscape of his childhood and have one last chat.
This book has a certain flavor about it that reminded me more of George MacDonald and the older Grimm's tales than of Harry Potter. Narnia mixed with a little Salinger, if anything. It has a compelling group of characters, a wealth of landscapes, some genuinely shocking moments, and a plot that I'm happy to learn will be continued in a new novel.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(1 of 1 readers found this comment helpful)
Brilliant. It was strange to get one third of this book from Indiespensable, but that was enough to get me hooked. Now I own 1.3 copies, and no regrets. Mix Irish boarding schools, religion in the modern world, the mysteries of the 14-year-old mind, doughnut shops, text message haiku, and quantum mechanics- and the result is funny, terrible, poignant and beautiful. The kind of book to inspire the right sort of cliches, like: "It will stay with you for a long time."
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(5 of 8 readers found this comment helpful)
Connie Willis is back with the first part of an epic, one that draws on her usual strengths and exhibits new ones. Time travel features again, though the troubles with that particular type of travel are only a backdrop for different stories of the English people during World War II. Willis is so very good at creating a vivid sense of place, and, more importantly, character, while maintaining various story threads. It's easy to bond with these people who, like us, start as objective observers, only to be completely immersed in a very real, very chaotic world. I am finding it hard to wait for the second act...
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(5 of 8 readers found this comment helpful)
A compelling and insightful read, one that should have a wide appeal. A historical look at disease and the city of London in the 1850s, told through the very human story of discovery. Dr. John Snow and the Reverend Henry Whitehead were quietly determined to find solutions and to genuinely help people, working against both popular theories and panic. Well written and well researched, though the conclusion is less so, and Johnson's epilogue felt a little clunky. Still, the kind book that unexpectedly pops up in conversation often, and becomes recommended by all sorts of readers (initially pitched to me by a fan of medical thrillers, followed by a plug from a biotech professor, and finally shared by a lone literary critic).
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(4 of 6 readers found this comment helpful)
Powell's City of Books is an independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon, that fills a whole city block with more than a million new, used, and out of print books. Shop those shelves — plus literally millions more books, DVDs, and eBooks — here at Powells.com.
Don't Miss
Customer Comments
Too Many Notes has commented on (6) products.
Small Memories by Jose Saramago
Too Many Notes, January 18, 2012
A small window providing glimpses of Saramago's life, in an autobiography that reads more like poetry. Honest, vivid, and unforgettable, it feels as though you are able to sit with the author in the landscape of his childhood and have one last chat.The Magicians by Lev Grossman
Too Many Notes, January 25, 2011
This book has a certain flavor about it that reminded me more of George MacDonald and the older Grimm's tales than of Harry Potter. Narnia mixed with a little Salinger, if anything. It has a compelling group of characters, a wealth of landscapes, some genuinely shocking moments, and a plot that I'm happy to learn will be continued in a new novel.(1 of 1 readers found this comment helpful)
Skippy Dies by Paul Murray
Too Many Notes, October 17, 2010
Brilliant. It was strange to get one third of this book from Indiespensable, but that was enough to get me hooked. Now I own 1.3 copies, and no regrets. Mix Irish boarding schools, religion in the modern world, the mysteries of the 14-year-old mind, doughnut shops, text message haiku, and quantum mechanics- and the result is funny, terrible, poignant and beautiful. The kind of book to inspire the right sort of cliches, like: "It will stay with you for a long time."(5 of 8 readers found this comment helpful)
Blackout by Connie Willis
Too Many Notes, May 4, 2010
Connie Willis is back with the first part of an epic, one that draws on her usual strengths and exhibits new ones. Time travel features again, though the troubles with that particular type of travel are only a backdrop for different stories of the English people during World War II. Willis is so very good at creating a vivid sense of place, and, more importantly, character, while maintaining various story threads. It's easy to bond with these people who, like us, start as objective observers, only to be completely immersed in a very real, very chaotic world. I am finding it hard to wait for the second act...(5 of 8 readers found this comment helpful)
The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic--And How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World by Steven Johnson
Too Many Notes, January 22, 2010
A compelling and insightful read, one that should have a wide appeal. A historical look at disease and the city of London in the 1850s, told through the very human story of discovery. Dr. John Snow and the Reverend Henry Whitehead were quietly determined to find solutions and to genuinely help people, working against both popular theories and panic. Well written and well researched, though the conclusion is less so, and Johnson's epilogue felt a little clunky. Still, the kind book that unexpectedly pops up in conversation often, and becomes recommended by all sorts of readers (initially pitched to me by a fan of medical thrillers, followed by a plug from a biotech professor, and finally shared by a lone literary critic).(4 of 6 readers found this comment helpful)
1-5 of 6next