David,

Just a quick note to let you know that I finally got a chance to read "Restless" by William Boyd. I positively loved it! I suggested it to my contemporary book club and they will all be reading it in a few months...so you'll get at least 16 more readers of that book in my neighborhood soon. You can read my 5-star review on LibraryThing. Again, your recommendation was a bullseye.

Your first bullseye recommendation was "Sunday at the Pool in Kigali" by Giles Courtemanche which I read over a month ago and let you know in a previous comment about my feelings -- as you said: "it knocked my socks off." How British!

I've still got three more recommendations from you: 1) Elliot Perlman's "Seven Types of Ambiguity" 2) Indra Sin'sh "Animal People" and 3) Murakami's "South of the Border, West of the Sun." Eventually, I'll get around to all three...how can I resist after two solid bulleyes.

Barbara

posted by msbaba at 1:57 am (EST) on Apr 11, 2008

Just wanted to thank you for your reviews, I got particular enjoyment from the short and sharp ones, you've encouraged me to try and review some of mine and I've taken some reading ideas from them.

All the best

Caoimhe

posted by caoimheb at 11:47 am (EST) on Mar 26, 2008

Thanks for checking on the Murakami for me, David. I'll probably move onto "The Elephant Vanishes" when I've finished my current short story collection, which is a volume by the splendid and underrated Israeli writer Etgar Keret.

I didn't realise you were going to go to the highly esteemed Scott Pack to get me my recommendation! I reckon I used to be one of his best customers when he worked at Waterstone's - despite my staff discount at my beloved employers (Tesco), I've always preferred to go to proper bookshops to feed my habit. You couldn't ask him if he could get me a job as well, could you?

Cheers,
Graham

posted by Grammath at 5:26 pm (EST) on Jan 30, 2008

They should start with The Elephant Vanishes I reckon.

Welcome to LibraryThing!

posted by scottpack at 4:50 pm (EST) on Jan 29, 2008

Hi David,

I saw a few of your funny and/or spot-on one line reviews for many of my favorite books and I just had to write you. I make it a habit of clicking on Reviews almost everyday, sometimes more often...you'd be surprised to see how often the page is completely new. I love reading what others say about books I've read. It often makes me want to go back a reread a classic.

In your case, what caught my eye was that there was a review out there at all for an old-time classic favorite of mine: "The Moon's a Balloon." Then I noticed you'd reviewed a couple in a row that I love or am significantly interested in reading: Animal's People by Indra Sinha (on my to-read list); The Wind-up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami (also on my to-read list -- just finished Kafka on the Shore -- Wow!); Pompeii by Robert Harris (listened to an audio version a few years ago while commuting to work); The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon (heard about it for years and finally read it last year); Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (read it last year and absolutely LOVED it; The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins (bought a copy and read it...but not cover-to-cover, preferred "Letter to a Christian Nation); and finally, Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis (read it AGES ago--great British humor.

Anyway, it seems our books interests are very similar, so I added you to my Interesting libraries.

I LOVED your pithy and humorous review of "Love and Peace:" "I read this at the same time as my wife. She finished first but she only read Peace." Ha! ...I'm with your wife! So you are both avid readers? My husband reads magazines and does cross-word puzzels...it is VERY hard for me to get him to read books, except those on aviation.

I'm afraid I do too long reviews. I love the thought process of thinking about writing them and then doing so. It keeps me intellectually alert and engaged. I also find I end up appreciating the book I've just finished more if I take the time to really give it some serious thought and write a long newspaper-column-like review.

But your marvelous little one liner gems are golden!

Write me from time to time whenever you get a book that really enthralls you...one that is not yet in my Library...I bet it will be one that my mind will make a strong connection to as well.

Barbara

posted by msbaba at 4:01 pm (EST) on Jan 21, 2008