Just Finished and Currently Reading

Monday, March 7, 2016

I finished The Bookman's Tale by Charlie Lovett and as it promised, it really was a "delightful tale of love and bibliophilia." This fictional novel is about a young antiquarian bookseller who relocates to the English countryside, hoping to outrun his grief from the loss of his wife and rediscover the joy he once took in collecting and restoring rare books. This premise automatically caught my attention as I was craving a bookish book.

I thought that it was an effortless page-turner that is charming and compulsively readable. It was hard to put down, and it was so easy to read that I just went through it pretty quickly. I did like the relationships in this story, especially the romantic connection between two characters as I thought it was believable. However, there were admittedly some parts of the book that were just too over the top and not as realistic as I wish it was. For a book that calls itself a mysterious thriller, I felt that it lacked that thrill I was looking for. That being said, I still thoroughly enjoyed my time reading this novel. I would recommend it to readers craving for a very bookish book as it is essentially a novel for bibliophiles. 

Currently, I am reading The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. This novel is considered a phenomenon and is one of the seminal works of twentieth-century Russian literature. In this fictional story, the devil is disguised as a magician and he goes to Moscow in the 1930s, accompanied with a talking cat and an expert assassin. Yes, you read that right. A little odd? I guess you could say that. I am really liking it so far though, even though it is a bit of a strange novel. We'll just have to see what I eventually think of it when I'm finished with it. 

What was the last book you read and your current one? Would love to know! 



4 comments:

  1. The Bookman's Tale sounds like a book I would enjoy, but The Master and the Margarita intimidates me. Have thought about reading it for years, but always seem to pick up something else instead. I started Missoula yesterday.... ivery good so far, but infuriating!

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  2. The Master and the Margarita definitely sounds both intimidating and intriguing. I can see myself wanting to try it but I will probably wait to hear your thoughts on it.

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  3. I think I had a similar experience with The Bookman's Tale. I liked certain parts, but there were others that seemed a bit impossible to me.

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  4. The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov comes highly recommended to me, but I have yet to read it. I do have a copy at least. I just need to make time for it. I am glad you are enjoying it!

    The Bookman's Tale sounds like a great bookish read. I'm grateful for the warning about it not being quite the thriller you expected--that will help me keep my own expectations reasonable.

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