ariadna73 - aNobii

Books (856)

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- Varamo (1)
- By César Aira
- Finished on May 26, 2012
  
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Varamo

Very short and easy to read. Very enjoyable

To read my review in spanish, click on this link: http://lunairereadings.blogspot.com/2012/05/varamo-cesa…
This book is another example of the magic realism. This short story describes what happened to mr. Varamo, a gray public servant, in the ten hours he took to write a masterpiece of po ... (continue)

To read my review in spanish, click on this link: http://lunairereadings.blogspot.com/2012/05/varamo-cesa…
This book is another example of the magic realism. This short story describes what happened to mr. Varamo, a gray public servant, in the ten hours he took to write a masterpiece of poetry. He was not a poet or any kind of writer for that matter, but nevertheless, he created this wonderful work that was ever since referenced as the work of a super genious. Aira describes every little aspect of what happened to Varamo that night and how he ended up writing this "Song of the virgin child" poem. I liked the humor and the lightness of the writing, and I was certainly grateful for the shortness of the book. I read it in less than an hour and liked it a lot.

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— May 27, 2012 | Add your feedback
- I'm Feeling Lucky (18)
- The Confessions of Google Employee Number 59
- By Douglas Edwards
- Finished on Apr 29, 2012
  
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I'm Feeling Lucky

Lucky, but overworked

To read my review in Spanish, click here: http://lunairereadings.blogspot.com/2012/04/im-feeling-…
Working for Google is rewarding, but not near as romantic as it sounds. It sucks the life out of its employees and makes them feel guilty for not giving even more. People there ... (continue)

To read my review in Spanish, click here: http://lunairereadings.blogspot.com/2012/04/im-feeling-…
Working for Google is rewarding, but not near as romantic as it sounds. It sucks the life out of its employees and makes them feel guilty for not giving even more. People there work typically between sixteen and eighteen hours a day, they do not have weekends, they sure have free lunch and dinner, and at some point they also had free massages. They have endless milk, naked juice, cereal, etc. But Google expects more than good performance in return. It expects everything and more. Not everyone is suitable for working in such a demanding environment, and this book written from inside shows that reality in a blatant way. This guy worked for Google for several years and in the end the company grew so big that there was not place for a "Brand Manager" any more. He went home with a great experience between his ears, and a good idea for an entertaining and funny book.

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— Apr 30, 2012 | Add your feedback
- This Will Make You Smarter (5)
- New Scientific Concepts to Improve Your Thinking
- By John Brockman
- Finished on Apr 22, 2012
  
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This Will Make You Smarter

Important peaces of information. A teasure of the mind.

To read my review in my Spanish blog, click here: http://lunairereadings.blogspot.com/2012/04/this-will-m…
There more than 150 bits of very valuable knowledge in this book. There are reflections on time, space science, physics, ethics, death, knowledge, learning, perspective, ... (continue)

To read my review in my Spanish blog, click here: http://lunairereadings.blogspot.com/2012/04/this-will-m…
There more than 150 bits of very valuable knowledge in this book. There are reflections on time, space science, physics, ethics, death, knowledge, learning, perspective, perception, etc. I liked that every articla was maximum two pages, and that the authors of each article made a real effort to be as clear as possible. I would like to have read a book with more quality in the printing or the quality of the paper, because that would make me have a stronger desire to have it on my shelf; but it is definitely worth a reading.

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— Apr 23, 2012 | Add your feedback
- Plancha (1)
- 150 Great Recipes for Spanish-Style Grilling
- By Liliane Otal
- Finished on Apr 1, 2012
  
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Plancha

Very beautiful and delicious!

Check my spanish commentary by clicking on this link: http://lunairereadings.blogspot.com/2012/04/plancha-lil…
This is a very beautiful book. The paper is super-high quality and so are the pictures. The food represented in it is great and the recipes are really easy. Almost all of them ... (continue)

Check my spanish commentary by clicking on this link: http://lunairereadings.blogspot.com/2012/04/plancha-lil…
This is a very beautiful book. The paper is super-high quality and so are the pictures. The food represented in it is great and the recipes are really easy. Almost all of them are duable, and I even tried a couple! (Not with great success, I must say, but I will keep trying). This is a great coffee table book, and I really enjoyed looking at it, copying some of the recipes and trying some of them. I loved it!

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— Apr 2, 2012 | Add your feedback
- An Available Man (1)
- By Hilma Wolitzer
- Finished on Apr 8, 2012
  
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An Available Man

1 person find this helpful
From tears to laughter with the flip of a page

To read my comment in Spanish, click here: http://lunairereadings.blogspot.com/2012/04/available-m…
This is the first novel I read from this author, and I totally loved it. It is funny and in no way depressing despite the dangerous base theme: the death of a spouse of more than ... (continue)

To read my comment in Spanish, click here: http://lunairereadings.blogspot.com/2012/04/available-m…
This is the first novel I read from this author, and I totally loved it. It is funny and in no way depressing despite the dangerous base theme: the death of a spouse of more than 30 years. I think she is a great writer, capable of making the reader feel better although the moment is particularly sad. But the message is clear: life must go on, and our loved ones would like the best for us, and would not like to see us crying and suffering all the time. An available man is a recent widower that before long finds out that he is very popular in the single market. There are a lot of women that contact him and want to go out on dates with him, and he starts to feel that there is some hope in going on with his life after the terrible tragedy of losing his companion. I loved the neatness of this writing, and the care for the emotional equilibrium: not too much humor, not to much pain. I just loved the absolute caring and love this author put into her writing. I am definitely reading more books written by her. I am happy I found out about her. Once I am done with her, I will start with her daughter, I have heard that she is trying to write too.

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— Apr 9, 2012 | Add your feedback

- The Human Stain (222)
- By Philip Roth
- Finished on Mar 7, 2012
  
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The Human Stain

1 person find this helpful
A masterpiece. Wonderful.

To read my entry in Spanish about this book, click on the following link: http://lunairereadings.blogspot.com/2012/03/human-stain…
This book is the story of Coleman Silk; a prestigious professor who at the end of his life (72) is having an affair with a 34 year-old knockout girl. Sil ... (continue)

To read my entry in Spanish about this book, click on the following link: http://lunairereadings.blogspot.com/2012/03/human-stain…
This book is the story of Coleman Silk; a prestigious professor who at the end of his life (72) is having an affair with a 34 year-old knockout girl. Silk has been recently widowed and has retired himself from academic work because he was accused of being a racist. He called two students "spooks", meaning "ghosts", but Silk's enemies researched other convoluted meanings for the word, and found another meaning: "nigger". He had a lot of enemies because he was the dean of the faculty, and no dean has a lot of friends if they want to keep good academic quality under budget. The paradox is that Coleman silk, despite his green eyes and his white skin is in reality a black man himself. He comes from an African-American family, and he has been keeping that a secret because he was raised in the 1940-s, the most terrible years or segregation and racism.
What I loved about this novel is the way the author has to explain the situation and the psychology of the characters. He is able to speak with so many voices, and in so many tones, that reading his book is like going to the real world and seeing the characters live and talk. He is a creator and he can blow life into his character's skins. This book gave me great pleasure while I was reading it, and in the same time it taught me a lot of new words and styles of writing and talking. I thank the author for that. I think that is the valuable part of the relationship between a reader and an author.

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— Mar 8, 2012 | Add your feedback
- The Pale King (94)
- By David Foster Wallace
- Finished on May 9, 2012
  
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The Pale King

It is one of the greatest books I have ever read

To read my review in Spanish, click here: http://lunairereadings.blogspot.com/2012/05/pale-king-d…
This is a great work of art. I think it is one of the best books I have ever read. However, a note of caution I have to put here: it is tremendously boring. It has endless trans ... (continue)

To read my review in Spanish, click here: http://lunairereadings.blogspot.com/2012/05/pale-king-d…
This is a great work of art. I think it is one of the best books I have ever read. However, a note of caution I have to put here: it is tremendously boring. It has endless transcriptions of heavy meetings within the IRS workers in Peoria, Il; chapter after chapter of the IRS code of conduct and taxpayer’s instructions. It contains painfully detailed descriptions of things that don’t have any interest whatsoever; pages and pages of stuff that the reader can surely do without.
So, why is it so good? I don’t know. Maybe because of that: the endless nonsense in it. There is a very interesting introduction in chapter 9, where the author explains why he wrote what he wrote. And in spite of all the junk, there is a clear picture of the principal characters and their particular lives.
Unfortunately, this is a very raw work, very unfinished and unpolished. The author died of severe depression (took his own life) before he could finish the work. It is very painful to read the last chapter because it is a clear example of how unfinished the novel was. But I can assure that reading this book is really worth the pain. I loved the time I spent with it, and I may do it some other time. I will even give a second try to Infinite Jest, which I abandoned too soon, without knowing the brilliance of the mind behind the novel.

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— May 17, 2012 | Add your feedback
- A People's History of the United States (143)
- 1492 to the Present
- By Howard Zinn
- Finished on Mar 4, 2012
  
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A People's History of the United States

Same old story of unfairness

If you want to read my spanish review, click on the following link: http://lunairereadings.blogspot.com/2012/03/peoples-his…
The same old story: rich people have a lot, poor people have a little, many rich people work little, a lot of poor people work a lot. That seems ... (continue)

If you want to read my spanish review, click on the following link: http://lunairereadings.blogspot.com/2012/03/peoples-his…
The same old story: rich people have a lot, poor people have a little, many rich people work little, a lot of poor people work a lot. That seems unfair. This book shows it one more time, and it is very well written and understandable. I liked it, but I didn't see anything new in it. Maybe I am bored of hearing the same topics over and over again.

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— Mar 5, 2012 | Add your feedback
- The Sense of an Ending (166)
- By Julian Barnes
- Finished on Mar 4, 2012
  
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The Sense of an Ending

Very addictive, intelligent and worth the time.

To read my review in Spanish, click on the following link: http://lunairereadings.blogspot.com/2012/03/sense-of-en…
The circularity is the attribute that I liked the most in this book: there is no end, there is no beginning. Life is just a wide circle that looks alike from all ... (continue)

To read my review in Spanish, click on the following link: http://lunairereadings.blogspot.com/2012/03/sense-of-en…
The circularity is the attribute that I liked the most in this book: there is no end, there is no beginning. Life is just a wide circle that looks alike from all its perspectives. Actually, it lookes more like a sphere. I loved this addictive story about Tony, an elderly man who receives a visit from some long time forgotten ghosts from his youth. This is a great book, well written and very touching. I loved the suspense, the descriptions, the final twist that anyone and no-one could see coming. I really loved this author. No wonder how he has millions of fans around the world.

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— Mar 5, 2012 | Add your feedback
- The Physics Book (4)
- From the Big Bang to Quantum Resurrection, 250 Milestones in the History of Physics
- By Clifford A. Pickover
- Finished on Apr 14, 2012
  
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The Physics Book

A wonderful reference book

Read my Spanish review here: http://lunairereadings.blogspot.com/2012/04/physics-boo…
Very nice reference book. It is entertaining and beautiful. Perfect for any bookshelf.

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— Apr 15, 2012 | Add your feedback

- A visit from the Goon Squad (151)
- By Jennifer Egan
- Finished on Mar 4, 2012
  
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A visit from the Goon Squad

This book made me feel powerful over the characters and the story

This is what I wrote in anobii. To go to anobii, click the following link: If you want to read my comentary in my Spanish blog, click here: http://lunairereadings.blogspot.com/2012/03/visit-from-…
I loved this writer's style. This book is a compound of little tales that c ... (continue)

This is what I wrote in anobii. To go to anobii, click the following link: If you want to read my comentary in my Spanish blog, click here: http://lunairereadings.blogspot.com/2012/03/visit-from-…
I loved this writer's style. This book is a compound of little tales that can be read in a complete independent way, and in any order; and in spite of that, the book would never loose its sense. The message is there for us readers to build with the writer, and that is the major virtue of a artistic creator: the act of building with their audience. I loved this book because it is very well written, and uses the reader as part of the "creative team" of the story. It is a complete cycle in time: from half a century ago, to half a century in the future. It depicts anecdotes of different characters, and with that, it gives us the power to mold their fates. I felt very powerful while I read it, and I think that is what I liked the most.

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— Mar 4, 2012 | Add your feedback
- Books (9)
- A Living History
- By Martyn Lyons
- Finished on Dec 15, 2011
  
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Books

Beautiful and intelligent. The perfect mix.

Check out my review about this book in my blog in Spanish: http://lunairereadings.blogspot.com/2011/12/books-livin…
This book is very beautiful, heavy, printed in high-quality paper. I loved the illustrations in each and every page. I liked the way it explains plainly and ... (continue)

Check out my review about this book in my blog in Spanish: http://lunairereadings.blogspot.com/2011/12/books-livin…
This book is very beautiful, heavy, printed in high-quality paper. I loved the illustrations in each and every page. I liked the way it explains plainly and simply how the book has evolved until what it is nowadays. I would put this book as a decorative piece in my house, because it is beautiful and intelligent.

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— Dec 19, 2011 | Add your feedback
- La sonrisa etrusca (615)
- By José Luis Sampedro
- Finished on Dec 15, 2011
  
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La sonrisa etrusca

A beautiful little masterpiece.

Check out my review about this book in my blog in Spanish: http://lunairereadings.blogspot.com/2011/12/la-sonrisa-…
This novel tells the story of Bruno, a very old-fashioned farmer who, facing a terminal illnes, has to go to live with his son in the city. The amazing ... (continue)

Check out my review about this book in my blog in Spanish: http://lunairereadings.blogspot.com/2011/12/la-sonrisa-…
This novel tells the story of Bruno, a very old-fashioned farmer who, facing a terminal illnes, has to go to live with his son in the city. The amazing thing is that despite all his ignorance and old-fashioned-macho way of thinking, he starts learning -at his age- new ways of seeing life. This happens because he starts to spend time with his baby-grandson Brunettino; a little baby who without being able to say a word yet is capable of teaching Bruno the real meaning of life. I loved this novel because it is clear and goes to the point. There is no extra letter in it. It is a little masterpiece!

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— Dec 19, 2011 | Add your feedback
- Swimming for Exercise (1)
- Optimize Your Technique, Fitness and Enjoyment
- By Greg Whyte
- Finished on Dec 4, 2011
  
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Swimming for Exercise

Loved it. Easy advice, great photos.

Check out my review about this book in my blog in Spanish: http://lunairereadings.blogspot.com/2011/12/swimming-fo…
This is a great book to improve the swimming technique. It is very easy to understand and the photos are amazing. I really liked it, and will put its advice ... (continue)

Check out my review about this book in my blog in Spanish: http://lunairereadings.blogspot.com/2011/12/swimming-fo…
This is a great book to improve the swimming technique. It is very easy to understand and the photos are amazing. I really liked it, and will put its advice into practice as soon as tomorrow morning :-)

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— Dec 5, 2011 | Add your feedback
- Instrucciones para salvar el mundo/ Instructions to Save the World (4)
- By Rosa Montero
- Finished on Jan 31, 2012
  
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Instrucciones para salvar el mundo/ Instructions to Save the World

We should be grateful for what we have

Check out what I wrote in my Spanish blog: http://lunairereadings.blogspot.com/2012/01/instruccion…
Life is a gift; love is a gift. Even pain is a gift. This novel is the story of several people that don't know each other, but have something in common: they think the ... (continue)

Check out what I wrote in my Spanish blog: http://lunairereadings.blogspot.com/2012/01/instruccion…
Life is a gift; love is a gift. Even pain is a gift. This novel is the story of several people that don't know each other, but have something in common: they think they are unhappy, but in reality they are extremely happy and priviledged. The only one that should have something to complain about (a prostitute that is continually asaulted and abused by her pimp and other gangsters) is always thanking her God for the blessing of life and health. This novel is a reflection on how sometimes we are so focused in the bad aspects of what happens to us, that we forget to see how lucky we are. Lucky to be alive, lucky to have the relationships that we have, and lucky to have the capacity of feeling, even pain and sorow.

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— Feb 1, 2012 | Add your feedback