What was the last 5-star book you read?

[Shimarenda]

The Man Who Was Thursday. It was the third time, but I see new things in it every time. It's a fun story, and Chesterton's actual points are far more subtle than one thinks at first glance.

[Joykins]

_Among Others_ by Jo Walton.

[David Marseilles]

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

Banana Yoshimoto's Kitchen was phenomenal for me. I have been reading alot of Japanese literature lately, and that one really struck a chord with me.

Lizard was my first Yoshimoto book. I wouldn't say I loved her work, but it's definitely worth experiencing. Shorts seemed to have gone out of style back when I first read it, so I found that aspect alone refreshing. I also hadn't read anything that celebrated the mundane quite like she did.

I think both are more common these days. I'm actually starting to feel old thinking about just how much things have changed since then.

[Fayth]

A Wise Man's Fear I suppose. I read Lord of the Rings again afterward, but it was a reread so I won't count that. I read A Wise Man's Fear and The Crippled God in the same week... It was glorious.

[SeaBookGuy]

Two nonfictions:

Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick

At Home by Bill Bryson

Sorry, but I don't read all that much fiction, and nothing this year has honestly been 5 star quality.

[Amalthia]

Originally Posted by rhadin

It has been a real struggle lately to find 5-star fiction ebooks. But there are some. I would give all of Vicki Tyley's mystery ebooks 5 stars. I would give all of Shayne Parkinson's historical fiction ebooks 5+ stars.

Hi,

I tried this story but all the quotation marks are like ' instead of "

Do you know if there is an United States english version of her novel? I've heard so many good things but the single quote mark on all dialog is incredibly distracting.

[elcreative]

Not sure that's the problem... single quote marks are nothing to do with real English as opposed to US... Double quote marks for dialogue are not a US speciality, just normal English regardless... more likely to be a formatting/typo/setup/OCR repetitive error...

Originally Posted by Amalthia

Hi,

I tried this story but all the quotation marks are like ' instead of "

Do you know if there is an United States english version of her novel? I've heard so many good things but the single quote mark on all dialog is incredibly distracting.

[kennyc]

Last Night on Twisted River - John Irving

Homer and Langley - E. L. Doctorow

[DreamWriter]

Originally Posted by elcreative

Not sure that's the problem... single quote marks are nothing to do with real English as opposed to US... Double quote marks for dialogue are not a US speciality, just normal English regardless... more likely to be a formatting/typo/setup/OCR repetitive error...

That's interesting. My husband's sister is an excellent writer. She was born and raised in the U.S., but she has lived in Australia for almost 30 years now. She recently sent us a draft of her autobiography. All of the dialogue was set off by single quotation marks, so I had assumed that was the way it was done in that part of the world.

Shayne Parkinson, who also uses single quote marks, is in New Zealand. Does anyone know if this is the way it's done in Australia and New Zealand?

[viviena]

Originally Posted by elcreative

Double quote marks for dialogue are not a US speciality, just normal English regardless... more likely to be a formatting/typo/setup/OCR repetitive error...

Formal British English uses single quotation marks for dialogue. Formal Australian English usually follows this.

Originally Posted by DreamWriter

All of the dialogue was set off by single quotation marks, so I had assumed that was the way it was done in that part of the world. ... Does anyone know if this is the way it's done in Australia and New Zealand?

Speaking for myself, I've always been taught to use single quotation marks with dialogue, and this is the recommended usage in some local academic style guides. It was certainly something I had to be careful to do at university in certain departments. In Australia however, outside academia, the government and maybe other arenas, it's a mix of British and American practices, or single and double quotation marks.

Also, thanks for the thread. I've been meaning to check out Shayne Parkinson's books for a while.

[DreamWriter]

Originally Posted by viviena

Formal British English uses single quotation marks for dialogue. Formal Australian English usually follows this.

Speaking for myself, I've always been taught to use single quotation marks with dialogue, and this is the recommended usage in some local academic style guides. It was certainly something I had to be careful to do at university in certain departments. In Australia however, outside academia, the government and maybe other arenas, it's a mix of British and American practices, or single and double quotation marks.

Thanks for clarifying that, viviena. The single quotation marks did distract me when I first began reading my Australian sister-in-law's autobiography, but it quickly ceased to be an issue for me. She is such a talented writer that I got lost in the story, and I no longer noticed the single quotes. Still, I did wonder about that!

[caleb72]

That's so funny. I'm an Australian and I assumed that I was always reading double-quoted dialog, but I just went through my books and I notice that I have a mixture of both.

The strange thing is I've never noticed the difference. My eyes can obviously detect quoted dialog without noticing the quotes themselves.

For myself, I've always tended to use double-quoted dialog if I'm writing/typing anything.

Regards
Caleb

[CWatkinsNash]

Originally Posted by viviena

Also, thanks for the thread. I've been meaning to check out Shayne Parkinson's books for a while.

I'm certain you won't regret it if you're a fan of historic fiction. The Promises to Keep trilogy actually reads as one long book, taking place over a period of just over 20 years. I could not stop reading until I finished the third book.

I very nearly went right into reading the sequel to the trilogy, A Second Chance, but managed to control myself, partially because Settling the Account (book #3) ends at a good stopping point. I'm very much looking forward to reading it, though.

The epubs are well formatted, too, or at least I didn't notice any formatting issues, which means it's better than many. (I have a Kindle but I always get the epub from Smashwords and then convert - their mobis still suffer too many problems after coming through the meatgrinder.) And you certainly can't beat the price - the first free, $1.99 each for the others.

As for the single quotes for dialog, I didn't even notice after the first few pages.

[straygator]

The Brief History of the Dead - Kevin Brockeier. Two intertwined story lines - one in a mid-apocalyptic 'real' world, and the other in in The City, where the dead live until the last living person to remember them dies. Great dynamic tension, and the writing is absolutely phenomenal.

[MrsJoseph]

Originally Posted by wvcherrybomb

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

That is on my TBR Mountian

Originally Posted by siraks

after seeing this, i did some research to get more info and was surprised by the great reviews and story.

i'm going to have to get this and start it right away, thanks

You won't be disappointed. I enjoyed it from the very start.