Thoughts on books to read in your spare time…
I read Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell over a decade ago, before I kept any regular record on Goodreads. I picked it up for a reading challenge–the prompt was a book longer than one you’d usually read–and also because I had been intrigued by the reviews. Magic and fantasy are not typically my thing, but … Continue reading 20 Books of Summer: Piranesi
Please forgive my unintentional hiatus. I went away on a Friday in July, fully intending to return on Tuesday, and then I just didn’t. I have reasons, but most of them are boring. Nothing dramatic, nothing earthshaking. Let’s just say that summer takes it out of me, and I am so happy to see the … Continue reading So Many Books, So Few Reviews
Kent Haruf is not a writer for everyone. For example, if you have no interest in what goes on, say, outside of Brooklyn, or anywhere in between New York City and San Francisco (or Los Angeles or Seattle), then Kent Haruf is probably not an author for you. Or if you have no interest in … Continue reading The Tie That Binds
Four or five years ago, publishers seemed to be releasing novels about zombies every five seconds. Okay, the novels weren’t all about zombies--there were vampires and werewolves in there, too--and maybe not every five seconds (every ten seconds), but you get my drift: lots of novels about zombies. Amy Grace Loyd’s The Affairs of Others … Continue reading Reader’s Journal: The Affairs of Others
Before we begin, you need to understand one thing: The Art of Fielding is not a baseball story; The Art of Fielding is a love story. Yes, that's right: a love story. College Sophomore Mike Schwartz spots Henry Skrimshander--where else?--on a baseball field on a late summer afternoon. Schwartz has an eye for potential talent, … Continue reading The Art of Fielding
Dr. Jennifer White was once a prominent orthopedic surgeon. Now she suffers from Alzheimer's disease, and her close friend and neighbor for more than three decades has been found murdered, the four fingers on her right hand removed with surgical precision. I put Alice LaPlante's Turn of Mind on my hold list at the library … Continue reading Turn of Mind
I don't read much chick lit. Now, before you go calling me snob, you should know that I am not against the "chick" genre per se. After all, I do own the entire Sex and the City series, which I know is a television show but should count for something--even though I never read the … Continue reading Reader’s Journal: Anybody Out There?
Note: If you haven't read the book or seen the movie, be warned: spoilers ahead. It's not so much that I can't think of anything to say about Gone with the Wind as that I have so much to say and I am unsure how to contain it. One could easily imagine that the phrase … Continue reading Reader’s Journal: Gone with the Wind
Have you ever read a book that you enjoyed immensely, but found you couldn’t think of what to say about it? I enjoyed every single second I spent with Jedediah Berry’s The Manual of Detection, but I did make one big mistake: I lost the momentum. Late in the evening last Monday, the night before … Continue reading Reader’s Journal: The Manual of Detection
We had a short trip to make this week, and Gone with the Wind was too cumbersome to carry on the plane. The pristine library copy of The Manual of Detection holds only one remaining unread chapter for me, not enough for four or so hours on a plane (not to mention any possible time … Continue reading Orbis Terrarum & 1% Well-Read: Wide Sargasso Sea
The Evening Reader 