Monthly Archives: January 2012

River of Smoke by Amitov Ghosh 2011 / 528 pages fiction – 2nd in trilogy  “The Ibis Trilogy” rating –  9 Whew!   I just finished the second time – and I’m counting it twice.   I listened the first time … Continue reading →

Moonwalking With Einstein by Joshua Foer non-fiction/science 2011 / US / 320 pages Audible 9h 33m Mike Chamberlain Rating 7.5 I enjoyed this for the most part – the mnemonic tricks are pretty widely known but the info on reading, … Continue reading →

Ferdydurky by Witold Gombrowicz 1937 / Poland / 281 pages Rating – 8.75  (omg) This is one strange little book. The title is a meaningless bunch of  pronounceable letters possibly indicating the book may be utter nonsense.   It’s major … Continue reading →

The Chicago Way by Michael Harvy 2007 / 320 pages Audible – 8h.10m narrated by Stephen Hoye The story’s pretty good but the narrator about made me unplug permanently.  For some reason – suspense or coolness, I don’t know which … Continue reading →

The Hare with Amber Eyes: A Family’s Century of Art and Loss Edmund de Waal 2011 / 368 pages rating – 9.25 I don’t quite know how to “classify” this book.  I’m certain and glad it’s non-fiction, to say otherwise … Continue reading →

Lord of the Flies by Arthur Golding 1954 / 203 pages / Kindle Rating – 9 I don’t know how I never managed to read this book before.  Dad was an English teacher and used this in his classes – … Continue reading →

Well – I’m not finishing much these days –  I’m rereading River of Smoke by Amitov Ghosh – this time in Kindle format.  I’m about 1/3 finished and throwing up some NOTES.   I’m reading The Hair with the Amber … Continue reading →

The Crime of Martin Sostre by Vincent Copeland 1970 / 210 pages rating – 7.5  (10 for content) This is an older book but it was very interesting to read, maybe especially in view of recent reading about US Black … Continue reading →

River of Smoke by Amitov Ghosh 2011  (528 pages) Audible by Sanjiv Jhaveri – 22h. 34m. fiction – 2nd in series rating I really didn’t get “into” this book at all.  The last part was quite good but the rest all seemed … Continue reading →

For a long time I’ve followed the discussions about plagiarism and historical fiction – or literature in general – or other matters pertaining to historical fiction particularly.  How much can you quote without plagiarizing?  When an author uses the words of an … Continue reading →

Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch by Sally Bedell Smith 2012 /  688 pages biography Rating – 7 This book sounds like it would be long and boring but it’s only one of those –  long.  It’s … Continue reading →

Byzantium: The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire by Judith Herrin 2011 / 440 pages history/non-fict rating 9 I spent several weeks reading this – going a chapter or so a week as the group suggested.  Then I coudn’t stand … Continue reading →

Ordinary Love & Good Will by Jane Smiley 1989 / 208 pages / Kindle Two different novellas with the same theme – Ordinary Love is the first person tale of a woman who destroys her marriage because she wants to … Continue reading →

Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid that Sparked the Civil War by Tony Horwitz 2011 / 384 pages non-fiction / history rating 9.5 I’ve read quite a number of Horwitz’ books,  Confederates in the Attic,  On the Road,  Blue … Continue reading →

Still Midnight by Denise Mina – 2009 audio – 11h. 3m.  narrated by Jane McFarlane rating – 6/10  – fairly high for crime fiction Interesting book takes place in an immigrant community in Scotland where an Asian family’s home is … Continue reading →

  by Karen Russell 2010 / hard-cover – 316 pages fiction/    rating – 7 I really didn’t particularly like this book either –  that’s two in a row,  I think.   Swamplandia is simply kind of silly although I … Continue reading →

 by Chris Tsiolkas – 2010/496 pages  narrated by Alex Dimitriades/ 15h. 42m.  rating 6 (mixed)  I am sooooo glad I am finished with this book.  I feel a bit dirty and like I’ve been overly  involved    with a soap-opera. … Continue reading →