Monthly Archives: October 2012

Cards On the Table by Agatha Christie 1936 / 224 pages read by Hugh Fraser / 6h rating 7 I’d never read this one – at least not that I remember and one would think I’d remember a book where … Continue reading →

The Racketeer by John Grisham 2012 / 352 pages read by J.D. Jackson – 12h 45m rating – A- I think Grisham is having fun again.  The Racketeer is the very imaginative story of a black lawyer,  Malcolm Bannister, who … Continue reading →

The Kitchen Daughter by Jael McHenry 2011 / Kindle / 306 pages Rating –  8 (very good / fun) Well I’m not sure what I was expecting but this wasn’t it.  I only read this because a reading group was … Continue reading →

Hanging By a Thread by Monica Ferris  (6th in the Needlecraft series) 2003 / 272 pages read by Susan Boyce / 6h 19m A- (if you like cozies) Oddly enough this came up for me at Halloween and there is … Continue reading →

Last Night in Montreal by Emily St. John Mandel 2009 / 256 pgs read by Alyssa Bresnahan ~ 8h 19m rating – 7.5  (very high for crime novels) A divorcing father has kidnapped 7-year old  daughter Lilia as he leaves … Continue reading →

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving 1820 – short story I know I read this in high school but I think I thought it was pretty stupid.  This time I really enjoyed it but it was from more … Continue reading →

New Finnish Grammar by Diego Marani 2000/2011 (Eng.) – 196 pgs Rating – 9 Wow!  This book is about memory and identity and language all mixed together.   During WWII a man is found near the exploded wreck of a … Continue reading →

The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin by H.W. Brands 2000 / 784 pages Read by Nelson Runger 36h 38m Rating:  8.5 Whew –  I finished!  This is a really long book but listening to Nelson Runger … Continue reading →

The Nose by Nikolai Gogol 1836 / short story Rating – 9 This is a VERY peculiar short story about a barber who finds a nose in his bread and the man who has lost his nose.  The nose gets some … Continue reading →

A Murderous Yarn by Monica Ferris 2002 / 256 pages Read by Susan Boyce – 6h 52m Rating – B This is number 5 in the Needlecraft series –  I do NOT know why I like them – they’re kind … Continue reading →

In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez 1994 / 352 pages Rating: 6 I’ve been wanting to read this for some time –  probably ever since I read The Feast of the Goat by Mario Vargas Llosa,  a Peruvian writer.   … Continue reading →

Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan 2012/ 304 pages read by Ari Fliakos / 7h 41m Rating 4 This book started out on such a great premise – a premise worthy of Umberto Eco or Neal Stephenson or even … Continue reading →

Galore by Michael Crummey 2009 / Kindle /  338 pages Raing – 9 Wow –  I just finished and I’m flabbergasted –  at a loss for words.  No,  it’s not a 10,  not even a  9.5 like Bring Up the … Continue reading →

A Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling 2012 / 512 pages read by Tom Hollander 17h. 55m. rating – 8 Don’t let the review by Michiko Kakutani fool you – there are plenty of great reviews of this book out there. … Continue reading →

Travels With Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck 1962 / 283 pages – re-read Rating 8.5 I am sooo glad I reread this book.  I wasn’t all in love with it the first time round (a 7!)  but … Continue reading →

Half-Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan 2012 / 343 pages Rating – 8.5 This should be interesting –  it’s kind of an historical novel – set in Paris – 1940,  Berlin – 1992,  Berlin – 1939, Paris – 1939,  and Poland – … Continue reading →

The Cossacks by Leo Tolstoy 1863 / 104 pages rating 9 I’ve wanted to read this book for ever so long and finally I get the chance!  I loved War and Peace and very much enjoyed Anna Karenina –  I’ve … Continue reading →