Monthly Archives: May 2013

The Expats by Chris Pavone (US) 2013/336 pages read by Mozhan Marno 12h 27m rating:  B+ Kate Moore has quit her CIA job and is following her husband and his career in banking and investment computer security.    She tries to … Continue reading →

Before the Poison by Peter Robinson (Canada)  2011 / 368 pages read by Susan Lyons, Toby Lennet Moore 13h 56m Rating:  C- A atmospheric murder story taking place in a really gothic-type setting is not so easy to get into in sunny … Continue reading →

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce (England) 2012/ 336 pages Rating: 9 The premise is simple – a man gets a letter from an old female co-worker, Queenie Hennessy,  who is now dying far away. He decides … Continue reading →

The Man of Numbers:  Fibonacci’s Arithmetic Revolution by Keith Devlin (England) 2011 / 192 pages rating – 7 Okay – so having a bit of time available (not really but I’m in a lot of denial).  Anyway,  I gave the … Continue reading →

Dry Bones by Peter May (Scotland) 2006/336 pages read by Simon Vance 10h 21m rating:  C This is the first of the Enzo Files books by May,  originally called “Extraordinary People.”   The Scottish Detective Enzo Macleod is currently living in … Continue reading →

Just thought of another “walking” book!   The Lighthouse by Alison Moore – read in February of this year.   Oh my –  that book has another male protagonist taking off on a foot-tour, this time in Germany.  He planned the … Continue reading →

Currently well involved in “The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry” by Rachel Joyce and want to stop to reflect. It’s another “walking wanderer” book. I’ve read several of these “trek” books lately (6 months!): “The Year of the Hare” (Arto … Continue reading →

Moo by Jane Smiley 1995 / 432 pages rating – 7 This is a hard one!  If I’d read it back in 1995 I would have laughed and laughed – thoroughly enjoyed it.   But I read it in 2013 … Continue reading →

The Second Death of Goodluck Tinubu by Michael Stanley (southern  Africa) 2009 / 496 pages read by Simon Prebble 13h 52m rating: B+ When two tourists and guests are viscously murdered in their tents at a Botswana remote bush camp … Continue reading →

A Cold and Lonely Place by Sara J. Henry 2013 – 304 pages read by Abby Craden 8h 32m rating A- This is the second in a possible series featuring Troy Chance,  a freelance writer who lives in upstate New … Continue reading →

All That Is by James Salter 2013 / 304 pages rating:   6 Boring.   One Amazon reader said “Salter is often mentioned in the breath just after American masters like Philip Roth, John Updike, and Norman Mailer.”   Well … Continue reading →

God’s War: A New History of the Crusades by Christopher Tyerman (England) 2007 / 1056 pages – Kindle (and no page numbers) rating: “We are still living with the images and legends of the crusades Tyerman tells us how the Church … Continue reading →

Praxis by Fay Weldon (England) 1978  / 256 pages Rating: 5 – feminist What did I not enjoy about Praxis?  Basically, it felt really dated to me.  This is a book from the “consciousness-raising” era of women’s lit.   The … Continue reading →

Well,  I’ve been away for a week in North Dakota and although I read a bit,  it wasn’t as nearly as much as usual due to dealings with family – (a good time was had by all).   And I … Continue reading →

Today,  May 8,  is the birthday of Thomas Pynchon, a hugely favorite author,  so in honor of that someone dreamed up Pynchon in Public Day.  This is quite funny because the author himself is pretty much of a recluse. This … Continue reading →

The Thief by Fuminori Nakamura 2012 / 211 pages read by Charlie Thurston –  4h 1m Nakamura’s first novel to be translated into English is a very dark tale, gritty and graphic, about a pick-pocket in Tokyo.  The first person narrator (unnamed … Continue reading →

Cocaine Blues by Kerry Greenwood (Australia) 1989 / 175 pages read by Stephanie Daniel / 5h 50m rating: C- Well I’ve been wanting to try a Phryne Fisher book and at the moment I found I could use a book … Continue reading →