Monthly Archives: August 2013

Telex From Cuba by Rachel Kushner 2008/322 pages rating 8.5 / historical fiction This is Kushner’s first book which I decided to read after falling in love with her second,  The Flamethrowers (2013).    To an extent we have the same … Continue reading →

The Richest Woman in America: Hetty Green in the Gilded Age by Janet Wallach 2012/ 304 pages Rating 7 /biography Hetty Green is a fascinating character – at least I’m fascinated.  She was born very well off and was the … Continue reading →

Hetty: The Genius and Madness of America’s First Female Tycoon by Charles Slack 2004/288 pages Rating:  8 / biography What a fun book!  I really didn’t expect it to be so entertaining.  And Hetty is a rather surprising woman in some … Continue reading →

The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout 2013/ 320 pages Rating 8.5 / contemp fiction Every once in awhile a book comes along which just amazes me –  how do authors do this –  grab some thread of an idea and … Continue reading →

The Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner 2013/400 pages Rating  10 /contemp fiction (notes /spoilers —–>) Oh my what an excellent book!  I was not prepared at all for this from a woman author – (shame on me).   What I mean … Continue reading →

Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich 1984/4o0 pages  (rev. 1993, 2009) Rating:  8.5  / contemp Native American fiction Heck of a good book!   I’ve  read several of Erdrich’s novel’s and I think this is the best of the lot so … Continue reading →

The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert  Galbraith (England) (J.K. Rowling) 2013/464 pages Read by Robert Glenister 15 h.  54m. Rating:  A- /  Crime After losing a leg in Afghanistan,  Cormoran Strike is currently semi-employed as a private investigator.   It looks … Continue reading →

The Blue Fox by Sjon (Iceland) 2003/117 pages (Kindle) Rating 9 /magical realism This is a very short but dense and complex book –  on top of  that it’s beautifully written.   The word minimalist fits perfectly.  Perhaps also magical … Continue reading →

The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America by George Packer 2013/437 pages  (Kindle) Rating:  ?   /contemp. US non-fiction This book got hugely positive reviews and it was chosen as the book for the All-Nonfiction reading group for September.  What is Packer’s main … Continue reading →

To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf (England) 1927/122 pages Rating: 10 / classic This is a reread for me.  I loved it the first time but this time seemed kind of a slog, at least for the first few chapters. … Continue reading →

I’m doomed.   In my last post I wrote about how I couldn’t decide what to read next,  whether to tackle the books on the tbr shelf,  listen to a couple of Audible books or just go ahead and read … Continue reading →

Oh dear,  except for one really long history book,  Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898  by Edwin G. Burrows and Mike Wallace,  I seem to have caught up on the reading.  At least I’ve finished the “group reads” scheduled.  Now … Continue reading →

The Bellini Card  (#3 in Yashim the Ottoman series) by Jason Goodwin 2008 / 304 pages read by Steven Hove 10h 24m Rating B+/ historical crime In the mid-15th century a Turkish sultan named Mehmed conquered Constantinople and much of the rest … Continue reading →

The Shell Game by Steve Alten 2009 / 488p. Rating:  A- /dystopian I read this on the recommendation of my son-shine, Isaac.   He warned me that it was definitely 9/11 conspiracy-theory type stuff,   but said he enjoyed it … Continue reading →

Villette by Charlotte Bronte (England) 1853 / 432 pages rating:  9.5 / classic I truly enjoy reading classics –  they provide a peak into the past from the viewpoint of that past.   Yes, it takes a bit of work … Continue reading →

It’s probably apparent from my reading choices and ratings that I really enjoy and appreciate good historical fiction but what does that mean,  “good”?   I know it when I read it?   (LOL!)    Pretty much.  It can mean … Continue reading →

Mr. Churchill’s Secretary by Susan Elia MacNeal 2012/ 384 pages read by Wanda McCadden 9 h. 48m. Rating:  D / historical crime/spy I’m still wondering just what this book is –  is it historical fiction,  feminist fiction, a mystery or a … Continue reading →