Monthly Archives: August 2013

Telex From Cuba

Posted on August 31, 2013 by

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 →

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The Richest Woman in America:

Posted on August 30, 2013 by

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 →

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Hetty

Posted on August 25, 2013 by

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 →

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The Burgess Boys

Posted on August 24, 2013 by

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 →

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The Flamethrowers

Posted on August 22, 2013 by

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 →

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Love Medicine

Posted on August 19, 2013 by

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 →

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The Cuckoo’s Calling

Posted on August 15, 2013 by

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 →

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The Blue Fox

Posted on August 15, 2013 by

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 →

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The Unwinding

Posted on August 13, 2013 by

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 →

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To the Lighthouse

Posted on August 11, 2013 by

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 →

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I caved –

Posted on August 10, 2013 by

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 →

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Between Books –

Posted on August 9, 2013 by

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 →

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