Monthly Archives: November 2014

Human Voices by Penelope Fitzgerald 1988 / Kindle (2013)  144 pages rating 8 / fiction The setting is WWII (1940)  England in the offices and studios of the BBC where the remaining staff tries to accommodate the new facts and … Continue reading →

The Amazing Mrs Pollifax by Dorothy Gillman 1970 / read by Barbara Rosenblat 6h  34m rating B- / crime (book 2 in the Mrs Pollifax series) Well … it was on sale and the sample sounded intriguing.  I’ve just finished two rather dark … Continue reading →

Factory Man: How One Furniture Maker Battled Offshoring, Stayed Local and Helped Save an American Town by Beth Macy 2014 / 442 pages (Kindle) rating: 8.5 / nonfiction-business “Between 2001 and 2012, 63,300 American factories closed their doors and five million … Continue reading →

Standing in Another Man’s Grave by Ian Rankin 2013 * narrated by James Macpherson 111h 26m book 20 of the John Rankin series – rating – C Zoe Hazlitt went missing many years ago,  but her mother continues to hope.  Now … Continue reading →

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton * 2014 / 421 pages * read by Davina Porter 13h 17m rating:  7 / historical fiction I had a very hard time coming up with a review or a rating for this book.  I was … Continue reading →

The Son by Jo Nesbø  (Norway – translated) 2014 / 417 pages narrated by Gildart Jackson 17h 28m rating:  B / crime I’ve upgraded the rating by a grade – on thinking about the book I really did enjoy the … Continue reading →

Manon Lescaut by Abbe Prévost 1731/ 174 pages (Kindle) rating 8 / classic French novel Manon Lescaut was written a full 100 years prior to The Red and the Black by Stendhal (1830),  but only another 50 years prior to The Ladies’ Paradise by Emil Zola.  Oh, … Continue reading →

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel 2014/ 352 pages read by Kristen Potter 10h 41m rating 8.5 / A++  lit-sci-fi I got this in Kindle format when it was on sale,  but decided I’d really rather listen,  so that’s what I’m … Continue reading →

We Are All Completely Beside Ouselves by Karen Joy Fowler 2014 / 320 pages read by Orlagh Cassidy 8h 57m rating 7 /  contemp fict. Rosemary Cooke, the  daughter of a professor and his wife is telling her life story – she is … Continue reading →

Lawrence in Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly and the Making of the Modern Middle East by Scott Anderson 2013/618 pages (Kindle) rating 8 / history-bio I knew precious little about T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia)  prior to reading the book – I … Continue reading →

Skippy Dies by Paul Murray 2010/672 pages read by a cast – 23h 41m rating 8.5 / contemp fiction – Australia Yes,  this book seems silly at first but it contains an incredibly well developed theme  around reality vs history or … Continue reading →

The Sound of One Hand Clapping by Richard Flanagan 1997 / 425 pages rating  8.5 / contemp fict – Australia With this novel I’ve read all of Flanagan’s books except Death of a River Guide – my favorite by far … Continue reading →

Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami 2014/ 402 pages read by Bruce Locke – 10h 9m rating: 8 / contemp. fiction – Japan My old favorite authors have certainly been going for the gusto. David … Continue reading →

My Son’s Story by Nadine Gordimer 1990 / 272 pages rating 8.5 / contemp fiction (South Africa) At first I was thinking this might be an easier book to read than either The Burgher’s Daughter (about a white woman joining the … Continue reading →

The Peripheral by William Gibson 2014 / 486 pages read by Lorelei King 14h 5m rating: 4/10 / sci-fi This book is very disappointing in general and at close to 500 pages it’s way too long.   I love Gibson’s … Continue reading →