Monthly Archives: March 2016

This book had been tempting me for a long time – the promise of a good story set in Jerusalem,  the Kabbalah,  etc.   So I nominated it for a reading group –  (sigh).   Much to my dismay,  it’s … Continue reading →

I’d heard a lot about this book here and there,  many places,  in part because so many reviewers think it’s so great, but also because it’s quite different.  I suppose it’s a fictionalized autobiography or extended memoir and although the emphasis … Continue reading →

I’ve read Daisy Miller at least a couple times prior to this read but it’s soooo good – Similar to The Turn of the Screw and other shorter works by James.  Every word counts – maybe twice –  I love it. I think … Continue reading →

This is the third of a little trilogy internal to the series as a whole so the the tale just seems to  go right on in Bangkok and the life of Poke Rafferty,  travel writer and now family man  living in … Continue reading →

This is basically more of the same Bart Ehrman I’ve read for 2 prior books except that for this book Ehrman uses some extra-Biblical sources to show the historical inaccuracy of the Gospels because there was nothing written for 40 years … Continue reading →

This is one of the very few John Lescroart books I’d not read,  avoiding it becuase of the war-type subject matter.  But I finally needed a Lescroart/Hardy fix,  especially with Collacci reading,  so I broke down.  I’m glad I did … Continue reading →

I found this quote on the home page of  Susan Wise Bauer,  the author of some incredible  books of world history.  The author of the quote,   Barbara Tuchman,  is another favorite.  I’m currently reading Bauer’s The History of the Ancient … Continue reading →

This is basically a chase-type  thriller using an almost super-hero protagonist, several  evil bad-guys and some technology.  Scott Brick adds even more suspense. The premise is that in the 1980s some orphans were raised and trained to do assassination work for various intelligence … Continue reading →

Mrs Ivy Eckdorf is a strange gal – 40-ish and divorced again,   she works as a photographer.  She decides to visit Dublin‘s O’Neill’s Hotel because she’s  heard it’s got strange things going on now and in the past. The aging deaf … Continue reading →

This novel has some flaws but I enjoyed almost all of  it anyway.  First – what are those two neighbor guys drinking?  Is it milk (which one wipes from his mouth),  coffee (which is spilled during the ensuing melee) or beer, … Continue reading →

I’ve read this before but maybe it was time again – the 19th Century Lit group wanted a suggestion and they hadn’t read this one (for the group anyway). I’ve read it before along with many of Tolstoy’s other works … Continue reading →

Set in the foreseeable future,  the southwest area of  the US,  around Phoenix and Las Vegas,  has been hard hit by climate change and  drought. The area has no water.  Neither does neighboring Texas and migrants flood into Arizona.   What … Continue reading →

This must be my year of rereading – I’m doing a lot of it.  I read this just last month and I really disliked it (see review)  but several members of my group enjoyed it quite a lot.  Hmmmm…. I was put off by … Continue reading →

“Hunter Alden did not live in the real world – he lived in the world of the 1% of the 1%.”  Too bad,  the head of his chauffeur,  Peter Chevalier,  is found in their garage and his the body in a New York City … Continue reading →

Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McWreight 2013 / 382 pages read by Khristine Hvam rating –   B+ / crime  (YA?) This might have been more interesting in print or ebook format because much of the narrative is told via emails and … Continue reading →

The Quiet Game by Greg Iles 1999 / 640 pages read by Tom Stechschulte 20h rating:  B+  / crime – (Penn Cage series #1) A slow start but in the last half the tension gets as thick as the Mississippi mud … Continue reading →

Submission by Michael Houellebecq  (France) 2014 / 250 pages rating 8.5 /  contempt lit – futurist I finished this while I was at the coast and forgot to write up an entry for it. It’s based on an interesting concept – … Continue reading →