Monthly Archives: April 2016

I would never have chosen this book because I’m not crazy about Greene and his anxiety about Catholic righteousness.  Oh well – this one is supposed to be pretty good and it was re-released in 2011, a good sign. Major Henry Scobie … Continue reading →

I’m not sure what kind of genre or category this book fits into –  general psychological suspense although it doesn’t really matter except for my rating and there,  because of the “all for the sake of the tension,” element,   it’s … Continue reading →

This looked interesting and was on my wish list even before it won the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction.  So picking up that award brought it to the top – and here we are. Actually,  the book was coming along so … Continue reading →

Okay so I’ve read a fair amount of philosophy but I’ve never felt like I completely understood it.  And I’d forget it pretty quickly so that’s probably proof I didn’t really grasp the concepts. This book presents the philosophers and … Continue reading →

I leeerrve 19th century classics -(a lot of them anyway)!   And Balzac is way up there in my favs.   Balzac was a pioneer of literary realism and it shows early on in this odd little novella  – (loc … Continue reading →

Disappointing by comparison to Cyberstorm but it’s okay.  I just so enjoyed Cyberstorm I went right ahead and got Darknet by the same author.  Cyberstorm had almost everything plot, characters, writing woven together for some really believably delicious suspense and ideas about contemporary issues as … Continue reading →

I’m a long time and hard-core fan of Don DeLillo -(as many of you already know).  I remember standing in the narrow aisle of a little indie bookstore back in 1998, reading the entire Prologue to Underworld,  then brand new on the … Continue reading →

Aaaaahhhh….  a nice suspense-filled genre novel.   I’ve been reading some fairly intense fiction and nonfiction lately and I’m due to just settle in with a good tale well told. Set in New York any day now it seems that … Continue reading →

Confucius Mecius Laozi Xhuangzi Xunzi: Selected Passages from the Chinese Philosophers by Michael Pruett and Christine Gross-Loh 2015 / very short – 45 pages? rating – 9 (?) This is just exactly what the subtitle says it is and it … Continue reading →

Suggested on the All-nonfiction list I saw it was on sale at Audible and just took it.  After a couple of intense fictions it seemed time for some nice and more relaxing ideas. It seems that the author,  Michael Pruett, … Continue reading →

Another 2nd reading!  This is getting exhausting because these are dense and complex novels I’m rereading.)   But I’ll want to remember better for a discussion and then I’ll get drawn into  the book (“sucked into the book” is the … Continue reading →

Oh I do like this book  – the first time through I thought it was a roller coaster of a ride and barely made sense of the plot much less all the characters.   I did get a bit of … Continue reading →

For the Major by Constance Fenimore Woolson 1982-83 / 84 pages  (novella) rating  8.5  / classic US Constance Fenimore Woolson was the great niece of James Fenimore Cooper and excellent author in her own right.  Also a good friend of Henry … Continue reading →

The Bookies II reading group chose this book for it’s April 16 selection and because I enjoyed it so much (rating 9.25) I volunteered to do the discussion questions.  Well – I read it last September and really don’t remember all that much … Continue reading →

This is April and the 400th anniversary of the Will Shakespeare’s  death (23 April 1616),  so  a reading of the one of the best recent biography/social histories re his life and times would seem in order – (for the All-nonfiction group). I know … Continue reading →

What a nice surprise  – I got the book only because it’s a legal thriller and it sounded interesting.   But it turns out I read an earlier book by Pratt,   Justice Redeemed,  back in December.  I only discovered this … Continue reading →

Oh wow –  an atmospheric historical mystery of 19th century East India Company in and around Calcutta.   It’s historically accurate (as far as I can tell) and  intelligently written with an intriguing plot line plus interesting characters.  What else could I … Continue reading →