Monthly Archives: November 2016

Home by Harlan Coben

I’ve read three  of Coben’s more  recent stand-alones,  but this is the first of a series – so I choose #16 right?  –  oh well … I was a little lost by a couple of the characters but for the … Continue reading

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Breakfast with Buddha by Roland Merullo

I got six Audible books at the last sale and am reading (listening) through them now.  I got a variety of genres including spiritual fiction (Buddhist), crime, and a general fiction.  A couple of the books had been on my wish … Continue reading

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The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle

Well on with the sale books –  I’ve always kind of enjoyed Sherlock Holmes never got around to reading many of them.  This felt right,  especially with Simon Prebble reading.  And I also see that the novels should be considered a … Continue reading

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Fishbowl by Bradley Somer

Although I read the publisher’s blurb and saw some good ratings (just the stars),  I didn’t quite expect this. I don’t know what I expected, but it sounded fun and it was on sale. ******* Fishbowl by Bradley Somer 2015 … Continue reading

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Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben

This one is a pretty good book if you enjoy Harlan Coben’s stand alones with the usual high suspense,  decent characters and twisty plots. If you’ve read much by Coben,  it’s standard fare, but I don’t read his books back-to-back so … Continue reading

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Musseled Out by Barbara Ross

Once in awhile a book so bad comes along that I just have to say so.  This is that once in awhile.  Don’t bother.   First,  I made the mistake of trying out #3 in a series which really is … Continue reading

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Breakfast with Buddha by Roland Merullo

I bought six Audible books at the last sale and am reading (listening) through them now.  The books are in a variety of genres including spiritual fiction (Buddhist), crime, and a general fiction.  A couple of the books had been on my … Continue reading

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White Trash: The 400-year Untold History of Class in America by Nancy Isenberg

This is the powerful history of what we have come to know as “white trash,” but formerly known as waste people by Richard Hakluyt in the 16th century and lubbers, rubbish, crackers, breeds, mudsills, clay-eaters (which they did), rednecks and trailer trash, … Continue reading

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The Vanishing Velazquez: by Laura Cumming

I love good art books and I love good true crime and that’s how Cumming’s book was hyped.  Unfortunately,  the reality is not quite what I expected.   It is nicely written although a bit too poetic and emotional  for my tastes and ends up being … Continue reading

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The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

Nicely suspenseful and well-written,  Ruth Ware has apparently done it again, although I didn’t read The Dark Dark Woods, Ware’s debut novel,  it got rave reviews and is now on my wish list.  I love finding a new author. Laura (Lo)  Blacklock,  a … Continue reading

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Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance

’ve been meaning to read this since it came out but the All-nonfiction reading group chose it and I waited until closer to the discussion date to actually get to it.  Then I was torn between listening or reading or … Continue reading

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Mrs Engels by Gavin McCrea

This is a pretty good book if you’re not looking for anything particularly factual about Mary and Lizzie (Lydia) Burns who were involved with Friedrich Engels for the better part of their adult lives – probably 20-30 years.  It’s not that … Continue reading

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The Question of the Missing Head by E. J. Copperman/Jeff Cohen

I was really in the mood for something light and I’m a kind of sucker for novels which feature characters with autism or Asperger’s Syndrome.  (I figure I might identify to a very slight degree –  heh.)  So this one,  The Question of … Continue reading

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Bryant & May and the Burning Man by Christopher Fowler

I almost threw this one out but there’s something intriguing about it – I do wish I’d started with Book 1 in the Bryant & May series because one of the two elderly detectives is coming down with some kind … Continue reading

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Nutshell by Ian McEwan

Yes, as all the reviews have mentioned,  this is a 1st person story but with the twist that it’s from a prenatal point of view.  Another twist is that it’s a spin-off from Hamlet only before he was born and except this … Continue reading

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The Likeness by Tana French

Assuming you can buy into the premise and stick with it for 466 pages (22+hours),  the book is quite good although not, imo, as good as  French’s other Dublin Detective Squad mysteries. (This is #2 and I’ve read the other 5.) … Continue reading

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The Nix by Nathan Hall

A “nix”  is the first person you really love and no one later can truly compare. The premise is great – an apparently deranged,  middle-aged woman throws stones (gravel)  or something at a very conservative presidential candidate.  I really wanted … Continue reading

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