Author Archives: beckylindroos

Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo 2012 / 257 pages (Kindle) non-fiction – contemporary India rating:  9.5 Harrowing tale of life of Muslim immigrants to an impoverished and basically Hindu slum area … Continue reading →

Drift: The Unmooring of American Military Power by Rachel Maddow non-fiction 2012 / 288 pages Read by Maddow / 7h 31m Rating:  8.5 My sister recommended this – I found it on Audible and promptly got it. I have no … Continue reading →

The Preacher by Camilla Lackberg mystery 2011 / 15h 46m read by David Thorn rating:  B- I enjoy the frame story of Patrik Hedstrom and Erica Falck in their new life together with a baby on the way,  and individually … Continue reading →

HHhH by Laurent Binet (tr. by Sam Taylor) historical fiction – WWII 2010 Fr / 2012 US / 336 Kindle Rating: 9.5 I suppose I should dislike this book if I’m to remain consistent with prior ideas,  but …  I … Continue reading →

The Human Comedy by William Saroyan classic fiction 1943/ 192 pages Rating: 9.5 I’ve lived here south of Fresno for darned near 50 years and I’ve never read Saroyan!   Omg!  I’ve been to the Saroyan theater – seeing The Nutcracker … Continue reading →

Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard by Kiran Desai fiction – India 1998 / 224 pages Rating:  7 This is a somewhat silly but very fun read – inspired by a rather bizarre true a true story from India  Desai takes that … Continue reading →

All Cry Chaos by Leonard Rosen mystery 2010 / 332 pages read by Grover Gardner /  10h 24m rating – B This is the debut novel for author Rosen along with his protagonist,  Henri Poincaré,  and although it was quite a … Continue reading →

Jefferson: The Art of Power by Jon Meacham biography 2012 / 800 pages rating:  8 This is coming up on the All-nonfiction list and at the time I stared I thought I’d get a head start.  Took me several weeks … Continue reading →

The Round House by Louise Erdrich fiction 2012/336 pages read by Gary Farmer 12h. 39m Rating:  8  (finished 2/15 or so) First few paragraphs – is the theme to be survival like the young trees described through the North Dakota … Continue reading →

The Dinner by Herman Koch mystery / Holland 2013 / 306 pages (Kindle) Rating:  B+ Paul and Clair Lohman,  a very happily married couple live with their teenage son in some city in Holland.  As the book opens  Paul and … Continue reading →

The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine by Alina Bronsky fiction – Russia/Germany 2011 / Kindle 275 pages Rating:  8 I nominated this book for a reading group – I had read just about enough bleakness for the time being … Continue reading →

Warlock by Oakley Hallz fiction/classic/western 1959 / 471 page Rating:  10 This may be the best book I read all year – it certainly is the best  to date, so… Excellent,  excellent book – wow,  omg,  yes! >>>>MORE >>>>

The Ice Princess – (series) by Camilla Läckberg, 2008 / crime / 480 pages read by David Thorn 15h 8m rating:  B The craze for Scandinavian crime novels has not bi-passed me – it’s just that except for Stieg Larsson,  I’ve … Continue reading →

Leonardo and The Last Supper by Ross King 2012/336 pages Rating:  7.5 (I just can’t get excited about Leonardo anymore) Every biographer of Leonardo da Vinci says genius is a word which is over-used and then have no other word for … Continue reading →

The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff 2008/ 361 pages I gave it a fair start but Did Not Finish – This book may have garnered great critical acclaim,  but I think it’s stupid.  I couldn’t finish.  I got about … Continue reading →

A Passage to India by E.M. Forster 1927 / 362 pages genre:  classic rating – 9 This is a reread and as I go along I remember how I enjoyed this book.  I’ve read many books set in India but … Continue reading →

Quiet: The Power of Introverts by Susan Cain 2012 / 352 pages Read by Kathe Mazur 10h 39m Rating -8.5 As I was going through the “Best of 2012” lists on various web-sites I noticed the book Quiet by Susan … Continue reading →