Category Archives: 2023 Fiction

I read this specifically because August is “Women In Translation” month.  I read three other books earlier this year which could have done it and two of them were also by Japanese writers, but I wanted something new.  Fwiw, I … Continue reading →

This is a new book in the Hackberry Family / Holland Family series.  I’ve been reading these books for many years but at this point it’s only as they come out.  I’m tempted to go back and reread some of … Continue reading →

This book could have been a textbook in one of my graduate courses in Public Administration. It’s well enough written and enjoyable IF you are motivated to read it.  For most readers, it’s  not a book to cozy up with … Continue reading →

What a waste.  This is the first book of a series I’ll be skipping.   The Windsor Knot  by S.J. Bennett read by Jane Copland 8h 5mRating:  3 / mystery  The publisher’s summary; “The first book in a highly original and delightfully clever … Continue reading →

As I said in my first review, this book is so packed with information about Alexander von Humboldt and others of the era that it’s definitely worth a second reading. So I did it – I was sure I’d missed … Continue reading →

What a fascinating book!  I kept getting confused about what was on the schedule for the All-Nonfiction reading group and although Entangled Life did not make the list, I kept putting it on there.  And then with a member straightening … Continue reading →

Yes!  Oh what a good book this one is!  I should have got the Kindle version along with the wonderfully well written and narrated Audible version to start with,  but I didn’t until it was almost too late and I … Continue reading →

What an absolutely incredible book about an incredible man and incredible people who were inspired by him – the beat goes on although scientists themselves interrupted it for awhile.  The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt’s New Worldby Andrea Wulff2020 … Continue reading →

I finally got this – I’ve loved reading Michael Lewis’ books since The Big Short in 2010 and then went back and read a couple priors but also continuing forward.  My last book was  The Fifth Risk and I felt … Continue reading →

To start with,  the character of Billy Summers is immediately sympathetic because as a reader of comic books he’s obviously not as smart as the reader and that’s going to excuse a lot of things. But, without telling anyone, he … Continue reading →

Cozy almost to the point of silly, but Alexander McCall Smith, who writes The Ladies #1 Detective Agency series, is fun for me.  It took me some time to get into the mood of the story and the character of Ulf … Continue reading →

I’d seen this book available for some time and it looked interesting.  It even sat on my Wish List for awhile.  Then it was on sale.  Okay fine. Done.   The Art of Living:Peace and Freedom in the Here and … Continue reading →

From the Booker International Prizes 2021 and read for my Booker Group  That year the winner was “At Night All Blood Is Black” by David Diop which was pretty bleak. This is more sci-fi or speculative fiction and it’s sad, … Continue reading →

Legal thriller – yay!  Narrator – omg.   While Justice SleepsBy Stacey Abrams2021 / Read by Adenrele Ojo  14h 55mRating -story B+ / narration D Legal thriller  Although the customer reviews at Audible told me over and over that the narration was … Continue reading →

Fascinating book! I read several of Ehrman’s books over the years and I got to a point where many of them seemed to contain one interesting new aspect but were otherwise often repetitious.  Nevertheless, I was seeing this book on … Continue reading →

I’ve read a few CJ Box books and enjoyed them well enough.  They’re usually a part of the Joe Pickett series, but this one is the first of a series I started reading in and thought I’d finished long ago. … Continue reading →

This is a nice, light, cozy mystery developed from the TV show of bygone years.  There are 55 books in the series now with another one coming up (supposedly).  I enjoy those written by Donald Bain, but I’ve not tried … Continue reading →