Category Archives: 2023 Fiction

Bruno, Chief of Police by Martin Walkerread by Robert Ian MacKenzie  8h 18m rating: B / Crime This is pretty good for a series starter focusing on the protagonist with plenty of background to get you involved for the long … Continue reading →

I’ve fallen in love with the writing of Mark Arax.  First I read The Dreamt Land: Chasing Water and Dust Across California (2019) which absolutely amazed me and was about how California got to be California. I’ve mostly lived here … Continue reading →

Too long, contrived and predictable, but it was on sale.  On the plus side,  I did finish. *******Then She Was Goneby Lisa Jewell2018/ read by Helen Duff10h 12mrating: B / suspense ******* Ellie Mack was 15 years old when she … Continue reading →

Agencyby William Gibson2020 / 403 ppread by Lorelei King 10h 12mrating: ??? / spec fiction Well, this is one to read again – (maybe) – Gibson’s plots can get notoriously complex and he liberally strews very current words and technology … Continue reading →

*******Before She Met Him by Peter Swanson 2019 / 325 ppread by Sophie Amos, Graham Halstead 10h 15mrating: B+ crime suspense******* Quite good after a couple hours of set up which feels like a standard thriller story.  Then that fades and … Continue reading →

The title is from William Blake’s, “Proverbs of Hell” but the story here is straight from Tokarczuk. But there’s lot of Blake in it as well as astrology, Swedenberg and even, yes, a couple of murders. Drive Your Plow Over … Continue reading →

*******The Pioneersby David McCullough 2019 / 332 ppread by John Bedford Lloyd 10h 23rating: 8 / US history******* In some ways this book was much better than I expected. I’d heard rather disparaging comments about how the title seemed to … Continue reading →

*******The Testamentsby Margaret Atwood 2019 / 381 pagesread by a cast 13h 18mrating: 9 / sci-fi? ******* I enjoyed The Handmaid’s Tale, the book to which this is a sequel,  but I wasn’t wow’ed even if Atwood is one my … Continue reading →

I’ve read this twice now. The first time was very confusing and because I had a reading group discussion coming up I read it again. I had a feeling I’d really like it once I got the characters straightened out. … Continue reading →

This one is gritty but it got a lot of hype and it piqued my interest.  It’s essentially a procedural crime novel set in the Kensington area of Philadelphia.  Kensington is treated with a certain amount of love, hard as … Continue reading →

I have problems sleeping as much as I should so I saw this book in the recommendations of Bill Gates and went for it. Why We Sleep: The New Science of Sleep and Dreamsby Matthew Walker2017 / 369 pagesRead by … Continue reading →

First, before I get started on my first book of 2020, I’m going to outline what I’m doing, how I’m changing. I’m too tired to keep all this up so rather than try to do a complete “review” (or whatever) … Continue reading →

With a few exceptions, 2019 was NOT a great year for my reading. I read about 50 books fewer than in 2018 which is actually fine because I get a bit confused when I read more than 20 books in … Continue reading →

Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay and a Mother’s Will to Surviveby Stephanie Land 2019/ 289 ppread by the authorrating: 8 / memoir-social science I think I’d heard about this book at some point because it did get a lot of … Continue reading →

This book started out absolutely wonderful- like Great Kitchens of the Midwest, Stradal’s prior novel. And I was well entertained until probably 1/2 way through when the plot seemed to start wandering. Fortunately it came back together about together about … Continue reading →

Very disappointing. Probably ought to be a Young Adult book.  The idea behind the book was first introduced to me by the reviews of Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes which hit the hype machine. But several reader-reviewers mentioned The … Continue reading →

Cute – I actually bought a second in this series – another Christmas book reviewed now but read earlier. In this one a man is found dead after a snowed-in Christmas party. It’s very short but enjoyable enough in a … Continue reading →