Category Archives: 2023 Fiction

It’s been awhile since I read a good old political/economics book and because this was on sale and recommended I got it,  both  read and listened and was very pleased.  It’s great if your interests run along these lines – … Continue reading →

Excellent book!  Be warned that it’s slow,  but I knew that beforehand and settled in for long weekend read.  Tana French is a favorite crime writer and Paul Nugent is a new-to-me narrator who turned out to be great.   I was … Continue reading →

First of all,  I hate this new editor business for several reasons.  (Just wanted to make that clear up front.)  Those who know me know I read the books of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series as they come … Continue reading →

Out of all the novels and stories I’ve read by David Mitchell my favorites are Cloud Atlasand The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet.  Sad to say,  I seem to get less enjoyment from the newer works, so it’s a … Continue reading →

What a waste of time and paper! Why? First, Cozzens never uses a lone, single word when a whole convoluted paragraph full of them can be had. This book is as dense as the London fog near the coal burning plant in … Continue reading →

I read this about a month ago but  I very much enjoyed it and in order to remember it well enough to participate in a discussion I decided to reread it.    Yes,  it was definitely worth it because where … Continue reading →

I got this expecting some kind of easy-breezy memoir, I guess. Big WRONG-O! It’s the poignant yet sometimes tension-filled and occasionally exciting true tale of a man in search of his father, his father’s ghost, his family, his country,  his … Continue reading →

I have to thank Lisa over at AnzLit for highly recommending this book I may never otherwise have heard of.  But I’ve known her for a long time and we share a love of Australian Lit like Patrick  White, Tim … Continue reading →

Finished this a few days ago and didn’t get the review up here.  Bottom line up here at the top?  I’d say read the whole book because the most important and powerful parts are in the final chapters and the … Continue reading →

Lucky for me someone in one of my groups nominated this and I seconded it although I’d never heard of it before.  I like literature from foreign countries, especially translated fiction, because it’s more likely to expand my cultural horizons … Continue reading →

Ahhhh… a good old fashioned who-done-it in the traditional style by a master,  one of Dick Francis’  last novels.  I just picked it up on a whim seeing as what I’d tentatively planned to read either wasn’t quite on the … Continue reading →

This is satire and the point of the title is that “it CAN happen here.”  And that if it does, “The tyranny of this dictatorship isn’t primarily the fault of Big Business, nor of the demagogues who do their dirty … Continue reading →

Time for a crime novel – legal crime (!) – translated legal crime (!!) and on top of that,  it’s translated Scandi-  legal crime.   I should have loved it. (sigh) Unfortunately,  it’s really more of a YA story of … Continue reading →

I rarely reread a nonfiction book,  but this is different.  It’s very good and very complex and I felt like I’d missed quite a lot.   I watched a few videos about the Templars (they’re on YouTube) and got more … Continue reading →

Ah…. I needed a good historically oriented travelogue and this just looked like it fit the bill.   No-stress reading with a LOT of information!  And I have several travelogues lined up in my Wish List so given enough time, … Continue reading →

Oh my!  A second reading of this book just blew me away.   I first read it in December last year my review on this site),  and didn’t give it anywhere near the attention it truly deserves.  I just read … Continue reading →

It took me two readings to “get” this one, but it was definitely worth it because  this is a totally wonderful book.  But it’s neither an easy read nor a fun one.  I actually didn’t think much of it for … Continue reading →