Category Archives: books

The Blue Fox by Sjon (Iceland) 2003/117 pages (Kindle) Rating 9 /magical realism This is a very short but dense and complex book –  on top of  that it’s beautifully written.   The word minimalist fits perfectly.  Perhaps also magical … Continue reading →

The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America by George Packer 2013/437 pages  (Kindle) Rating:  ?   /contemp. US non-fiction This book got hugely positive reviews and it was chosen as the book for the All-Nonfiction reading group for September.  What is Packer’s main … Continue reading →

To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf (England) 1927/122 pages Rating: 10 / classic This is a reread for me.  I loved it the first time but this time seemed kind of a slog, at least for the first few chapters. … Continue reading →

I’m doomed.   In my last post I wrote about how I couldn’t decide what to read next,  whether to tackle the books on the tbr shelf,  listen to a couple of Audible books or just go ahead and read … Continue reading →

Oh dear,  except for one really long history book,  Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898  by Edwin G. Burrows and Mike Wallace,  I seem to have caught up on the reading.  At least I’ve finished the “group reads” scheduled.  Now … Continue reading →

The Bellini Card  (#3 in Yashim the Ottoman series) by Jason Goodwin 2008 / 304 pages read by Steven Hove 10h 24m Rating B+/ historical crime In the mid-15th century a Turkish sultan named Mehmed conquered Constantinople and much of the rest … Continue reading →

The Shell Game by Steve Alten 2009 / 488p. Rating:  A- /dystopian I read this on the recommendation of my son-shine, Isaac.   He warned me that it was definitely 9/11 conspiracy-theory type stuff,   but said he enjoyed it … Continue reading →

Villette by Charlotte Bronte (England) 1853 / 432 pages rating:  9.5 / classic I truly enjoy reading classics –  they provide a peak into the past from the viewpoint of that past.   Yes, it takes a bit of work … Continue reading →

It’s probably apparent from my reading choices and ratings that I really enjoy and appreciate good historical fiction but what does that mean,  “good”?   I know it when I read it?   (LOL!)    Pretty much.  It can mean … Continue reading →

Mr. Churchill’s Secretary by Susan Elia MacNeal 2012/ 384 pages read by Wanda McCadden 9 h. 48m. Rating:  D / historical crime/spy I’m still wondering just what this book is –  is it historical fiction,  feminist fiction, a mystery or a … Continue reading →

Homicidal by Paul Alexander 2011/ 77 pages read by Paul Christy 2h 47m rating  8 / true crime This is the story of Lonnie Franklin Jr, known as the Grim Sleeper,  who unbeknownst,  pretty much terrorized LA for decades killing or … Continue reading →

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery (French) 1943/112 pages rating 10/classic I have no idea how I missed this book,   but in deference to Saint-Exupery I felt really should read it.   It is his most famous work by a long … Continue reading →

Norwegian by Night by Derek B. Miller Read by Sean Mangan 10h. 36m. 2013 / 306 pages Rating:  A / crime (basically) Sheldon Horowitz,  an 82 year-old Jewish-American,  has been transplanted to Oslo to live with his granddaughter, Rhea and her … Continue reading →

I really do NOT like war books but war books are pervasive now,  pervasive and innocuous and you can’t tell from the cover or the blurbs.  But many,  many mainstream and detective novels have  huge chunks of war scenes in … Continue reading →

Reef by Romesh Gunesekera (Brit/Sri Lanka) 1994/190 pages rating:  9 / contemp fiction I suppose this is a sort of coming-of-age story,  set in Sri Lanka roughly between  1962 and 1971 and later.   The 1st person protagonist is a Sri … Continue reading →

Wind, Sand and Stars by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry  (French) 1939/103 pages rating:  6/classic I’m not a fan of this book – imo it’s not meant for women – the author likely would have thought his ideas would just confuse women.   … Continue reading →

River Thieves by Michael Crummey  (Canada) 2001/352 pages rating: 9 / historical fiction I read Michael Crummey’s more recent work,  Galore (2012), last year and thoroughly enjoyed it,  so when another group selected River Thieves, his first novel,   for discussion I was … Continue reading →