Sunday, February 19, 2017

Right Behind You by Lisa Gardner



There's a fine line between "interesting plot twist" and "way, way too convoluted" and this book crossed that line.

Review copy provided by publisher.

Sunday, February 12, 2017

Harmony by Carolyn Parkhurst



I really, really enjoyed this.

Tuesday, February 07, 2017

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee



I really, really enjoyed this. I kept anticipating what would happen next and I kept being wrong. That was a good thing.

Review copy provided by publisher.

My Not So Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella



Ack, normally I love Kinsella for funny, romantic fluff, but this book did not deliver. Characters didn't quite gel, plot didn't quite work.

Review copy provided by publisher.

Sunday, January 29, 2017

How the Other Half Banks by Mehrsa Baradaran



You would not think that a history of banking would be interesting, but you would be wrong. This is a fascinating and important book. (Also, it enraged me. Not the book. How we treat the poor.)

Saturday, January 14, 2017

The Last Painting of Sara de Vos by Dominic Smith



I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a novel this much. Really, really well done.

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Class by Lucinda Rosenfeld



I loved this book. It was a hilarious, brilliant send-up of white liberal guilt.

Review copy provided by publisher.

The Sleepwalker by Chris Bohjalian



The whole time I was reading this I was thinking that it was the most transparently obvious plot ever. And then I got to the last few pages and realized that what I thought was going to happen did not happen. I was totally blindsided. So, in short, this was really, really good.

Review copy provided by publisher.

Monday, January 09, 2017

All Stories Are Love Stories by Elizabeth Percer



I just really, really enjoyed this.

Monday, January 02, 2017

Sugar Changed the World by Marc Aronson and Marina Budhos



Great topic, lackluster writing style.

Saturday, December 31, 2016

Thursday, December 29, 2016

Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly



A fascinating story and a phenomenally well-written book. Highly, highly recommended.

Tuesday, December 27, 2016

A Square Meal by Jane Ziegelman and Andrew Coe



A bit of this felt like irrelevant padding, but most of it was very interesting.

Friday, December 23, 2016

Before the Fall by Noah Hawley



I'm still trying to decide how I feel about this one.

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah



I never would have picked this up on my own because I don't do celebrity bios, but it was free on Audible, so . . . and it was fantastic, because it wasn't really a celeb bio but rather a memoir of growing up under apartheid. Recommended.

Saturday, December 17, 2016

Marriage: A History by Stephanie Coontz



Fascinating. (And accidentally fascinating in the ways in which it is already out-of-date after only a decade.)

The Fireman by Joe Hill



If this had been 1/3 the length, it would have been great. But I was resentful by the time I finished it.

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Us by David Nicholls



I really, really enjoyed this. The narrator was so . . . much like me.

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

One Man Against the World by Tim Weiner



Fascinating (and horrifying, especially given the current political situation).

The Whole Town's Talking by Fannie Flagg



I was completely charmed by this big-hearted book.

Review copy provided by publisher.

Monday, November 28, 2016

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Victoria by Daisy Goodwin



I give pretty much the same review to all of Daisy Goodwin's books: this was like reading Downton Abbey. And if you are wondering: it tracks the new ITV series extremely closely, except that the book ends immediately after the engagement.

Review copy provided by publisher.

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

The Breakdown Lane by Jacquelyn Mitchard



This was just OK.

Rome by Rick Steves



This was enormously useful. Recommended.

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