Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008SPOILER ALERT: This book is impossible to discuss without revealing a few key details from the book. I don’t reveal the particulars at any point, but I do discuss things that are not fully made clear until much later in the story. If you are the type of person who likes to be surprised by [...]
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Thursday, August 14th, 2008The Road by Cormac McCarthy is by far one of the most arresting novels I have ever read. On the surface, it is a dystopian novel about a very bleak future and the dark underbelly of survival in a true post-apocalyptic environment. But at its heart, it is the story of a man trying to [...]
Moon Tiger
Saturday, August 2nd, 2008I’ve had an interesting relationship with Penelope Lively’s Moon Tiger. Some time ago, Ramona sent me a copy and asked me to read it. She was reading it herself, on the recommendation of a friend, and having a hard time getting into it. “I feel like I must be missing something, the way everyone else [...]
The Virgin’s Lover
Sunday, July 13th, 2008The first time I saw Philippa Gregory’s books, I was amused that the cover artwork followed the Chick Lit standard of clipping off the covergirl’s head (sample gallery here, in case you’ve never noticed the trend), even though these were, presumably, a bit weightier than the rest of the genre, what with the history and [...]
Twilight
Sunday, June 8th, 2008The intriguing cover of Twilight has been calling to me from bookstore shelves for quite awhile. The hands reaching out of the darkness to offer that eternally forbidden and tainted fruit have an almost irresistible appeal. In one of my weaker moments, I gave in and bought it. Then I brought it home, put it [...]
Justice Hall by Laurie R. King
Wednesday, February 28th, 2007I stayed up well past my bedtime to finish Justice Hall last night””it was a terrific read. However, I’m going to have to rule against the mystery note writer: under no circumstances should you skip ahead in the series to this book. At a minimum, you need to have read O Jerusalem, to make the [...]
Gravity, by Tess Gerritsen
Monday, January 29th, 2007I had a mixed reaction to this book. I had a hard time sticking with it for the first third or so, but once the action really kicked in, I got wrapped up in it. I stayed up past 1:00 a.m. Friday night to finish it, feeling about 70% “what’s going to happen?!” and 30% [...]
Schrodinger’s Ball by Adam Felber
Thursday, September 14th, 2006Now, here’s a little book that wants your attention. You may be familiar with its author from his regular spot on NPR’s quiz show “Wait Wait, Don’t Tell Me!” and/or his popular political satire website, Fanatical Apathy. If so, you’ve been anxiously awaiting the release of Schrodinger’s Ball since early this year; you probably had [...]
Italian Idylls with Frances Mayes
Thursday, August 31st, 2006Frances Mayes’ first two books about her experiences buying and restoring a villa in Italy are immensely entertaining and charming. I wanted to read Under the Tuscan Sun because I had enjoyed the movie version so much; I thought the book must be even better, right? Oh, it is, it is! But it’s also a [...]
The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut
Sunday, July 9th, 2006In my on-going quest to read the great works of science fiction, I have at last come “˜round to Kurt Vonnegut’s The Sirens of Titan. Sirens is the story of Winston Niles Rumfoord, Gentleman of Newport (R.I.), Earth and the Solar System. A wealthy adventurer, Rumfoord, along with his loyal hound Kazak, suffers a disastrous [...]
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