Three months into a new year may be too soon to call a trend, but accuracy has never been a strong suit for me so I’m going to say it: My library reading has significantly outperformed my upcoming-release reading. My March library reading seems to seal the deal. I’m not sure why this is, but an early analysis makes it clear that either 2016 is going to be a slow year for GREAT ... Read More...
The Train for Crazytown Stops Here
Kind of an aggressive title for a book review post, yes? Honestly, it was the first thing that popped into my head when thinking about the two books today. Based on their titles I thought they would be snack food reads—high in calories but with almost no nutritional value, salty or sweet, and not good for you, but which we all crave from time to time. Instead, both made excess ... Read More...
The Library at Mount Char
When Carolyn was eight, she and a number of her neighborhood friends lost their homes and families and were subsequently adopted by a man they called Father. And that’s as normal as Scott Hawkins’ debut novel The Library at Mount Char gets. The rest is a story that is wildly, imaginatively over-the-top good. You see it turns out that Father has been around for possibly 60,000 ... Read More...
It’s Not You, It’s Me: Mini-Reviews
The “It’s Not You, It’s Me” phrase is more true this month than almost any other. My head space is so messed up by living in a construction zone with the ear-shattering noise, frequent questions, and now, mistakes being made on a renovation that is 20 days behind schedule means my attention span is shot to hell. The only place I’m finding mental peace these days is ... Read More...
Dead Wake
When it comes to taking historic international events and looking behind the scenes there are few who do it as well as Erik Larson. Even when the event itself is substantial in its importance he is able to dig into it and find an aspect to make it even more momentous and, at the same time, personal. His newest work is Dead Wake and it’s about the last crossing of the Lusitania, ... Read More...
2 A.M. at The Cat’s Pajamas
Author Marie-Helene Bertino creates an unusual and charming story in 2 A.M. at The Cat’s Pajamas in that while it takes place in the 24 hours before Christmas Eve the only thing Christmas-like about it is that it brings together a disparate group of travelers, all looking for salvation. There is nine-year-old Madeleine; Lorca, the owner of The Cat’s ... Read More...
