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Ten Best Books of 2019

December 20, 2019

ten

  Well, what do you know. Rather than being my usual contrarian self, I actually have ten books I consider to be the best of 2019. Of course, that doesn’t include the eight debut novels I wrote about on Wednesday, but let’s not split hairs. The point is: ALL of these books are marvelous. Even better, you still have time to get any one of them before Christmas for your ... Read More...

11 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Feature Tagged: book clubs, favorite books, lists, literary

The Secrets We Kept

September 30, 2019

secrets

I love learning something from my fiction so was pleased to find out that Lara Prescott’s novel, The Secrets We Kept is based on a true story from the Cold War. Even better, it involves espionage and literature. It seems, at the time, the CIA wanted to use the power of the written word to effect change in the U.S.S.R. They plotted to get Boris Pasternak’s masterpiece, Dr. ... Read More...

10 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: 1950s, book clubs, debut, historical fiction, Knopf

July Reading Wrap-Up

July 31, 2019

july

July has turned out to be a schizo kind of month, both for my reading and for life. On the life side it began with all my energy focused on getting us out of Seattle, into an apartment, and getting Seattle house rented out—all by the end of the month. That all came to a stop and I’ll be in our house until October, but it’s left me discombobulated because Jed had to move now for ... Read More...

8 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Feature Tagged: contemporary life, mini-reviews, mystery, true crime

The River by Peter Heller

May 27, 2019

river

Books written by men and about men? No thanks. All about canoeing and camping? Hard pass. Set entirely in the wilderness? Nope. Peter Heller’s new novel, The River? 5 stars. Yes, you read that right. Nothing about this novel’s description appealed to me, but when my friend Susie recommended it I knew I had to let go of my prejudices and give it a go. 24 hours later I finished ... Read More...

10 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: friendship, Knopf, literary

Dark Fiction: Waiting for Eden

December 3, 2018

waiting

  Much of Elliot Ackerman’s Waiting for Eden takes place in a hospital room. A room where Eden Malcolm has been in a coma for three years. He was a young man so full of life that He treated the whole world, too, like it was a series of cliffs that existed for no other reason than for him to jump off. But now his body below his torso is gone, lost to an IED in Iraq, ... Read More...

13 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, contemporary life, Iraq, Knopf, literary, marriage, war

Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami

November 7, 2018

killing

Where to begin about Killing Commendatore? This chunkster of a book is about a portrait artist who breaks with his current life after his wife leaves him. He moves into a remote home that allows him a quiet life away from his work. Until, he discovers a hidden painting in the attic and a man offers him an astronomical sum to paint his portrait. He agrees and a tenuous ... Read More...

9 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: art, contemporary life, Knopf, literary, Southeast Asia

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