4.5 Stars. This is another desperate end-of-year reading challenge grab that paid off. I’d never even heard of this book but I started trolling through an “Epistolary novel” list, comparing it to what was available as an audio download from my library, and landed on this. I loved it. I don’t know exactly what my reaction would […]
I honestly picked this up for a reading challenge, not expecting to enjoy it. I do love fantasy but science fiction isn’t really my thing, with only a few exceptions. I read Fahrenheit 451 back in 8th grade and didn’t care for it, but there was very little reading that I had to do for school that I did like. Imagine my surprise […]
This is probably one of the best nonfiction books I’ve ever read. I’ve been reading about one nonfiction book a month for the past five years or so but I’m still a fiction reader in my heart of hearts. I generally read my nonfiction at night before bed because I don’t worry too much about falling into the “one more chapter” trap […]
4 Stars. Oh my gosh, Russian novels, even when they aren’t written by Russians, defeat me with the names. Everyone has at least two or three wildly different (to me, anyway) names! I can’t keep them straight! This one wasn’t too bad but I would still draw the occasional blank. I just had to keep reading and hope that I eventually got that […]
3 Stars. I loved Without Reservations, Steinbach’s first book. I admired her courage in packing up and traveling solo. I liked her thoughts and observations and felt that she is someone that I’d like to know and befriend in real life. I didn’t like Educating Alice quite as much. I felt that the author was trying a little too hard […]
2.5 Stars. What this feels like is a contractual obligation. My guess is that Christopher Moore signed a deal for a follow-up to A Dirty Job, time was up, so he knocked this out. I wasn’t impressed. I laughed/cried/snorted my way through A Dirty Job. Seriously. I may have chuckled once or twice this go ’round. Charlie’s new body […]
4.5 Stars. This book was so heartbreaking so much of the time. I adored Kimberly. She’s such a good daughter, friend, and student. She’s trying so hard to be everything to everyone. Her life is always hard, but it’s hardest when she first arrives, with no comprehension of American culture and little comprehension of the language […]
4 Stars. I don’t know that I agree that these Olympics “changed the world” but I would definitely agree that they showcased changes that were happening in the world at large. I’m not a sports fan but I read this for the “Eclectic Reader Challenge” as a sports book that I might be able to tolerate. I was pleasantly surprised to find […]
5 Stars. I read this back in college and loved it so much that I still have my copy from that class. I decided to re-read it when my husband and I visited the coast of Maine last month. I might love it even more now. The narrator, who remains unnamed, is accepted in this tightly-knit community, but she’s still enough of an […]
4 Stars. I haven’t read that much Richard Matheson, just one short story collection containing I am Legend, but I enjoyed it immensely. I don’t remember where I came across this collection, but when I saw the combination of Richard Matheson, Joe Hill, and Stephen King, I added it to my wishlist. Like any anthology, this was […]
4 Stars. Man, this took me right back to my tween years. I can’t begin to explain it because I’ve never read this book before, but it just had that ’80s feel. It’s a quest book with a strong female lead, short and to the point. The author isn’t trying to get a movie deal or spread a plot thinly over a never-ending series. I did get worried […]