Tag: book reviews
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Review: Harrington’s I’ll Have What She’s Having
I’ll Have What She’s Having: My Adventures in Celebrity Dieting Rebecca Harrington When I decided to do this project where I reviewed every book I read, I thought about how embarrassing some of my selections would be. This is one of those embarrassing selections. A throw-a-away type book in which young comedy writer tries a…
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Review: Price’s The Whites
The Whites: A Novel Richard Price Richard Price is the best crime writer working today. Perhaps that is because he isn’t really a crime writer. Price is a writer of the lives of ordinary, damaged people trying to make sense of a confused, violent, world. In his books, those people tend to be cops and…
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Review: Bennett’s City of Stairs
City of Stairs (The Divine Cities) Robert Jackson Bennett As the brilliant and exceedingly well read Cosma Shalizi would say – mind candy. A well done fantasy (dare I say “urban” fantasy?) about the goings on in a once great city protected by ancient gods who may or may not be reappearing to save the…
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Review: Mandel’s Station Eleven
Station Eleven Emily St. John Mandel This is a wonderfully strange, somewhat SF, pretty dystopian, near future novel that’s also about the nature of love, what it means to be a family, and how to stay human, and creative, in a word stacked against you. I loved this book. Science fiction type books that deal…
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Review: French’s In the Woods
In the Woods Tana French The first of French’s Dublin Murder squad novels, this is the type of literary novel masquerading as a crime novel that I absolutely adore. On the surface, this is the story of an unsolved disappearance and an unsolved murder, decades apart. And on that level, it’s a very successful crime…
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Review: Steinhauer’s All the Old Knives
All the Old Knives: A Novel Olen Steinhauer Steinhauer is one of the best espionage writers working today. Maybe the best, actually. His books hit the sweet spot of fast-paced plotting with well-drawn characters and top-notch writing. This little book goes in a somewhat different direction from the action packed Tourist books. The concept is that…
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Review: Lynd’s the Last Spymaster
The Last Spymaster Gayle Lynds A poorly constructed and dreadfully written second rate spy novel. As I have said on many occasions, I have no taste. If a book’s plot moves along at a good clip and is engaging, I’ll overlook clumsy writing. If a book is beautifully written, I’ll overlook a lackluster plot. But…
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Review: Lippman’s Baltimore Blues
Baltimore Blues: The First Tess Monaghan Novel Laura Lippman The first book in Lippman’s Tess Monaghan Series of crime novels set in Baltimore. This was a bit of more breezy than I expected, but does what I want a crime novel to do – give me a sense of place, give me characters I believe,…
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Review: Gregorio’s Critique of Criminal Reason
Critique of Criminal Reason: A Mystery (Hanno Stiffeniis Mysteries) Michael Gregorio A perfectly serviceable murder mystery where one of the detective is Immanuel Kant. The author, Michael Gregorio is a pseudonym for two Italian academics with deep knowledge of Prussia during the Napoleonic wars. Their knowledge of the history of the Konigsberg give the book…
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Review: Strayed’s Wild
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail Cheryl Strayed Lee Child aside, my reading tastes almost never intersect with the New York Times bestseller list, but when the best seller in question is about a completely unprepared hiker taking on the notoriously difficult Pacific Coast Trail, you know I’m going to check…
Milo and the Calf 