Photograph of author Michael Chabon at a book signing at WonderCon in 2006. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) When I receive galleys that aren’t associated with a set review date, I have a bad habit of letting them languish well past their publication dates, no matter how excited I was to get them in hand in the first place. I was pretty darn excited about getting a galley of Michael Chabon‘s September 2012 novel Telegraph Avenue when […]
A Good American Alex George (Twitter) (Facebook) Berkley Trade (February 2013), Paperback (ISBN 0425253171 / 9780425253175) Fiction, 432 pages Source: Purchased e-book (iBooks edition: ISBN 9781101559895) Reason for reading: BlogHer Book Club The BlogHer Book Club is sponsored by Penguin Group. BlogHer compensates me for this review and participation in online discussions. All opinions expressed are my own. Opening lines: “Always, there was music. “It was music— Puccini, to be precise— that first drew my […]
We Need to Talk About Kevin: A Novel Lionel Shriver (Wikipedia page) (Goodreads) Audiobook read by Coleen Marlo Harper Perennial (2006), Paperback (ISBN 006112429X / 9780061124297) Fiction, 432 pages Source: Purchased paperback; purchased audiobook (Harper Audio, 2011; Audible ASIN B006QGIFWC) Reason for reading: Personal (long-term TBR, topical fiction) Opening lines: “Dear Franklin, “I’m unsure why one trifling incident this afternoon has moved me to write to you. But since we’ve been separated, I may most […]
News From Heaven: The Bakerton Stories Jennifer Haigh (Facebook) Harper (January 2013), Hardcover (ISBN 0060889640 / 9780060889647) Fiction (linked short stories), 256 pages Source: ARC from publisher Reason for reading: TLC Book Tour Opening lines (from the first story, “Beast and Bird”): “Every Sunday morning, at seven o’clock promptly, the two Polish girls crossed the park and walked fifty blocks downtown to church. Early morning: the avenue wide as a farmer’s field, the sunlight tempered […]
The Historian Elizabeth Kostova (Facebook) Back Bay Books (2006), Paperback (ISBN 0316154547 / 9780316154543) Fiction, 704 pages Source: Purchased Reason for reading: Personal Opening lines: “In 1972 I was sixteen–young, my father said, to be traveling with him on his diplomatic missions. he preferred to know I was sitting attentively in class at the International School of Amsterdam; in those days his foundation was based in Amsterdam, and it had been home for so long […]
Here I Go Again: A Novel Jen Lancaster (Facebook) (Twitter) NAL (January 2013), Hardcover (ISBN 0451236726 / 9780451236722) Fiction, 320 pages Source: Publisher Reason for reading: BlogHer Book Club The BlogHer Book Club is sponsored by Penguin Group. BlogHer arranged for me to receive a copy of this book as a Book Club participant, and compensates me for this review and participation in online discussions. All opinions expressed are my own. Opening lines (from the Prologue): “Every high […]
The Tell: A Novel Hester Kaplan Harper Perennial (January 2013), trade paper (ISBN 0062184024 / 9780062184023) Fiction, 352 pages A version of this review was previously published in Shelf Awareness for Readers (January 22, 2013). Shelf Awareness provided a galley of the book and compensation for the review. Opening lines: “For weeks he’d waited for the wild lilacs arching over the carriage house to come to bloom. Then, back from teaching and a plodding swim […]
Daddy Love Joyce Carol Oates Mysterious Press (January 2013), hardcover (ISBN 0802120997 / 9780802120991) Fiction (mystery/thriller), 240 pages A version of this review was previously published in Shelf Awareness for Readers (January 18, 2013). I was provided with a galley of the novel and compensated for the review. Opening lines: “Take my hand, she said. “He did. Lifted his small hand to Mommy’s hand. This was maybe five minutes before the abduction. “Did she see […]
Year Zero: A Novel Rob Reid (Facebook) Audiobook read by John Hodgman Del Rey (July 2012), Hardcover (ISBN 0345534417 / 9780345534415) Fiction (SF/speculative), 384 pages Source: Purchased audiobook (Random House Audio; Audible ASIN B008J9GD28) Reason for reading: Personal Opening lines: “Aliens suck at music. And it’s not for a lack of trying. They’ve been at it for eons, but have yet to produce even a faintly decent tune. If they had, we’d have detected them […]
Dare Me: A Novel Megan Abbott (Twitter) (Facebook–author page) (Facebook fan page for Dare Me) Reagan Arthur Books (August 2012), Hardcover (ISBN 0316097772 / 9780316097772) Fiction, 304 pages Source: Purchased e-book (iBooks edition: ISBN 9780316203234) Reason for reading: Personal Opening lines: “‘Something happened, Addy. I think you better come.’ “The air is heavy, misted, fine. It’s coming on two AM and I’m high up on the ridge, thumb jammed against the silver button: 27-G. “‘Hurry, […]
Where’d You Go, Bernadette: A Novel Maria Semple (Facebook) Audiobook read by Kathleen Wilhoite Little, Brown and Company (August 2012), Hardcover (ISBN 0316204277 / 9780316204279) Fiction, 336 pages Source: Purchased audiobook (Hachette Audio; Audible ASIN B008XDY8GS) Reason for reading: Personal Opening lines: “The first annoying thing is when I ask Dad what he thinks happened to Mom, he always says, ‘What’s most important is for you to understand it’s not your fault.’ You’ll notice that […]
Shine Shine Shine Lydia Netzer (Blog) (Facebook) (Twitter) Audiobook read by Joshilyn Jackson St. Martin’s Press (July 2012), Hardcover (ISBN 1250007070 / 9781250007070) Fiction, 320 pages Source: Purchased audiobook (Macmillan Audio; Audible ASIN B008M20XUK) Reason for reading: Personal Opening lines: “Deep in darkness, there was a tiny light. Inside the light, he floated in a spaceship. It felt cold to him, floating there. Inside his body, he felt the cold of space. He could still […]
