Drowned Therese Bohman (Swedish-language blog) (Twitter) translated by Marlaine Delargy Other Press (May 22, 2012), Paperback original (ISBN 1590515242 / 9781590515242) Fiction, 224 pages A version of this review was originally published in Shelf Awareness for Readers (May 29, 2012). Opening lines: “The train is exactly on time as it pulls into the platform. My whole body feels listless as I stand up and get my bag down from the luggage rack above the window, […]
The Chaperone Laura Moriarty (Facebook) Riverhead (June 2012), Hardcover (ISBN 1594487014 / 9781594487019) Fiction, 384 pages Source: ARC from publisher Reason for reading: TLC Book Tour (last stop!) Opening lines: “The first time Cora heard the name Louise Brooks, she was parked outside the Wichita Library in a Model-T Ford, waiting for the rain to stop. If Cora had been alone, unencumbered, she might have made a dash across the lawn and up the library’s stone […]
I Am Forbidden: A Novel Anouk Markovits Hogarth (2012), Hardcover (ISBN 0307984737 / 9780307984739) Fiction, 320 pages Source: Publisher Reason for reading: TLC Book Tour Opening lines: “Light, fast, Zalman’s heels rapped the ground as he ran, naked, down the center aisle of the House of Prayer. His hands reached toward the Torah scroll raised above the altar, but the embroidered mantle slid up and out of sight. The scroll spread open, revealing a passage […]
Domestic Violets: A Novel Matthew Norman (Twitter) Harper Perennial (September 2011), Trade paperback original (ISBN 0062065114 / 9780062065117) Fiction, 352 pages Source: ARC from publisher, won in a giveaway Reason for reading: personal Opening lines: “I splash cold water on my face. “This is what men in movies do when they’re about to fly off the handle, when shit is getting out of control. I do this sometimes. I react to things based on what […]
A version of this review was originally published in Shelf Awareness for Readers on April 3, 2012. The Good Father: A Novel Noah Hawley Doubleday (2012), Hardcover (ISBN 0385535538 / 9780385535533) Fiction, 320 pages Source: ARC from publisher Reason for reading: compensated review Opening lines: ““Thursday night was pizza night in the Allen household. My last appointment of the day was scheduled for eleven a.m., and at three o’clock I would ride the train home […]
The Fault in Our StarsJohn Green (Twitter) (Facebook)Dutton Juvenile (2012), Hardcover (ISBN 9781101569184 / 1101569182)Fiction (YA), 336 pagesSource: Purchased e-book (iBooks edition)Reason for reading: BlogHer Book Club Disclosure: I was compensated for this review and participation in discussion about this book at BlogHer.com; I read it as an e-book I had purchased prior to joining the book club. Opening lines: “Late in the winter of my seventeenth year, my mother decided I was depressed, presumably […]
Yesterday in New York City, there was a celebration of the 50th anniversary of A Wrinkle in Time and the new commemorative edition published for the occasion: “This special edition has been redesigned and includes an introduction by Katherine Paterson, an afterword by Madeleine L’Engle’s granddaughter Charlotte Jones Voiklis (sister of YA author Léna Roy) that includes photographs and memorabilia, the author’s Newbery Medal acceptance speech, and other bonus materials.” In recognition of this literary event, it […]
The Night Swimmer: A Novel Matt Bondurant Scribner (2012), Hardcover (ISBN 1451625294 / 9781451625295) Fiction, 288 pages A version of this review was originally published in Shelf Awareness, Readers’ Edition (January 24, 2012); SA‘s editors provided compensation and a galley of the novel. The cover image links to IndieBound.org. I am an IndieBound affiliate. The narrator and titular character of Matt Bondurant’s third novel, The Night Swimmer, is Elly Bulkington. When her husband Fred is […]
Ready Player One (book website) Ernest Cline Audiobook read by Wil Wheaton Crown (2011), Hardcover (ISBN 030788743X / 9780307887436) (Audio edition ISBN 9780307913159) Fiction, 384 pages (Audio length 15 hours 46 minutes) Source: Purchased audiobook (Audible.com) Reason for reading: Personal Opening lines, Chapter 1: “I was jolted awake by the sound of gunfire in one of the neighboring stacks. The shots were followed by a few minutes of muffled shouting and screaming, then silence. Gunfire […]
The Underside of Joy Sere Prince Halverson Dutton Adult (January 2012), Hardcover (ISBN 0525952594 / 9780525952596) Fiction, 320 pages Source: Publisher (ARC) Reason for reading: BlogHer Book Club I was compensated by BlogHer.com for writing this review and participating in discussions about the book; all opinions are expressed are my own. Opening lines: “I recently read a study that said that happy people aren’t made. They’re born. Happiness, the report pointed out, is all about […]
The Western Lit Survival Kit: An Irreverent Guide to the Classics, from Homer to Faulkner Sandra Newman Gotham (January 2012), Paperback Original (ISBN 1592406947 / 9781592406944) Nonfiction/literary criticism, 304 pages Source: ARC from publisher Reason for reading: TLC Book Tour From the Introduction: “This book treats Western lit like an amusement park. It offers a guide to the rides, suggesting which ones are fun for all ages, which are impossibly dull for all ages, and […]
(This is a revised/updated post reflecting my thoughts upon finishing this novel. It was originally published on December 8, 2011 to meet a commitment for a TLC Book Tour date.) The Personal History of Rachel DuPree: A Novel Ann Weisgarber Penguin (Non-Classics) (2011), Paperback (ISBN 0143119486 / 9780143119487) Fiction (historical), 336 pages Source: Publisher Reason for reading: TLC Book Tour Opening lines: “I still see her, our Liz, sitting on a plank, dangling over that […]
