fiction Archives | Page 5 of 27 | The 3 R's: Reading, 'Riting, and Randomness

June 11, 2015 book reviews, reading

Book Talk: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF SOPHIE STARK by Anna North (via Shelf Awareness)

The Life and Death of Sophie Stark: A Novel Anna North (Twitter) (Facebook) Sophie Stark’s Tumblr Blue Rider Press (May 19, 2015), Hardcover (ISBN 0399173390 / 9780399173394) Fiction, 288 pages A version of this review was previously published in Shelf Awareness for Readers (June 9, 2015). Shelf Awareness provided me with a publisher-furnished galley to facilitate the review, and compensated me for the review they received and posted. ———————————————————————————————————————- Anna North’s second novel, The Life and Death of Sophie […]

May 21, 2015 book reviews, reading

Book Talk: ONE THING STOLEN, by Beth Kephart

One Thing Stolen Beth Kephart Chronicle Books (April 2015), Hardcover (ISBN 1452128316 / 9781452128313) Fiction (YA), 272 pages Source: Publisher-hosted blog tour An articulate first-person narrator. A vivid sense of place (often a foreign one). Strong cross-generational relationships. The examination of an issue from an uncommon, unexpected perspective. These are some of the things I’ve found to be characteristic to Beth Kephart’s young-adult novels. These are some of the common elements I’ve come to […]

May 5, 2015 book reviews, reading

Book Talk: THE TURNER HOUSE, by Angela Flournoy (via Shelf Awareness)

The Turner House Angela Flournoy (Facebook) (Twitter) Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (April 14, 2015), Hardcover (ISBN 0544303164 / 9780544303164) Fiction, 352 pages, $23.00 A version of this review was previously published in Shelf Awareness for Readers (April 28, 2015). Shelf Awareness provided me with a publisher-furnished galley to facilitate the review, and compensated me for the review they received and posted. —————————————————————————————————————- The childhood summers she spent with her grandparents, and the stories of […]

April 30, 2015 book reviews, reading

Book Talk: SISTERS OF HEART AND SNOW, by Margaret Dilloway (via Shelf Awareness)

Sisters of Heart and Snow Margaret Dilloway (Twitter) (Facebook) G.P. Putnam’s Sons (April 7, 2015), Hardcover (ISBN 0399170804 / 9780399170805) Fiction: 400 pages, $26.95 A version of this review was previously published in Shelf Awareness for Readers (April 21, 2015). Shelf Awareness provided me with a publisher-furnished galley to facilitate the review, and compensated me for the review they received and posted. —————————————————————————————————————- The story of Tomoe Gozen, a twelfth-century Japanese onna-musha (the female equivalent […]

April 16, 2015 book reviews, reading

(Audio)Book Talk: FUNNY GIRL, by Nick Hornby, read by Emma Fielding

Funny Girl: A Novel Nick Hornby (Facebook) Audiobook read by Emma Fielding Riverhead Books (2015), Hardcover (ISBN 1594205418 / 9781594205415) Fiction, 464 pages Source: Purchased audiobook (Penguin Audio, February 2015, ISBN 9780698195653; Audible ASIN B00RC52GMQ) In my opinion, Nick Hornby’s Funny Girl has a somewhat misleading title. Calling this novel Funny Show might reflect its premise a bit more accurately, because it’s not so much about a comedienne as it is the team and the […]

April 7, 2015 book reviews, reading

Book Talk: KEEP THE ENDS LOOSE, by Molly D. Campbell

Keep the Ends Loose Molly D. Campbell (Twitter) (Facebook) The Story Plant (March 3, 2015), Trade paper original (ISBN 1611882044 / 9781611882049) Fiction (YA), 294 pages Source: Publisher via Netgalley The search is over for several of Molly D. Campbell’s characters—they have found their novel, and they’re in for a very eventful summer in Keep the Ends Loose. Ohio teenager Mandy Heath is anxious about her upcoming freshman year of high school, but other than that, […]

February 19, 2015 book reviews, reading

Book Talk: GOLDEN STATE, by Stephanie Kegan

Golden State: A Novel Stephanie Kegan (Twitter) (Facebook) Simon & Schuster (February 17, 2015), Hardcover (ISBN 1476709319 / 9781476709314) Fiction, 304 pages Source: ARC from publisher, via Netgalley What would you do if you had reason to suspect your brother—once brilliant and promising, but now reclusive and strange—might be a terrorist? How might it feel to realize that the objects of his attacks were, indirectly, the legacy of your father? Where do you go when […]

February 17, 2015 book reviews, reading

Book Talk: BLUE STARS by Emily Gray Tedrowe (via Shelf Awareness)

Blue Stars: A Novel Emily Gray Tedrowe (Twitter) St. Martin’s Press (February 17, 2015), Hardcover (ISBN 1250052483 / 9781250052483) Fiction, 352 pages A version of this review was previously published in Shelf Awareness for Readers (February 6, 2015). Shelf Awareness provided me with a publisher-furnished galley to facilitate the review, and compensated me for the review they received and posted. ———————————————————————————————————— The questionable healthcare and housing conditions with which Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital confronted […]

February 3, 2015 reading

Book Talk: MY FATHER’S WIVES, by Mike Greenberg (via Shelf Awareness)

My Father’s Wives: A Novel Mike Greenberg (Twitter) William Morrow (January 20, 2015), Hardcover (ISBN 0062325868 / 9780062325860) Fiction, 240 pages Parts of of this review were previously published in Shelf Awareness for Readers (January 27, 2015). Shelf Awareness provided me with a publisher-furnished galley to facilitate the review, and compensated me for the review they received and posted. ————————————————————————————————————- Sports-radio host Mike Greenberg has followed up the three female protagonists of his first novel, […]

December 30, 2014 reading

(E)Book Talk: WE WERE LIARS, by E. Lockhart

We Were Liars E. Lockhart (Twitter) (Novel site) Delacorte Press (May 2014), Hardcover (ISBN 038574126X / 9780385741262) Fiction (YA), 240 pages Source: Purchased ebook (iBooks edition, ISBN 9780385390095) ———————————————————————————————————— I was a little apprehensive about reading We Were Liars. It seemed to be emerging as one of 2014’s Books Everyone Loves, and I’d already had a disappointing experience with another of those books this year On top of that, E. Lockhart’s 2009 novel The Disreputable […]

December 4, 2014 reading

(Audio)Book Talk: THE MAGICIANS Trilogy, by Lev Grossman (read by Mark Bramhall)

The Magicians: A Novel The Magician King: A Novel The Magician’s Land: A Novel Written by Lev Grossman (Facebook) (Twitter) Audiobooks read by Mark Bramhall Fiction/fantasy Source: Purchased audiobooks Penguin Audio, 2009, ISBN 9781101079423; Audible ASIN B002L7KSR0; Penguin Audio, 2011, ISBN 9781101523674, Audible ASIN B005GIH6EY; Penguin Audio, 2014, ISBN 9780698153622, Audible ASIN B00K8EXJEM (NOTE: The following discussion is mostly spoiler-free, but if you haven’t read this series, please proceed with caution.) There are definite advantages […]

October 30, 2014 reading

Book Talk: REUNION, by Hannah Pittard

Reunion: A Novel Hannah Pittard (Twitter) Grand Central Publishing (October 7, 2014), Hardcover (ISBN 1455553611 / 9781455553617) Fiction, 288 pages A version of this discussion was previously published as a Starred Review in Shelf Awareness for Readers (October 21, 2014). Shelf Awareness provided me with a publisher-furnished galley to facilitate the review, and compensated me for the review they received and posted. Three ex-wives, one widow, and four sets of children ranging from in age […]

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