fiction Archives | Page 6 of 27 | The 3 R's: Reading, 'Riting, and Randomness

October 28, 2014 reading

Book Talk: THE LUMINOUS HEART OF JONAH S., by Gina B. Nahai

The Luminous Heart of Jonah S. Gina B. Nahai (Facebook) (Twitter) Akashic Books (October 7, 2014) trade paper (ISBN 9781617753206) and hardcover (ISBN 1617753211 / 9781617753213) Fiction, 380 pages ———————————————————————————————————————- A version of this review was previously published 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. A substantial Jewish contingent established itself in […]

October 16, 2014 reading

(Audio)Book Talk: LANDLINE, by Rainbow Rowell, read by Rebecca Lowman

Landline Rainbow Rowell (Twitter) (Facebook) (Tumblr) Audiobook read by Rebecca Lowman St. Martin’s Press (July 2014), Hardcover (ISBN 1250049377 / 9781250049377) Fiction, 320 pages Source: Purchased audiobook (Macmillan Audio (July 2014), ISBN 9781427239334; Audible ASIN B00KAG8OZM) ‘ I haven’t been able to pull my thoughts about Rainbow Rowell’s return to adult-audience fiction, Landline, into a thematically coherent whole, so I’m recording my impressions in bullet-point format. Some of these points may be spoilers if you […]

September 23, 2014 reading

(Audio)Book Talk: HOW TO TELL TOLEDO FROM THE NIGHT SKY, by Lydia Netzer (read by Joshilyn Jackson)

How to Tell Toledo from the Night Sky: A Novel Lydia Netzer (Facebook) (Twitter) Audiobook read by Joshilyn Jackson St. Martin’s Press (June 2014), Hardcover (ISBN 1250047021 / 9781250047021) Fiction, 352 pages Source: Purchased audiobook (Macmillan Audio, June 2014, ISBN 9781250047021/Audible ASIN B00K7KNEAG) Author Lydia Netzer is good at succinctly describing her own novels. This is how she summarizes How to Tell Toledo From the Night Sky on her website: “Two astronomers meet and fall […]

September 11, 2014 reading

Book Talk: THE INTERESTINGS, by Meg Wolitzer

The Interestings: A Novel Meg Wolitzer (Facebook) Riverhead (2014), Trade paper (ISBN 1594488398 / 9781594632341) Fiction, 481 pages Source: Purchased e-book (iBooks edition) I’ve been feeling for a while that fiction doesn’t call to me the way it used to, and that more of the books I get excited about reading these days are some variety of nonfiction. At this point, with fiction, I’m less inclined to try new-to-me authors without solid recommendations, but I still give new […]

August 14, 2014 reading

Book Talk: A SONG FOR ISSY BRADLEY, by Carys Bray

A Song for Issy Bradley: A Novel Carys Bray (Twitter) (Facebook) Ballantine Books (August 12, 2014), Hardcover (ISBN 0553390880 / 9780553390889) Fiction, 352 pages, $26.00 A version of this review was previously published in Shelf Awareness for Readers (August 12, 2014). Shelf Awareness provided me with a publisher-furnished galley to facilitate the review, and compensated me for the review they received and posted. Faith, guilt, family responsibilities and cultural norms overlap and clash in Carys Bray’s debut novel. A […]

August 12, 2014 reading

Book Talk: THIS IS THE WATER, by Yannick Murphy

This Is the Water: A Novel Yannick Murphy Harper Perennial (July 29, 2014), Trade paper (ISBN 0062294903 / 9780062294906) Fiction, 352 pages A version of this review was previously published in Shelf Awareness for Readers (August 1, 2014). Shelf Awareness provided me with a publisher-furnished galley to facilitate the review, and compensated me for the review they received and posted. In This Is the Water, Yannick Murphy (The Call) explores the effects of the shocking, seemingly random killing of one of its stars […]

August 7, 2014 reading

Book Talk: THE LEFTOVERS, by Tom Perrotta

The Leftovers Tom Perrotta (Facebook) St. Martin’s Press (2011), Hardcover (ISBN 0312358342 / 9780312358341) Fiction, 368 pages Source: Secondhand ARC received from another blogger (my apologies for not tagging you, but I’ve had this one for a few years and can’t remember who passed it on to me–thank you anyway!) We’re Netflix binge-ers at our house, but we don’t subscribe to any of the premium-cable channels. This means when one of them decides to adapt a […]

August 5, 2014 reading

(Audio)Book Talk: THE SILKWORM, by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling)

The Silkworm (A Cormoran Strike Novel) Robert Galbraith (pseudonym of J.K. Rowling) Audiobook read by Robert Glenister Mulholland Books (June 2014), Hardcover (ISBN 0316206873 / 9780316206877) Fiction (mystery/crime fiction), 464 pages Source: purchased audiobook (Hachette Audio, June 2014, ISBN 9781611134940; Audible ASIN B00IMLDGIM) I was surprised by how much I enjoyed J.K. Rowling’s first outing as mystery writer “Robert Galbraith,” The Cuckoo’s Calling, when I listened to the audio version this past spring. This was partly due to […]

July 24, 2014 reading

Book Talk: THE STORIED LIFE OF A.J. FIKRY, by Gabrielle Zevin

The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry: A Novel Gabrielle Zevin (Twitter) (Facebook) Algonquin Books (April 2014), Hardcover (ISBN 1616203218 / 9781616203214) Fiction, 272 pages Source: Purchased e-book (iBooks) Gabrielle Zevin is better known as a YA author, but her novel for adults, The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry, has been getting a lot of attention from the Book People since its publication in the spring. It’s understandable. Book People are often drawn to stories about Book […]

July 22, 2014 reading

Book Talk: ARTS & ENTERTAINMENTS, by Christopher Beha (Shelf Awareness)

Arts & Entertainments: A Novel Christopher Beha (Facebook) (Twitter) Ecco Press (July 1, 2014), trade paper (ISBN 006232246X / 9780062322463) Fiction, 288 pages A version of the following was previously published as a Starred Review in Shelf Awareness for Readers (July 15, 2014). Shelf Awareness provided me with a publisher-furnished galley to facilitate the review, and compensated me for the review they received and posted. In his second novel, Arts and Entertainments, Christopher Beha (What Happened to Sophie Wilder) shifts his setting from the world […]

July 15, 2014 reading

Book Talk: GOLDEN STATE, by Michelle Richmond

Golden State: A Novel Michelle Richmond (Twitter) (Facebook) Bantam (February 2014), Trade paper (ISBN 0385343280 / 9780385343282) Fiction, 304 pages Source: Purchased ebook (iBooks edition, ISBN 9780345532404) Southern-rooted, San Francisco-based Michelle Richmond was my “Must-Read Author Discovery” of 2008 thanks to her novels The Year of Fog and No One You Know, but I’d lost touch with her a bit until her latest novel, Golden State, was published earlier this year. Certain elements here will be familiar to those who’ve read this author’s […]

July 8, 2014 reading

Book Talk: BRUTAL YOUTH, by Anthony Breznican

Brutal Youth: A Novel Anthony Breznican (Twitter) (Goodreads author page) Thomas Dunne Books (June 10, 2014), Hardcover (ISBN 1250019354 / 9781250019356) Fiction, 416 pages A version of this review was previously published in Shelf Awareness for Readers (June 17, 2014). Shelf Awareness provided me with a publisher-furnished galley to facilitate the review, and compensated me for the review they received and posted. Anthony Breznican’s Brutal Youth is at first reminiscent of The Chocolate War, Robert Cormier’s classic young-adult novel of […]

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