fiction Archives | Page 8 of 27 | The 3 R's: Reading, 'Riting, and Randomness

February 18, 2014 reading

Book Talk: ONE MORE THING, by B.J. Novak

One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories B.J. Novak (Twitter) Knopf (February 2014), Hardcover (ISBN 0385351836 / 9780385351836) Fiction (short stories), 288 pages A version of this review was previously published in Shelf Awareness for Readers (2/14/2014). Shelf Awareness provided me with a publisher-furnished galley to facilitate the review, and compensated me for the review they received and posted. Actor/writer B.J. Novak (The Office) bucks the linked-short-stories trend in his first fiction collection, One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories, but […]

January 30, 2014 reading

Book Talk: THE DAYS OF ANNA MADRIGAL, by Armistead Maupin

The Days of Anna Madrigal: A Novel Armistead Maupin Harper (January 2014), Hardcover (ISBN 0062196243 / 9780062196248) Fiction, 288 pages A version of this review was previously published in Shelf Awareness for Readers (January 24, 2014). Shelf Awareness provided me with a publisher-furnished galley to facilitate the review, and compensated me for the review they received and posted. It may surprise you to know–it surprises me, when I think about it– that I’ve re-read the […]

January 21, 2014 reading

(Audio)Book Talk: FIN AND LADY, by Cathleen Schine

Fin and Lady Cathleen Schine Audiobook read by Anne Twomey FSG/Sarah Crichton Books (2013), Hardcover (ISBN 1427231540 / 9780374154905) Fiction, 288 pages Source: Purchased audiobook (Macmillan Audio, 2013, ISBN 9781427231550; Audible ASIN B00CTNXS0A) When I first encountered reviews of Cathleen Schine’s Fin and Lady last year, the fact that there was a character in it actually named “Lady” reminded me an exchange from one of my all-time favorite movies, Almost Famous: (William and Penny are […]

January 16, 2014 reading

Book Talk: SOMEONE ELSE’S LOVE STORY, by Joshilyn Jackson

Someone Else’s Love Story: A Novel Joshilyn Jackson (Twitter) (Facebook) William Morrow (November 2013), Hardcover (ISBN 0062105655 / 9780062105653) Fiction, 320 pages Source: ARC from publisher She Reads Book Club selection (November 2013) I’m not adding a lot of “women’s fiction” to the shelves of TBR Purgatory lately. It seems to have lost some freshness for me, and I’ve wanted some time away from that book-club-friendly space where character relationships and plot development braid together […]

December 10, 2013 reading

Book Talk: FRACTURES, by Lamar Herrin

Fractures: A Novel Lamar Herrin Thomas Dunne Books (November 2013), hardcover (ISBN 1250032768 / 9781250032768) Fiction, 320 pages A version of this review was previously published in Shelf Awareness for Readers (November 26, 2013). Shelf Awareness provided me with a publisher-furnished galley to facilitate the review, and compensated me for the review they received and posted. The politics and economics of alternative energy are filtered through one family’s experience in Lamar Herrin’s Fractures. In one […]

October 15, 2013 reading

Book Talk: THE GIRL YOU LEFT BEHIND, by Jojo Moyes

The Girl You Left Behind Jojo Moyes (Twitter) (Facebook) Pamela Dornan Books (August 2013), hardcover (ISBN 0670026611 / 9780670026616) Fiction (historical), 384 pages Source: Publisher Reason for reading: She Reads Book Club October selection Opening lines: “I was dreaming of food. Crisp baguettes, the flesh of the bread a virginal white, still steaming from the oven, and ripe cheese, its borders creeping toward the edge of the plate. Grapes and plums, stacked high in bowls, […]

October 3, 2013 reading

(E)Book Talk: THE SALINGER CONTRACT, by Adam Langer

The Salinger Contract: A Novel Adam Langer Open Road Media E-riginal (2013), e-book original (ISBN 1453297944 / 9781453297940) Fiction, 280 pages Source: E-galley from publisher, via NetGalley Reason for reading: Personal interest Opening lines: “I never believed a book could save your life. It makes sense that Connor Joyce would be the one who changed my mind about that. The story of how one book saved me while another nearly killed Connor began, appropriately enough, […]

October 1, 2013 reading

(Audio)Book Talk: ELEANOR AND PARK, by Rainbow Rowell

Eleanor & Park Rainbow Rowell (Twitter) (Facebook) (Tumblr) (Goodreads) Audiobook read by Rebecca Lowman and Sunil Malhotra St. Martin’s Griffin (February 2013), Hardcover (ISBN 1250012570 / 9781250012579) Fiction (YA), 336 pages Source: Purchased audiobook (Random House Audio, February 2013, ISBN 9780385368278; Audible ASIN B00B4WKAQW) Reason for reading: Banned Books Week Opening lines: “XTC was no good for drowning out the morons at the back of the bus. “Park pressed his headphones into his ears. “Tomorrow […]

September 10, 2013 reading

(Audio)Book Talk: BEAUTIFUL RUINS, by Jess Walter

Beautiful Ruins: A Novel Jess Walter Audiobook read by Edoardo Ballerini Harper Perennial (March 2013), trade paper (ISBN 9780061928178 / 0061928178) Fiction, 368 pages Source: Purchased audiobook (Harper Audio (June 2012), ISBN 9780062201621; Audible ASIN B008ARPV8Q) Reason for reading: Personal Opening lines: “The dying actress arrived in his village the only way one could arrive directly–in a boat that motored into the cove, lurched past the rock jetty, and bumped against the end of the […]

August 13, 2013 reading

(Audio)Book Talk: SISTERLAND, by Curtis Sittenfeld

Sisterland: A Novel Curtis Sittenfeld Audiobook read by Rebecca Lowman Random House (June 2013), Hardcover (ISBN 1400068312 / 9781400068319) Fiction, 416 pages Source: Purchased audiobook (Random House Audio, 2013; ISBN 9780307736611) Reason for reading: Personal (audio recommended by Beth Fish Reads) Opening lines: “The shaking started around three in the morning, and it happened that I was already awake because I’d nursed Owen at two and then, instead of going back to sleep, I’d lain […]

August 6, 2013 reading

(Audio)Book Talk: REDSHIRTS, by John Scalzi

Redshirts: A Novel with Three Codas John Scalzi (Twitter) (Facebook) (Goodreads) Audiobook read by Wil Wheaton (Twitter) (Facebook) (Tumblr) Tor Books (2012), hardcover (ISBN 0765316994 / 9780765316998) Science fiction/satire, 320 pages Source:* Purchased audiobook (Audible Frontiers, 2012: ASIN B0088U1CCO) Reason for reading: Personal *I received an ARC of Redshirts, signed by the author, at Book Expo America 2012–and I’ll be keeping that, even though I decided to listen to the novel instead of reading it. […]

July 30, 2013 reading

(E)Book Talk: THE AGE OF MIRACLES, by Karen Thompson Walker

The Age of Miracles Karen Thompson Walker (Facebook) (Twitter) Random House (2012), Hardcover (ISBN 0812992970 / 9780812992977) Fiction, 288 pages Source: Purchased e-book (eISBN 9780679644385) Reason for reading: Personal Opening lines: “We didn’t notice right away. We couldn’t feel it. “We did not sense, at first, the extra time, bulging from the smooth edge of each day like a tumor blooming beneath skin. “We were distracted, back then, by weather and war. We had no […]

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