Disclosures: This is a review of an Advance Reader Copy (ARC) requested and received directly from the publisher. The book became available in stores at the end of September 2009. *The purchasing link at the end of the review goes through my Amazon Affiliates account. The Possibility of Everything: A Memoir by Hope Edelman (blog) Ballantine Books, 2009 (Hardcover) (ISBN 0345506502 / 9780345506504) Memoir, 352 pages First sentence: “A ragged, mostly dirt road twists through […]
Disclosures: I bought this book for my personal library, and I intend to keep it indefinitely. *The purchasing link at the end of the review goes through my Amazon Associates account. Still Alice Lisa Genova (blog) Pocket Books, 2009 (paperback) (ISBN 1439102813 / 9781439102817) Fiction, 320 pages First sentence: “Alice sat at her desk in their bedroom, distracted by the sounds of John racing through each of the rooms on the first floor.” Random clip: […]
Disclosures: I was provided with a paperback copy of this novel for review by the publisher, via TLC Book Tours. *The purchasing link at the end of the review goes through my Amazon Affiliates account. Goldengrove: A Novel Francine Prose Harper Perennial, 2009 (Paperback) (ISBN 0060560029 / 9780060560027) Fiction, 288 pages First sentence: “We lived on the shore of Mirror Lake, and for many years our lives were as calm and transparent as its waters. […]
**Disclosures: My husband and I purchased our own tickets to see this movie. The purchase earned reward points for a free movie admission on a future date, through my husband’s free membership in the Regal Cinemas Crown Club.** The Invention of Lying 2009, comedy (rated PG-13) If you’ve ever thought that the world would be a better place if people were just more honest with each other, The Invention of Lying might make you reconsider […]
Disclosures: I received the paperback edition of this novel for review from the publisher, via LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers Program. It’s been in bookstores since the Spring of 2009, so this review is far from early. *The purchasing link at the end of the review is through my Amazon Affiliates account. The Cellist of Sarajevo Steven Galloway Riverhead, 2009 (trade paperback) (ISBN 1594483655 / 9781594483653) Fiction (historical), 256 pages First sentence: “It screamed downward, splitting air […]
I received an Advance Reader’s Copy (ARC) of this book for review through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers Program. The book was published in July 2009 and is currently available in bookstores. The Last Bridge: A Novel Teri Coyne Ballantine Books, 2009 (hardcover) (ISBN 0345507312 / 9780345507310) Fiction, 240 pages First sentence: Two days after my father had a massive stroke my mother shot herself in the head. Book description: After a ten-year absence, Alex ‘Cat’ Rucker […]
Shelf Discovery: The Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading – A Reading Memoir Lizzie Skurnick (blog) Avon A (HarperCollins), 2009 (paperback original) (ISBN 0061756350 / 9780061756351) Nonfiction/books and reading; 448 pages Opening Lines: “I can’t remember the book that made me into a reader. (God knows this would be a better story if I could!) All I can remember is that first I wasn’t a reader and then, suddenly, I was.” Book description: Remember that […]
Disclosure: D&D Creations, the developers of this product, provided me with a sample for review purposes (the product retails for $29.95 plus shipping). I received no other compensation. I always wanted to be someone who kept a reading journal. I made a few half-hearted attempts, but they never stuck, and I never had much success at keeping records of what I read until I went online, where this blog and LibraryThing both serve that purpose. […]
Marley & Me: Life and Love With the World’s Worst Dog John Grogan (blog) Harper, 2008 (paperback) (ISBN 0060817089 / 9780060817084) Memoir, 320 pages First sentence: In the summer of 1967, when I was ten years old, my father gave in to my persistent pleas and took me to get my own dog. (from the Preface) Book description: John and Jenny were just beginning their life together. They were young and in love, with a […]
The subject of my my very first single-book review on this blog, posted April 28, 2007 (prior to that, the review posts had been round-ups), has now been made into a movie. (Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously) intrigued me in the original hardcover, but since I only buy books in paperback I’ve been waiting to read it. It’s a lot of fun to read, more of a “memoir with food” than actual […]
The Art of Racing in the Rain: A Novel Garth Stein Harper, 2009 (paperback) (ISBN 0061537969 / 9780061537967) Fiction, 336 pages First sentence: Gestures are all that I have; sometimes they must be grand in nature. Book description: Enzo knows he is different from other dogs: a philosopher with a nearly human soul (and an obsession with opposable thumbs), he has educated himself by watching television extensively, and by listening very closely to the words […]
This review is based on an Advance Reader Copy (ARC) provided by the publisher via Trish at TLC Book Tours. I received no other compensation. The book is currently available in stores. The Weight of Silence: A Novel Heather Gudenkauf Mira Books, 2009 (paperback original) (ISBN 077832740X / 9780778327400) Fiction, 384 pages (Visit the book’s website and click “preview the book” to see the first 19 pages.) First sentence: “Louis and I see you nearly […]
