Book Review Policy: information for publicists and authors

UPDATED 3/1/10: I am not an especially fast reader, and I have a family, a full-time job, and other responsibilities unrelated to book blogging. In order to fulfill the review obligations I already have pending, I will only accept a limited number of new review offers – please read on to find out more about the sort of books I’ll consider accepting. Thank you for your understanding.  My goal is to post book reviews here […]

Thursday (E)Book Talk: “Admission,” by Jean Hanff Korelitz

Thursday (E)Book Talk: “Admission,” by Jean Hanff Korelitz

This is the first book I read on my Amazon Kindle e-book reader, and counts for the Read Your Own Books (RYOB) 2009 Challenge.AdmissionJean Hanff Korelitz book data via LibraryThing:Grand Central Publishing (2009), Edition: First Edition, Hardcover, 464 pagesISBN: 0446540706 / 9780446540704 Kindle edition data via Amazon.com:File Size: 750 KBASIN: B0026772YM First sentence: “The flight from Newark to Hartford took no more than fifty-eight minutes, but she still managed to get her heart broken three […]

TLC Book Tour Book Talk: “Wife of the Gods,” by Kwei Quartey

TLC Book Tour Book Talk: “Wife of the Gods,” by Kwei Quartey

I was provided with a copy of this book to review courtesy of TLC Book Tours; I received no other compensation. Wife of the Gods: A Novel Kwei Quartey Random House, 2009 (hardcover) (ISBN 1400067596 / 9781400067596) Fiction, 336 pages First sentence: “The forest was black and Darko was afraid to enter.” Teaser: “Mama must have enjoyed her visit tremendously, because three months later she went back to Ketanu. Six days passed, eight, and then […]

Monday Book Talk: “Perfect Life,” by Jessica Shattuck

Monday Book Talk: “Perfect Life,” by Jessica Shattuck

I received an Advance Reader’s Copy (ARC) of this book for review through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers Program. Perfect Life: A Novel Jessica Shattuck W.W. Norton & Co., 2009 (hardcover) (ISBN 0393069508 / 9780393069501) Fiction, 336 pages First sentence: Later, after everything, after Neil had come and gone from their everyday lives, Laura had a memory of that other time, a million years ago, it seemed, when they had all been college students, living in that […]

Monday Book Talk: “All We Ever Wanted Was Everything,” by Janelle Brown

Monday Book Talk: “All We Ever Wanted Was Everything,” by Janelle Brown

There will be an online discussion of this book on Tuesday, July 14 at Bookworm with a View as part of the Summer Reading Series. All We Ever Wanted Was Everything: A Novel Janelle Brown (blog) Spiegel & Grau, 2009 (paperback) (ISBN 0385524021 / 9780385524025) Fiction, 448 pages First sentence: June in Santa Rita is perfect, just perfect. Teaser: “She was terrible at ballet. Her pliés were mushy, her pirouettes wobbly, and the way the […]

Thursday Book Talk : “Fool,” by Christopher Moore

Thursday Book Talk : “Fool,” by Christopher Moore

Fool: A Novel Christopher Moore (blog) William Morrow, 2009 (hardcover) (ISBN 0060590319 / 9780060590314) Fiction, 336 pages First sentence: “Tosser!” Cried the raven. There’s always a bloody raven. Book description: Here’s the Cliff Notes you wished you’d had for King Lear—the mad royal, his devious daughters, rhyming ghosts and a castle full of hot intrigue—in a cheeky and ribald romp that both channels and chides the Bard and all Fate’s bastards. It’s 1288, and the king’s fool, Pocket, and […]

Thursday Book Talk: “Certain Girls,” by Jennifer Weiner

Thursday Book Talk: “Certain Girls,” by Jennifer Weiner

Certain Girls: A Novel Jennifer Weiner (blog) Washington Square Press, 2009 (paperback) (ISBN 0743294262 / 9780743294263) Fiction, 416 pages First sentence: When I was a kid, our small-town paper published wedding announcements, with descriptions of the ceremonies and dresses and pictures of the brides. Book description: Cannie Shapiro, the smart, sharp-tongued, bighearted heroine of Jennifer Weiner’s Good in Bed, is back. After her debut novel — a fictionalized (and highly sexualized) version of her life — […]

Thursday Book Talk: “The Unit,” by Ninni Holmqvist

Thursday Book Talk: “The Unit,” by Ninni Holmqvist

Disclosure: I received an Advance Reader’s Copy of this book for review through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers Program. The Unit: A Novel Ninni Holmqvist (translated from Swedish by Marlaine Delargy) Other Press, 2009 (paperback original) (ISBN 1590513134 / 9781590513132) Fiction, 272 pages First sentence: It was more comfortable than I could have imagined. Book description: One day in early spring, Dorrit Weger is checked into the Second Reserve Bank Unit for biological material. She is promised […]

Thursday Book Talk: “Escape,” by Carolyn Jessop

Thursday Book Talk: “Escape,” by Carolyn Jessop

Escape Carolyn Jessop (with Laura Palmer) Broadway Books, 2008 (ISBN 0767927575 / 9780767927574) Nonfiction/memoir, 448 pages First sentence: “Escape. The moment had come.” Random clip (page 91): “After several terrible years with Faunita, Audrey said, Merril was forced to marry Ruth. He resisted this marriage as well, until he was reprimanded by the prophet and forced to wed.” Book description: When she was eighteen years old, Carolyn Jessop was coerced into an arranged marriage with […]

Monday Book Talk: “The 19th Wife,” by David Ebershoff – TLC Book Tour AND GIVEAWAY

Monday Book Talk: “The 19th Wife,” by David Ebershoff – TLC Book Tour AND GIVEAWAY

This review is part of a virtual blog tour hosted by TLC Book Tours in connection with the paperback release of The 19th Wife. Thanks to Lisa of TLC for arranging for me to obtain a copy of the novel (in hardcover) for review. Author David Ebershoff is also on a “real” book tour to promote the paperback release. He will be in the Los Angeles area on Monday, June 22, reading and signing books […]

Springtime at the Movies, the sequel: Back to the Multiplex!

Springtime at the Movies, the sequel: Back to the Multiplex!

After several weekends in one theater or another, including the last two, I think there may be a break in our movie-going activity until later in June…so this might be a good time to catch up. I shared my thoughts on some of the movies I saw in May a couple of weeks ago – welcome to “Springtime Movies II: Electric Boogaloo”! (all poster images found on MoviePoster.com; review links are to EW.com) Angels & […]

Monday Book Talk: “The Laws of Harmony,” by Judith Ryan Hendricks

Monday Book Talk: “The Laws of Harmony,” by Judith Ryan Hendricks

I received this book for review through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers Program. The Laws of Harmony: A Novel Judith Ryan Hendricks Harper, 2009 (paperback) (ISBN 0061687367 / 9780061687365) Fiction, 496 pages First sentence: “The heat is a presence. Palpable and relentless, it rolls over Albuquerque like a hot iron.” Random clip (page 300): “I buy a double espresso from a woman who has a little cart set up right by the entrance every Saturday and head […]