Category: Book Review
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The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
I don’t even remember how many years ago I read The Shadow of the Wind for the first time, but I saw it recently at a bookstore, in the classics section, and I thought, “Ah, I loved that.” It turns out my reading tastes have definitely matured since then. I…
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King by Jonathan Eig
When I watched his “I Have a Dream” speech again this year on MLK day, I realized how far our society is from the utopia that Martin Luther King Jr talked about on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial that day. Actually, it’s more than far, because nobody even wants…
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Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
I’ll be honest with you.. there were moments during the pandemic that were the happiest of my life, too. My stories are not even close to interesting, but I gathered my kids around me and sometimes I shared them. I never dated a man who later became a movie star,…
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Ten Thousand Tries by Amy Makechnie
There are two reasons why you should disregard this review:1) The 2nd most effective way to torture me is to put me in front of a soccer game and tell me I have to watch it. It turns out that it’s equally torturous to make me read a book about…
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A Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela
At 115 chapters, this may be the most appropriately titled book ever and I will admit to accidentally losing my place a few times. I will not, however, criticize Nelson Mandela for not being a better writer (especially since he didn’t write, but dictated–as I learned in the interview with…
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Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
I had no intention of reading this because I generally stay away from current sensations. Also, I watched the miniseries and I thought it was fabulous, so I didn’t feel a need to read the book. But, it was a book club choice this month, so I read it. Unfortunately,…
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Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
There are many complicated cultural issues in connection with this book, but I’m neither prepared nor qualified to comment on those. I’m also not going to comment on the literary merits of this book, though I did note things like melodrama and stereotyping. I will also not be commenting on…
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About Grace by Anthony Doerr
It seems odd to say that a story about a man who sometimes sees the future is ordinary. But it’s mostly about relationships and choices, weather and science and change. My life is ordinary, too, perhaps more ordinary that some. But through the occasional extraordinary events I am see more…
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Lord of the Flies by William Golding
This is what happens when you are in honors English classes all through junior high and high school: you read Heart of Darkness, Jane Eyre and Hamlet and totally miss out on reading Lord of the Flies. Personally, I would rather read Hamlet and Jane Eyre (not so much Heart…
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The Wager by David Grann
This is an example of artificial intelligence getting it wrong. It’s true I have read a number of books about historic sailing catastrophes. It’s true that I loved most of them. It’s also true, though, that I found each of those stories in some way remarkable. The captain in In…
I'm Going to Keep this Short 