Wild Cheryl Strayed March 2012 336 pages ******************** My issues with this book: You are not the only person in the world who is an “orphan.” Get over yourself. Being an “orphan” does not give you a free pass on … Continue reading
In the Garden of Beasts Erik Larson May 2011 365 pages ******************** I’d been looking forward to reading this book because I loved The Devil in the White City. Loved it so much, in fact, I defended it in a … Continue reading
(No cover image today, because it creeps me out, and I don’t want to remind myself of either the creepiness of the cover, or the crappiness of the prose.) The Prophet Kahlil Gibran 1923 96 pages Published by Alfred A … Continue reading
Great House Nicole Krauss October 2010 289 pages Published by W.W. Norton & Company (can I have my money back? pretty please??) I’m not a big noticer of language when I’m reading. Oh sure, there are exceptions (The Disappeared), and … Continue reading
CTom McCarthySeptember 2010320 pages Published by Knopf Note: I read this book as part of my panelist duties for the Indie Lit Awards. This review in no way reflects the opinions of other panelists. ***Also, me-mer-me-mer-mer (that’s European for siren going … Continue reading
Grounded Seth Stevenson 272 pages 2010 Published by Riverhead ******************** I bought it. And read most of it on an airplane, which would probably appall the author, who is down on air travel…and gets pretty high and mighty and obnoxious … Continue reading
The Hiding Place Trezza Azzopardi 2002 288 pages ******************** Bonjour, FTC: I bought it, much to my dismay. Can you hook me up with a refund? ******************** Set in Cardiff, Wales in the 1960s, The Hiding Place is the story … Continue reading
The Woman Warrior Maxine Hong Kingston 1975 209 pages ******************** FTC: I also bought this one. You should give me an award for stimulating the economy. ******************** I’m pretty much speechless. So I’m going to steal the description from Wikipedia: … Continue reading
The Lacuna Barbara Kingsolver November 2009 528 pages ********** Yo, FTC: I purchased this book. Sort of. Because I had Borders Bucks, and it didn’t cost me a dime. Thank god. ********** The Lacuna begins in Mexico in the 1920s. … Continue reading
Frankenstein Mary Shelley 1818 275 pages I read this for our Dueling Monsters Read-a-long. And since I read the “Enriched Classic” I hereby give you my Enriched Review, complete with Major Spoilers. As much as I would like to treat … Continue reading
In a real sense, people who have read good literature have lived more than people who cannot or will not read. It is not true that we have only one life to live; if we can read, we can live as many more lives and as many kinds of lives as we wish. ~S.I. Hayakawa
The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.
~St. Augustine
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.
~Mark Twain
