Packing for Mars Mary Roach August 2010 320 pages Published by W.W. Norton ******************** FTC: I waited in line (for a very long time, in case you were wondering) to get this ARC when I was at BEA. It was … Continue reading
The Picture of Dorian GrayOscar Wildefirst published in 1891213 pagesI read the Penguin Classics version, even though I think the cover doesn’t do Dorian justice. Despite a certain denseness to Wilde’s writing, I loved this story. I’ve said it before, … Continue reading
Room Emma Donoghue September 13, 2010 336 pages Published by Little, Brown ******************** FTC disclosure: I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher. Thank you, Little, Brown! ******************** Room is published today, and I can’t begin … Continue reading
Lit Mary Karr 2009 386 pages Published by Harper Perennial ******************** FTC divulgation (yes, I’ve resorted to the thesaurus): I received a copy of this book from the publisher, because I am participating in a TLC book tour. Thank you … Continue reading
Embroideries Marjane Satrapi 2006 144 pages Published by Pantheon ******************** FTC disclosure: I bought this in New York City at the Strand. Beth Fish and Dawn are my witnesses. ******************** As I was googling this to find an image of … Continue reading
The Woman Who Fell From the Sky: An American Journalist in Yemen Jennifer Steil 2010 321 pages Published by Broadway she was a woman who fell from the sky in robes of dew and became a city In 2006, Jennifer … Continue reading
The Tricking of Freya Christina Sunley 2009 342 pages Published by Picador Iceland is land alive, the earth split open, forming and re-forming before your eyes. Vast vistas of swirling black and neon green moss-drenched lavascapes. Volcanoes in all directions … Continue reading
Manhood for Amateurs Michael Chabon (pronounced Shay-bon, which is not how I was pronouncing it!) 2009 306 pages Harper Perennial And yes, as a matter of fact, I did receive this for review at BEA. This is the first Michael … Continue reading
Cutting for Stone Abraham Verghese 2009 658 pages Published by Vintage Books “Wasn’t that the definition of home? Not where you are from, but where you are wanted?” -p. 95 Marion and Shiva Stone are twin boys born to a … Continue reading
The Bucolic Plague Josh Kilmer-Purcell 2010 304 pages Published by HarperCollins A couple of times a year I seem to find myself reading a book about city people who move to a farm. And then I proceed to tell you … 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
