Synopsis: After his release from prison, a troubled man befriends the man he crippled, and awakens his demons with tragic result. Review: Though strong in characterization (as always), Live Flesh doesn’t hold up as one of Ruth Rendell’s strongest. On its publication in 1986, I’m sure it made much more of an impact, but in today’s serial killer-saturated culture, this story now feels like old hat.
My work read tonight wasn’t great, but at least it was quick. The two readers in the title of this post are me and one of you. So, with permission, I’m sharing this lovely email I received from TG in Ireland: Thank you so much for your posts and for sharing your devotion to reading with us! Reading your posts everyday has re-aligned my own passion for reading, and now I’m experiencing so much more joy from it! It’s great to get reviews from someone…
Synopsis: When Clay receives a box of cassette tapes recorded by a girl who recently committed suicide, he wonders why he was chosen as one of her thirteen reasons. Review: Compelling premise ultimately founders on muddled execution. Asher throws in at least four separate social problems as part of Hannah’s reasons for her suicide, and the construction ends up feeling far too contrived. This has the odd effect of making the story seem small, as though all of the suffering endured by the various characters…
Check out the latest Bookworms Carnival, live at This is the Life. Lots of books on here I haven’t heard of, so I’m excited to see what I’ll be adding to my TBR pile…
Synopsis: The epic tale of Adam Trask, cuckolded husband to a whore and father of twin boys, one dark, one light. Review: I’m rather embarrassed to confess East of Eden is the first Steinbeck I have ever read. Big deal, you say–except I majored in American Studies in college with a focus on how literature and popular culture reveal sociological truths about the American people. I was obsessed with writers like Sinclair Lewis and Theodore Dreiser. I was enamored of post-Industrial Revolution American life. It…
And what a great year it’s been… I get so much pleasure out of blogging about the books I’m reading, not to mention interacting with commenters and other book bloggers. I’ve catalogued the books I own on Librarything, Goodreads is a growing list of all the books I’ve ever read, and I’m giving away books on Bookmooch. I have 330 posts. Now, my general rule is that I only post when I’ve finished a book, but I went through my archive and counted about 25…
Regular readers of this blog know that I’m a movie buff as well as a Superfast Reader. So, in honor of today’s work read, I’m posting an entry in the Close-Up Blogathon, hosted by my friends over at The House Next Door. Matt Seitz has already posted a fabulous article on one of the final images in Raising Arizona. I’m also dedicating this post to the closing images in Into the Wild–a man’s face intercut with a man’s memories, confession, repentance, and salvation all on…
Need help knowing what books to buy for your kids? The American Library Association wants to help: The ALA-Children’s Book Council (CBC) Joint Committee, with cooperation from the ALSC’s Quicklists Consulting Committee, has created the four bibliographies below, “Building a Home Library,” to provide guidance to parents, grandparents, and others interested in assembling a high-quality library for their children at home. The lists are sort of skimpy; this wouldn’t be much of a library. And it skews heavily towards commercially popular books from the last…
This week’s questions: * Have you ever met one of your favorite authors? Gotten their autograph? * How about an author you felt only so-so about, but got their autograph anyway? Like, say, at a book-signing a friend dragged you to? * How about stumbling across a book signing or reading and being so captivated, you bought the book?
Synopsis: A legendary folk hero tells the first part of his life story, encompassing his early years as a vagabond and his time spent at University studying alchemy and magic. Review: It’s not for nothing that The Name of the Wind has been touted as a great fantasy debut. It absolutely is. I am leery of beginning fantasy series that have not been concluded, but my brother was so enthusiastic about this one that I had to check it out. Patrick Rothfuss’s writing has a…