My pop used to say that a hallmark of a smart person is that they've read the bible. In the spring, when going through some of his things with my sister, we found his bible - a Jerusalem bible, from 1966. I decided to take on reading it this year, but didn't want to risk... Continue Reading →
Address Unknown, by Katherine Kressman Taylor. Pub 1938
I don't know how I ended up with this little book, but I'm so glad I had it to slip into my bag for reading on a recent short trip. The novella is epistolary, between two former business partners in 1938, one in San Francisco and one in Germany, one Jewish and one not. I... Continue Reading →
A Season for Spies, by Iona Whishaw. Pub 2025
A banner year with two Lane Winslow stories! This one is a prequel of sorts, going back to Lane’s years during WWII. Here we read about her inaugural mission, where she of course goes above and beyond to thwart the Nazis and save the day, impressing some superiors and irritating others. I hope that there... Continue Reading →
Black Diamond, by Martin Walker. Pub 2012
The third book in the series picks up where The Dark Vineyard left off. Bruno becomes embroiled in both an Asian gang war and a fraudulent truffle market. The histories are complex and difficult to follow; while it was interesting to learn about the background between France and Vietnam, it got convoluted with references to... Continue Reading →
Aftertaste, by Daria Lavelle. Pub 2025
A friend posted a list of 10 recommended books from 2025, and this one caught my attention. It was available locally, and I wanted something good to fill the Food category on my list. This was the perfect fit. Konstantin has a unique “gift” – clairgustence, meaning he senses tastes from the dead: foods and... Continue Reading →
Sleeping Children, by Anthony Passeron. Pub 2022. Translation by Frank Wynne, pub 2025.
Another gift from my fellow bookclubber, this autobiographical and historical novel tells the story of the early years of the AIDS pandemic. In parallel chapters, we read about the narrator's uncle, Désiré, the family's golden boy and eventual heroin user who becomes an early case of AIDS, as well as the entire family saga before,... Continue Reading →
The God of the Woods, by Liz Moore. Pub 2024
A gift from a friend and fellow book lover, both he and his wife recommended this as a vacation read and it fit the bill. A multigenerational mystery story set in the third quarter of the 20th century, the novel covers many characters and timelines, and offers several layers of exploration. The vastly privileged (and... Continue Reading →
Orbital, by Samantha Harvey. Pub 2023.
I received this book from a friend earlier this year. She enjoyed it, and thought I might, too. The novel is quite unusual, in that there is no real story or plot, more a character study and paean to the Earth. The setting is the International Space Station (ISS), populated by six astronauts from various... Continue Reading →
The Dark Vineyard, by Martin Walker. Pub 2009
This is the second in the Bruno series, and just as enjoyable as the first. Bruno and his neighbours are thrust into the turmoil of the wine world and GMOs, with some ancient family feud for good measure. While the wine industry and wine more generally are main characters here, the novel doesn’t lose sight... Continue Reading →
Death’s End, by Cixin Liu. Pub 2010. Translation by Ken Liu, pub 2016.
This is the third and final book of the Remembrance of Earth Past series that began with The Three-Body Problem. Book 2, The Dark Forest, could easily have been the conclusion to the story, so I was curious to see if and how Liu could expand on the story. The novel begins several years back from the previous... Continue Reading →
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