I feel like I’m playing catch-up on the Elizabeth Strout oeuvre, and that I’m way behind the rest of the world in recognizing the considerable talent of this author. I first read her best known work, Olive Kitteridge, just last year, and am glad that was somewhat fresh in my mind for this book. We... Continue Reading →
All My Friends are Superheroes, by Andrew Kaufman. Pub 2003. Tenth anniversary edition, Pub 2013.
I picked this book up last year as a possible Christmas present for my cousin's son. It came up in a book search as one of those, "other customers also bought..." suggestions when I was picking something else for him, and the idea sounded interesting. As I was heading up to visit the family for the weekend,... Continue Reading →
Countdown City, by Ben H. Winters. Pub 2013
This is the second part of the Last Policeman series, and we pick-up a few months after where we left off in book 1. Hank Palace is no longer officially a policeman, as the force continues to downsize the superfluous elements like investigation and missing persons and beef-up the more hardcore elements of riot squads... Continue Reading →
Maus, by Art Spiegelman. Published between 1973-1991. The Complete Maus, pub 2003.
I hadn't had any interest in this until recently. My prior experience with graphic novels was less than engaging, and the glimpses I'd had of this one did not make it appealing - dark and violent, with animals in clothes. However, in 2022, a school board in Tennessee decided to ban the book (the day... Continue Reading →
Followed by the Lark, by Helen Humphreys. Pub 2024
To me, a hallmark of a good book is one that I get so caught up in that I finish it in a day. Helen Humphreys usually does that for me. In Followed by the Lark, Humphreys novelizes the life of naturalist and philosopher, Henry David Thoreau. Based on his many writings and extensive journal, Humphreys... Continue Reading →
The Memory Police, by Yōko Ogawa. Pub 1994. Translation by Stephen Synder. Pub 2019
This was an impulse purchase in my post-Christmas bookshop binge, chosen from the "we recommend" shelves at my local shop. Having read and enjoyed previous Japanese novels (e.g., There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job) last year, I was interested to explore something more substantial, and this "speculative fiction" appealed. I was not disappointed. SPOILER:... Continue Reading →
The Gunslinger, by Stephen King. Pub 1982
This series is a favourite of my husband's, but I've never ventured into it before. I've only read two other Stephen King books before - Thinner which scared the heck out of me, complete with nightmares, and Different Seasons, a collection of short stories, two of which were the basis for the films Stand By Me and The Shawshank Redemption.... Continue Reading →
Held, by Anne Michaels. Pub 2023
Anne Michaels is, to me, a favourite and not nearly prolific enough writer. Her Fugitive Pieces remains an all-time favourite novel (might be time for a re-reading). Her second novel, Winter Vault, was not as good, both empirically and by comparison. With Held, she has burst out again as brilliant IMHO. Her writing style is not for everyone. It... Continue Reading →
Four Thousand Weeks, by Oliver Burkeman. Pub 2021
Oliver Burkeman was, for many years, a columnist at The Guardian, wrote "This column will change your life." I recall reading several of his columns, and then in 2020 he stopped. As he expands on in this book, he had a bit of an epiphany: that all his efforts to be more efficient/productive/happy (and the... Continue Reading →
Payback, by Margaret Atwood. Pub 2008
I've owned this book for several years, and thought that I had previously read it. I recall (now) reading at least part of the first chapter, as I remembered the elements of the modern history of mortgages, credit cards, and government loans. However, I realized very quickly that I had stopped reading at about page... Continue Reading →
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