Tag Archives: awards

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond

Posted on April 23, 2017 by

Read April 2017 Recommended for Americans ★    ★    ★   ★    ★   It is no surprise that “Evicted” was the University Wisconsin-Madison’s Go Big Red book read for 2016, a book chosen by the chancellor and worked into campus-wide discussions and … Continue reading →

Posted in Book reviews, Non-fiction | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

bellwether by Connie Willis

Posted on March 26, 2017 by

Re-Read March 2017 Recommended for fans of light romantic comedy ★    ★    ★    ★     ★    I owe bellwether a review.   Bellwether is a book that I inevitably turn to when I want something that is light, clever, literate … Continue reading →

Posted in Book reviews, Fiction | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death by Charlie Huston

Posted on January 25, 2017 by

Read January 2017 Recommended  ★     ★     ★    ★   First there was ‘chick-lit.’ Then there was ‘hick-lit.’ I hereby dub a new sub-genre: dick-lit. No, it’s not about sex, porny-readers. I’m thinking of such books as The Goldfinch, Less Than … Continue reading →

Posted in Book reviews, Fiction, genre-bender | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky. A new classic.

Posted on January 18, 2017 by

Read January 2017 Recommended for sci-fi fans, people who wanted to like Aurora and didn’t, fans of Charlotte’s Web  ★     ★     ★    ★    1/2   Sympathetic spiders? Inconceivable! –I do not think that word means what you think it means– Nope, … Continue reading →

Posted in Book reviews, Science fiction | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear

Posted on October 2, 2016 by

Read September 2016 Recommended for fans of historical fiction      Is there anything more controversial at Goodreads than star rating? I think not (and yes, I think it’s more controversial than porn or V-blogs). People have opinions on whether … Continue reading →

Posted in Book reviews, Mystery | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

The Diamond Age, Or, A Young Lady’s Illustrated Primer by Neal Stephenson.

Posted on April 24, 2016 by

Read March to April 2016 Recommended for hard core Stephenson fans  ★     ★ Initially, I wasn’t tempted by The Diamond Age, but the subtitle drew me in. A book advising young women? Interesting. However, given a choice between this … Continue reading →

Posted in Book reviews, Science fiction | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast

Posted on March 8, 2016 by

Read February 2016 Recommended for anyone with aging parents.  ★    ★    ★   ★   Don’t be misled; cartoons don’t make for easy reading. Roz Chast takes an unflinching look at her interactions with her aging parents in their very, … Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiography, Book reviews, Non-fiction | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Posted on February 20, 2016 by

Read February 2016 Recommended for fans of young adult, biotech, Austria  ★    ★    ★ An Adventure in Which an Aristocratic Young Man Discovers How to Pilot an All-Terrain Walker and that he is Now an Orphan, and a … Continue reading →

Posted in Book reviews, fantasy, Urban fantasy, young adult | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

A Dangerous Road by Kris Nelscott

Posted on February 8, 2016 by

Read February 2016 Recommended for fans of time period mysteries  ★    ★    ★    ★    1/2   It isn’t often a mystery surprises me. I mean, sure–I’m often surprised by the solution. But the storytelling of a mystery … Continue reading →

Posted in Book reviews, Mystery | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate by Ted Chiang

Posted on January 1, 2016 by

Read December 2015 Recommended for fans Baghdad bazaars, time travel  ★    ★    ★    ★    ★   he Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate is made up of four intricately woven stories: the titular story, “The Tale of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Book reviews, fantasy | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments