The Stranger is the classic of existential lit. Daoud’s novel is the parallel, antithetical, yet reduplicated story of the unnamed ‘Arab’ whom the anti-hero of Camus’ novel kills. But, be warned – If you haven’t read The Stranger recently and haven’t had to read it critically, then The Meursault Investigation will fall short. The brilliance of this novel is the layering that creates at first a contrast be...

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4.5Adiga’s debut novel gives us on narrator who is, by turns, charming, repugnant, profound, egotistical, insightful, and much more, but always, always fascinating. Balram, when he introduces himself, is a self-made entrepreneur and a murderer. His story is told through a letter he writes to the Chinese Premier who will be visiting his country. His voice is unique and can stand with some of the best know ‘narrators’ of classic l...

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In Emma Donoghue’s latest novel, set in the mid-1800’s, Nightingale trained, British nurse Lib finds herself in the midlands of Ireland, hired by a local council to watch 11 year old Anna O’Donnell (The Wonder of the title) who, according to the family, has survived for 4 months with no food. Lib must observe to see if the child is somehow receiving food or if this is a miracle. Lib shares watch duty with a stoic Irish Catholic nun but is u...

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My first comment about the novel is that everyone should ignore the cover text. That description fails to present what The Night Circus is about. Yes, there is a magic duel and yes, there is love but the book is so much more than plot points. Nothing about this book is flashy, action-oriented magic and the duel is a slow dance of beauty and subtlety. The star of the novel is the Night Circus itself, the enchanting world that was the dream of a fe...

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Angie Thomas, in The Hate U Give, wrote a novel that can serve as an entry point for adolescents and adults to understand the systemic issues facing people of color in the US.  Her novel is the story of one group of individuals in one moment in time, but it is also the story of far too many in multiple, on-going moments in time.  At the same time as the novel takes on the big issues of systemic racism, it also tackles the story of a girl who is...

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Mix strange, difficult to control powers in with adolescent angst about fitting in, and an action packed plot and you have the basic recipe for a good novel.  Add in adult bad guys, less than great parents, and a whole lot of bad decisions and you’ve got Zeroes. Westerfeld, Biancotti and Canagan have created an ensemble cast of teenagers that have powers that seem more a burden than a gift.  There is Crash who can destroy modern technology b...

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The Paper Magician Series — Charlie N. Holmberg In The Paper Magician, set in an alternate turn of the 20th Century, Holmberg has created a unique magical world for the series.  Trained and licensed magicians work with only one particular medium among those available — all involving man-made materials. We first meet Ceony at the close of her education when she is to begin her apprenticeship.  Ceony wants to work in metal — to be a smelter...

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In An Untamed State Roxanne Gay takes a hard, unsparing look at race, complicity, privilege, violence against women, and how one woman survives the horror of an abduction. Mireille is Haitian-American, a daughter not of poverty but of wealth and a sheltered life. She admits that she has a fairytale life. That is, until visiting Haiti from their home in Miami, when she is abducted by a group of men seeking a ransom from her father. At first, she ...

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In her excellent debut fantasy novel, Rebel of the Sands, Alwyn Hamilton sets us in a depressed desert village of miners and rough characters.  A wild blend of outlaw western and Middle-eastern based mythos with a dash of political intrigue, Rebel of the Sands engaged from the opening chapter to the closing pages, with a blend of well-drawn characters, magic, adventure, and a fast-paced, twisting plot. Amani, the narrator, is an orphan raised by...

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Neil Gaiman is one of the most reliably entertaining writers today. He creates worlds where the weird and magical coexist with the familiar and mundane world around us. In Neverwhere, originally created as a TV show, Gaiman gives us London, Above and Below.  The former is familiar, particularly in the everyday drudgery of the cubicle work world.  The later is the world where those who are unseen in the world disappear to.  And what a fascinati...

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Latest

June Reading Stats

Reading Stats / July 3, 2017
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May Reading Stats

Reading Stats / June 7, 2017
and to catch up…...

April Reading Stats

Reading Stats / June 7, 2017
Because I am sooooooo behind posting anything....

Why I removed thousands of books from my library

Reading Life February 28, 2017

Straight to book hell. On a bus. I am doomed by my actions. Yet, I am unrepentant. We’ve all broken a few of the rules of the bibliophiles, committed a few venial sins such as claimed we read a classic when we didn’t, secretly hated the book everyone loved, spoiled a mystery for someone (or ourselves — but I don’t get that particular kink). Some of us even belong to a more heretical branch of book devotees: e-book lovers, audiobook ‘rea...