All articles filed in Book Reviews

Pat Conroy is probably my all-time favorite author, with The Lords of Discipline as my most cherished of his works.  He is a supreme storyteller with the most fluid syntax that drapes the reader with enchantment.  I believe you can tell a lot about someone based on their favorite author.  If you judged me by my…

After a rough childhood and years spent at the war front, Tom has put up an emotional wall.  He prefers a solitary life as a lighthouse keeper on a remote Australian island where social interaction in kept to a minimum.  Though he lets his guard down slightly when he meets Isabel, he is still comforted by…

I bought Baratunde Thurston’s “How To Be Black” for my brother as a Chanukah present, from one super white person to another. The book, however, took a slight detour because while I was sitting in the airport on the way to meet my dear Bubba I read the back of the book and decided to…

My building has a wonderful little library in the laundry room – just one more thing that makes me love living here.  While I was waiting for the dryer to buzz, I decided to peruse the shelves for a title that jumped out at me.  I stopped when I saw “Testimony” by Anita Shreve.  I…

My latest book club read was a memoir that quickly topped the best seller list in 2012.  In “Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail,” Cheryl Strayed recounts her several month trek through California and Oregon.  I’ve hiked a [very] small piece of the Appalachian Trail so I know that sort of hiking…

I didn’t think I would pick up a book by Jay-Z and I certainly didn’t think I would relate to a book by Jay-Z. I was wrong on both counts. When my office reviewed a case study of a Bing/Jay-Z cross promotion, I was impressed by the innovative marketing.  For the month prior to the…

Believe it or not, I learned about this book a long time ago from Diana Agron’s tumblr but then ended up reading another one of Jonathan Tropper’s novels first.  I thoroughly enjoyed “The Book of Joe,” but while I gave that one a 7.5 out of 10, “This Is Where I Leave You” is easily an…

One perk of Hurricane Sandy was having plenty of time to read.  I had plenty of time to tear through a couple novels, including Chris Bohjalian’s “The Sandcastle Girls.”  I had previously read “Midwives,” also by Bohjalian, and enjoyed it.  The synopsis for this particular book didn’t look as interesting as some of his other novels,…

Like the circus itself, the writing of The Night Circus is mystical and enchanting, filled with ornate scenes of ice gardens and paper forests that can only come from the most romantic and whimsical of imaginations.  If this is what runs through author Erin Morgenstern’s mind on a regular basis, I would love to take a…