Autumn by Ali Smith. Rec by Jen. Public library Sharon Begley: Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain. Dorothy mentioned Begley. Public Library Gabrielle Zevin: Young Jane Young reviewed by Ron Charles here. The video review is a good one, especially the tweet storm. Golden Hill by Francis Spufford reviewed by Tony. Bad reviews for audiobook production. Books by Mollie Panter-Downes...
This went on my list of books to read some months ago, but it moved it when I noted how much Kim of Reading Matters enjoyed it recently. First published in 1963 this is the story of a boy whose mother died shortly after he was born, brought up by his aunts in Sydney during the Depression. He is known as P.S., so anointed by his mother when she knew she would not survive. in her view he would be...
Much as I appreciated his previous book, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, I was not prepared for this brilliant work. The tone of the book is an unemotional telling of the upheaval of societies throughout the world in the near future. The audiobook, read by Hamid himself made the recounting of the most dramatic events told in a calm voice all the more disquieting. As we are introduced to the main...
Having loved his 2014 book The Betrayers, I was happy to find David Bezmozgis had an earlier novel. This one tells the stories of two generations of a Jewish family from Latvia. The moment at hand is their time in 1978 as they and others have been allowed to leave the Soviet bloc and have made it as far as Rome on their way to a permanent location. Though we hear the story and thoughts of several...
I was unfamiliar with this Irish author and listened to the audiobook as a result of Reading Matters’ enthusiasm for her books. The plot had some very familiar elements, but a variation that I found quite appealing. The main character is a free-spirited woman who does free-lance writing and lands temporary university posts lecturing on Irish literature. Clara has just returned from one of...
Recently this 2011 book came to my notice by way of ANZ LitLovers LitBlog and having read Lisa's review as well as Sue's review at Whispering Gums, decided I would read it. July 2-9 is NAIDOC (National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee) Week and ANZ LitLovers is celebrating with Indigenous Literature Week. What good fortune this was for me: this is a terrific read...
Tony's characterization of this book, "light playful fun, perfect for listening to rather than reading" was convincing enough for me. I recall being quite taken with Howard Norman's The Bird Artist, apparently read in the pre-blog days. The book is set in Halifax, Nova Scotia in the 1970s and concerns events that occurred in 1945 just around the time of the birth of Jake...
Having admired her first book Free Food for Millionaires, I was happy to see Min Jin Lee has another out. This one is set almost entirely in Japan, covering a time period of 1910 to 1989 and tells a multi-generational story of a Korean family. It begins with the parents of Sunja in Korea; when her beloved father died young, she and her mother survived by renting to and feeding even poorer workers...
I listened to this 12-hour audiobook in record time, because after all, what could be more fun that having a funny, smart, good-hearted Democratic Senator chatting away in your ears. Al Franken began his life in comedy as a partner with his high school friend Tom Davis; they were among the original writers on Saturday Night Live. He writes about working with those greats: John Beloushi...
It turns out that I was unable to reach 100 pages in this book of short stories by the author of my favorite book this year (Lincoln in the Bardo). It is just too dark. Tony wrote this about Tenth of December in 2013, For at least three of the stories in George Saunders’ new collection, I read a few pages of the story only to discover I had not a clue about what the story was about...