Book Reviews Archive

I’ll be up-front: this book is fantastic. A magnificent story, incredible characters, powerful imagery, and an enlightening look into a turbulent and heartbreaking part of history, The Book Thief has become my new go-to novel when people ask me to recommend something to read. The Book Thief is written from the perspective

Guys, this wasn’t good. The weak comparisons to Jane Austen’s famed works aside, the novel suffers from unmemorable, clichéd characters, a slow pace, and a thin plot. The Jane Austen Book Club is shallow chic lit at its core, trying to parade as something more serious. In full disclosure: I’m female and was an English

Probably the most buzzed-about novel of the year, The Goldfinch has graced many a store bookshelf, been put on hold at many a library, and slugged through by many a reader, culminating in a little award called the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. It’s also controversial – some readers loved it, others hated

Warning: this is another book about the Holocaust. I’ve read a lot of these lately, kind of accidentally. It’s a heavy topic, but an important one. And the books I’ve reviewed lately (Fatelessness, What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank) have been very enriching.

Nora Ephron is a very funny lady. I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts On Being A Woman is a collection of essays that profiles aging, parenting, beauty, fashion, cooking, relationships, and more. Although it is essentially a humor book about women and aging, you don’t have to be of menopausal

It looks like I’m steadily scrolling down my To Read list, which encompassed some of the most critically praised books of 2013. Khaled Hosseini is the author of The Kite Runner, which was much beloved by everyone, and A Thousand Splendid Suns, which was much beloved by ME.

When people ask me for a book recommendation – a novel that is solid and well-written with an enjoyable and engaging story – I think of this book. It’s been a favorite of mine since it came out in 2011.

I bought this novel at Hobart International Book Port in the Hobart Book Village (aka the best place ever). The book port specializes in fiction by authors from around the world, including Nobel Prize winners, international bestsellers, and foreign language books.

Guys. This book isn’t good. I’m admittedly not very familiar with the “chick-lit” genre, but I think The Friday Night Knitting Club falls neatly into it. I really wanted to like this novel, as the premise is innocent and sweet.

This is a novel that celebrates books and storytelling. Love books? Love a good story? Come on in. A is for Austen, B is for Bronte, C is for Charles, and D is for Dickens. I learned my alphabet in this shop