"They'll keep you thirty days or until your insurance runs out. Then you're cured." It is August 1992. Suzanne Scanlon writes her own story, that of a Freshman woman at Barnard, not quite fitting in, becoming desperately lonely, her main friend a guy she knows who talks suicide with her. Ultimately, she tries it and … Continue reading Committed – Suzanne Scanlon
Category: Book Reviews
The Drowned – John Banville
Every now and then, the most unlikeable characters, and -- in this case one or two despicable characters-- grab me and instead of dropping a book with a loud, "Enough!" I read it to the fascinating end. The Drowned opens with Denton Wymes (pronounced "Weems") walking his dog on a beach in the evening. He … Continue reading The Drowned – John Banville
The Examiner – Janice Hallett
I want to be Janice Hallett and think up these wonderful quirky novels told through communications among the characters. The Examiner is her latest entry where Gela, an art professor is hanging on by a thread because to stay relevant, she must connect art to its commercial potential. To be relevant, as we have all … Continue reading The Examiner – Janice Hallett
Identity Unknown (Kay Scarpetta)- Patricia Cornwall (audiobook narrator – **January LaVoy**)
Kay Scarpetta's return to Virginia makes for more interesting plots than were present for a time in this series. I admit, what I loved about the Scarpetta books were the early entries. I resisted the turn to high tech spy thrillers and upscale living with connections, connections, connections. I've always liked the characters and all … Continue reading Identity Unknown (Kay Scarpetta)- Patricia Cornwall (audiobook narrator – **January LaVoy**)
The Road – Cormac McCarthy (Audio Narrator-Tom Stechschulte)
The Road, to me, was a profound dystopian novel that mesmerized me but -- and this is a big but-- if I had read it in print instead of listened to it, I might not have finished it. The narration of the audio version was wonderful. The prose is slow, and dreamy, a final journey … Continue reading The Road – Cormac McCarthy (Audio Narrator-Tom Stechschulte)
The Naturalist’s Daughter – Tea Cooper (Audiobook Narrator -Corrine Davies)
The Naturalists Daughter is part literary fiction, all historical fiction, part mystery and part thriller. As a budding fan of Tea Cooper, I was thrilled to listen to my second audiobook of one of her works. The Naturalist's Daughter takes place in a dual timeline. In 1808, Rose Winton, lives in the town of Agnes … Continue reading The Naturalist’s Daughter – Tea Cooper (Audiobook Narrator -Corrine Davies)
Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore – Matthew J. Sullivan (Audio Narrator – Madeleine Maby)
This is both a literary fiction book and a mystery that unfolds as Lydia, a self-contained clerk in a bookstore in a so-so relationship with a handsome, controlling boyfriend, tries to make sense of the suicide of one of the regulars at the store. Like Lydia, Joey had secrets and trauma and his suicide in … Continue reading Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore – Matthew J. Sullivan (Audio Narrator – Madeleine Maby)
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue – Victoria Schwab (Audible Audio Narrator – Julia Whelan)
It is 1714 and Addie, the only child of a craftsman and his wife in a small French village, is told she must marry, something she has always avoided. But a local man's wife died and there are small children and…. rather than go through with this, she makes a deal with a mysterious man. … Continue reading The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue – Victoria Schwab (Audible Audio Narrator – Julia Whelan)
What Time the Sexton’s Spade Doth Rust – Alan Bradley (Flavia de Luce, Book 11)
Do you ever read every book in a best selling series and think only you alone have discovered it and "get it" and love it? That's how I felt about Flavia de Luce from day one. She's all mine: her precocious interest in chemistry, her eccentric, brilliant mind, her ability to drag adults into her … Continue reading What Time the Sexton’s Spade Doth Rust – Alan Bradley (Flavia de Luce, Book 11)
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer – Patrick Suskind (Audible narrator – Nigel Patterson)
Ugh. One of the most despicable characters in literature: Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, an illegitimate poverty-stricken infant placed in a home for children of his kind. Ugly, unpleasant, but with a sense of smell unmatched. His caretaker binds him out to a tanner where he must spend his days using chemicals that are horrible and he is … Continue reading Perfume: The Story of a Murderer – Patrick Suskind (Audible narrator – Nigel Patterson)
They Called me Bookworm 