Saturday, April 30, 2016

Lights Out Tonight

Fiction by Mary Jane Clark.

Lights Out Tonight
http://www.barnesandnoble.com

I've read several of Mary Jane Clark's books and they are fun and fast-paced mystery/thrillers. Her novels are similar to the "Queen of Suspense" Mary Higgins Clark, and she is quite fortunate to be placed alphabetically right next door to that author.

This particular novel centered around an entertainment critic who gets mixed up in a murder/disappearance at a theater. It was a good read.


I also read recently by this author: Footprints in the Sand,  Dying for Mercy

Friday, April 29, 2016

Hold Tight

Fiction by Harlan Coben.

Hold Tight
http://www.barnesandnoble.com

A great thriller, this book really held my attention. I recommend it!




I also read by this author: The Innocent

Thursday, April 28, 2016

The Wind Through The Keyhole

Fiction by Stephen King.

The Wind Through the Keyhole: A Dark Tower Novel
http://www.barnesandnoble.com

This book belongs with Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series, (which contains at least seven novels not including the Marvel Comics graphic versions) but according to the notes it can be read as a stand-alone story.

I have not read any of the Dark Tower books, but I took a chance and read this book. It was true; the book was a good story all on its own. It was a little different, with a story-within-a-story-within-a-story format, but it was still enjoyable to read.


I also read by this author: Finders Keepers, Mr. Mercedes, Dreamcatcher.

Sunday, April 24, 2016

The Lake House

Fiction by Kate Morton.

The Lake House
http://www.barnesandnoble.com

This was a really good book; it was both a mystery and a character story. Everything I've read by this author has been excellent.


I also read by this author: The House at Riverton

Friday, April 22, 2016

The Pillars of the Earth

Fiction by Ken Follett.

The Pillars of the Earth
http://www.barnesandnoble.com

This book, set in twelfth-century England, should definitely be termed a historical saga. It took me a while to finish, as it was almost a thousand pages, but it was a really good story.

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Half Broke Horses

Fiction by Jeanette Walls.

Half Broke Horses: A True-Life Novel
http://www.barnesandnoble.com

I was not sure whether to classify this book as fiction or nonfiction. (And I didn't get it from the library, so I don't know how they shelved it.) According to the author, it's a "true-life novel," which means it's both, I suppose.

Anyways, this is the true story of the author's grandmother, retold in first person as if the woman were actually speaking to the reader. It's a good book, and it acts as a sort of prequel to the author's first book (see below), which is a memoir and therefore squarely NONfiction.

I've mentioned it before, but The Glass Castle is a fabulous book. Reading that book had painted quite a picture of the author's mother, and now Half Broke Horses explains a little bit more about her character.

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

The Same Sky

Fiction by Amanda Eyre Ward.

The Same Sky: A Novel
http://www.barnesandnoble.com

Wow! What a great book!

I don't want to say too much about it and ruin it for you. Just read it!

As a side note, I liked the cover on the library copy I read better than the one above.

(Image from amazon.com)

Monday, April 11, 2016

The Innocent

Fiction by Harlan Coben.

The Innocent
http://www.barnesandnoble.com

This was a great thriller, a fast-paced and fun read. I've never read any books by Harlan Coban before, but I will definitely read some more now.

Sunday, April 10, 2016

Day After Night

Fiction by Anita Diamant.

Day After Night
http://www.barnesandnoble.com

This book was a fictionalized account of a part of history I'd never heard about. We all know that Israel was established after World War Two as Jewish homeland, partly as reparations for the atrocities suffered by the Jews during the war. But although I knew that the State of Israel was officially created in 1948, I had never thought about the fact that the war had ended THREE YEARS BEFORE. So what were all the displaced Jewish survivors doing in the meantime?

It turns out that many of them were emigrating to Palestine, trying to find their own Promised Land after the horrors of the German concentration camps. But when they got there, they found themselves rounded up and herded into a camp again, this time by the British, who were trying to enforce the immigration policies that were in an ambiguous post-war state.

That was shocking to read. Although the displaced Jews were fed and treated decently in the British camp, still they were behind barbed wire against their wills at a time when they were already traumatized by their recent ordeals. Why have we never heard of this?

This book focuses on some women in the camp and their personal stories, and is a great read. And I'm grateful to Anita Diamant for writing about such an little-known subject.


I also read recently by this author:  The Boston Girl

Monday, April 4, 2016

The Worst Hard Time

Nonfiction by Timothy Egan.

The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl
http://www.barnesandnoble.com

This book is about the Great American Dust Bowl. It was a well-written book; although I don't normally like nonfiction, this author focused enough on people to make it much more readable than an ordinary history book. The beginning as difficult for me to read, however, knowing that all these people were DOOMED, and that everything they were doing was contributing to the coming disaster.

Still, this was a good book.

Friday, April 1, 2016

Summer of Light

Fiction by W. Dale Cramer.

Summer of Light: A Novel
http://www.barnesandnoble.com

In this book, a series of troublesome events forces Mick Brannigan to stay at home with his children. Although there are plenty of comic moments, this is not just a "Mr. Mom" story. It is also about finding a purpose in life.

It's a good book.