The Joy Luck Club

Fiction by Amy Tan.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com

I just revisited this novel, which I've read before and loved, on audiobook. It was still great.

Off The Page

Fiction by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com

This is a sequel to the young-adult novel Between the Lines. It was a fun read.

Speak

Fiction by Laurie Halse Anderson.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com

A well-written young-adult novel.

The Winter Walk

Nonfiction by Loretta Outwater Cox.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com

This was a true survival story about a Native Alaskan woman in 1892, written by her great-grand-daughter. It's a good story; I think they should make a movie about it.

The Secret Place

Fiction by Tana French.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com

Set in a private school in Dublin, this was an interesting mystery. It was a little slower-moving than I prefer, but still good.


I also read by this author: In the Woods.

The Water Knife

Fiction by Paolo Bacigalupi.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com

Imagine a dystopian future where climate change has wreaked such havoc on the planet that the entire US has almost no water, and Canada has too much water, and both are suffering for it. Also imagine the United States is no longer united, because all the states have broken off separately and fight each other, plus the whole thing is owned by China anyways. And imagine every person in this future is pretty much a jerk too, with prospects so bleak that you wonder the whole population hasn't committed suicide.

Does that sound like a story you want to read?

Me neither.

Yes, My Accent is Real

Subtitled: And Some Other Things I Haven't Told You.
Nonfiction by Kunal Nayyar.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com

This is another "musing" type of memoir, but a funny one. I listened to this as an audiobook, read by the author, which made it fun.

The Opposite of Fate

Nonfiction by Amy Tan.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com

I don't often really enjoy "musings" type books. I tend to think, WHERE'S THE PLOT? But I gave this one a chance, because I figured, if anyone can pull off "musings", it's Amy Tan.

I enjoyed this book because it gave some interesting information about the author's life, and about what parts of her published stories were inspired from her real life. But it's not nearly as good as one of her novels.


I also recently read by this author: The Hundred Secret Senses  and  The Valley of Amazement.

After You

Fiction by JoJo Moyes.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com

This is the sequel to Me Before You, which I LOVED. This was also a really good book, but you HAVE TO read the first one first, in order to appreciate the main character.

So this is a great book, but it won't stand alone.


I also read by this author: Sheltering Rain, The Girl You Left Behind, One Plus One

At the Water's Edge

Fiction by Sara Gruen.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com

A historical novel set during World War 2, this book has some fascinating characters. It is by the author of Water for Elephants, and it has some similarities in style to that novel, (more so than others by the same author; see below), but the story is entirely original.

Great book!!


I also read by this author: Ape House

Memory Man

Fiction by David Baldacci.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com/

This was a fun-to-read thriller. I like David Baldacci a lot, but have sometimes avoided his books because I don't like serial detective stories that much. I tend to get tired of the detective character, especially if I haven't read the books in order, which probably shouldn't matter in a detective story but it does to me.

The problem I have with serial mysteries is, the author has usually done most of the character development of the detective in book number one, and then the character can turn flat in later books. If you haven't read book number one, then you're annoyed by the lack of development in the detective character. If you have read book number one, you're annoyed by the recapping of the detective's backstory. It's a difficult line for the author to walk. Truthfully, though, Baldacci is probably one of the best at this. He usually manages not to annoy me, even if I've just accidentally picked up book number seventeen.

Still, I hesitate to choose a novel I know is a serial mystery for this reason. So when I saw this book and checked it carefully to discover NO NUMBERS on the cover, I snapped it up. I was not disappointed.

Apparently this the beginning of a new series, though. Book number ONE. Since I've read the first one, maybe I will read the next...



I also read recently by this author: One Summer, Zero Day

The Rumor

Fiction by Elin Hildebrand.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com

This was a fun novel set in Nantucket, about a pair of women who are best friends and the rumors other people on the island believe about them. Some of the gossip is even true...


I also read by thes author: The Matchmaker

I Text Dead People

Fiction by Rose Cooper.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com/

Okay. I'll admit I chose this book purely for the title. And the title was kind of cheesy, so I don't know why I expected the book to be anything other than the formula-driven teen-angst-type story that it was.

I guess it was okay.

To Kill a Mockingbird

Fiction by Harper Lee.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com

I wanted to re-read this book, although of course I read it years ago, as probably everyone from Alabama (and a good many people from elsewhere I'm sure) also has.

I listened to the recorded version this time, read by actress Sissy Spacek, whom I love.

It was wonderful! Of course.

An Invisible Thread

Subtitled: The True Story of an 11-Year-Old Panhandler, a Busy Sales Executive, and an Unlikely Meeting with Destiny
Nonfiction by Laura Scroff and Alex Tresniowski


http://www.barnesandnoble.com

I have read several "unlikely friendship" true stories with varying degrees of quality, and was reluctant to revisit the idea, but I'm glad I read this one. It's an honest story, and I like that the author does not sugarcoat the difficult parts of her story.

Mean Streak

Fiction by Sandra Brown.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com

This was a fun and fast-paced thriller, with some surprises in store.