Funny Girl

Fiction by Nick Hornby.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com

Okay. This is NOT the Barbra Streisand movie. It has nothing to do with the musical or stage show.

It's the story of a BBC sitcom star in the sixties, sort of a British Lucille Ball.

Dear Daughter

Fiction by Elizabeth Little.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/

This was a thriller about a girl convicted of murdering her own mother. It was exciting.

I Want to Kill the Dog

Nonfiction by Richard Cohen.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com

The funniest thing about this book is the title.

One Plus One

Fiction by JoJo Moyes.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com

JoJo Moyes can really write characters you care about. I have loved every book of hers I've read. (see Me Before You, The Girl You Left Behind)

This one is about a software billionaire and a house cleaner/pub waitress, both of whom make possibly criminal mistakes. They are completely different mistakes, however, and with vastly disparate consequences.

Such a good book. Really.

The Light in the Ruins

Fiction by Chris Bohjalian.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com

A murder mystery set in post-World-War-II Italy, this was a good story with interesting characters. The picture it paints of an Italy who sorely regrets siding with Nazi Germany is really interesting.

Elsewhere

Nonfiction by Richard Russo.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com

This is a memoir, a story about the author's mother. I've mentioned before that I think the memoir is the hardest type of book to write, and that most of them kind of stink.

Now this book did not stink. The author was able to be truly honest about himself and his mother, and that's what makes a memoir feel genuine. Still, he seemed to go on a bit too long at the end for me to give two thumbs up here. So this was a good book, but not great. It's definitely worth the read, however.

For a truly great story about the author's mother, check out The Color of Water by James McBride.

See How Small

Fiction by Scott Blackwood.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com

This book jumped around in time, and among narrators, way too much to hold my attention. I'm not even sure what the plot was supposed to be.

And don't even get me STARTED on the ending...