Landline

Fiction by Rainbow Rowell.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com

I am loving Rainbow Rowell these days. I've read three of her books, two of them quite recently (see Carry On), and this is my favorite so far.

Perfect Match

Fiction by Jodi Picoult.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com/

This book is amazing, full of plot twists you never see coming. Read it!!


I also read recently by this author:  Leaving Time

Ashley Bell

Fiction by Dean Koontz.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com

This was a fun and interesting read, although it definitely requires a stretch of imagination, which one should fairly expect from Dean Koontz.

I enjoyed it and it had a surprising ending. Also I'm pleased to see Dean Koontz hopping off the Odd Thomas train; that bit was played out.


Other books I've read recently by this author: Darkfall, Chase, Breathless  

Boys in the Trees

Nonfiction by Carly Simon.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com

As far a celebrity memoirs go, this is one of the better ones I've read. I was interested in Carly Simon's life, and she seems to really be honest about her early years here. She is a good writer.

(The book only covers the first part of her life, until maybe age 30-35. Perhaps she plans a second book.)

Still, it's a "celebrity" memoir. By that I mean, it is only as interesting as you already think the person is before you read it. A truly good memoir would make you interested in a person you don't expect to be important.


(See the rest of my thoughts on memoirs in general, if you're intersted.)

The Unlikely Pilgramage of Harold Frye

Fiction by Rachel Joyce.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com

Harold Fry is a man who sets out to mail a letter, and then decides to deliver it in person, walking across England to do so. The reason he does such an odd --and unlikely-- thing is the point of this story.

This was a pleasant book to read, not exciting per se, but definitely engaging.

As a side note, I liked the original cover art, with the rolling green hills, better than the current one above.

(alternate cover art image from goodreads.com)

The Zookeeper's Wife

Nonfiction by Diane Ackerman.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com

This should have been a good book. It's a great premise: a true story about Antonina Zabinski, who lived and worked at the Warsaw Zoo during the German occupation of Poland. She and her husband joined the underground resistance movement to save hundreds of Jews (and Slavs, gypsies, or Poles) from Nazi extermination. This would make a fabulous movie.

Unfortunately, I could not engage with the book at all. The author gives plenty of facts, but does not seem to tell the story of any real person I could relate to. I tried to read this book for weeks and gave up.

Sorry.

Cold Water

Fiction by Priscilla Delgado.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com

This was a fun read, an Alaskan suspense story written by a local author whom I've met! I recommend it if you can get hold of a copy.