I am woefully behind on reading and reviews, but this is a great story to get me back on track. In Wilderness by Diane Thomas is a fascinating story told with a beautiful, poetic writing style. I was immediately drawn to the characters and the lyrical way the story is told made it a real pleasure to read. It’s 1966 and Katherine… Read more
It took me a while to get through The Winter Family by Clifford Jackman – not because of the story, but because my schedule has been insane the last few months. But it was worth it to carve out some time to finish this amazing story. The story really starts in Georgia, in 1864. In the lead-up to General Sherman’s march across… Read more
I’ve been making the drive back and forth to our Cincinnati office the last two weeks (about 3.5 hours in good traffic) and audiobooks are the perfect entertainment. I can catch up on my reading while I drive and some books are just better on audio. This week, I managed to pick up two books with similar themes, although told… Read more
“On a seemingly normal morning in London, a group of people wake to find something important to them missing, something dear but peculiar: the front of their house, their piano keys, their sense of direction, their place of work.” Can you imagine? You get up, shower, dress, have some coffee and head to the office. When you get there, the… Read more
I am becoming a Dennis Lehane groupie – that’s all I can say. I loved The Drop. I loved Live By Night. And I loved the final book in the Joe Coughlin trilogy, World Gone By. This was a story that really drew me in, the kind of book where you keep re-reading pages, going back to an earlier section… Read more
Of Things Gone Astray is a fascinating debut novel by Janina Matthewson. This is such an unusual story, an unusual method of telling it — days later, I am still thinking about it. This is a story about loss – about the things we lose, what they mean to us, and how we replace them. The characters – Delia, Cassie,… Read more
I am fast becoming a big Dennis Lehane fan. I read Shutter Island and loved it. I recently reviewed Live By Night and loved it. Even more recently, I devoured The Drop in one bite (on a flight between Cleveland and New York/JFK) and loved it. That’s a pretty good track record! Bob is a loner, a bit of a social misfit, a… Read more
I’ve read two novels by Ian McEwan, On Chesil Beachand Saturday and loved them both, so I was thrilled to get an early copy of The Children Act. Like the others I mentioned, it’s understated and quiet; much of the action in the book happens inside the main character’s head. However, I was so caught up in the story, so engaged by her… Read more
There’s a bit of a story behind my reading of Live by Night: I picked up the audiobook from the library months ago – probably closer to a year ago. I sped through the first 9 cds and then…lost it. I brought it in from the car, set it aside, and it disappeared. I was furious! Ransacked the house, went through… Read more
In Bellman & Black by Diane Setterfield, we start with a group of boys, playing in the woods. One boy, William Bellman, kills a rook with his slingshot. Even as a child, he recognizes the moment as significant, but he can have no idea then how this single childhood moment will influence his life. The Bellman family is a prosperous… Read more