a collection of tried and true
A set of interrelated short stories by the wonderful Junot Diaz basically about how stupid men are and how they lose the women they love. The main character in most of the stories is Yunior… who’ve you got to love. Probably not everybody’s cup of tea, lots of Spanish that I have no idea what they’re talking about, ramblings on, but I really liked it and I think Diaz is a wonderful writer.
PJH Rating: ****1/2
A teenaged foster child meets a 90 year old woman while doing community service and hears her story of being an orphan and being shipped across the country on the “orphan train”. Chic lit – but interesting story.
PJH rating: ***1/2
A Genetics professor who lives life just off the spectrum uses his scientific way of living to find a suitable wife for himself. An easy to ready Australian novel told form his point of view. I thought it was hilarious, original, sweet and definitely a keeper.
PJH rating: ****1/2
Unsolved racial murders from the 1960s are brought back under investigation after the elderly players are dying, or murdered in today’s still racially charged Natchez, Mississippi. Lots of characters and interesting history, but christ almighty there is no need for 900 pages. Hire an editor already. I did finish it though as the last couple of hundred pages (!) picked up a bit. I was very surprised at the glowing reviews I looked at after I read it as I thought it was mostly a bloated bore.
PJH Rating: ***
A young academic in Oxford who also happens to be a witch discovers she ha extraordinary witchy powers after discovering a magical book and hooking up with a vampire. I kept waiting for something exciting to happen… but it never did. I have been in such a terrible reading slump as of late… not getting through anything. Any suggestions out there??
PJH Rating: **1/2
Historical fiction novel about two sisters who grew up in a slave owning Charleston family in the early 1800’s and eventually became abolitionists in the North. The novel goes back and forth between the point of view of the older sister, Sarah Grimke, and the slave, Hetty, that was given to Sarah as her personal slave on her 11th birthday. Enjoyable book to read that I would recommend, yet another awful example of the history of our country.
PJH rating: ****
A seemingly oblivious wife sits in her Chicago penthouse as her as* ho$# husband sleeps around and gets another woman pregnant. Murder ensues. I’m not sure why or how I finished this as it was trash. Supposedly this year’s Gone Girl but it was just awful.
PJH rating: **
Bernadette is a reclusive ex very famous architect who lives in Seattle as part of an uber couple with her high powered Microsoft husband and their teen aged daughter. Bernadette goes missing after a great series of events involving her past history and her present craziness. I have avoided this book as I thought it was trashy chick lit… but I loved it and read it straight through all last Sunday. It would be a great beach book. Chick lit I suppose… but a great, fun, satirical story told in an original way. Highly recommend.
PJH Rating: ****1/2
A woman is getting remarried to another woman sets the present time for the story of a family told from the viewpoints of the different family members. The mom, who grew up an orphan after a flood killed her mother and sister and turned her father into a drunk; her ex-husband who is a psychologist but recently retired early; their three children etc etc. Lots of different stories. I have enjoyed all of Wally Lamb’s books, I thought this novel was OK, but found it a bit forced at times.
PJH Rating: ***1/2
Six teenagers make a pack at their performing arts summer camp in the early ’80s to always be friends. The novel centers around Jules, one of the six who isn’t quite as “interesting” as the others and follows her and the other six throughout the following decades. I enjoyed it but felt it was a bit long and boring in parts – especially the end. It would have been better if edited down a bit.
PJH Rating: ****
Eat On Edgecliff 