Arlington Park
Rachel
Cusk
novel
London, mothers lives, good writing but depressing women - dependent on men, home with kids. Why aren't
they working?
2007
4
07
0374100802
Rollback
Robert
Sawyer
novel
SF, Toronto good writing, CBC employee one of the characters
2007
4
07
0765311089
Death Message
Mark
Billingham
mystery
British, good mystery writer, stand up comedian
2007
4
07
0316730521
Run
Ann
Patchett
novel
A family, in Boston, good book
2007
3.5
07
0061340634
Friend of the Devil
Peter
Robinson
mystery
Very good, good characters
2007
4.2
May 08
077107610X
Exit Music
Ian
Rankin
mystery
the final Rebus :-(
2007
4
07
0752868608
The Crow Road
Iain
Banks
novel
Scotland, a family, a good writer
1996
4
07
0349109079
Trumpet
Jackie
Kay
novel
Scotish woman of colour. Interesting book
1999
4
06
0330391593
Two Lives
Vikram
Seth
auto/biography
Interesting as a story and as history
2007
4.5
07
1552786129
Consolation a Novel
Michael
Redhill
novel
Toronto book
2007
4
07
0385659512
Grace Eventually
Anne
Lamott
essays
on sobriety, children, spirituality told with humour
2007
4
07
1594489424
Sacred Games
Vikram
Chandra
novel
A great big book, but very good
2007
4
07
0002008513
Design of Sites, The: Patterns for Creating Winning Web Sites
Douglas K.
van Duyne
Text
Web design text book
2006
3
06
0131345559
The Architects Are Here
Michael
Winter
novel
Nfld - it was good until he killed the dog, then I hated it.
2007
2
07
0670066273
The Broken Shore
Peter
Temple
mystery
Australian, good
2007
4
06
0307355705
A Walk in the Dark
Gianrico
Carofiglio
mystery
you never quit smoking, Italian judge as mystery writer
2006
4
06
1904738176
Involuntary Witness
Gianrico
Carofiglio
mystery
good book
2005
4
06
1904738079
One under
Graham
Hurley
mystery
good Portsmouth mystery
2007
4
07
0752875507
Bow Grip
Ivan
Coyote
novel
Canadian, good
2006
4
06
1551522136
Bangkok Haunts
John
Burdett
mystery
good characters
2007
4
07
0307263185
The Hamlet Murders (Zhong Fong Mystery)
David
Rotenberg
mystery
Shanghai Theatre
2004
4
06
155278410X
The Golden Mountain Murders: A Zhong Fong Mystery
David
Rotenberg
mystery
Shanghai
2005
4
06
155278522X
Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures: Stories
Vincent
Lam
short stories
almost a novel, Canadian med students
2007
4
07
0385661444
The Echo Maker
Richard
Powers
novel
migrating birds, loss of memory, good book
2007
4
07
0374146357
A Woman in Berlin : Eight Weeks in the Conquered City
Anonymous
Philip Boehm
autobiography
Berlin, at the end of the war as the Russians take over, very interesting book
2005
4
06
0805075402
A Thousand Splendid Suns
Khaled
Hosseini
novel
good book, Kabul at its worst and best
2007
4.5
07
0670064912
By the Time You Read This
Giles
Blunt
mystery
with some bipolar knowledge mixed in, Canadian
2007
4
07
0679312447
Devil of Nanking
Mo
Hayder
mystery
Woman tries to find film of Nanking Massacre in China by the Japanese
2007
3.5
07
000639499X
Lifeless
Mark
Billingham
mystery
good British writer
2006
4
06
0751536164
Divisadero
Michael
Ondaatje
novel
did not like second half
2007
2
0771068727
On Chesil Beach
Ian
McEwan
novel
did not like either characters. Read only one chapter
2007
1
07
0676978819
The twilight of the superheroes
Deborah
Eisenberg
short stories
New York, "intelligence and humor, six elegant, soulful tales"
2007
3
07
0312425937
What came before he shot her
Elizabeth
George
novel
More novel than mystery, good but sad
2006
4
06
0060545623
Cockeyed : a memoir
Ryan
Knighton
autobiography
about losing his sight, excellent book
2006
4.5
06
1586483293
Water for elephants
Sara
Gruen
novel
the circus, a vet, elephants. Good book
2006
4.5
06
0002007770
Eating Stone: Imagination and the Loss of the Wild
Ellen
Meloy
ecology
Great writer, her last book, the big horned sheep
2006
4.5
06
140003177X
The Anthropology of Turquoise: Reflections on Desert, Sea, Stone, and Sky
Ellen
Meloy
autobiography
Very interesting, excellent writer
2003
4.8
07
0375708138
Random illuminations : conversations with Carol Shields
Eleanor
Wachtel
letters, interviews
Very interesting
2007
4
07
9780864925015
The reluctant fundamentalist
Mohsin
Hamid
novel
Excellent book. Very unnerving.
2007
4.5
07
0385663447
The gathering
Anne
Enright
novel
Irish, a brother's death, the gathering of the clan, did not finish
2007
3
07
0802170390
Fifteen Days
Christie
Blatchford
non-fiction
Well written, gives some idea of what it is really like to be in the Canadian forces
2007
4
07
9780385664660
Moth Smoke
Mohsin
Hamid
novel
good writer, contemporary Lahore
2001
407
0312273231
The street of a thousand blossoms
Gail
Tsukiyama
novel
Japan during the war and after. Likable characters, interesting story
2007
4
07
1427202044
Birds in Fall
Brad
Kessler
novel
good book, interesting characters, a plane crash
2007
4.2
07
074328738X
The Staircase Letters: An Extraordinary Friendship at the End of Life
Arthur
Motyer
letters
Three way emails between author and Carol Shields and Elma Gerwin
2007
4
07
Radiance
Shaena
Lambert
novel
A Hiroshima survivor goes to the US for plastic surgery. Interesting, characters that stick.
2007
3.5
07
978-0679311508
Animal People
Indra
Sinha
novel
Vivid character, the young Animal, surviving American chemical company disaster
2007
4
07
978-0743259200
Sweetness in the Belly
Camilla
Gibb
novel
Good book, Ethiopia's girl moves to London.
2006
4
07
978-0385660181
De Niro's Game
Rawi
Hage
novel
good book, about two young Lebanese men
2006
4
07
978-0887841965
Gods Behaving Badly
Marie
Phillips
novel
Funny, smart, engaging
2007
4
07
9780307355928
Sex sleep eat drink dream : a day in the life of your body
Jennifer
Ackerman
non fiction
Very interesting. Good writing, how the body works. What do you get when you combine an owl and a goat? (A hootenanny)
2007
4.5
07
9780618187584
Three Day Road
Joseph
Boyden
novel
Good book, set in WWI, two Cree sharpshooters in the trenches.
2005
4.5
07
978-0670063628
Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain
Oliver
Sachs
non-fiction
Interesting - the relationship between music and unusual brain disorders, that music is essential to being human. I agree.
2007
4
07
978-0676979787
This is Your Brain on Music
Daniel
Levitin
non-fiction
Interesting. Don't agree with everything, but interesting. The science of music.
2007
4
07
978-0452288522
Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name
Vendela
Vida
novel
Didn't like the characters, story ho hum
2007
2
07
Merle's Door: lessons from a free thinking dog
Ted
Kerasote
non-fiction
Good book, interesting writer, wonderful dog
2007
4.5
07
9780151012701
Late Nights On Air
Elizabeth
Hay
novel
Good book, interesting, likable characters working for a Yellowknife radio station.
2007
4
07
978-0771038112
What Is the What
Dave
Eggers
novel
Did not finish, about Valentino Achak Deng, real-life person - refugee from the Sudanese civil war. Lost interest.
2007
2
07
978-0676979497
The Song before It Is Sung
Justin
Cartwright
novel
Excellent book. Based on the lives of Adam von Trott and Isaiah Berlin.
2007
4.5
07
978-0747584124
Kalooki Nights
Howard
Jacobson
novel
Cartoonist Max has built career lampooning his own Judaism. Too long.
2007
3.5
Mar 08
978-0143054740
The Outlander
Gil
Adamson
novel
Set in 1903, 19-year-old Mary's trek across Idaho and Montana. Did not finish.
don't really care about main character.
2007
3
Feb 08
978-0887842108
Price of Darkness
Graham
Hurley
mystery
good mystery, will Winter survive?
2008
4
Mar 08
978-0575080553
Reasonable Doubts
Gianrico
Carofiglio
mystery
Very good, a self-deprecating lawyer :-)
2007
4
Mar 08
9781904738244
Falling Man
Don
DeLillo
novel
Good but characters a sad lot. Falling Man a performance artist, after 9/11
2007
4
Mar 08
978-1416546023
The Uncommon Reader
Alan
Bennett
novel
Funny, smart, the queen as a reader, neglecting her duties to read
2007
4.5
Mar 08
9781846680496
Finding Home
Eric
Wright
novel
Odd but good book, is England or Canada home?
2007
4
Apr 08
9781897151112
Out Stealing Horses
Per
Petterson
novel
Good novel, a character you want to know. Norwegian writer, translated.
2003
4.5
Apr 08
9781843432296
At a Loss for Words
Diane
Schoemperlen
novel
she knows how my head works. Unnerving.
2008
4.2
Apr 08
The Things They Carried
Tim
O'Brien
war stories
Second reading, for Eng. 12 this time. Excellent book.
1990
4.5
Apr 08
978-0771068287
Alchemy of Loss
Abigail
Carter
non-fiction
O.K, but hard to relate to someone that affluent.
2008
3.3
Apr 08
9780771019050
The Ghost
Robert
Harris
mystery
Good, easy to read, interesting plot
2007
4
Apr 08
9780091796266
Body of Work
Chistine
Montross
non fiction
Very good, fascinating stuff, cadavers and cutting them up. Well written.
2007
4.5
*May 08
978-1594201257
The Zookeeper's Wife
Diane
Ackerman
non fiction
Very interesting. Warsaw zoo during the war. Well written
2007
4.5
May 08
978-0393061727
No Happy Ending
Paco Ignacio
Taibo II
mystery
More than a mystery, Mexico City and its corrupt police. Interesting.
1993
4.3
May 08
978-1590580387
Three Cups of Tea one man's mission to fight terrorism and build nations-- one school at a time
Greg
Morteson and David Oliver Relin
non fiction
Well written account of building a school near K2
2007
4.3
June 08
We are now beginning our descent
James
Meek
novel
Novel about writers, UK/Afghanistan journalists and novelists.
2008
4.2
June 08
978-0002008563
The Yacoubian Building
Alaa
Al-Aswany
novel
Very good. Fallable characters all connected to the building, author dentist in Cairo, Egypt
20036
4.4
June 08
978-0060878139
My Revolutions
Hari
Kunzru
novel
Good book. British revolutionaries in the 60s and 70s. Good writer.
2008
4.2
June 08
978-0141020204
Careless in Red
Elizabeth
George
mystery
Good read, the old gang of characters
2008
4
June 08
Deaf Sentence
David
Lodge
novel
Very good book; a novel but the experience of losing hearing definitely rings true
2008
4.5
July 08
Enigma
Robert
Harris
mystery
Good read, British crytopgraphy during WW II
1995
4.2
July 08
A Case of Exploding Mangoes
Mohammed
Hanif
novel
Book about several characters surrounding Pakistani dictator General Zia, whose plane explodes in 1988. Interesting
2008
4
July 08
978-0385665025
Consequences
Penelope
Lively
novel
British couple, during the war, and their decendents. Good writer.
2007
4.2
July 08
9781552638965
Almost There the onward journey of a Dublin woman
Nuala
O'Faolain
autobiography
Good book, raw. Interesting life of Irish journalist, she reads the CD herself
2003
4.3
*May 08
The Plague of Doves
Louise
Erdrich
novel
Odd book, but good. Story of Ojibwa and white people living in small town North Dakota
2008
4
*July 08
9780061556043
Unaccustomed Earth
Jhumpa
Lahiri
short stories
Bengali characters interacting with white Americans. Really good stories, interesting.
2008
4.4
*Aug 08
9780739341797
The wisdom of whores : bureaucrats, brothels, and the business of AIDS
Elizabeth
Pisani
non-fiction
Very interesting well written book. Smart, presents information with humour and candor
2008
4.4
Aug 08
9780670067947
Darkness and Light
John
Harvey
mystery
Good mystery
2006
4
Aug 08
0434014451
Gone to Ground
John
Harvey
mystery
Good read
2007
4
Aug 08
A romance on three legs: Glenn Gould's obsessive quest for the perfect piano
Katie
Hafner
non fiction
Very interesting book about pianos, the piano tuner Verne Edquist who tended Glenn's favorite piano CD 318
2008
4.5
Aug 08
9780771037542
In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts
Gabor
Mate
non fiction
Addiction, and people who suffer from it. Well written, interesting.
2008
4.2
Aug 08
9780676977400
The Road Home
Rose
Tremain
novel
Very readable, Lev, from unnamed east Europeon country, and his struggles to find work in London. Lots about the restaurant business
2008
4
July 08
The Cellist of Sarajevo
Steven
Galloway
novel
Good. Takes you to the streets of Sarajevo with characters trying to suvive the snipers.
2008
4.4
July 08
978-0307397034
The Rain Before It Falls
Jonathan
Coe
novel
good book, woman choses a dozen photos to tell family story, secrets kept for years
2008
4.2
Sept 08
9780307268037
The Namesake
Jhumpa
Lahiri
novel
good writing, Bengali characters in eastern US, interesting and likable characters
2003
4.3
Sept 08
0395927218
Interpreter of Maladies
Jhumpa
Lahiri
short stories
really good writer, characters that stay, stories too
1999
4.4
Dec 08
Blood from a Stone
Frances
Fyfield
mystery
good mystery writer
2008
4
Sep 08
9781847440754
Miracle at Speedy Motors
Alexander
McCall Smith
novel
Such a pleasant read
2008
4
Sep 08
9781428104150
From Dead to Worse
Charlaine
Harris
mystery
Very entertaining, despite vampires and others. Sooki is so likeable.
2008
4
*Sep 08
9780441015894
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Junot
Diaz
novel
half way through, trying to make myself finish. Good writing and interesting to learn about the DR, but it isn't holding me
2008
3.5
*Oct 08
9780143142805
Ragged Company
Richard
Wagamese
novel
Good book. Four rounders in Winnipeg win some money. Great characters that you want to know.
2008
4.3
Oct 08
9780385661560
Cold In Hand
John
Harvey
mystery
Good, Charlie Resnick
2008
4
Oct 08
978-0434016945
The Art of Racing in the Rain
Garth
Stein
novel
Very good, Enzo the dogs tells the tale
2008
4.4
*Oct 08
978-0061562402
The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature
Stephen
Pinker
non-fiction
Interesting stuff, language and thinking
2008
4
*Dec 08
Open Doors
Ian
Rankin
mystery
Not as good as Rebus
2008
4
Oct 08
The Flying Troutmans
Miriam
Toews
novel
skimmed, not up to mental illness, still like Swimng Low best
2008
3.8
Nov 08
9780307397492
A Most Wanted Man
John
Le Carre
mystery
good, interesting
2008
4.2
Nov 08
978-0670069125
The Private Patient
P.D.
James
mystery
good, thoughtful, the last book perhaps
2008
4.2
Nov 08
978-0307397782
Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth
Margaret
Atwood
non-fiction, lectures
insteresting, literary, all about all we owe
2008
4.4
*Nov 08
Field of Blood
Denise
Mina
mystery
Good Scottish writer
2005
4
*Dec 08
Coventry
Helen
Humphreys
novel
Good short book
2008
4.2
Dec 08
9780002007269
The White Tiger: A Novel
Aravind
Adiga
novel
An appealing voice, telling the story. Written as a letter to the Chinese premier, an eye-opener to India
2008
4.2
Jan 09
The 19th Wife: A Novel
David
Ebershoff
novel
Good, but too long. Contemporary story was most interesting
2008
4.1
*Jan.09
The Spies of Warsaw
Alan
Furst
mystery
Interesting, 1937 in Warsaw, the French main character works. Good characters.
2008
4.2
*Jan 09
In the Dark
Mark
Billingham
mystery
Not the usual main character. Good though. Likable flawed characters, good plot.
2008
4.1
Jan 09
The Silver Swan
Benjamin
Black
mystery
Dark. Dark characters, dark plot, not likable people at all, but well written
2008
4.1
*Jan 09
Netherland: a novel
Joseph
O'Neill
novel
Excellent writing, interesting people in the nether land of NY city. Lots about cricket.
2008
4.3
Jan 09
Learning to Drive: And Other Life Stories
Katha
Pollitt
essays
Very good writer. Interesting stories about her life in NY mostly.
2008
4.4
Jan 09
The Senator's Wife
Sue
Miller
novel
Easy to listen to, pretty good book, but not great.
2008
3.5
*Jan 09
Christine Falls
Benjamin
Black
mystery
Oh my, he tells a dark, dark tale. But he does it well.
2008
4.2
*Feb 09
In the Woods
Tana
French
mystery
Very good, as mystery, as psychological thriller. Good Irish characters.
2008
4.4
Feb 09
The Gargoyle
Andrew
Davidson
novel
Too long! Gave up half way. Some excellent writing, some mediocre writing. Lost interest. Where are the editors of the world?
2008
3
*Feb 09
Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance
Barack
Obama
non-fiction
Interesting family. He really is a mutt. Read by Obama, and he speaks so well it improved it.
1995/2004
4.2
*Feb 09
The Brass Verdict
Michael
Connelly
mystery
Pretty good, plot was good. The Lincoln lawyer, a trial, bad guys.
2008
4
*Feb 09
The Sea of Poppies
Amitav
Ghosh
novel
Good story, a ship, opium, India, great characters. Very readable and interesting.
2008
4.3
Mar 09
Something to Tell You: A Novel
Hanif
Kureishi
novel
Good, but skimmed last half. Read first half twice and liked it but lost interest in plot and characters.
2008
3.8
Mar 09
The Terrorist
John
Updike
novel
Fairly good, plot and characters believable but none of the characters likeable.
2006
3.8
*Mar 09
Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World
Vicki
Myron
non fiction
Sentimental but interesting story of the beautiful Dewey
2009
4
*Mar 09
Among the Mad: A Maisie Dobbs Novel
Jacqueline
Winspear
mystery
Good - better than last one. 1932 London.
2009
4.1
Mar 09
Anatomy of Deception
Lawrence
Goldstone
mystery
1889 Philadelphia doctors. Lots of drugs, surgery and wayward doctors. Interesting
2009
4
*Mar 09
When Will There be Good News
Kate
Atkinson
novel
Characters all recovering from violence in their youth. good book, likable people, interesting plot
2008
4.2
Apr 09
The Secret Scripture
Sebastian
Barry
novel
Irish, an old woman in an asylum and a psychatrist both tell their stories. Good writing
2008
4.3
Apr 09
One From The Other
Philip
Kerr
mystery
Set in 1949 Germany, Kerr's 4th novel to feature Bernhard Gunther, private detective. Good plot, Bernie is likable.
2008
4.2
*Apr 09
Dark Voyage
Alan
Furst
mystery
Good spy novel, set in 1941, Dutch ship goes undercover.
2004
4.2
Oct 08
The Serpent's Tale
Ariana
Franklin
mystery
Very good, feminist forensic phyician Dr. Vesuvia Adelia Rachel Ortese Aguilar finds the killers again. In 12C Britain.
2008
4.2
*Apr 09
The Book of Negroes
Lawrence
Hill
novel
3/4 of the way through and no desire to finish. Characters do not hold me.
2007
3.5
Apr 09
Mistress Of The Art Of Death
Ariana
Franklin
mystery
Very good. Likable characters, interesting history, the good doctor finds the child serial killer in Cambridge
2008
4.2
*Mar 09
The Sorrows of an American
Siri
Hustvedt
novel
Good, but a bit aimless
2008
4
May 09
The girl with the dragon tattoo
Stieg
Larsson
mystery
Very good, good writer, interesting, likable characters, good plot.
2008
4.2
May 09
The Gifford Lectures 2003, Terrorism and Political Ethics
Michael
Ignatieff
lectures
Very interesting, 5 lectures given in Scotland
2003
4.2
*May 09
Outliers
Malcolm
Gladwell
non-fiction
Good, but a bit glib. Not gospel, but taken with a grain of salt it was interesting.
2008
4
*SMay 09
Archimedes Codex
Reviel Netz
and William Noel
non-fiction
Very interesting tale of the resurrection of the earliest surviving manuscript of Archimedes
2008
4.2
May 09
The Hour I First Believed
Wally
Lamb
novel
Long novel, too long. Pretty good, ended well. Believable characters
2009
4
*June 09
The thing about life is that one day you'll be dead
David
Shields
non-fiction
Interesting, some good data in there, about how our bodies disintegrate with age.
2008
4.2
June 09
The Dead Hour
Denise
Mina
mystery
Good mystery with very likable "Paddy" Meehan, young, catholic, Scottish journalist working in Glasgow in 1984
2007
4.2
June 09
After Dark
Haruki
Murakami
novel
Really good, thankfully short, concise, thoughtful book. Japan, Tokyo, characters move around one night.
2009
4.3
*June 09
The Winter Vault
Anne
Michaels
novel
Good, first half really good, kind of loses its way
2009
4
June 09
Norwegian Wood
Haruki
Murakami
novel
Read half of it and quit - characters flat - not one I was interested in enough to finish the book.
don't know why people rave about this book
1987
2.5
July 09
Stasiland
Anna
Funder
non-fiction
Very good, Australian journalist writing about the time she spent living in Berlin in the late 90s, and what she found out about life in the GDR
2003
4.3
July 09
A Thousand Years of Prayers: stories
Yiyun,
Li
short stories
Interesting. Stories of characters in China and the USA
2005
4.1
July 09
All the Colours of Darkness
Peter
Robinson
mystery
Good - Banks and Annie defy the boss again
2008
4.1
July 09
Not Yet: A Memoir of Living and Almost Dying
Wayson
Choy
non fiction
Interesting account of surviving a serious heart/asthma attack, with the help of his family of friends
2009
4.3
July 09
Somewhere Towards The End
Diana
Athill
non fiction
Memoir of an old woman, 89. Interesting, she was an editor until she was 75
2009
4.1
July 09
Skim
Mariko
Tamaki
novel
Canadian, graphic novel, about a 16 year old girl. Pretty good
2009
4
July 09
Murder In Amsterdam
Ian
Buruma
non fiction
Excellent book, very well writen and comprehensive look at what was going on around Theo van Gogh in 2004
who was shot and stabbed on an Amsterdam street by a young Moroccan radical
2007
4.4
July 09
The White Lioness
Henning
Mankell
mystery
Good. Long book, don't know how they make one TV episode from one of his books. Good Wallander book.
1993/1998
4.1
July 09
Breath
Tim
Winton
novel
Excellent book. A very good writer. There is a lot about water and surfing but that's not what it is about.
2009
4.4
July 09
Dirt Music
Tim
Winton
novel
Good book, he writes well about people and Australia.
2002
4.2
Aug 09
Redbrest
Jo
Nesbo
mystery
It's o.k., but am 3/4 of the way through and don't know if I'll finish it
2008
3.8
Aug 09
Nineteen Minutes
Jodi
Picoult
novel
Good understanding of what high school is about, which is not necessarily a great thing.
2008
4.1
*Aug 09
Through Black Spruce
James
Boyden
novel
Excellent book, with links to Three Day Road that I liked. Very likable characters, sorting out their lives.
2009
4.4
Aug 09
The Likeness
Tana
French
mystery
Very readable mystery. hard to put down, interesting characters. Set in Ireland.
2008
4.2
Sep 09
Finding Nouf
Zoe
Ferraris
novel
It's a mystery too, set in Saudi Arabia, very interesting characters with women living in such restricted environments.
2009
4.2
Aug 09
Stone's Fall
Iain
Pears
novel
Long but good, a good story teller, the prologue is in 1951, the first part in 1909, the second in 1891, and the last in 1867. Good plot, interesting characters,
he keeps the question of Stone's Fall running in the background no matter which tale he is side-tracked on.
2010
4.1
*Jul 10
Faithful Place
Tana
French
mystery
It's good but I think I liked her other two books better.
Still, a good mystery, but I get tired of reading about drunks and the fallouts from alcohol.
2010
4.1
Aug 10
The Slap
Christos
Tsiolkas
novel
Good novel, like this Australian writer. Interesting, reviews on amazon, many people don't like. It's a good book
2009
4.2
Aug 10
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet
David
Mitchell
novel
Interesting book, did not know about Japan around 1799, about the Dutch being on that man made island in Nagasaki.
2010
4.2
*Aug 10
The Betrayal
Helen
Dunmore
novel
Leningrad, 1952, oppressed characters recovering from starving through the war. Good book.
2010
4.2
Jul 10
Black Swan Green
David
Mitchell
novel
Good novel, a stuttering boy, 13-year-old Jason Taylor,
tells the story of one year (1982) in one town, Worcestershire's Black Swan Green.
2006
4.4
Feb 07
My Sister's Keeper
Jodi
Picoult
novel
Pretty good, hated the ending. Held my interest the whole way through though. Ethical medical issues, who gets to live?
2009
4
*Aug 10
The Past is a Foreign Country
Gianrico
Carofiglio
mystery
not as good as the other three mysteries, but good. Poker and cheating and a gullible hero.
2009
4
Sep 10
The Good Parents
Joan
London
novel
Good novel, good writer. Australian, set in the country, Melbourne, Perth, a family full of characters getting lost and found.
2009
4.2
Sep 10
Murderous Procession
Ariana
Franklin
mystery
Good, but not as insteresting as her others.
2009
4
Sep 10
Generosity
Richard
Powers
novel
Good writer, the main character is a writer teaching a writing class. Is happiness in our genetic code, to be manipulated?
2009
4.3
Sep 10
Landing
Emma
Donoghue
novel
A distance romance, between Dublin Ireland and small town Ireland, Ontario. Likeable characters, good story.
2007
4.1
*Sep 10
Mapping of Love and Death
Jacqueline
Winspear
mystery
the latest Maisie Dobbs, enjoyed it.
2010
4.1
*Aug 10
Started Early, Took My Dog
Kate
Atkinson
novel
Could be listed as a mystery as it features the retired cop Jackson Daley as a PI, retired cop Tracy
and an past-it actor. Interesting characters. There is a dog of course, rescued by Jackson early in the book.
2010
4.3
Dec 10
From The Dead
Mark
Billingham
mystery
Good mystery, like these stories
2010
1
Dec 10
World and Town
Gish
Jen
novel
Good writing, Hattie is half Chinese, half American and restarting her life in a small town. She's lost her best friend and her husband.
A Cambodian family moves in next door, and an ex-lover moves to town.
2010
4.4
Dec 10
Thereby Hangs a Tail
Spencer
Quinn
mystery
He tells a good tail, does Chet our PI dog. He has fun with idioms as well and is a very likabale pooch.
2010
4.1
*Nov 10
To Fetch a Thief
Spencer
Quinn
mystery
Chet is a faithful hound and good dog detective
2009
4.2
*Nov 10
Dear American Airlines
Jonathan
Miles
novel
Good novel, well read. It supposed to be a letter from a disgruntled passenger Bennie Ford, a fifty-three-year-old failed poet turned translator who is waiting in O'Hare airport forever, trying to get to his daughter's wedding. A grumpy, believable, funny, very flawed characater that you are routing
for and it's a well written story. The reader did a great job.
2008
4.3
*Dec 10
C'mon Papa: Dispatches from a Dad in the Dark
Ryan
Knighton
non fiction
Very good book, he writes well. A page turner, tells the story of having a baby as a blind father.
2010
4.4
Dec 10
Cities of Refuge
Michael
Helm
novel
Did not finish. Read 3/4 of it, didn't care what happened to the damaged and displaced Toronto characters. Writing is good
but story was tedious.
2010
2.5
Nov 10
The Room
Emma
Donoghue
novel
Mother and boy get out of the room fairly early in the book, thank goodness, so it was possible to keep going.
She does a good job of capturing a 5-year-olds perspective on the world.
2010
4.2
Nov 10
Bad Boy
Peter
Robinson
mystery
Good book, like his writing.
2010
4.1
*Nov 10
The City and the City
China
Mieville
novel
More novel than mystery. Odd book but good, set in two Eastern European cities that occupy the same land,
where everyone learns to see and "unsee" whichever population they belong to.
2010
4.1
*Nov 10
Border Crossing
Pat
Barker
novel
Someone wrote that they thought it was her best non-Ghost-Road book and I agree. I haven't thought her books, other than that great triology,
have been so good but this one tackles a child killer and the people around him and is very good. Interesting book
2002
4.1
*Oct 10
What Was Lost
Catherine
O'Flynn
novel
Switching between 1984 and 2003, about a little girl who goes missing after starting up her
own detective agency. It's set mostly in a huge mall, with very believable characters you want to get to know
2008
4.3
Oct 10
Curtains, Adventures in an Undertaker-in-Training
Tom
Jokinen
non fiction
very good. It's a revelation, what happens to us in those places, and interesting to read about
the state of the business. Good writer, very interesting book.
2010
4.2
Oct 10
I Curse the River of Time
Per
Petterson
novel
Not as good as Out Stealing Horses. Sad, and he is gentle with his flawed people
2010
4
Oct 10
Freedom
Jonathan
Franzen
novel
The narrator was a bit grating and the story too long and the characters almost completely unlikable but he can write a good book. And timely, our planet heading into an overpopulated, polluted,
navel-staring state - he brings it all in. Thank god my cats are indoor cats.
2010
4.2
*Nov 10
Murderous Proession
Ariana
Franklin
mystery
It's good but I am just not as interested in it as her first book. It's a good read, just not great.
2010
.
*Nov 10
Once a Spy
Keith
Thompson
mystery
Charlie finds his father, Drummond, in the thoes of Alzheimer's, but then finds out he was a spy.
A mad chase ensues, bodies flying, a wild tale. Not a great book but the humour around Alzheimer's is good.
2010
4
Oct 10
20