Every once in a while there comes a book that's tailor-made for curling up on the couch with a cup of...moreI wish there was a way to give a book 3.5 stars.
Every once in a while there comes a book that's tailor-made for curling up on the couch with a cup of hot tea. This is it. The stories, among them some fabulous rare gems of the genre, are great. (less)
I've been hearing a lot about this book lately. The Times just did a piece on it, and it's about time someone collected the stories of women on painfu...moreI've been hearing a lot about this book lately. The Times just did a piece on it, and it's about time someone collected the stories of women on painfully common experience. (less)
I'm sure this book is brilliant, but it really did feel like a slog. It seemed to take a while to get going, the whole time making assumptions about s...moreI'm sure this book is brilliant, but it really did feel like a slog. It seemed to take a while to get going, the whole time making assumptions about some sort of archetypical college, and post-college experience. By the time the plot did start to move, I no longer cared much for the characters. I'll revisit this book in few months or a year in hopes to become enraptured by Eugenides' lyricism and style. At first read, the clunky plot was too much in the way to for me to enjoy the author's virtuoso performance.(less)
As usual, I come to this book rather late, but I find it a fun and excellent read for editorial and otherwise mildly OCD folk. Lynne Truss has taught...moreAs usual, I come to this book rather late, but I find it a fun and excellent read for editorial and otherwise mildly OCD folk. Lynne Truss has taught me a thing a or two, confirmed a couple of my own beliefs, and kept me laughing the whole way. Really fun, and not nearly as mind-rotting as the Twilight series. Oh wait — now it's a saga. Did you catch that? Yeah, Lynne Truss taught it to me.(less)
This is one of those books that has the dubious honor of being loved by scores of reading teachers, and roundly forgotten by adults. The fact that Dis...moreThis is one of those books that has the dubious honor of being loved by scores of reading teachers, and roundly forgotten by adults. The fact that Disney saw fit to make it a movie didn't help matters much. This is a complicated story about boys, friendship, adversity, loss, and yes, holes -- and dare I say there are shades of Cormac McCarthy here in its outward simplicity and layered meaning. This book should be reclassifed as a classic, not just a YA book.(less)
This was a fascinating read. It really probes the history and concepts behind morality using true reasoning and a scientific approach. Hightly recomme...moreThis was a fascinating read. It really probes the history and concepts behind morality using true reasoning and a scientific approach. Hightly recommended!(less)
From an award-winning journalist comes this real-life cloak-and-dagger tale of Vera Atkins, one of Britain’s premiere secret a...moreFrom Barnes & Noble:
From an award-winning journalist comes this real-life cloak-and-dagger tale of Vera Atkins, one of Britain’s premiere secret agents during World War II.
As the head of the French Section of the British Special Operations Executive, Vera Atkins recruited, trained, and mentored special operatives whose job was to organize and arm the resistance in Nazi-occupied France. After the war, Atkins courageously committed herself to a dangerous search for twelve of her most cherished women spies who had gone missing in action. Drawing on previously unavailable sources, Sarah Helm chronicles Atkins’s extraordinary life and her singular journey through the chaos of post-war Europe. Brimming with intrigue, heroics, honor, and the horrors of war, A Life in Secrets is the story of a grand, elusive woman and a tour de force of investigative journalism.
About the Author SARAH HELM has been a journalist for more than twenty years. She was a reporter and feature writer on the Sunday Times before becoming a founding member of the Independent in 1986. She was the Independent's Diplomatic Editor and later became the Middle East and then European Correspondent for the same paper. Sarah Helm is the recipient of the British Press Award of Specialist Writer of the Year and was awarded the Laurence Stern Fellowship by the Washington Post. She lives in London, England. (less)
Everyone needs a good bodice-ripper every once in a while -- this one was nice and juicy. However, if you're going to see the movie, see it BEFORE rea...moreEveryone needs a good bodice-ripper every once in a while -- this one was nice and juicy. However, if you're going to see the movie, see it BEFORE reading the book, otherwise you'll hate Natalie Portman even more.(less)
Yep, it's a YA book, but fun and juicy to read. A bodice ripper, wherein everyone is still fully clothed. The heroine is pretty much a wimp, and I'm t...moreYep, it's a YA book, but fun and juicy to read. A bodice ripper, wherein everyone is still fully clothed. The heroine is pretty much a wimp, and I'm trying not happy about that, but it won't stop me from finishing the series. (less)
This book is amazing. It's a rare history that doesn't feel like its preaching. Meticulously researched, this reads like a novel. A must for anyone in...moreThis book is amazing. It's a rare history that doesn't feel like its preaching. Meticulously researched, this reads like a novel. A must for anyone interested in modern history, Darfur and Rwanda.(less)
This was an early 2007 entry into the Great Book per year program. Hailed as an early proto-feminist novel, the book is fast and suitably scandalous f...moreThis was an early 2007 entry into the Great Book per year program. Hailed as an early proto-feminist novel, the book is fast and suitably scandalous for its time. Kessel has a good touch with description, though you can tell he's holding back how he really feels about the character in favor of making her "publishable" -- that is, the victim of some comeuppance for being a hoochie. You can finish it in a weekend.
I just started this last week, but already I'm in love with the lyricism and wit of the author. It's been a long time since I felt annoyed that I had...moreI just started this last week, but already I'm in love with the lyricism and wit of the author. It's been a long time since I felt annoyed that I had to stop reading in order to get off the subway and walk to work or to walk home. This book is bringing those feelings back! (less)