http://www.goodreads.com/review/list_rss/109504 en-US Sat, 16 Aug 2008 05:06:29 -0700 60 http://www.goodreads.com/ 200 41 http://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/gr_logo.gif 30294096 Sat, 16 Aug 2008 05:06:29 -0700
author: Elizabeth Brundage
name: Cliff
average rating: 3.39
book published: 2005
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 08/16/08
shelves: novels
review:

]]> 27101329 Sat, 16 Aug 2008 05:05:19 -0700
author: Christine Schutt
name: Cliff
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 08/08
date added: 08/16/08
shelves: novels
review:
It takes awhile to slip into the rhythm of this fragmentary novel, and until the reader adjusts it all seems a blur, like looking too closely at a pointilist painting. Step back, look for the bigger picture, and it becomes clear. Schutt's style is breathtaking, and this is a fabulous book that impresses, but requires more effort to read than it should.
]]> 27101257 Tue, 12 Aug 2008 18:20:02 -0700
author: Jeff Sharlet
name: Cliff
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 08/08
date added: 08/12/08
shelves: nonfiction-politics
review:
This book terrifies me. I knew that conservative Christians WANTED to seize control of the country, but this convinces me that they already have. We who value our freedom must fight back. Unfortunately, this book is too balanced to be the battle cry that we need, but it does give plenty of evidence that secularism in America is at risk. Be very afraid.
]]> 26510091 Sun, 13 Jul 2008 04:43:28 -0700
Full review at Perpetual Folly.]]>
author: Margot Livesey
name: Cliff
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2008
rating: 2
read at: 07/08
date added: 07/13/08
shelves: novels
review:
I love Livesey's language and sentences, but this book lacks focus.

Full review at Perpetual Folly.
]]> 26279521 Mon, 07 Jul 2008 04:33:00 -0700
author: Tony Earley
name: Cliff
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2001
rating: 4
read at: 07/08
date added: 07/07/08
shelves: novels
review:
Why isn't this considered a straight YA novel? I liked it, the writing is beautiful and filled with fresh imagery, but the story of Jim, from his 10th birthday to his 11th, doesn't seem like it has that much depth to it. But then I felt the same way about To Kill a Mockingbird. The ending of this book is worthy of study.
]]> 25674132 Mon, 07 Jul 2008 04:32:22 -0700
author: Eugene T. Gendlin
name: Cliff
average rating: 3.74
book published: 1982
rating: 1
read at: 07/08
date added: 07/07/08
shelves: philosophyandreligion
review:
I thought this might be an alternative to meditation, but it isn't. It's about organizing your approach to problems, which is fine. Just not for me.
]]> 25853357 Fri, 04 Jul 2008 04:57:37 -0700
See my full review at Perpetual Folly.]]>
author: Tim O'Brien
name: Cliff
average rating: 3.38
book published: 2002
rating: 4
read at: 07/08
date added: 07/04/08
shelves: novels
review:
Although this book about the Class of '69 and their reunion in 2000 is a very engaging read, I don't think it's a great novel.

See my full review at Perpetual Folly.
]]> 8030596 Sun, 29 Jun 2008 16:08:28 -0700 Perpetual Folly.]]>
author: Uzodinma Iweala
name: Cliff
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 06/08
date added: 06/29/08
shelves: novels
review:
A powerful piece of writing. See my review at Perpetual Folly.
]]> 23977191 Mon, 23 Jun 2008 05:34:42 -0700
author: John McPhee
name: Cliff
average rating: 3.50
book published: 2002
rating: 2
read at: 06/08
date added: 06/23/08
shelves: nonfiction-science
review:

]]> 23589605 Wed, 18 Jun 2008 06:40:17 -0700
author: Susan Woodring
name: Cliff
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at: 06/08
date added: 06/18/08
shelves: shortstorycollections
review:
Some really excellent stories in this collection.
]]> 23977275 Sun, 08 Jun 2008 06:00:43 -0700
author: Charles Baxter
name: Cliff
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1998
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 06/08/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 16674100 Thu, 05 Jun 2008 16:30:39 -0700
author: Charles J. Shields
name: Cliff
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 06/08
date added: 06/05/08
shelves: biography
review:

]]> 23506481 Mon, 02 Jun 2008 07:11:34 -0700
author: Xujun Eberlein
name: Cliff
average rating: 4.80
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 06/02/08
shelves: shortstorycollections
review:

]]> 22473873 Sat, 31 May 2008 05:29:29 -0700
author: Steven Gillis
name: Cliff
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2008
rating: 3
read at: 05/08
date added: 05/31/08
shelves: novels
review:

]]> 20955913 Sat, 17 May 2008 04:44:46 -0700 Perpetual Folly for my full review.]]>
author: Richard Bausch
name: Cliff
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at: 05/08
date added: 05/17/08
shelves: novels
review:
This is an elegant short novel about "doing the right thing" set in WW II Italy. See Perpetual Folly for my full review.
]]> 21154486 Mon, 28 Apr 2008 05:21:24 -0700
author: Thomas Pynchon
name: Cliff
average rating: 4.46
book published: 1973
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 04/28/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 21082838 Sun, 27 Apr 2008 05:39:35 -0700
author: Malcolm Lowry
name: Cliff
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2000
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 04/27/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 20923708 Sat, 26 Apr 2008 12:45:18 -0700 Perpetual Folly.]]>
author: Charles Baxter
name: Cliff
average rating: 3.08
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at: 04/08
date added: 04/26/08
shelves: novels
review:
I enjoyed this, although I understand some readers' skepticism at the ending. See my full review at Perpetual Folly.
]]> 19626657 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 10:14:13 -0700
See my full review at Perpetual Folly.]]>
author: Gary Buslik
name: Cliff
average rating: 2.50
book published: 2008
rating: 2
read at: 03/08
date added: 04/23/08
shelves:
review:
Funny. But kind of pointless. These "travel" pieces aren't fiction, but they're not non-fiction either. The author tries to be offensive, and he is.

See my full review at Perpetual Folly.
]]> 19789002 Wed, 09 Apr 2008 08:10:12 -0700
author: Cormac McCarthy
name: Cliff
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1992
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 04/09/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 18980612 Sat, 05 Apr 2008 18:03:12 -0700 To Kill a Mockingbird, with which it has some important similarities, this book is about kids who will seem real to a modern reader: they're flawed and they're from flawed families. For more, see my review at Perpetual Folly.]]>
author: Scott Loring Sanders
name: Cliff
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2008
rating: 5
read at: 04/08
date added: 04/05/08
shelves:
review:
I'm no expert in the young-adult genre, but this is a terrific book. Unlike To Kill a Mockingbird, with which it has some important similarities, this book is about kids who will seem real to a modern reader: they're flawed and they're from flawed families. For more, see my review at Perpetual Folly.
]]> 18409787 Sat, 22 Mar 2008 18:22:31 -0700 Perpetual Folly.]]>
author: Grace Paley
name: Cliff
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2008
rating: 5
read at: 03/08
date added: 03/22/08
shelves: poetry
review:
If you like Paley's work, you'll love this collection of new poetry finished shortly before her death last August. See more of my comments at Perpetual Folly.
]]> 16674087 Mon, 17 Mar 2008 06:58:59 -0700
author: Harper Lee
name: Cliff
average rating: 4.37
book published: 1960
rating: 4
read at: 03/08
date added: 03/17/08
shelves:
review:
I can't believe I didn't read this when I was a kid. I've only read it now because my county chose it for our "Big Read" this year and I thought it was about time. It's a fine book, with a great structure, but a heavy-handed lesson. Which makes it a good book for teenagers, important even, but not great art.
]]> 17926153 Mon, 17 Mar 2008 06:54:17 -0700
author: Mary Akers
name: Cliff
average rating: 4.89
book published: 2008
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 03/17/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 14568652 Fri, 29 Feb 2008 04:52:40 -0800
author: Hari Kunzru
name: Cliff
average rating: 3.42
book published: 2008
rating: 3
read at: 02/08
date added: 02/29/08
shelves:
review:
Great story that gets hurried, and for me spoiled by too much summary of the past. The book starts in a present-time crisis for the protagonist but then spends 75% or more of its pages telling how he got to that point, constantly killing the forward momentum.
]]> 15079735 Sun, 10 Feb 2008 14:37:56 -0800
author: Frederick Busch
name: Cliff
average rating: 3.80
book published: 1999
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 02/10/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 13034981 Mon, 04 Feb 2008 17:45:02 -0800
author: Per Petterson
name: Cliff
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 01/08
date added: 02/04/08
shelves:
review:
This is a compelling retrospective book that isn't as ambitious as it could be, by which I mean that the two characters Trond and Lars do not speak of that which the reader eventually learns. It is an unspoken conflict and you could make the argument that they should confront one another, to bring that conflict to the foreground. For me, their NOT speaking of it makes them far more interesting characters, even if the tension is not as electric as it could be.
]]> 13411365 Thu, 24 Jan 2008 11:33:29 -0800
author: Randy F. Nelson
name: Cliff
average rating: 3.17
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 01/24/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 5370917 Mon, 21 Jan 2008 05:09:40 -0800 Perpetual Folly]]>
author: Daniel Alarcón
name: Cliff
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 01/08
date added: 01/21/08
shelves:
review:
This is an interesting read set in an unnamed country at an unnamed time, about people trying to connect. For more, see my review at: Perpetual Folly
]]> 10865290 Wed, 09 Jan 2008 05:07:43 -0800
author: Ian McEwan
name: Cliff
average rating: 3.49
book published: 2007
rating: 2
read at: 01/08
date added: 01/09/08
shelves:
review:
I didn't love this. The relationship is engaging at first, and I found the results believable, but among other things the last part of the book is rushed and unnecessary. I really didn't care what happened to them in later years.
]]> 11112903 Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:03:50 -0800
author: Michael Alexander Eisner
name: Cliff
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2001
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 12/27/07
shelves: novels
review:

]]> 7838723 Sat, 22 Dec 2007 07:27:52 -0800
author: Pinckney Benedict
name: Cliff
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 12/07
date added: 12/22/07
shelves: shortstorycollections
review:
If anything, this book delivers more than a reader can absorb. There are sooo many good stories here that it was a mistake to try to read it straight through. It is better savored. Pick it up, read one, and come back later to read another. Ironically, since I'm not a Joyce Carol Oates fan, her story in this anthology is probably my favorite - although there are many others I also enjoyed very much.
]]> 8354276 Sun, 28 Oct 2007 12:47:19 -0700
author: Winifred Babcock
name: Cliff
average rating: 0.00
book published: 1983
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 10/28/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 8354259 Sun, 28 Oct 2007 12:47:00 -0700
author: Winifred Babcock
name: Cliff
average rating: 0.00
book published: 1971
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 10/28/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 8343828 Sun, 28 Oct 2007 07:30:27 -0700
author: Preson Harold
name: Cliff
average rating: 0.00
book published: 1974
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 10/28/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 8343819 Sun, 28 Oct 2007 07:30:05 -0700
author: Miguel Serrano
name: Cliff
average rating: 0.00
book published: 1983
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 10/28/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 8343814 Sun, 28 Oct 2007 07:29:55 -0700
author: Miguel Serrano
name: Cliff
average rating: 1.00
book published: 1989
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 10/28/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 8343804 Sun, 28 Oct 2007 07:29:41 -0700
author: Miguel Serrano
name: Cliff
average rating: 3.00
book published: 1983
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 10/28/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 8343798 Sun, 28 Oct 2007 07:29:19 -0700
author: Miguel Serrano
name: Cliff
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1972
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 10/28/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 8343793 Sun, 28 Oct 2007 07:29:10 -0700
author: Miguel Serrano
name: Cliff
average rating: 3.33
book published: 1998
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 10/28/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 8308126 Sat, 27 Oct 2007 05:27:52 -0700
author: Jerzy Kosinski
name: Cliff
average rating: 4.34
book published: 1965
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 10/27/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 2393287 Thu, 25 Oct 2007 11:47:08 -0700
author: Hal Ackerman
name: Cliff
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2003
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 10/25/07
shelves: writing-reference
review:

]]> 5571004 Sun, 21 Oct 2007 04:57:06 -0700
author: Christopher Hitchens
name: Cliff
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 10/07
date added: 10/21/07
shelves: philosophyandreligion
review:
I rate this book highly mostly because I agree with it. Religion has done far more harm than good, and it's all based on nothing. That about sums up the book, but Hitchens manages to be pretty bitchy about it along the way, and his condescension isn't going to win him any friends. As an athiest who appreciates the teachings of Buddha, I also thought his dismissive attitude toward Buddhism (which in its purest form shouldn't be regarded as a religion) was rash and probably done to strengthen his hypothesis. It wouldn't do to have exceptions to the rule. If you don't want to read the whole thing, I recommend highly the last chapter: The Need for a New Enlightenment.
]]> 7738993 Mon, 15 Oct 2007 06:30:34 -0700
author: Pamela Erens
name: Cliff
average rating: 4.62
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 07/07
date added: 10/15/07
shelves: novels
review:
I was fortunate enough to see an ARC of this wonderful debut by Pamela Erens (my review is forthcoming in Rain Taxi). It follows converging stories about a troubled young man in New York City that uses the Central Park ecosystem as a beautiful metaphor for human interdependence.
]]> 5408681 Fri, 31 Aug 2007 04:40:04 -0700
author: Isabel Fonseca
name: Cliff
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1996
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 08/31/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 1644034 Thu, 30 Aug 2007 12:34:20 -0700
author: Robert Bennett
name: Cliff
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at: 08/07
date added: 08/30/07
shelves: nonfiction-politics
review:
Pretty dry, but it makes a good case for changing the Electoral College system to better reflect the national popular vote.
]]> 2829426 Thu, 30 Aug 2007 12:30:59 -0700
author: Alice McDermott
name: Cliff
average rating: 3.31
book published: 2006
rating: 2
read at: 08/07
date added: 08/30/07
shelves: novels
review:
This book has some beautiful passages and on some level is intriguing social commentary, but it's one of the slowest, least interesting novels I've read.
]]> 4926416 Wed, 22 Aug 2007 05:44:18 -0700
author: Grace Paley
name: Cliff
average rating: 4.24
book published: 1985
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 08/22/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 4192658 Tue, 07 Aug 2007 04:36:47 -0700
author: Peter Matthiessen
name: Cliff
average rating: 5.00
book published: 1999
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 08/07/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 4098365 Sun, 05 Aug 2007 05:35:19 -0700
author: Michael Cunningham
name: Cliff
average rating: 3.37
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 08/07
date added: 08/05/07
shelves: novels
review:
I actually listened to the audio version of this book (unabridged) on a long drive, not knowing what it was about. (I confess I didn't connect the title to Walt Whitman, which I should have.) The structure is odd: it's actually 3 novellas, each with the characters Simon, Kat and Lucas, each time a slight variation. Cunningham is using Whitman's themes, and looking closely at the relationship of nature and progress, while looking at longing for a better life. I enjoyed listening, and now may read the actual book . . .
]]> 4065415 Sat, 04 Aug 2007 06:18:01 -0700
author: Kevin Moffett
name: Cliff
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 08/04/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 3494237 Wed, 25 Jul 2007 05:03:13 -0700
author: Wallace Stegner
name: Cliff
average rating: 4.32
book published: 1971
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 07/25/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 3343987 Sat, 21 Jul 2007 05:04:13 -0700
author: Thornton Wilder
name: Cliff
average rating: 3.82
book published: 1927
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 07/21/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 3343972 Sat, 21 Jul 2007 05:03:05 -0700
author: Grace Paley
name: Cliff
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 07/21/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 3262458 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 07:12:26 -0700
author: Emily Raboteau
name: Cliff
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 07/19/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 3215041 Wed, 18 Jul 2007 08:08:42 -0700
author: Graham Greene
name: Cliff
average rating: 4.01
book published: 1955
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 07/18/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 3215029 Wed, 18 Jul 2007 08:08:25 -0700
author: Denis Johnson
name: Cliff
average rating: 4.28
book published: 1992
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 07/18/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 3094558 Sun, 15 Jul 2007 08:42:39 -0700
author: Herman Melville
name: Cliff
average rating: 3.61
book published: 1851
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 07/15/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 3041969 Fri, 13 Jul 2007 14:57:29 -0700