http://www.goodreads.com/review/list_rss/21497 en-US Fri, 25 Apr 2008 13:41:26 -0700 60 http://www.goodreads.com/ 200 41 http://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/gr_logo.gif 20987766 Fri, 25 Apr 2008 13:41:26 -0700
author: Neil Gaiman
name: rachel
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at: 04/08
date added: 04/25/08
shelves:
review:
Great little fairy tale. Dark and chilling, just like they used to be.
]]> 20987666 Fri, 25 Apr 2008 13:40:40 -0700
author: Michael Gruber
name: rachel
average rating: 3.21
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 03/08
date added: 04/25/08
shelves:
review:
Michael Gruber accomplishes what Dan Brown never could - an intellectual thriller, steeped in history. Fun read.
]]> 17740623 Fri, 14 Mar 2008 08:45:32 -0700
author: John Connolly
name: rachel
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 04/08
date added: 03/14/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 16779049 Fri, 14 Mar 2008 08:45:00 -0700
author: Robert Louis Stevenson
name: rachel
average rating: 3.78
book published: 1883
rating: 5
read at: 03/08
date added: 03/14/08
shelves:
review:
How did I miss this classic when I was a kid? Treasure Island has everything a good adventure needs: flawed adults, swashbuckling pirates, duplicitous villains, buried treasure and a talking parrot. Not to mention a plot twisted enough to engage an adult.
]]> 7122776 Sat, 01 Mar 2008 12:33:27 -0800
author: Meredith Ann Pierce
name: rachel
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2000
rating: 4
read at: 02/08
date added: 03/01/08
shelves:
review:
Great fantasy told in the tradition of an eastern European fairy tale.
]]> 15385619 Mon, 18 Feb 2008 16:23:33 -0800
author: Jennifer Egan
name: rachel
average rating: 3.28
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at: 02/08
date added: 02/18/08
shelves:
review:
Really kept me engaged throughout, but when I got to the end, I felt like it was a bit heavy handed. And really, not all that shocking or that much of a surprise. Good plot, good pacing, but the characterization left a lot to be desired. I really didn't care all that much about anybody in the book.
]]> 15385667 Wed, 13 Feb 2008 21:58:42 -0800
author: Michael Chabon
name: rachel
average rating: 3.18
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at: 01/08
date added: 02/13/08
shelves:
review:
A truly beautiful and perfect little mystery.
]]> 14458854 Sun, 03 Feb 2008 12:58:51 -0800
author: Agatha Christie
name: rachel
average rating: 4.12
book published: 1984
rating: 4
read at: 01/08
date added: 02/03/08
shelves:
review:
Agatha Christie's classic is supposedly the best mystery ever written. I'm not going to go so far as to agree with that, but it's a dang good read. 10 people with dark secrets get invited to an island. One by one, they all die. Now who of the 10 could be the killer? How are they all connected??
]]> 11200814 Sun, 03 Feb 2008 12:55:31 -0800
author: Anna Cypra Oliver
name: rachel
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2004
rating: 0
read at: 12/07
date added: 02/03/08
shelves:
review:
Stellar memoir. Beautifully written, absolutely intriguing. Daughter of fundamentalist hippie finds herself in finding the history of her father, who committed suicide when she was a toddler.
]]> 8105887 Fri, 28 Dec 2007 22:09:00 -0800
author: Deborah Reber
name: rachel
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2002
rating: 0
read at: 10/07
date added: 12/28/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 11200505 Fri, 28 Dec 2007 22:08:27 -0800
author: Jacquelyn Mitchard
name: rachel
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at: 12/07
date added: 12/28/07
shelves:
review:
I had to look up Jackie Mitchard to see whether she is Mormon and preaching at everybody or just THAT INTO her characterization (it's the latter) of a Mormon girl dealing with the murder of her sisters. Anyhow, the underlying theme of faith throughout the book just bugged me. Maybe I'm super sensitive, but I just don't like feeling preached at, and that's what Cage of Stars left me thinking about.
]]> 8105823 Fri, 28 Dec 2007 22:06:38 -0800
author: Kate Atkinson
name: rachel
average rating: 3.93
book published: 1999
rating: 3
read at: 10/07
date added: 12/28/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 8257458 Fri, 28 Dec 2007 21:57:17 -0800
author: Jincy Willett
name: rachel
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2002
rating: 5
read at: 12/07
date added: 12/28/07
shelves:
review:
Really beautiful set of short stories. Don't believe the "hilarious" quote by David Sedaris for a second. These are darkly comic, if anything, not laugh-out-loud funny. But absolutely worth reading.
]]> 9537481 Fri, 28 Dec 2007 21:55:44 -0800
author: Elizabeth Flock
name: rachel
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at: 12/07
date added: 12/28/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 9537391 Fri, 07 Dec 2007 13:51:30 -0800
author: Robin Hobb
name: rachel
average rating: 4.29
book published: 1995
rating: 5
read at: 11/07
date added: 12/07/07
shelves:
review:
Surprisingly literate read from Robin Hobb, about the illegitimate son of a prince turned King's assassin.
]]> 8463784 Thu, 01 Nov 2007 19:36:43 -0700
author: Chris Bohjalian
name: rachel
average rating: 3.44
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 10/07
date added: 11/01/07
shelves:
review:
Surprisingly engaging family drama. Worth the read!
]]> 8269308 Fri, 26 Oct 2007 06:55:01 -0700
author: J.K. Rowling
name: rachel
average rating: 4.01
book published: 1999
rating: 3
read at: 10/07
date added: 10/26/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 8005937 Sat, 20 Oct 2007 21:01:15 -0700
author: Tanith Lee
name: rachel
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2003
rating: 3
read at: 10/07
date added: 10/20/07
shelves:
review:
Would've loved this when I was 14. Solid YA fantasy with a strong female heroine.
]]> 7057449 Sun, 14 Oct 2007 15:46:42 -0700
author: John Twelve Hawks
name: rachel
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at: 10/07
date added: 10/14/07
shelves:
review:
This dystopian thriller makes me ashamed to be in advertising. But who is John Twelve Hawks to talk? (It's a mystery -- he's writing under a pseudonym).
]]> 7057305 Sun, 14 Oct 2007 15:43:36 -0700
author: Amy Tan
name: rachel
average rating: 3.84
book published: 1996
rating: 3
read at: 09/07
date added: 10/14/07
shelves:
review:
I've been putting off this review for some reason. Probably because Amy Tan is a Pulitzer winner, so who am I to say that The Hundred Secret Senses was just kind of, well, "light"? Not that I expected it to change my life, but I was hoping for something deeper, and a little less contrived. Still, certainly worth the time, particularly because I read most of it during a 6-hour layover in Mexico city, and finished it while waiting two hours for a tow truck upon my return.
]]> 7122790 Mon, 01 Oct 2007 20:42:01 -0700
author: Wesley Stace
name: rachel
average rating: 3.44
book published: 2006
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 10/01/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 7122785 Mon, 01 Oct 2007 20:41:57 -0700
author: William Sabin
name: rachel
average rating: 2.00
book published: 1996
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 10/01/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 7122774 Mon, 01 Oct 2007 20:41:50 -0700
author: Dan Kennedy
name: rachel
average rating: 3.00
book published: 2003
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 10/01/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 7122770 Mon, 01 Oct 2007 20:41:48 -0700
author: Alice Sebold
name: rachel
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2002
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 10/01/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 7122767 Mon, 01 Oct 2007 20:41:47 -0700
author: Mark Harrison
name: rachel
average rating: 0.00
book published: 1998
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 10/01/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 7122743 Mon, 01 Oct 2007 20:41:26 -0700
author: Editors of Budget Living
name: rachel
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2004
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 10/01/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 7122737 Mon, 01 Oct 2007 20:41:24 -0700
author: Joelle Hoverson
name: rachel
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2004
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 10/01/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 7122735 Mon, 01 Oct 2007 20:41:23 -0700
author: The New York Public Library
name: rachel
average rating: 0.00
book published: 1999
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 10/01/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 7122733 Mon, 01 Oct 2007 20:41:22 -0700
author: Jim Crace
name: rachel
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2001
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 10/01/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 7122729 Mon, 01 Oct 2007 20:41:16 -0700
author: Debra Ginsberg
name: rachel
average rating: 3.00
book published: 2000
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 10/01/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 7122726 Mon, 01 Oct 2007 20:41:11 -0700
author: Amy Butler
name: rachel
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 10/01/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 7122723 Mon, 01 Oct 2007 20:41:10 -0700
author: Phoebe Louise Adams Gloeckner
name: rachel
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2002
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 10/01/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 7122722 Mon, 01 Oct 2007 20:41:08 -0700
author: Malcolm Gladwell
name: rachel
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2000
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 10/01/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 7122719 Mon, 01 Oct 2007 20:41:05 -0700
author: Debbie Stoller
name: rachel
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2004
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 10/01/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 7122715 Mon, 01 Oct 2007 20:41:01 -0700
author: Richard Ben Cramer
name: rachel
average rating: 3.56
book published: 2005
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 10/01/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 7122712 Mon, 01 Oct 2007 20:41:00 -0700
author: Denis Higgins
name: rachel
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1986
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 10/01/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 7122710 Mon, 01 Oct 2007 20:40:59 -0700
author: David Ogilvy
name: rachel
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1985
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 10/01/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 7122708 Mon, 01 Oct 2007 20:40:58 -0700
author: Leslie Goldman
name: rachel
average rating: 3.06
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 10/01/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 7122707 Mon, 01 Oct 2007 20:40:56 -0700
author: Debbie Stoller
name: rachel
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2004
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 10/01/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 7122705 Mon, 01 Oct 2007 20:40:53 -0700
author: David Rakoff
name: rachel
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2002
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 10/01/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 7122699 Mon, 01 Oct 2007 20:40:46 -0700
author: Luke Sullivan
name: rachel
average rating: 4.33
book published: 1998
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 10/01/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 7122696 Mon, 01 Oct 2007 20:40:44 -0700
author: Alice Hoffman
name: rachel
average rating: 3.42
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 10/01/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 7122695 Mon, 01 Oct 2007 20:40:43 -0700
author: Bakers
name: rachel
average rating: 5.00
book published: 1993
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 10/01/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 7122688 Mon, 01 Oct 2007 20:40:39 -0700
author: John M. Ferrara
name: rachel
average rating: 0.00
book published: 2000
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 10/01/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 4357014 Mon, 01 Oct 2007 20:36:25 -0700
author: Christopher Priest
name: rachel
average rating: 3.77
book published: 1995
rating: 3
read at: 08/07
date added: 10/01/07
shelves:
review:
I wish I could have read the first 300 pages and written my own ending. WTF.
]]> 5026318 Mon, 01 Oct 2007 20:32:56 -0700
author: Alison Croggon
name: rachel
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at: 08/07
date added: 10/01/07
shelves:
review:
Definitely the deepest, most complex and engaging children's/YA fantasy I've read since Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. I can't wait to read the next book!
]]> 7057087 Sun, 30 Sep 2007 19:23:54 -0700
author: William Styron
name: rachel
average rating: 3.90
book published: 1992
rating: 5
read at: 09/07
date added: 09/30/07
shelves:
review:
William Styron, author of Sophie's Choice, chronicles his slide into suicidal depression in this long-form essay. Eloquent and beautifully written, Styron remains perfectly sane in his description of craziness.
]]> 7056603 Sun, 30 Sep 2007 19:21:14 -0700
author: Brad Land
name: rachel
average rating: 3.07
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 09/30/07
shelves:
review:
A college kid gets assaulted, transfers schools, joins a frat, and gets assaulted again. Dark.
]]> 7056348 Sun, 30 Sep 2007 19:12:02 -0700
author: Gillian Flynn
name: rachel
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 09/07
date added: 09/30/07
shelves:
review:
Emotionally fragile reporter Camille Preaker returns to her hometown from Chicago on assignment to report on two murders. While reporting on the murders, she winds up confronting her own past. Fine literature it's not, it's a perfect example of the mystery genre and I can't think of a better beach read.
]]> 4357030 Fri, 10 Aug 2007 07:16:06 -0700
author: Barack Obama
name: rachel
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at: 04/08
date added: 08/10/07
shelves: onhold
review:

]]> 4357142 Fri, 10 Aug 2007 07:15:29 -0700
author: Reymundo Sanchez
name: rachel
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2000
rating: 5
read at: 01/05
date added: 08/10/07
shelves:
review:
It's been awhile, but I wanted to add it to my list since our Chicago discussion reminded me of it. This is the true story of a Latin King, and it's powerful insight into the gang world, and the hold it has on kids, even 20+ years after the events in the book took place. With reading on plot and literary merit alone, btw.
]]> 4219587 Tue, 07 Aug 2007 12:51:16 -0700
author: Tamora Pierce
name: rachel
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2003
rating: 5
read at: 08/07
date added: 08/07/07
shelves:
review:
I'm not gonna lie. I devoured this whole series. I love 'em. A perfect fit for the target audience (and me). I don't care who makes fun. They're gripping.
]]> 2768402 Tue, 07 Aug 2007 12:47:03 -0700
author: Miriam Toews
name: rachel
average rating: 3.53
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 07/07
date added: 08/07/07
shelves:
review:
Bought this book solely on the cover reco from David Rakoff, who says, "Miriam Toews writes like an angel." I dunno if she writes like an angel, but this coming-of-age story about a young mother on the dole was a Good Read.
]]> 4219113 Tue, 07 Aug 2007 12:45:41 -0700
I really really wanted to love this book. But, well, eeeew. Did all the characters have to be so damn one dimensional and cheesy? It has all the emotional maturity of a junior high school girl with a predilection for Native American tourist artifacts.

Love,

Rachel

p.s. I know, I know. You're probably thinking, "How's your novel Rachel?" I apologize.]]>
author: Charles de Lint
name: rachel
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2002
rating: 2
read at: 07/07
date added: 08/07/07
shelves: abandoned
review:
Dear Mr. DeLint,

I really really wanted to love this book. But, well, eeeew. Did all the characters have to be so damn one dimensional and cheesy? It has all the emotional maturity of a junior high school girl with a predilection for Native American tourist artifacts.

Love,

Rachel

p.s. I know, I know. You're probably thinking, "How's your novel Rachel?" I apologize.
]]> 4218885 Tue, 07 Aug 2007 12:37:55 -0700
author: Dan Brown
name: rachel
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2005
rating: 1
read at: 06/07
date added: 08/07/07
shelves:
review:
If you're wondering whether Dan Brown could have written a more overrated, melodramatic and predictable tome than the Da Vinci Code, the answer is an emphatic "Yes."
]]> 1084516 Fri, 06 Jul 2007 08:38:19 -0700
author: T.C. Boyle
name: rachel
average rating: 3.61
book published: 1994
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 07/06/07
shelves: abandoned
review:
Truly, I didn't think it was possible that a book would ever have too much scatological humor for me to enjoy. But I just couldn't get into my first TC Boyle read. Maybe if I'd been emotionally engaged in either loving or hating the characters getting enemas? But nothing compelled me to read past page 100. And my friends, there are too many books and too little time to spend reading something that doesn't move you in one way or another.
]]> 1393217 Fri, 06 Jul 2007 08:35:34 -0700
author: Sarah Macdonald
name: rachel
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2004
rating: 3
read at: 05/07
date added: 07/06/07
shelves: abandoned
review:
Started off great, but I lost steam when she began her spiritual journey.
]]> 1084473 Sat, 23 Jun 2007 06:40:33 -0700 High school nerd (and genius) solves the mystery of her high-school teacher's death. I read 200 pages in 3 hours without my glasses, because I couldn't tear myself away to look for them. Starts a bit slow, but stick with it.]]>
author: Marisha Pessl
name: rachel
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 06/23/07
shelves:
review:
Holy shit, this was good. Gorgeous, wonderful, quirky writing.
High school nerd (and genius) solves the mystery of her high-school teacher's death. I read 200 pages in 3 hours without my glasses, because I couldn't tear myself away to look for them. Starts a bit slow, but stick with it.
]]> 1393271 Wed, 23 May 2007 13:49:46 -0700
author: Kate Atkinson
name: rachel
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at: 05/07
date added: 05/23/07
shelves:
review:
Compelling mystery/character study. Three days after finishing, I'm still thinking about it.
]]> 1084443 Wed, 23 May 2007 13:48:37 -0700
author: Sarah Ash
name: rachel
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2004
rating: 4
read at: 05/07
date added: 05/23/07
shelves:
review:
Fresh and compelling retelling of the Dracula story. Can't wait to finish the trilogy!
]]> 1084460 Wed, 23 May 2007 13:47:19 -0700
author: David Sedaris
name: rachel
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at: 05/07
date added: 05/23/07
shelves:
review:
Poignant, yet hilarious, more David Sedaris. I can't think of a more elegant, phenomenal author.
]]> 211541 Mon, 07 May 2007 13:05:53 -0700