http://www.goodreads.com/review/list_rss/661198 en-US Wed, 20 Aug 2008 07:55:38 -0700 60 http://www.goodreads.com/ 200 41 http://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/gr_logo.gif 11876934 Wed, 20 Aug 2008 07:55:38 -0700
The writing is beautiful, but a couple of the tics of the two narrators got on my nerves. If Leo Gursky said "And yet." once more, I would have thrown the book across the room.

I'm usually more careful with library books.]]>
author: Nicole Krauss
name: Lori
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 08/20/08
shelves: read-in-2008
review:
It has that novel within a novel thing, which---this is a totally personal thing---I don't like. The novel-within-the-novel thing can never be as good as the imagined novel-within-the-novel, if you follow me.

The writing is beautiful, but a couple of the tics of the two narrators got on my nerves. If Leo Gursky said "And yet." once more, I would have thrown the book across the room.

I'm usually more careful with library books.
]]> 30402647 Sun, 17 Aug 2008 16:20:31 -0700
author: Rebecca Barry
name: Lori
average rating: 3.35
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 08/17/08
shelves: read-in-2008
review:

]]> 30302476 Sat, 16 Aug 2008 08:15:32 -0700
author: Curtis Sittenfeld
name: Lori
average rating: 3.30
book published: 2005
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 08/16/08
shelves: read-in-2008
review:

]]> 15664123 Fri, 15 Aug 2008 06:54:48 -0700
author: The Paris Review
name: Lori
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at: 08/08
date added: 08/15/08
shelves: read-in-2008
review:

]]> 29893114 Wed, 13 Aug 2008 13:35:34 -0700
author: José Saramago
name: Lori
average rating: 3.84
book published: 1997
rating: 3
read at: 08/08
date added: 08/13/08
shelves: read-in-2008
review:

]]> 29971347 Tue, 12 Aug 2008 14:41:28 -0700
author: Brian Selznick
name: Lori
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2007
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 08/12/08
shelves: read-in-2008
review:

]]> 28652924 Sat, 09 Aug 2008 21:16:26 -0700
author: Raymond Carver
name: Lori
average rating: 4.44
book published: 1983
rating: 5
read at: 08/08
date added: 08/09/08
shelves: read-in-2008
review:

]]> 29725200 Sat, 09 Aug 2008 17:33:59 -0700
author: Elizabeth Berg
name: Lori
average rating: 3.56
book published: 2008
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 08/09/08
shelves: read-in-2008
review:

]]> 29532725 Fri, 08 Aug 2008 11:31:15 -0700
author: Catherine O'Flynn
name: Lori
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 08/08
date added: 08/08/08
shelves: read-in-2008
review:

]]> 29090982 Sat, 02 Aug 2008 19:35:24 -0700
author: Michael Harvey
name: Lori
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2008
rating: 3
read at: 08/08
date added: 08/02/08
shelves: read-in-2008
review:

]]> 25650180 Fri, 01 Aug 2008 06:53:40 -0700
author: Lynda Barry
name: Lori
average rating: 4.58
book published: 2008
rating: 5
read at: 08/08
date added: 08/01/08
shelves: read-in-2008
review:

]]> 27730729 Sun, 20 Jul 2008 13:28:16 -0700
author: Garth Stein
name: Lori
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at: 07/08
date added: 07/20/08
shelves: read-in-2008
review:

]]> 27730537 Sat, 19 Jul 2008 15:42:53 -0700
author: Tana French
name: Lori
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2008
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 07/19/08
shelves: read-in-2008
review:
Not as good as the Edgar awards would have you believe, but a good read. Not a great narrator, unfortunately. There's a sequel; if she knows what she's doing, the next book will use a different character to tell the tale. My opinion, mileage may vary.
]]> 27520907 Thu, 17 Jul 2008 09:08:22 -0700
author: Susan Breen
name: Lori
average rating: 3.45
book published: 2008
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 07/17/08
shelves: read-in-2008
review:

]]> 26355025 Sat, 12 Jul 2008 16:32:48 -0700
author: Ursula K. LeGuin
name: Lori
average rating: 4.10
book published: 1998
rating: 1
read at: 07/08
date added: 07/12/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 19896478 Sat, 12 Jul 2008 16:32:17 -0700
author: Jonathan Messinger
name: Lori
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 07/08
date added: 07/12/08
shelves: read-in-2008
review:

]]> 27050702 Sat, 12 Jul 2008 12:15:28 -0700
author: Dorothy Parker
name: Lori
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2008
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 07/12/08
shelves: read-in-2008
review:

]]> 26959892 Sat, 12 Jul 2008 09:00:53 -0700
author: Mark Winegardner
name: Lori
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2004
rating: 4
read at: 07/08
date added: 07/12/08
shelves: read-in-2008
review:

]]> 24788158 Wed, 09 Jul 2008 19:04:19 -0700
author: Aimee Bender
name: Lori
average rating: 4.08
book published: 1999
rating: 4
read at: 07/08
date added: 07/09/08
shelves: read-in-2008
review:

]]> 25650106 Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:05:32 -0700
author: Rebecca Curtis
name: Lori
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2007
rating: 2
read at: 07/08
date added: 07/03/08
shelves: read-in-2008
review:
This collection is uneven. I really liked certain stories, especially the title story and "The Alpine Slide." Some of the ones where she's being cute, though, really bugged me. I don't mind variety in tone and style in a collection of stories, but what Curtis is best at is a story based in reality, not the speculative stuff. It's been done better. But---read it for the rest of the stories, which are really good.
]]> 25650150 Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:36:44 -0700
author: Ron Carlson
name: Lori
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 07/08
date added: 07/01/08
shelves: read-in-2008
review:

]]> 10648080 Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:32:36 -0700
author: Alison Bechdel
name: Lori
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at: 06/08
date added: 06/26/08
shelves: read-in-2008
review:

]]> 23983287 Wed, 25 Jun 2008 08:14:59 -0700
author: Junot Díaz
name: Lori
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 06/08
date added: 06/25/08
shelves: read-in-2008
review:

]]> 25398880 Wed, 25 Jun 2008 06:36:01 -0700
author: Isabel Allende
name: Lori
average rating: 3.93
book published: 1989
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 06/25/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 25398870 Wed, 25 Jun 2008 06:35:56 -0700
author: Jonathan Franzen
name: Lori
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2001
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 06/25/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 23983270 Sat, 14 Jun 2008 08:57:08 -0700
author: David Sedaris
name: Lori
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at: 06/08
date added: 06/14/08
shelves: read-in-2008
review:

]]> 22425963 Thu, 12 Jun 2008 15:25:22 -0700
These are dark stories. Looking for a pick-me-up? Go somewhere else. Looking for happy endings and life lessons? Somewhere else. But if you're tired of fiction about people whose problems don't seem all that problematic, maybe you're ready for the sad lives of the people of Knockemstiff, Ohio. ]]>
author: Donald Ray Pollock
name: Lori
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2008
rating: 5
read at: 06/08
date added: 06/12/08
shelves: fiction-favorites, read-in-2008
review:
I can't begin to say enough good about this book, so I won't try. The only thing wrong with this book is that I had trouble trying to write while I was reading it, because his stories were in my head instead of my own.

These are dark stories. Looking for a pick-me-up? Go somewhere else. Looking for happy endings and life lessons? Somewhere else. But if you're tired of fiction about people whose problems don't seem all that problematic, maybe you're ready for the sad lives of the people of Knockemstiff, Ohio.
]]> 14875293 Sun, 01 Jun 2008 20:07:57 -0700
author: Scott Blackwood
name: Lori
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2001
rating: 5
read at: 06/08
date added: 06/01/08
shelves: read-in-2008
review:

]]> 22971831 Mon, 26 May 2008 07:41:15 -0700
author: Jen Lancaster
name: Lori
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2008
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 05/26/08
shelves: read-in-2008
review:

]]> 22741340 Thu, 22 May 2008 19:39:29 -0700
author: John Hart
name: Lori
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at: 05/08
date added: 05/22/08
shelves: read-in-2008
review:

]]> 19185143 Wed, 21 May 2008 07:48:41 -0700
author: Kevin Brockmeier
name: Lori
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at: 05/08
date added: 05/21/08
shelves: read-in-2008
review:

]]> 15682707 Tue, 20 May 2008 14:22:25 -0700
author: Robin Robertson
name: Lori
average rating: 3.00
book published: 2004
rating: 2
read at: 05/08
date added: 05/20/08
shelves: read-in-2008
review:

]]> 22616297 Tue, 20 May 2008 09:14:37 -0700
author: Gail, Vida Hamburg
name: Lori
average rating: 3.00
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 05/20/08
shelves: read-in-2008
review:

]]> 22616211 Tue, 20 May 2008 09:13:51 -0700
author: Rohinton Mistry
name: Lori
average rating: 3.85
book published: 1997
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 05/20/08
shelves: read-in-2008
review:

]]> 22608604 Tue, 20 May 2008 07:26:41 -0700
author: Benjamin Percy
name: Lori
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 05/20/08
shelves: read-in-2008
review:

]]> 12841037 Wed, 14 May 2008 18:47:02 -0700
author: Kevin Brockmeier
name: Lori
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2003
rating: 3
read at: 05/08
date added: 05/14/08
shelves: read-in-2008
review:

]]> 9973966 Sat, 26 Apr 2008 22:41:38 -0700
author: Erik Larson
name: Lori
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2003
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 04/26/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 16952168 Mon, 03 Mar 2008 20:13:16 -0800
author: Jeannette Walls
name: Lori
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 03/03/08
shelves: read-in-2008
review:

]]> 12841025 Sun, 17 Feb 2008 19:37:48 -0800
author: Kevin Brockmeier
name: Lori
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 02/17/08
shelves: read-in-2008
review:

]]> 13391064 Sun, 17 Feb 2008 10:02:57 -0800
Lisa Stolley, teacher and friend, has one of the best stories and, of course, it has a horse in it. Also great: Jonathan Messinger's story.]]>
author: Gina Frangello
name: Lori
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at: 02/08
date added: 02/17/08
shelves: read-in-2008
review:
Uneven. A few stories in this anthology are the kind of thing I'd cringe at in a writing workshop, but overall this is a nice collection of Chicago writers. It's interesting to read work from all the people you hear about in Chicago but have never had the chance to read, and in a few instances it's even more thrilling to read a story from someone who is supposed to be revered and think "Well, he's not so great."

Lisa Stolley, teacher and friend, has one of the best stories and, of course, it has a horse in it. Also great: Jonathan Messinger's story.
]]> 15554607 Sat, 16 Feb 2008 07:13:26 -0800
author: Lauren Groff
name: Lori
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2008
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 02/16/08
shelves: read-in-2008
review:

]]> 15554568 Sat, 16 Feb 2008 07:12:50 -0800
author: Janice Erlbaum
name: Lori
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2008
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 02/16/08
shelves: read-in-2008
review:

]]> 15554514 Sat, 16 Feb 2008 07:11:24 -0800
author: Janice Erlbaum
name: Lori
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 02/16/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 14116355 Wed, 30 Jan 2008 19:26:58 -0800
author: F. Scott Fitzgerald
name: Lori
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2002
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 01/30/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 10013465 Tue, 29 Jan 2008 20:12:06 -0800
author: Haven Kimmel
name: Lori
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2001
rating: 4
read at: 01/08
date added: 01/29/08
shelves: read-in-2008
review:

]]> 11887376 Tue, 29 Jan 2008 20:10:57 -0800
I'm going to read this one again.]]>
author: John Dufresne
name: Lori
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2004
rating: 5
read at: 01/08
date added: 01/29/08
shelves: nonfiction-favorites, read-in-2008
review:
One of the best books on writing I've read, and I've read quite a few. Not sure if the author has convinced me to read *his* fiction, but this is a great book with lots of writing exercises (most of which I skipped, but read) that could be used in a workshop situation or writers group. Also has a short chapter on short-short stories/flash/sudden fiction, something I wish I'd found when I was researching that topic for a project recently.

I'm going to read this one again.
]]> 13526151 Fri, 25 Jan 2008 10:59:18 -0800
author: Susanna Clarke
name: Lori
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2004
rating: 4
read at: 01/08
date added: 01/25/08
shelves: read-in-2008
review:

]]> 12830003 Fri, 18 Jan 2008 07:54:36 -0800
author: Brock Clarke
name: Lori
average rating: 3.10
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 01/18/08
shelves: read-in-2008
review:

]]> 12829819 Fri, 18 Jan 2008 07:52:21 -0800
author: Miriam Toews
name: Lori
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2005
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 01/18/08
shelves: read-in-2008
review:

]]> 12263854 Fri, 11 Jan 2008 12:00:27 -0800
author: Mark Bailey
name: Lori
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at: 01/08
date added: 01/11/08
shelves: read-in-2008
review:

]]> 12260961 Fri, 11 Jan 2008 11:30:52 -0800
author: Nathaniel Philbrick
name: Lori
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2001
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 01/11/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 12257170 Fri, 11 Jan 2008 10:54:48 -0800
author: J. Peder Zane
name: Lori
average rating: 3.33
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 01/08
date added: 01/11/08
shelves: read-in-2008
review:

]]> 11877156 Mon, 07 Jan 2008 08:58:05 -0800
author: Susan Orlean
name: Lori
average rating: 3.58
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 01/07/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 11877140 Mon, 07 Jan 2008 08:57:55 -0800
author: Susan Orlean
name: Lori
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2002
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 01/07/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 11877131 Mon, 07 Jan 2008 08:57:45 -0800
author: Susan Orlean
name: Lori
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2000
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 01/07/08
shelves: nonfiction-favorites
review:

]]> 11877066 Mon, 07 Jan 2008 08:56:58 -0800
author: Ali Smith
name: Lori
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2001
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 01/07/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 11876823 Mon, 07 Jan 2008 08:53:51 -0800
author: John McPhee
name: Lori
average rating: 4.25
book published: 1996
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 01/07/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 11876775 Mon, 07 Jan 2008 08:53:10 -0800
author: John McPhee
name: Lori
average rating: 4.36
book published: 1982
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 01/07/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 11876753 Mon, 07 Jan 2008 08:52:51 -0800
author: John McPhee
name: Lori
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1978
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 01/07/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 11874077 Mon, 07 Jan 2008 08:21:10 -0800
author: Irene Nemirovsky
name: Lori
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2004
rating: 4
read at: 01/08
date added: 01/07/08
shelves: read-in-2008
review:

]]> 11565702 Thu, 03 Jan 2008 14:28:41 -0800
author: Douglas Adams
name: Lori
average rating: 4.28
book published: 1990
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 01/03/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 11369081 Mon, 31 Dec 2007 21:02:19 -0800
author: Audrey Niffenegger
name: Lori
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2003
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 12/31/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 11369024