Monday, December 30, 2024

The Passenger

 

Title: The Passenger

Author: Cormac McCarthy

Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group
 
ISBN: 9780307268990
 
Thoughts: McCathy has a very interesting writing style and while I followed each individual segment, I am not sure I got the whole picture, although I do know there is a second part.

Rating: 3/5

Sunday, December 29, 2024

Learned by Heart

 

Title: Learned by Heart

Author: Emma Donoghue

Publisher: Little, Brown Company
 
ISBN: 9781668629376
 
Thoughts: Good historical fiction and character development, but the frame story was lacking in meaning.

Rating: 3/5

Thursday, December 26, 2024

The Book of George

 

Title: The Book of George

Author: Kate Greathead

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
 
ISBN: 9781250351029
 
Thoughts: Strong character novel with a very compelling protagonist who should not really be likeable, but he is.

Rating: 4/5

Monday, December 23, 2024

The Hike

 

Title: The Hike

Author: Lucy Clarke

Publisher: Penguin Audio
 
ISBN: n/a
 
Thoughts: Not one of these characters was likeable making it really hard to care about what happens to them, especially with where the plot ended up going.

Rating: 2/5

Tuesday, December 17, 2024

The Whispers

 

Title: The Whispers

Author: Audrey Audrain

Publisher: Penguin Audio
 
ISBN: n/a
 
Thoughts: At times, a very taut psychological domestic thriller, but I wish Audrain went deeper as it feels like she is holding something back, plus it would have been very helpful if the audio book had a different narrator for each woman.

Rating: 3/5

Finishing the Hat

 

Title: Finishing the Hat: Collected Lyrics (1954-1981) with Attendant Comments, Principles, Heresies, Grudges, Whines, and Anecdotes

Author: Stephen Sondheim

Publisher: Knopf
 
ISBN: 9780679439073
 
Thoughts: This collection of the first half of Sondheim's oeuvre contains many insight into the world of Broadway from the 50s-70s.

Rating: 4/5

Wednesday, December 11, 2024

The Hillside

 

Title: The Hillside

Author: Jane Smiley

Publisher: Amazon Original Stories
 
ISBN: 9781542041386
 
Thoughts: A futuristic story with a morality-tale feel that leaves a huge backstory to the imagination.

Rating: 3/5

Congratulations, the Best Is Over!

 

Title: Congratulations, the Best Is Over!

Author: R. Eric Thomas

Publisher: Random House Audio
 
ISBN: n/a
 
Thoughts: Very relatable humorous personal essays, that do focus a lot of Thomas's time during Covid.

Rating: 4/5

Tuesday, December 10, 2024

The King Tides

 

Title: The King Tides

Author: James Swain

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
 
ISBN: 9781503956698
 
Thoughts: This story, while it had a solid plot and decent characters, was very disjointed in the first half and second half felt like two different novels, although related, and the use of the king tides added nothing.

Rating: 2/5

Saturday, December 7, 2024

Yellowface

 

Title: Yellowface

Author: R.F. Kuang

Publisher: The Borough Press
 
ISBN: n/a
 
Thoughts: This is a book that needs to be discussed because it touches on so many subjects and presents so many view points to those subjects, all while being highly engrossing.

Rating: 4/5

Monday, December 2, 2024

Tom Lake

 

Title: Tom Lake

Author: Ann Patchett

Publisher: HarperAudio
 
ISBN: n/a
 
Thoughts: Highly engaging memory novel that will appeal to family saga lovers and theatre geeks alike.

Rating: 4/5