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Reviews by Diane S.

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Big Brother
by Lionel Shriver
Big Brother (6/7/2013)
I was a little disappointed in this book. I know that the author lost her brother due to weight issues and this book is definitely about us and our weird relationship with food. It was told in the first person, which is always a bit tricky, but this allowed the narrator andmore
Cinnamon and Gunpowder
by Eli Brown
Cinnamon and gunpowder (6/3/2013)
This extremely inventive novel takes place in 1819 on the high seas, when Owen Wedgewood, chef to Lord Ramsey, is kidnapped by the notorious pirate Hannah Mabbot. After killing Lord Ramsey, who was at dinner, Mabbot eats some of the food on the table and falls in love withmore
A Constellation of Vital Phenomena
by Anthony Marra
A constellation of Vital Phenomena (5/30/2013)
When I looked at the author's photo at the back of the book he looked to me to be about sixteen yrs. old, although a goodreads friend of mine assured me he was twenty-eight or twenty-nine. Even so I am jealous that someone this young could write such a fantastic first novel.more
The Daughters of Mars
by Thomas Keneally
Daughters of Mars (5/29/2013)
I love historical fiction and I really admired Schindler's list. This is an epic novel that seemed to go on and on. Loved the historical facts, loved the two sisters and the closeness they at times shared. So why didn't I love this novel? There is a fine line, betweenmore
If You Find Me
by Emily Murdoch
If you find me (5/25/2013)
This debut novel, written for the young adult genre, is a very compelling and poignant novel. The heroine is a very strong but bruised, physically and mentally, character who is not a vampire or shape-shifter, or a fallen angel. In fact, that it is not, is another reason Imore
The Shelter Cycle
by Peter Rock
The Shelter Cycle (5/13/2013)
I had not previously heard of the Church Universal and Triumphant, but I have heard of their leader who was Elizabeth Clare Prophet. They were a church in the seventies, that believed the world would end in the spring of 1990. In anticipation they built huge undergroundmore
The House at the End of Hope Street
by Menna van Praag
The House at the end of Hope (5/13/2013)
Loved this book. Magical, quirky, enchanting I could go on. All books do not have to be literary fiction, sometimes it is just so comforting to read a book that is fun, with some great characters and an important message, all couched in the most wonderful way. Dorothymore
Harvest
by Jim Crace
Harvest (5/3/2013)
Had a very hard time rating this book. The writing is outstanding, time and place one can imagine what living here is like. and an unreliable narrator. The tone is foreboding, a little like children of the corn, but much better prose. My problem is partly the pacing, whichmore
Amity & Sorrow
by Peggy Riley
Amity & Sorrow (5/3/2013)
Cults, members of cults, a mother and her two daughters, a farmer in Oklahoma and his somewhat adopted son, Rust,and an old man, these are the characters that make up this debut novel. I found the writing addictive, this novel taught me more than any other book about themore
Poppet: A Jack Caffery Thriller
by Mo Hayder
Poppet (5/3/2013)
Hayder was her usual brilliant but dark and gritty self and I love McCaffrey and Flea. Part of this story was the continuing story from her last book and part is a new case that takes place in a psychiatric facility. Of course things are never as they seem. I would notmore
The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow: A Novel
by Rita Leganski
The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow (4/25/2013)
Thank you , thank you Rita Leganski for writing this wonderful and magical novel, In a week that has seen so much tragedy in so many places, involving so may people, I was sorely in need of a little magic. This novel features some wonderful people, not least littlemore
The House at Belle Fontaine: Stories
by Lily Tuck
The House at Belle Fontaine (4/21/2013)
A very good grouping of stories, I love the way she writes. She is spare with her words, yet they are jarring nonetheless. These are stories of people at a crossroads, mainly women and set in foreign lands. Many times there is a choice and the choice they make determinesmore
Maggot Moon
by Sally Gardner
Maggot Moon (4/4/2013)
I have to admit I have never read anything like this book before. A Nazi regime type society in the fifties, in Great Britain where the country is divided into zones but where an amazing young man, who also happens to be dyslexic and not overly bright, lives. Standishmore
Nothing Gold Can Stay: Stories
by Ron Rash
Nothing Gold can stay (4/1/2013)
These stories have such a strong atmosphere of the Appalachians, which is of course what Rash is best noted for. I wasn't sure if his stories would follow the same path of his novels, his brutal honesty in his treatment of his characters and his at times rather violentmore
Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal
by Mary Roach
Gulp (3/29/2013)
Entertaining science, wish she had been my chemistry teacher in High School instead of the monosyllabic Mr. Worth, who I unfortunately had. Some of this is boring for sure, but some is just fascinating, some is oh so gross, but some is interesting and humorous to boot. Didmore
The Miniature Wife: and Other Stories
by Manuel Gonzales
The Miniature Wife (3/7/2013)
Although I can't say that I liked all the stories in this collection I did like several. Among my favorites was the title story "Miniature Wife" and the first story about a high-jacked airplane, as well as the Mall story which kept my interest all the way through. It ismore
A Teaspoon of Earth and Sea: A Novel
by Dina Nayeri
A Teaspoon of Earth and Sea (2/28/2013)
Iran, before the revolution when woman had some freedom, could attend school and many other liberties that we here in the states take for granted and after with the Mullahs and the morality police, all liberties and freedoms taken away. This is the setting for this novel,more
Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald
by Therese Anne Fowler
Zelda (2/25/2013)
There is much to admire in this offering about Zelda, her life and of course her and Scott's lives. It is always great to read about this time period, all these writing greats, and always I am left wondering how if they were all forever broke, they managed to drinkmore
The Sound of Broken Glass: A James and Kincaid Novel
by Deborah Crombie
The Sound of Broken Glass (2/25/2013)
Another wonderful outing for the fearsome duo of Kinkaid and James. Kinkaid, acting as stay at home Dad, has his won problems trying to figure out what to do and how to handle little Charlotte. James, who had been promoted, has a case to solve with tentacles to the past.more
Farewell, Dorothy Parker
by Ellen Meister
Farewell, Dorothy Parker (2/21/2013)
Sometimes it is just a welcome relief to read a humorous and less serious, just plain old fun novel. That is exactly what this book delivered.I remember my mother shooting off many of Dorothy Parker's one liners in answer to some of mine and my sister's constant questions.more

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