The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog
For book reviews of mostly adult, literary, contemporary, historical, and women's fiction.
2018: The year of “only by a whisker” books. Yes, the time has come once again for me to give you all my roundup of my favorite books published over this past year. I have to warn you however, I’m going to cheat a tiny bit with my non-fiction book this year. See, although … Continue reading My Top 5 Favorite Books of 2018
Book review of "I am, I am, I am: Seventeen Brushes with Death" by Maggie O’Farrell Goodreads calls this book a “memoire with a difference - the unputdownable story of an extraordinary woman's life in near-death experiences.” They also say it is “Shocking, electric, unforgettable,” and comment that “It is a book to make you question … Continue reading Continuing to be
I recently heard about Eric Houston's memoir "The Lost Artist: Love Passion War (Part 1)" and was immediately intrigued. While I couldn't fit this book into my reading list, I decided instead to feature this work here, by asking him one question. Here's his answer to: What was one of the most interesting experiences … Continue reading Q&A with Eric Houston, author of The Lost Artist: Love Passion War (Part 1)
2017: The Year of Women - Good and Bad! Those of my readers who have been following this blog for a while, know that I had to stuff seven novels into my favorites of 2016 list, and eight books ended up on list for 2015. This year, I have nine books that deserved a … Continue reading My Top Five (or more) Books of 2017
As noted in my recent review of Roz Morris' travel diary book Not Quite Lost: Travels without a Sense of Direction, Roz's afterward for that darling travel diary truly fascinated and more importantly, intrigued me. So I requested she write a post for this blog based on some of the things she mentioned there. Without … Continue reading Guest Author Post by Roz Morris: Out of sight, but not out of mind
Book Review of "Not Quite Lost: Travels without a Sense of Direction" by Roz Morris It isn't often that I read non-fiction, but when I do, I often find travel books to be the most pleasurable way to remain within the realm of reality. However, sometimes these can be filled with long, drawn-out descriptions of … Continue reading The Guestbook Spy
Book Review of "Chutzpah & High Heels: The Search for Love and Identity in the Holy Land" by Jessica Fishman. In this memoir, Jessica Fishman details the trials and tribulations of making what we call "Aliyah" - literally meaning to "go up" to Israel. This reminds me of an old, old joke, which goes something … Continue reading Now You’re an Immigrant!
Book Review of "One Red Paperclip" by Kyle MacDonald. Trading something seemingly worthless until you get something of real value might be a cheap trick, especially if it starts out with something as insignificant as a paperclip and ends up with a house. It may also seem like an impossible feat. However, that's exactly what … Continue reading What a Trader!
Book Review of "84, Charing Cross Road" by Helene Hanff. It is a rare instance when non-fiction reads like fiction, and Helene Hanff’s book is exactly one of those exceptions. Long before the age of the Internet and on-line book sellers like Amazon, New York writer Hanff saw an ad in the Saturday Review of … Continue reading Everything old is new again!
Book Review of "Spies, Inc.: Business Innovation from Israel's Masters of Espionage" by Stacy Perman. Whatever you may think about Israel, you have to admit that from its inception, the odds were against it. You also must give it credit for surviving while being outnumbered by over 100 to 1 from the onset. Under those … Continue reading Name, Rank and 8200
