Tag: review

The Structures of Love

Book Review of "To Capture What we Cannot Keep" by Beatrice Colin. From a hot-air balloon above the future site of the 1889 Paris fair grounds, Émile Nouguier one of the architects and engineers working with Gustav Eiffel, looks down at the place where their tower will soon be built. With him in the basket … Continue reading The Structures of Love →

Should Regions for ARCs still be a thing?

So far and yet so near… As most of my readers know, I live in Israel. Because of this, sometimes when I request advance reader copies (or ARCs) of books from sites like NetGalley, publishers sometimes decline my requests. No, this isn't antisemitism or some nasty BDS "gotcha." The reason they give is that they … Continue reading Should Regions for ARCs still be a thing? →

Take the Time to Travel with This Book!

Book Review of "The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger. This is such a well-known book it is almost redundant to bother summarizing the plot - especially since they made a movie out of it (which I refused to watch). However, for the uninformed, this is the story of Claire and Henry. Claire is an … Continue reading Take the Time to Travel with This Book! →

John Irving’s Masterpiece

Book Review of "A Prayer for Owen Meany" by John Irving. Owen is a dwarf who keeps saying he is on a mission from God. Johnny Wheelwright is dyslexic (like myself) and is in a life-long search for his father. The relationship between these two boys grows and entwines, with as many twists as Irving's … Continue reading John Irving’s Masterpiece →

Capturing Children’s Imaginations with Mozart’s Golden Notes

Book Review for "The Case of the Haunted Swamp" by Cliff MacGillivray and Kelly Ward, illustrated by Phil Mendez. Legend has it that Mozart wrote his "Perfect Symphony" using gold ink. But as soon as the ink had dried, the notes magically came alive and flew right off the page, scattering themselves across the world. … Continue reading Capturing Children’s Imaginations with Mozart’s Golden Notes →

A Haunting Read

Book Review of "Anil’s Ghost" by Michael Ondaatje. Anil Tissera is a forensic archaeologist who was born in Sri Lanka (where author Michael Ondaatje also hails from). After having been an ex-patriot for nearly 15 years, a human rights commission asks her to investigate a gravesite in her home country. What she finds there, and … Continue reading A Haunting Read →

All about Alice; All about Us

Book Review of "After You'd Gone" by Maggie O'Farrell. Alice is a woman very much in love after a terrible tragedy happens to her. The book starts with the line: “The day she would try to kill herself, she realized winter was coming again”. With an opening like that, there’s no way you won’t want … Continue reading All about Alice; All about Us →

Get Jazzed with this Bolden Book

Book Review of "Coming through Slaughter" by Michael Ondaatje. The name Buddy Bolden probably means absolutely nothing to most readers. That is, unless you're a Jazz enthusiast and/or a music historian. In which case, you'll probably know that Bolden was a coronet player in New Orleans at the turn of the previous century. You'll also … Continue reading Get Jazzed with this Bolden Book →

The Scent of Letting Go

Review of the story "A Faraway Smell of Lemon" by Rachel Joyce. Binny isn't in the Christmas mood, so she ducks into the first shop she can find to avoid the cheer of another mother. What she finds there is far more than some items she has no interest in buying. Hello, my name is … Continue reading The Scent of Letting Go →