Book reviews and more!

You are browsing the archive for October2010

HOW TO LIVE SAFELY IN A SCIENCE FICTIONAL UNIVERSE by Charles Yu

October 21, 2010

META-META-METANOVEL plays on science fiction tropes, family drama cliches; may not be for everyone, but fresh! SOLID B

HOW TO LIVE SAFELY IN A SCIENCE FICTIONAL UNIVERSE
Pantheon Books
2010

Grade: SOLID B

Tags:

WELCOME TO UTOPIA by Karen Valby

October 20, 2010

A TINY TEXAS TOWN is profiled in a book that offers some sweet writing, gentle portraits, but lacks focus. SOLID B

WELCOME TO UTOPIA: NOTES FROM A SMALL TOWN
Spiegel & Grau
2010

Grade: SOLID B

Tags:

HOCUS BOGUS (THE MARGELLOS WORLD REPUBLIC OF LETTERS SERIES) by Romain Gary

October 19, 2010

A RARE LITERARY CURIOSITY–an experimental meta-novel by Romain Gary–now in its first translation from French. B PLUS

HOCUS BOGUS (THE MARGELLOS WORLD REPUBLIC OF LETTERS SERIES)
Yale University Press
2010

Grade: B PLUS

Tags:

KILLER COLT by Harold Schechter

October 18, 2010

ENGROSSING TRUE STORY of the 1800s’ Colt brothers: one a pioneer in gun design, one a notorious murderer. B PLUS

KILLER COLT: MURDER, DISGRACE, AND THE MAKING OF AN AMERICAN LEGEND
Random House Publishing Group
2010

Grade: B PLUS

Tags:

I AM NOT A SERIAL KILLER (JOHN CLEAVER SERIES #1) by Dan Wells

October 17, 2010

CHILLING AND SUSPENSEFUL tale of a teenage sociopath doing battle with even greater horrors. SOLID B

I AM NOT A SERIAL KILLER (JOHN CLEAVER SERIES #1)
Doherty, Tom Associates, LLC
2010

Grade: SOLID B

Tags:

NO WAY DOWN by Graham Bowley

October 16, 2010

ENTHRALLING, SUSPENSEFUL true story of the 2008 climbing disaster on K2, the world’s second highest mountain. B PLUS

NO WAY DOWN: LIFE AND DEATH ON K2
Harper
2010

Grade: B PLUS

Tags:

DEAD LINE (LIZ CARLYLE SERIES #4) by Stella Rimington

October 15, 2010

WELL-CRAFTED SPY THRILLER draws added prestige and credibility from its author, MI5’s first woman director. B PLUS

DEAD LINE (LIZ CARLYLE SERIES #4)
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
2010

Grade: B PLUS

Tags:

MOCKINGJAY (HUNGER GAMES SERIES #3) by Suzanne Collins

October 14, 2010

THE HUNGER GAMES trilogy goes out on a fittingly grim note. Memorably dystopian setting for teen heroics. B PLUS

MOCKINGJAY (HUNGER GAMES SERIES #3)
Scholastic, Inc.
2010

Grade: B PLUS

Tags:

HOW TO BECOME A SCANDAL by Laura Kipnis

October 13, 2010

ACERBIC, THOUGHTFUL look at the culture of scandal name-checks Freud, Goffman, and Jay Leno with equal ease. B PLUS

HOW TO BECOME A SCANDAL: ADVENTURES IN BAD BEHAVIOR
Holt, Henry & Company, Inc.
2010

Grade: B PLUS

Tags:

ROCK AND ROLL WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE by Steve Almond

October 12, 2010

FUNNY, IRREVERENT, very personal look at rock (and pop, and hip-hop, and soul) music and the power of fandom. B PLUS

ROCK AND ROLL WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE: A BOOK BY AND FOR THE FANATICS AMONG US (WITH BITCHIN’ SOUNDTRACK)
Random House
2010

Grade: B PLUS

Tags: