Book reviews and more!

FUN INC. by Tom Chatfield

January 4, 2011

BREEZY OVERVIEW of the economics and culture of online, video, and computer gaming is informative, chatty. SOLID B

FUN INC.: WHY GAMING WILL DOMINATE THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
Pegasus Books
2010

Grade: SOLID B

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LET’S TAKE THE LONG WAY HOME by Gail Caldwell

January 3, 2011

A WRITER’S THOUGHTFUL memoir of her intricate and enduring friendship with a fellow writer who died too young. B PLUS

LET’S TAKE THE LONG WAY HOME: A MEMOIR OF FRIENDSHIP
Random House
2010

Grade: B PLUS

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SHADES OF MILK AND HONEY by Mary Robinette Kowal

January 2, 2011

JANE AUSTEN WITH MAGIC! Fantasy novel set in an alternate Regency, where ladies learn magic as well as piano. A MINUS

SHADES OF MILK AND HONEY
Saint Martin's Press Inc.
2010

Grade: A MINUS

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EVERYTHING IS BROKEN by Emma Larkin

January 1, 2011

EYE-OPENING ACCOUNT of the 2008 cyclone disaster in Burma and the military dictatorship’s callous response. B PLUS

EVERYTHING IS BROKEN: A TALE OF CATASTROPHE IN BURMA
Penguin Group (USA)
2010

Grade: B PLUS

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VILLAIN by Shuichi Yoshida

December 31, 2010

GRIM, TENSE, BEAUTIFULLY crafted Japanese thriller captures multiple perspectives on a brutal crime. Chilling. A MINUS

VILLAIN
Pantheon Books
2010

Grade: A MINUS

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LOCO MOTIVE (BED-AND-BREAKFAST SERIES #25) by Mary Daheim

December 30, 2010

JOKEY COZY MYSTERY, 25th in a series, never picks up steam despite its cross-country train trip setting. B MINUS

LOCO MOTIVE (BED-AND-BREAKFAST SERIES #25)
HarperCollins Publishers
2010

Grade: B MINUS

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THE GOOD PSYCHOLOGIST by Noam Shpancer

December 29, 2010

BITTERSWEET, MEDITATIVE NOVEL of a psychologist at midlife helping his clients, students, and himself. B PLUS

THE GOOD PSYCHOLOGIST
Henry Holt and Co.
2010

Grade: B PLUS

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THE GREAT OOM by Robert Love

December 28, 2010

SURPRISING TRUE SAGA of the self-mythologizing Iowa native who popularized yoga in the early 20th-century US. B PLUS

THE GREAT OOM: THE IMPROBABLE BIRTH OF YOGA IN AMERICA
Penguin Group (USA)
2010

Grade: B PLUS

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PRIVATE LIFE by Jane Smiley

December 27, 2010

TALE OF A BRILLIANT woman’s life (1880s to 1940s) may be too good at capturing claustrophobia of her marriage. SOLID B

PRIVATE LIFE
Knopf Publishing Group
2010

Grade: SOLID B

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THE RED QUEEN (COUSINS’ WAR #02) by Philippa Gregory

December 26, 2010

QUEEN OF HISTORICAL novels Philippa Gregory is great as ever, but her heroine (Henry VII’s mum)? Unappealing! B PLUS

THE RED QUEEN (COUSINS’ WAR #02)
Touchstone Books
2010

Grade: B PLUS

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