The Baker’s Daughter , by Sarah McCoy. Published 2012 by Crown.If you read and enjoyed Sarah’s Key and/or The Book Thief , you will find yourself on very familiar ground with Sarah McCoy’s second novel, The Baker’s Daughter . Read More »

The Long Song , by Andrea Levy. Published 2010 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.I took The Long Song for review a while ago and I knew I’d get to it eventually because it was a finalist for the 2010 Man Booker Prize, and I have to say I was seriously impressed with this multifaceted, engrossing novel. Read More »

Last week I finished three books: Varamo , by Cesar Aira, which I loved to bits and pieces, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling, and The Baker’s Daughter , by Sarah McCoy, which I enjoyed and which I think you will, too. Read More »

Ever have one of those weeks when you kind of can’t remember what you did, either because you were so busy you lost track or so inactive there’s nothing to talk about? Last week was a little bit of both for me! My husband was away on a business trip to Brussels and I was working late or not working at all. Read More »

So last Saturday was my birthday and I got a pile of crime novels from my husband including The Goodbye Kiss , and Bandit Love , by Massimo Carlotto (Europa Editions) and Kismet ; One Man, One Murder ; Happy Birthday, Turk !, by Jakob Arjuni (Melville House). Read More »

Stay Awake , by Dan Chaon. Published 2012 by Random House.I received a copy of Stay Awake via LibraryThing ‘s Early Reviewer program.Dan Chaon’s latest book, a creepy, crackling collection of short stories, will definitely keep you up past your bedtime. Read More »

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling. Published 2011 by Crown Archetype. Read More »

The Girl in the Polka-Dot Dress , by Beryl Bainbridge. Published 2011 by Europa Editions. Well, I guess it had to happen sooner or later- I read a Europa I didn’t like. Read More »

This week’s musing asks… What is your favorite romantic book –or book that includes a love story? ( an adult romance, young adult, kids’ story, anything ) My favorite love story is probably Possession , A.S. Byatt’s novel with two sets of romances, one in the present and one in the past. Read More »

Well yesterday was my birthday and I was lucky enough to spend it in NYC with some of my best friends including my husband of course. He was in town doing a talk at Columbia University’s journalism school and so we got to spend the weekend before and after enjoying the city. Read More »

So my book-buying ban is officially lifted- my birthday is tomorrow. And… well, it was time to lift it. I picked up Dirty Snow , a crime novel by Georges Simenon set just after World War 2 in France. I have never read him and I think this book will be fun. Read More »

The Flight of Gemma Hardy , by Margot Livesey. Published 2012 by HarperCollins.So, I wasn’t sure I was going to review The Flight of Gemma Hardy . I think it’s really hard to rewrite a classic- Gemma is a retelling of Charlotte Brontë’s immortal Jane Eyre – and I don’t think the book is bad. Read More »

The Little Russian , by Susan Sherman. Published 2012 by Counterpoint.I haven’t been reading a lot of Jewish books lately; a few still cross my desk every now and then, and among them was The Little Russian , the story of Berta Alshonsky, the daughter of a grocer from a small village called Mosny in Ukraine. Read More »

I actually got kind of tired of reading this week. I finished From the Memoirs of a Non-Enemy Combatant , an entertaining read by debut author Alex Gilvarry, and looked at some of the books in my to-read-next pile and felt sort of deflated. So I took a few days off from reading. This month, February, I’m dedicating to review obligations. Read More »

Another light week in book acquisitions, which is fine. I got a couple of books in the mail but I’m still not buying a whole lot for the time being. Frank Delaney’s latest The Last Storyteller arrived for review. Read More »

Leaving the Atocha Station , by Ben Lerner. Published 2011 by Coffee House Press. Leaving the Atocha Station is a good book but its audience is going to be pretty small. It’s a moody, style-driven novel about a student living on a fellowship in Spain, writing poetry, doing drugs and negotiating relationships with women. Read More »

Are you in?World Book Night is an event during which people all over America and elsewhere are volunteering to give out copies of favorite books to strangers to encourage and promote literacy and reading in their community. Read More »

Stoner , by John Williams. Published 2006 by NYRB Editions.The other day I was looking for what to read next and I remembered that I had this book Stoner on my shelf, and that it had been there for a while. Read More »

This week’s musing asks… How far along are you in your current read before you start thinking about what you’ll read next? I’m usually thinking about my next read (and the one after that- and the one after that) immediately, but I often change my mind. Read More »

So I’m a little stuck in winter doldrums right now but bright things are on the horizon. My husband and I have a quick trip to New York coming up in the next few weeks; we’ve already made reservations at my favorite NYC hotel and have lined up dinner at a restaurant I love. Read More »