Slade House by David Mitchell: Review and Giveaway
Looking for a good Halloween read with a literary fiction slant? David Mitchell’s newest book, Slade House might be perfect for you! Read more
Posts from the ‘4 star reviews’ Category
Oct 20
17 Comments
Oct 16
The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell
The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell
Published in: 2014
Reviewed by: Jen
Rating: 4 stars
Find it/buy it here: The Bone Clocks
I should start off by disclosing that David Mitchell is my author crush and I spent a good 10 minutes just staring at the cover photo before even opening the book. Cloud Atlas is perhaps one of my all time favorite novels and I love how he views his individual books as being parts of a larger work. As a reviewer from the New Yorker so aptly stated, “each of his novels are porcelain babushkas hiding inside Mitchell’s meta-Russian-nesting-doll oeuvre.” Read more
Oct 11
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
I’m not too brave when it comes to reading scary books. I do like non-gory horror movies but there’s something about reading vs. watching that makes me more sensitive to scary content. This year, with our Halloween challenge, I decided to join in and participate with our readers (although I’m obviously not entering for the prize). Each week for the month of October we will be reading books that fit a specific theme. Tomorrow we announce our winner of the weekly raffle and our next weekly theme. Join in if you haven’t already.
Last week our theme was “dead things.” I picked The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. See what I thought about it. Was I able to sleep through the night? Read more
Oct 6
2015 Man Booker Shortlist: A Brief History of Seven Killings Marlon James
The Man Booker Prize will be announced next tuesday. Monday we will make our final prediction for winner. Before we do so, we wanted to post a final review for one of the books that has been shortlisted. Find out what Book Worm thought about James’ A Brief History of Seven Killings. Read more
Sep 16
The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood
The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood
Release Date: September 29, 2015 in the U.S. & September 24, 2015 in the U.K.
Reviewed by: Jen
Rating: 4 stars
Pre-order your copy here: The Heart Goes Last
To say that Margaret Atwood’s newest novel is highly anticipated, is the understatement of the century. The Heart Goes Last is Margaret Atwood’s first stand-alone book in over 10 years. Her last one, The Blind Assassin won the 2000 Man Booker Prize. The novel is a reworking of the Positron ebook series: a series of 4 short stories that were released exclusively as ebooks. The hype is deserved. If you loved The Handmaids Tale and Oryx and Crake, you will probably love this book too. Read more
Sep 9
2015 Man Booker Longlist: The Chimes Anna Smaill
With the shortlist being announced on the 15th, we are hoping to pick up the pace and finish all the longlist books in the next week. Regular posts will be delayed so we can try to finish up our longlist reviews and make our predictions. Next up in our 2015 longlist travels is another book we both read: Anna Smaill’s The Chimes. Find out if it makes our shortlist. Read more
Sep 8
2015 Man Booker Longlist: The Fishermen
We have officially moved into the second half of the long list with this next review. Thus far, we’ve only had two real standouts: A Little Life (reviewed by Jen) and The Illuminations (reviewed by Book Worm). Find out if this next one makes the cut. Read more
Sep 7
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John Le Carré
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John Le Carré
Published in: 1963
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by: Jen
Find it/buy it here:The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
I don’t typically go in for spy novels because I usually find them overly dramatic with unbelievable plot lines and extensive use of deus ex machinas (one of my literary pet peeves). However, I’ve been wanting to read a book by John Le Carré for a long time, despite the fact that I fell asleep several times while trying to watch Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (I won’t judge the book by the movie). He has three books on the 1001 Books to Read Before you Die list and The Spy Who Came in from the Cold is one of them.
I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. It was the opposite of all the stereotypes I have about spy novels. Grahame Greene referred to the novel as the “best spy novel I have ever read” and that is definitely true for me (although as I previously admitted, I don’t read many of them).
Alec Leamas who has been stationed in West Germany, is called back to London after the last agent under his command is killed. Leamas returns to England thinking that he will finally be able to “come in from the cold” but when he returns he learns that “control” has other plans for him. Leamas is asked to go on one last mission to help bring down the head of East German Intelligence – the man considered responsible for killing all of Leamas’s agents. What subsequently ensues is a plot filled with twists and turns, yet one entirely believable based on intellectual manipulation rather than action-driven stunt scenes.
Le Carré (born David John Moore Cornwell) was a member of the British Foreign Service from 1959-1964 and described himself as “a writer who, when I was very young, spent a few ineffectual but extremely formative years in British Intelligence.” His background explains why the novel felt so genuine and real — because he was immersed in that life. There are no heroes in this story –No 007 types who save the day attempting a million death defying feats without breaking a sweat with capturing the hearts of busty femme fatales. Leamas is a flawed man who is talented at what he does, but who is entirely human. The lines between good guys and bad guys is blurred if not non-existent. It’s an intelligent story that seems to capture how I imagine really espionage work would be when not scripted by Hollywood.
Want to try if for yourself? You can find it here: The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
We want to hear from you! Have you read this book? What did you think? Do you have any other recommendations for spy novels?
Sep 4
2015 Man Booker Longlist: The Illuminations by Andrew O’Hagan
Next up in attempt to make our way through the 2015 Man Book Longlist books is O’Hagan’s The Illuminations. Keep reading to see if it is a contender for our shortlist. Read more
Aug 27
Heather Blazing by Colm Tóibín
Heather Blazing by Colm Tóibín
Published: 1992
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Jen
Format: Audio narrated by Tim Gerard Reynolds
Find it/buy it here: The Heather Blazing
I think Colm Tóibín may be on his way to become one of my new favorite authors. There is something about his writing style that I find very comforting and beautiful. I first discovered him while working my way through the 1001 Books to Read Before you Die list. I loved The Master — a fictionalized portrait of Henry James that was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2004. I became equally enamored with my latest selection: Heather Blazing. Read more
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Nicole Del Sesto
The Reader's Room 