Posts from the ‘5 star reviews’ Category

Dec 4

Non 1001 Book Review: The Gap of Time Jeanette Winterson

The Gap of Time by Jeanette Winterson
Published in 2015. Part of the Hogarth Shakespeare Retold series
Reviewed by Book Worm
Rating 5 stars
Find it here: The Gap of Time: A Novel (Hogarth Shakespeare)

Amazon synopsis: The Winter’s Tale is one of Shakespeare’s “late plays.” It tells the story of a king whose jealousy results in the banishment of his baby daughter and the death of his beautiful wife. His daughter is found and brought up by a shepherd on the Bohemian coast, but through a series of extraordinary events, father and daughter, and eventually mother too, are reunited.

In The Gap of Time, Jeanette Winterson’s cover version of The Winter’s Tale, we move from London, a city reeling after the 2008 financial crisis, to a storm-ravaged American city called New Bohemia. Her story is one of childhood friendship, money, status, technology and the elliptical nature of time. Written with energy and wit, this is a story of the consuming power of jealousy on the one hand, and redemption and the enduring love of a lost child on the other. Read more

Sep 2

12 Comments

Two Years Eight Months and Twenty Eight Nights by Salman Rusdie

Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights by Salman Rusdie
Release Date: September 8 U.S and September 10 in U.K
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by: Jen
Pre-order your copy here: Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights: A Novel

Disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from netgalley (and Random House) in exchange for an honest review.

There is no question that Rushdie is a great story teller and his latest endeavor is no exception. One of the things that I love about his books is that they can be read on multiple levels. On the surface, they are entertaining stories that can be read for the sole enjoyment of the weird, wacky, and intelligently humorous ride. Yet, on a deeper level, his books are filled with symbolism, allusions, and often complicated philosophical questions that lead to a richer and more interesting reading experience. Read more

Aug 26

14 Comments

2015 Man Booker Longlist: A Little Life by Yanagihara

Book Worm is breezing through the Longlist books and will have more reviews to come soon. Next up is a book I recently finished: A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. Keep reading to find out what I thought and where it ranks among the 2015 longlist books we have read thus far. Read more

Aug 24

6 Comments

Kid’s Corner: Rosie Revere Engineer

Until recently, my 4 (almost 5) year-old was convinced that princess was a viable career path. I remember receiving an email from her preschool about career day dress-up, requesting that parents explain to their children that princesses, mermaids, fairies, and pirates were not real career options. Interestingly many of the “problem careers” were stereotypically female. If you think about the children in your life, you may notice that little boys will rattle off real career options (albeit also highly gendered options) like fireman, builder, and policeman whereas girls tend to mention magical or false ones. While I don’t expect a preschooler to have his/her career path mapped out, but I find it curious that girls often aspire to futures that are untenable. I’m convinced that books and television have a large role in these early dreams. I spent years of my childhood convinced that I was going to be a detective thanks to Nancy Drew. Then thanks to my grandmother’s favorite TV show, I decided to become a lawyer. For the record, I became neither a detective nor a lawyer.

I say “until recently” because E’s career aspirations changed a few months ago after reading a book that one of our readers recommended: Rosie Revere, Engineer. Keep reading to see what Emma thought of the book. Read more

Jul 14

6 Comments

Guest Post: A Life in Secrets by Sarah Helm

Welcome to our second guest review. Periodically, we will feature guest reviews and we will try to pick reviews for books and genres we don’t typically feature on our blog. For these posts, we will be picking books that our guest contributors have rated as among their favorites. We hope you that you enjoy these reviews and they lead you to pick up something new that you could also love. I’ll hand it off to Regina who will introduce herself and share one of her favorite non-fiction books. Read more

May 28

9 Comments

The Housekeeper and the Professor by Ogawa

The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa
Published in: 2003
Translated from Japanese by: Stephen Snyder
Reviewed by: Jen
Rating: 5 stars
Find it here:The Housekeeper and the Professor

Every once in a while a book comes along that takes you by surprise. The Housekeeper and the Professor was one of those books for me. At only 180 pages the novel is short, simple, but emotionally touching and beautifully rendered. I picked this up because it has started to make the rounds in some of my reading circles. It was worth the buzz.

The book tells the story of a beautiful friendship between a housekeeper, her son, and a mathematics professor. In his youth, the Professor was involved in a tragic accident that resulted in his developing a form of anterograde amnesia. While he remembers events and people from prior to his accident, he is unable to encode new information. Every morning brings new introductions with the same questions. He wears a suit covered with pieces of paper to help him remember important facts. He spends his days immersed in mathematics, solving problems and sending them to various papers. When the Housekeeper is hired to take care of the Professor and his home, she and her 10 year old son become immersed in the Professor’s world of numbers. They grew to love the Professor and they learn to work around his memory deficits.

I found this to be a wonderful book. You can’t help but love the characters, especially the quirky Professor who makes math seem like the most exciting subject in the world. There are many math equations throughout the book but they are easy to follow and understand and they are integral to the emotions and events in the story. Who knew that math could be so interesting? The writing was simple and elegant but unpretentious. Not much happens in the way of plot because this is not a book about fast-paced adventures but rather one about quiet moments and meditation. I cried a little and smiled a lot. This was a special book that makes you contemplate the importance of living in the moment and appreciating the present. I highly recommend this book!

Have you read this book? If so, what did you think? If not, does it appeal to you?

Want to try it for yourself? You can buy a copy here: The Housekeeper and the Professor

May 24

1 Comment

Non 1001 Book Review: The Seducer Jan Kjaerstad

The Seducer Jan Kjaerstad
Published: 1993
606 pages
Original Language: Norwegian
Reviewed by: Book Worm
Rating: ★★★★★ ♥
Find it here: The Seducer: A Novel

Synopsis (from Amazon): Interludes of memory and fancy are mixed with a murder investigation in this panoramic vision of contemporary Norway. Jonas Wergeland, a successful TV producer and well-recognized ladies man, returns home to find his wife murdered and his life suddenly splayed open for all to see. As Jonas becomes a detective into his wife’s death, the reader also begins to investigate Jonas himself, and the road his life has taken to reach this point, asking How do the pieces of a life fit together? Do they fit together at all? The life Jonas has built begins to peel away like the layers of an onion, slowly growing smaller. His quest for the killer becomes a quest into himself, his past, and everything that has made him the man he seems to be. This bestselling Norwegian novel transports and transfixes readers who come along for the ride. Read more

May 11

17 Comments

Guest Post & Giveaway: Being Mortal by Gawande

Welcome to our first guest review & Giveaway (scroll to the bottom for details on giveaway)! Periodically, we will feature guest reviews and we will try to pick reviews for books and genres we don’t typically feature on our blog. For these posts, we will be picking books that our guest contributors have rated as among their favorites. We hope you that you enjoy these reviews and they lead you to pick up something new that you could also love.

Starting us off with a non-fiction pick is Anita. I’ll hand it over to Anita, who will introduce herself and will provide her review of Being Mortal by Gawande.

Anita: I’d like to say reading is my passion, but if I were to be totally honest, I think interacting with other readers is as wonderful as reading the books themselves. To that end, seven years ago, I founded Play Book Tag. PBT is a group on Shelfari.com where talking about books goes on 24×7! My favorite books are most definitely literary fiction, but I punctuate that with quite a bit of non-fiction where my taste runs to tales of outdoor adventure. I’m the proud mom of two sons, one in college and one almost in college, and a cockapoo, Teddy. In real life, I have two part time jobs, and do lots of philanthropic work as part of the Baltimore Women’s Giving Circle, an organization with which I’m really proud to be affiliated.

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande
Published in: 2014
Reviewed by: Anita
Rating: 5 stars + a favorite
Find it here:Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End

Anita’s Review:

Everyone who is going to die someday should read this book.

Dr. Gawande has written an excellent book that both informs (which I expected) and moves (didn’t expect this) the reader.

By explaining how the current medical system understands and handles death and weaving in anecdotes of real people facing their mortality, he writes a book that is very engaging, but also very important. No one really likes to think about the end, but eventually such thinking is forced upon you – – whether you are facing the demise of a parent or a scary diagnosis. My impression is that this book would be best read before encountering the worst, as it provides both solace and pragmatic advice.

Gawande asks his readers, “ . . .what if the sick and aged are already being sacrified – victims of our refusal to accept the inexorability of our life cycle? What if there are better approaches, right in front of our eyes, waiting to be recognized?”

There is no challenge of aging that Gawande doesn’t touch upon with care and sensitivity. The difficulty of leaving one’s home to live in institutional care. What makes life worth living? Dying with dignity and with less suffering. Reading about such subjects could be boring and/or completely depressing, but this book is none of those. It increased my empathy tenfold. It’s not a mere self-help book where you are advised on options available to you. It’s a book that moves you to look at death in another way. A way that’s more accepting. And a way that the medical professions whole raison d’etre strives against with all its might.

People with serious illness have priorities besides simply prolonging their lives. Surveys find that their top concerns include avoiding suffering, strengthening relationships with family and friends, being mentally aware, not being a burden on others, and achieving a sense that their life is complete. Our system of technological medical care has utterly failed to meet these needs . . .

Medicine, in its efforts to prolong life, ignores the real need of people to die on their own terms. This book takes a first important step toward empowering people at the end of life by shining a light on what actually happens versus what could happen.

We are all going to die, and death is just flat out scary. Like every other rite of passage, it deserves to be considered. It deserves to be discussed. This book is the conversation starter that might just help the end be a little less frightening, a lot less painful, and way more peaceful.

Talk about a book that should be on 1,001 Books to Read Before You Die. This might be just the one book that you really, really should.

You can also watch a t.v. special based on this book at PBS here: Being Mortal

Want a chance to win a kindle copy of this book? One lucky, randomly selected reader will win a copy of this book. To enter simply comment on this post to let us know you want to enter the raffle. The winner will be selected on May 13 @noon EST and will be announced at the bottom of this page.

Want to try this book for yourself? Find it here:Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End

UPDATE: The winner of the free copy is Tessa! Congrats. We host lots of giveaways so stay tuned for more prizes and giveaways in future posts.

May 8

9 Comments

Read Around the World: India

The next stop on our world tour of reading is India! This month, we have a special guest contributor: Aarti. Aarti is from Pune, India and will be sharing some fun facts about her country, Indian literature, and her personal recommendations for books to help immerse you in your “travels.” Book Worm and I will chime in with our pick of the month and our reviews for that book.