1001 Book Review: Cloudsplitter Russell Banks
Book Worm and I review Russell Banks’ epic tale of the Brown family and we disagree. See what we thought of the book and let us know with whom you agree. Read more
Apr 5
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Apr 4
March Madness Challenge
In what has been on of the crazier March Madness tournaments in a long time, it’s time to announce our leaderboard and current standings. Keep reading to find out who is in the lead and which books made it through to the final game. Read more
Apr 1
Winter Scavenger Hunt Update
It has been a really fun challenge and lots of you have participated. Book Worm and I have enjoyed seeing all of your photos and creativity. Phase one of the challenge ended but the competition runs through the end of this year with additional prizes. Keep reading to find out who one our first prize and to learn more about future prize announcements. Read more
Mar 31
March Monthly Recap
Time for our March recap. Find out which books were favorites, which were duds, and which ones we are most looking forward to in 2016. We’ll end our wrap up with a a list of books due out in April and a glimpse of our upcoming content. We also want to hear from you so let us know what you read this month and what you look forward to reading next month.
We are taking a brief hiatus from awarding gift cards since last month someone attempted to steal the card from the true winner (by creating a fake email account with that person’s name and emailing me to request the gift card to that fake account). We will restructure this make it more difficult for this to happen and should be up and running again next month. Read more
Mar 30
The Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America
We have a new contributor to our blog: Kate. Kate will be writing occasional reviews of non-fiction books in addition to a recurring feature dedicated to travels through Terry Pratchett’s Discworld. She starts us off with her first review but we will be seeing much more from her in the future. You can read her bio on our “about” page. Read more
Mar 28
On the Road – The Secret Chord – Geraldine Brooks
Mount of Olives, Israel
I was fortunate enough to get to visit Israel this past November, and as I was standing in front of King David’s Tomb I realized I didn’t really know anything about him. A friend posted a review of The Secret Chord and I knew it was the perfect book to educate me. (I love Biblical fiction, but struggle reading the actual Bible.)
It wasn’t long before it clicked that this was David of “and Goliath” and “and Bathsheba” fame.
I love ancient history and I think that’s one of the reasons Biblical fiction is so appealing to me. I learned so many interesting things about David, which most of you probably already know, but which were news to me. Like, he wrote a bunch of the Psalms. I won’t say too much about him because I don’t want to ruin the story for those not in the know, but let’s just say, he was a maniac. He is also the first man in “literature whose story is told in detail from early childhood to extreme old age. Some scholars have called this biography the oldest piece of history writing… ” Kind of makes me want to read the bible. Kind of.
Mar 22
Non 1001 Book Review: The Noise of Time Julian Barnes
The Noise of Time by Julian Barnes is one of the books on our March Book Madness Bracket and was ranked number 1 in the “fiction by non-U.S. born authors. Did you pick it to go all the way? The book doesn’t come out in the U.S. until May but it has been out in the U.K. for a few months. Here’s my review: Read more
Mar 21
Kid’s Corner: Finding Winnie by Lindsay Mattick
Our daughter is at the age when she is constantly asking us for the story behind things and whether things are “real.” Is Santa real? Unicorns real? Fairies? I haven’t quite figured out how to respond. Do I destroy her sense of wonder and fantasy or do I help her distinguish between fact and fiction? Usually I just mumble some noncommittal answer and try to change the subject. So imagine my pleasure when she asked if Winnie the Pooh was real and I actually had an answer for her — based on a book that had just been released. Read more
Mar 20
1001 Book Review: Hangover Square Patrick Hamilton
Hangover Square by Patrick Hamilton
Published in: 1941
Literary Awards:
Reviewed by: Book Worm
Rating: ★★★
Find it here: Modern Classics Hangover Square
Synopsis from Amazon:
A pitch-black comedy set in London overshadowed by the looming threat of the Second World War.
London, 1939, and in the grimy publands of Earls Court, George Harvey Bone is pursuing a helpless infatuation. Netta is cool, contemptuous and hopelessly desirable to George. George is adrift in a drunken hell, except in his ‘dead’ moments, when something goes click in his head and he realizes, without a doubt, that he must kill her. In the darkly comic Hangover Square Patrick Hamilton brilliantly evokes a seedy, fog-bound world of saloon bars, lodging houses and boozing philosophers, immortalising the slang and conversational tone of a whole generation and capturing the premonitions of doom that pervaded London life in the months before the war.
Book Worm’s Review: Set in Earls Court London in 1939 this is the story of George Harvey Bone a mild mannered, pathetic drunkard who is obsessed with the beautiful but contemptuous Netta.
George seems to suffer from either split personality disorder or schizophrenia as he has 2 very distinct modes of life which he describes as he brain flicking a switch. In his normal life he is the stooge to Netta and her group of admirers while in his “dead mood” real life becomes like a silent film and George’s only purpose is to kill Netta, each life is separate and when inhabiting one he cannot remember the other until late in the book when things begin to cross over.
George is an unlikeable character because he is a drunk, because he is desperate for someone to love him and because he allows Netta and her group to walk all over him, however he is more likeable than every other character (with the exception of one) and so as a reader I found myself routing for him to allow the “dead mood” to take control and for Netta to get what is coming to her.
I enjoyed being inside George’s mind when he was in his “dead mood” and there are humourous moments where he views things that he has arranged as coincidence. I was curious as to how George would rationalize murder and how he would come up with a method as well as being confused by his belief that if he did kill anyone if he got to Maidenhead it would be alright.
This will appeal to those with a dark sense of humour as well as those who enjoy an insight into a single character’s state of mind.
Want to try it for yourself? You can find a copy here: Modern Classics Hangover Square
We want to hear from you! Have you read this book? What did you think?
Mar 19
March Book Madness Update
It’s time for our first update in what has been one of the craziest March Madness Tournaments in a while. Yesterday effectively killed any chance I had in winning. Scroll to the end for the scoreboard. Since books were matched to teams, here are how the books fared in the first round. Read more
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Nicole Del Sesto
The Reader's Room 