I take a certain delight in reading the books that define, change, or readjust not only an entire genre but a generation, as well. Generally, we call them “classics” and there’s something almost archeological about losing myself in the books that had that impact. For a moment, there’s that sense that I am communing, or […]
Brief Thoughts | Between the World and Me by Ta-Nahisi Coates
2017-03-19 · by ·
Recently, I finished reading Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. It’s a short book and reads fast. A letter to his son, Coates’ voice is intense and direct. I’m still processing Coates’ message. I admit that I find it distinct from my own life experience, a view of America and the world rooted […]
Book Review | A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
2017-01-30 · by ·
Quite possibly, A Darker Shade of Magic is one of the most surprisingly entertaining fantasy novels I’ve read in a while. Rothfuss’ The Name of the Wind may be more beautiful, Vyleta’s Smoke more mysterious, and Butcher’s The Aeronaut’s Windlass more adventuresome, but Schwab took me completely by surprise with an even mixture of all […]
Book Review | One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
2017-01-12 · by ·
I suppose it’s a bit ironic that I finished One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich in in the midst of one of last weeks winter storm, snow falling and wind blowing and the temperature dropping as low as 2 degrees Fahrenheit. And yet, Utah’s snow is just as quick to melt as it […]
Book review | The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
2017-01-06 · by ·
My feelings on The Underground Railroad are so mixed that I’ve changed my rating several times, first from a mere three, then up to a four, and back to just three stars. With much to think about and, yet, much that felt lacking, I think I’ve settled on a rating that perhaps underrates Colson Whitehead’s […]
Book Thoughts | Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
2016-12-29 · by ·
I’m not entirely sure that I can adequately review Thinking Fast and Slow. It’s so chock full of fantastic ideas, insights, and information that I’m afraid even trying to comment on it will make me look like a fool. Let me just say, then, that Thinking Fast and Slow is absolutely fascinating, a book worth […]
Short Book Review | The Name of the Wind (Kingkiller Chronicle #1) by Patrick Rothfuss
2016-12-28 · by ·
What follows is a gush of a review…but I really did like the book. So, allow me to gush for just a moment. I had heard that The Name of the Wind was a good read, but I had no idea how much I would end up enjoying it. I seemed to keep bumping into Patrick […]
Book Review | El Deafo by Cece Bell
2016-12-24 · by ·
I loved reading El Deafo to my daughter. With El Deafo, Cece Bell proves she can broaden and deepen her reader’s lives with a fun and beautifully-told story. Bell makes the experience of being deaf and separated from others, a handicap shared by many, accessible to children and, at least in my case, adults. The […]
Book Review | Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
2016-12-23 · by ·
What King Henry wants King Henry is going to get. It’s his world, and everyone else is just living in it…or rather, is scraping and scrapping to get ahead in it. With the future of the kingdom at stake and England’s master without a male child, Henry VIII decides he must marry Anne Boleyn in order […]
Book Review | Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS by Joby Warrick
2016-12-12 · by ·
Joby Warrick’s Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS makes a complicated mess easier to understand. Readable and accessible to anyone with an interest in how we ended up with ISIS, his Pulitzer prize-winning narrative of the rise of the terrorist cum state of the Islamic State of Syria and Iraq is a must-read. If there’s anything I […]
