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Review: Leaving Van Gogh by Carol Wallace
What is better than getting presents on your birthday….getting unexpected gifts on your birthday :). I had seen the book Leaving Van Gogh by Carol Wallace listed as a free advanced copy giveaway on the Goodreads website. There were many others I could have entered but I was immediately drawn to this one. Without reading the description I knew I would instantly fall in love with the book as I simply love the subject of the book (Impressionist art) without question, one of my favorites being Van Vogh himself. I was thrilled to get the email that I had won the book on my birthday! I started the book Friday…
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Review: The Tower, The Zoo, and The Tortoise by Julia Stuart
I had seen the book The Tower, The Zoo, and The Tortoise by Julia Stuart at bookstores and was intrigued by both the title and the book cover, so simple by catching nevertheless. The summary sounded interesting and above all, it sounded funny–finally light reading! At long last I finally picked up the book, welcoming the change in literary matter. I did not read this book for any challenge, I simply just needed a break and to read something random, new, and relaxing and I was not disappointed. Not many books really make me laugh out loud but there were many parts of this book where I found myself in hear hysterics…especially at…
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Review: Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
I chose to read Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay for the Jewish Literature Reading Challenge. I initially picked the book out at a bookstore because I really liked the cover (The Luxembourg Gardens was one of my favorite places in Paris so of COURSE the cover grabbed my attention!). The summary sounded intriguing and moving so I added it to my TBR list. Lots of Jewish Literature focuses on Holocaust remembrance and Sarah’s Key is no different. The book initially takes place in occupied France during 1942 where we meet 10 year old Sarah Starzynski, a little Jewish girl who’s family is seized during the Vel’d’Hiv’ Round up–which took place in Paris and involved the…
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Review: Wetlands by Charlotte Roche
I don’t even really know where to start with the review of the last novel I read, sometimes there are just no words to describe things and this is one of those times. The novel Wetlands by Charlotte Roche was mentioned in Literature Monthly Magazine as a ‘top ten novels out of the mainstream’ and since I recently read Rooftop Soliloquy based on their recommendation I thought I would read Wetlands. The novel was hugely popular in Germany and seems to have gained more attention in the literary world since it’s recent translation from German to English–though don’t ask me why. I have to say, I have a pretty bad…
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Review: How it Ends by Laura Wiess
I was pleasantly surprised by this book, How it Ends by Laura Weiss. It is one of those that just captures you right away. It is a quick read and Weiss does a great job making interesting characters that readers can relate to. I would classify the novel as having a split personality disorder meaning it could be classified as a Young Adult (YA) and adult book as one main character is a high school student and the other is an older woman. Hanna (the high school character) is really engaging and captures the essence of a young teen struggling with the heart break of her first love. Every girl…
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Review: Pride Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame Smith
The satirical novel by Seth Grahame-Smith and of course Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, has been gaining a very large cult following of readers. I was very hesitant to read this novel as I worried the zombies element would somehow desecrate the timeless tale. I have read many other PP spinoffs over the years and often found myself disappointed. I had to go into this book with an open mind and know that it would NEVER be the same as the original and was really meant to be something more light-hearted and funny rather than a serious novel. There has lately been a huge resurgence in the interest…
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Review: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon
I was wondering through Borders quite some time ago and when a colorful, bright orange book cover with a curious upside-down dog cut out in the middle of the book caught my attention. I picked it up and read the back cover and decided to buy it and put it in my ‘to read’ stack. Well I couldn’t ignore the book any longer, the orange cover beckoned me. I have to say this is one of the best books I have read in a long time. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon bordered on the odd, eccentric side but that’s what made it so…
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Review: Rooftop Soliloquy by Roman Payne
I just finished reading Roman Payne’s novel Rooftop Soliloquy and I have to say I had great expectations for this book. Payne was selected by Literature Monthly Magazine as one of the top five up and coming- out of the mainstream- authors and his new book RS sounded really interesting. As some of you might have guessed, I have a flair for the eccentric so this sounded right up my alley and I looked forward to reading it. The opening sentence of the book made me really want to read it as it sounded intriguing and tantalizing. As I began the book I was transported back to various locations in Paris that…
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Review: Drood by Dan Simmons
I recently picked up this book (Drood by Dan Simmons) in anticipation for Halloween. I wanted to read something that was scary and suspenseful with a historic Victorian London flair. This book started as a generally promising suspense/horror story but ended up being a huge disappointment. I’ll admit when I first started it I was completely hooked and into it but sadly as the weeks went by I had to force myself to finish it. The book is written from the famous English author Wilkie Collins (famous works include The Woman in White and The Moonstone) perspective. Collins often collaborated with the famous Charles Dickens in real life. The witty humor…