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.Home: A Novel
City Travel Guides > Books > Literature and Fiction
by: Marilynne Robinson

September 02, 2008
In Home, 38-year-old Glory Boughten returns to her childhood home to care for her dying father, a retired Presbyterian minister. Not long after Glory's arrival, her wayward brother Jack arrives after a twenty-year absence. By returning home, Glory and Jack are fleeing unhappy pasts and confronting inner turmoil. Robinson shows Glory and Jack reconnecting in slow, weighty dialog that emphasizes just how serious things are. The story is filled with religious discussions, regretful confessions, and also plenty of forgiveness. Movements are small, comments are oblique, and nothing much happens. Eventually, a secret is revealed about Jack, but, by that point in the story, we realize Home is not about what happens. Instead, it's about revealing the ... Read More:
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.American Wife: A Novel
City Travel Guides > Books > Literature and Fiction
by: Curtis Sittenfeld

September 02, 2008
Someone recently asked me why I enjoyed this novel so much, and all I could come up with was, "It was a really good story. It's entertaining." I should probably elaborate on that.

American Wife is an account of the ordinary and extraordinary life of a fictional First Lady. By all accounts it is loosely based on the life of Laura Bush, and Mrs. Bush does share some commonalities with our heroine, Alice Lindgren. For instance, both are avid readers and former librarians. Both married wealthy, connected, affable underachievers. Both came from a middleclass background. But, of course, Alice is not Laura Bush.

I do not count myself among Mrs. Bush's admirers, so I'm not overly familiar with her real life story. Truly, it ... Read More:
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.Nothing to Be Frightened Of
City Travel Guides > Books > Literature and Fiction
by: Julian Barnes

September 02, 2008
The nothing of which Mr. Barnes is frightened is death, I found out after selecting the book based on the title and the author's photograph on the cover--a tightly framed head shot of a middle-aged man looking directly into the camera with his head slightly turned to the side, with a a faint smile that might signify cool cynicism, a private joke, or a knowing wisdom. I had never read anything by the author before, but found this essay on death deep, readable, and witty, even when I disagreed with him.

Barnes, it turns out, is a British writer (so his wit is by turns subtle, ironic, and scathing) who is an agnostic obsessed with death--as a philosophical subject, of his parents, of famous writers, and more personally, his own. He is often awakened ... Read More:
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.The Secret Life of Bees
City Travel Guides > Books > Literature and Fiction
by: Sue Monk Kidd

August 20, 2008
When I worked at Barnes and Noble, people would come in all the time, wanting to buy "The Secret Life of Bees". It was on the Bestseller list at the store just recently as I can remember...Around April or May of this year. I never understood why, I guess because I've been reading so many romance novels, never bothered to look at anything else. Plus it just didn't interest me, until I was at the movie theater and saw the coming attractions for this book. I said, damn, this movie looks real good. Then they said the title, and I nearly jumped out my chair. SO THAT'S THE REASON WHY EVERYONE KEPT BUYING THIS BOOK. I had to read it. I'm so glad I went to the library to get it. This book is so good and so funny. I hate cause it's taking me a long time to read it. That's because I haven't ... Read More:
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.From Dead to Worse (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 8)
City Travel Guides > Books > Literature and Fiction
by: Charlaine Harris

May 06, 2008
After reading many of the other reviews, I was all set to be disappointed in 'From Dead To Worse'. I wasn't. I found this book to be as rich and as fascinating as the seven previous installations. If you are reading these books for their contribution to the world of literature, you will find yourself disappointed every time. If, however, you can let yourself relax and enjoy a good story, then you won't be let down.

Between the Were war and the vampire coup, this book has a lot of action. The double Bellefleur wedding is a little tedious, but an unexpected exchange with Bill and the introduction of a few new supes makes it bearable.

As a Quinn-hater, I was pleased to see him neatly disposed of as a love interest in this book. I don't think we've seen the last of ... Read More:
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.Nights in Rodanthe
City Travel Guides > Books > Literature and Fiction
by: Nicholas Sparks

July 01, 2003
I NEVER read romance novels. This one caught my eye. Nights in Rodanthe is worth the read. It has a story within a story and keeps you turning the pages.
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.When You Are Engulfed in Flames
City Travel Guides > Books > Literature and Fiction
by: David Sedaris

June 03, 2008
I laughed. Out loud. On an airplane reading this book. BTW... Also check out the interview he did with Jon Stewart about it. Hysterical.
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.A Thousand Splendid Suns
City Travel Guides > Books > Literature and Fiction
by: Khaled Hosseini

May 22, 2007
First off, I must say that this is an important book. There are some reviewers who claim that Khaled Hosseini must have written this with the western reader in mind. This may be true, but in my opinion it is a good thing. He has brought the plight of Afghanistan into the living rooms of those who live in the free world. Some of us may not have ever known or bothered to learn about the horrors that have taken place there; this book makes it personal. I cared about, cried with and for Mariam, Laila, Tariq and their families. I was outraged on their behalf. I wept many times while reading about Mariam's strength of endurance and what it cost her. I wanted to kill Rasheed, Mariam and Laila's sadistic husband. The depiction of the Taliban's sadistic regime left me feeling shell-shocked and harrowed. ... Read More:
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.The Pagan Stone: The Sign of Seven Trilogy
City Travel Guides > Books > Literature and Fiction
by: Nora Roberts

November 25, 2008
First off, I must say that this is an important book. There are some reviewers who claim that Khaled Hosseini must have written this with the western reader in mind. This may be true, but in my opinion it is a good thing. He has brought the plight of Afghanistan into the living rooms of those who live in the free world. Some of us may not have ever known or bothered to learn about the horrors that have taken place there; this book makes it personal. I cared about, cried with and for Mariam, Laila, Tariq and their families. I was outraged on their behalf. I wept many times while reading about Mariam's strength of endurance and what it cost her. I wanted to kill Rasheed, Mariam and Laila's sadistic husband. The depiction of the Taliban's sadistic regime left me feeling shell-shocked and harrowed. ... Read More:
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.The Road (Oprah's Book Club)
City Travel Guides > Books > Literature and Fiction
by: Cormac McCarthy

March 28, 2007
I almost didn't read this book based on the many, very vehement, negative reviews. Yes, there are many more positive reviews, but often, for whatever reason, I sometimes find more can be gleaned from the negative opinions. I'm glad I eventually found this book in a second-hand shop and decided to buy it. Yes, the landscape and story line are very bleak, overall, and the writing style is different, so I can see where many people would not like this book, but I thoroughly enjoyed the whole story and was quickly immersed. I look forward to reading it again before the movie releases.
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