Reviews

Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith is historical fiction set in Stalinist Russia when the Government was all powerful and all were constantly watched over by officials. One wrong move could send you to a work camp in Siberia, never to be seen again. Life was hard, and on top of that Smith throws in a serial killer that moves throughout Russia killing children and women at will. Defending this system is idealistic security officer Leo Demidov, a war hero who believes in the iron fist of the law.

What happens when "a Peruvian playgirl, a tiny Polish fighter pilot, a mercurial Frenchwoman, a Serbian seducer and a deeply eccentric Spaniard" come together to work for MI5?  Only one of the most important deceptions in modern history.  Ben Macintyre's latest book chronicles the machinery of the pivotal Operation Fortitude, a massive undertaking in misinformation and misdirection that led the Germans to believe that the Pas de Calais, not Normandy, would be the beachhead from where the Allies would launch their European invasion.

This is the first book in the Phryne Fisher Mystery series, a charmingly written series set in in early 20th century Melbourne, Australia. The atmospheric and well-researched details in these novels create an engrossing view into 1920s Melbourne society at all levels.

The year: 2044. Wade Watts is among the millions across the globe searching for an Easter egg hidden within a massive multiplayer online game known as the OASIS. The game's deceased creator has left 240 billion dollars to be awarded to the first person who can find it. Players must have an extensive knowledge of 80s pop culture to have a chance at winning. Wade competes against opponents willing to kill in order to obtain the lucrative prize.

The White Princess is the fifth of Philippa Gregory's Cousins' War series, this one focusing on Elizabeth, daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville.  Henry Tudor defeated Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field, ending the War of the Roses, to become Henry VII.  To unite the York and Lancastrian families, Princess Elizabeth was forced to marry Henry VII, whom she believed to be the murderer of he

I grew up reading Terry Brooks and have loved his books for a long time. As I read this new addition to the world of Shannara, The High Druid's Blade, I couldn't help compare it to my absolutely favorite story, The Wishsong of Shannara.

"It can be too sad here.  We often lose our way."  Anne Lamott's latest musing on faith focuses on the thorny parts of life and love—grief, anger, pain—and how to keep living throughout it all.  Stitching together the ripped shreds of ourselves, she says, is the answer.  Community, faith, music, even something as mundane as replacing smelly, stained floorboards—all of these help us sew our lives together and move on, stronger for the scar tissue that has knitted us whole again.

Zachary Heinzerling’s debut documentary about Japanese artists Ushio and Noriko Shinohara is a film that astonishes viewers not because Ushio and Noriko are wonderful artists—and they are—so much as because they’ve managed to stay married to one another.  Forty years ago, a beautiful young woman came to America to study art and met Ushio, a hell-raising iconoclast who gained a bit of fame as a performance artist.  Noriko fell in love.  

I'm not a writer but Anne Lamott makes me believe that I could be a great one.  Bird by Bird is a writing manual that reads like a memoir, a very funny, life affirming, let's get real memoir.  She reminds me a bit of Cheryl Strayed in her clarity and insight not only about writing but about relationships and priorities.  Lamott says, "if you want to know your characters, you have to hang out with them for awhile."   I highly recommend hanging out with Lamott.

My family read The Vanishing Coin and its sequel, The Incredible Twisting Arm, in quick succession. The main character is a fourth-grade boy who has trouble concentrating and following up on his school work, and who generally seems to always be putting the wrong foot forward. Besides failing to live up to his parents' and teachers' expectations, he's got a class bully to deal with and a new neighbor, Nora, who is embarrassingly smart, that he spends after-school hours with.