Girlfriend on Mars - Deborah Willis (Hamish Hamilton, 2023) Amber Kivinen has been accepted as a contestant for the ambitious MarsNow program. One of 24 selected from hundreds of applicants, Amber will participate in a reality TV Program to pick two finalists who will launch into space and be the first man and woman on… Continue reading Book Review: Girlfriend on Mars by Deborah Willis
Bangkok Wakes to Rain - Pitchaya Sudbanthad (Riverhead Books, 2019) Even as I was reading Bangkok Wakes to Rain, I found myself thinking, How am I going to classify this book? It's a novel but not exactly. It's a collection of short stories but that's not quite right either. It has sections that feel like… Continue reading Book Review: Bangkok Wakes to Rain by Pitchaya Sudbanthad
I've read and loved enough by Kate Atkinson (and reviewed some too!) to expect a bit of weirdness from her work. I was excited to see that her latest release is a collection of short stories and looked forward to seeing how her talents fared in this format. My initial impression of Normal Rules Don't… Continue reading Book Review: Normal Rules Don’t Apply by Kate Atkinson
Read: The Cocktail Party - T.S. Eliot (Faber & Faber, 1954) Mary and the Birth of Frankenstein - Anne Eekhout (HarperVia, 2023) The Last - Hanna Jameson (Atria Books, 2019) Early Morning Riser - Katherine Heiny (Random House Audio, 2021) Away from the Dead - Dave Bergen (Goose Lane Editions, 2023) Land of Milk and… Continue reading What I Read – October 2023
I've been working hard to stay up to date with my book reviews this past month but have focused a little less on sharing life here. We have celebrated Rose and Peter's birthdays and Canadian Thanksgiving. The girls both started soccer again. Pearl re-started piano lessons and Rose started them for the first time. Pearl's… Continue reading Fall Highlights So Far
Having read Zhang's previous novel, How Much of These Hills is Gold, I knew to expect a novel that played with reality, one that would introduce strange and wonderful elements and leave me to decide what was real and what might not be. That's exactly what I got with Land of Milk and Honey. At… Continue reading Book Review: Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang
Away from the Dead follows a handful of characters through several years of life in early-20th century Ukraine. Lehn is a young man when he falls in love with Katka, changing the course of his life and involving him with the complicated history of her extended family, including Katka's uncle, a wealthy Mennonite landowner. Unrest… Continue reading (Audio) Book Review: Away from the Dead by David Bergen
I read an Advance Uncorrected Proof of this book thanks to HarperVia. This book was translated from the original Dutch by Laura Watkinson. The story of how Frankenstein came to be is a famous one. Mary Shelley, Percy Shelley, Lord Byron, and some other guy (John Polidori but I always forget about him) gathered together… Continue reading Book Review: Mary and the Birth of Frankenstein by Anne Eekhout
The Last - Hanna Jameson (Atria Books, 2019) Post-apocalyptic murder mystery. That's the hook of The Last and the combination had me intrigued although I'm not generally drawn to murder mysteries. But the unique setting of a remote Swiss hotel immediately following nuclear war had me intrigued. Jon Keller is an American academic, staying at… Continue reading Book Review: The Last by Hanna Jameson
This isn't a book for the squeamish. It doesn't come as a surprise that the author is a medical professional because the details are visceral and, well, detailed. Our main character is a surgeon, ostracized to a remote village after fleeing scandal in the city. As the only doctor in an impoverished location, he is… Continue reading Book Review: Night Theater by Vikram Paralkar
Karissa Reads Books 