Cipsi2@aol.com
All the talk in Bookaccino early on about "Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood" made me think I'd better try it, even though the title had initially turned me off.  The book turned out to be a real gem; I'm lucky that I listened to you all rave about it!

PNormart@aol.com
Never is a long time, and I am influenced by reviews from a number of sources. But going through your list of past reviews, I would have to say that Bookreporter was the final influence for me to buy (or at least put on my list to buy) all of the following:

AMY AND ISABELLE by Elizabeth Strout
DOUBLE FOLD: Libraries and the Assault on Paper by Nicholson Baker
ELECTRIC GOD by Catherine Ryan Hyde
FORTUNE'S ROCKS by Anita Shreve
A HEARTBREAKING WORK OF STAGGERING GENIUS by Dave Eggers
THE HOOK by Donald E. Westlake
INTERPRETER OF MALADIES: Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri
THE LECTURER'S TALE by James Hynes
LOSING JULIA by Jonathan Hull
ORDINARY HORROR by David Searcy
A PRIMATE'S MEMOIR: A Neuroscientist's Unconventional Life Among the Baboons by Robert M. Sapolsky
THE RIVER KING by Alice Hoffman
STOLEN WORDS by Thomas Mallon
A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN by Betty Smith
UNDER THE SKIN by Michel Faber
WINTER SOLSTICE by Rosamunde Pilcher
So far, I have agreed with Bookreporter's reviews of the books I've read. Keep up the good work!


Britadon@aol.com
The Black Madonna, Janet Evanovich's series, Educating Esme

Swooman@aol.com
Wow, that's a real easy answer for me. I still have a list of books from the beginning of my introduction to Bookaccino chats. Quite a few years ago I made the decision that the only New Year's Resolution that I could keep was to read books by authors I'd never read before to make sure that I read books outside of the usual Genre Reads I enjoyed. Bookaccino and TBR gave me the resource to do just that...Thus, Memoirs of a Geisha, several Clive Cussler books, The Color of Water, Tuesdays with Morrie, and so many more. Thanks so much for this place that takes us around the world from the comfort of my reading space!!

Dvbjo@aol.com
I read "The Diagnosis" by Alan Lightman and enjoyed it.  Thanks. Congratulations on your 5th anniversity - I have enjoyed being part of this for the past 5 years.

dbelk105@adelphia.net
Janet Evanovich --- never would have read her and don't like her style of writing at all!

Afnak@aol.com
There have been many, but my favorite is Jonathan Hull, author of Losing Julia.  He is a wonderful writer, and I am looking forward to reading more books by him. Another is Thisbe Nissen, author of The Good People of New York. And also I found Benjamin Anastas, whose marvelous book I just finished today.  Its title is what drew me to the book:  The Faithful Narrative of a Pastor's Disappearance.  Well worth the long sentences and paragraphs!!

Beecon1@aol.com
A few months ago  I wrote a short answer to a contest question at Bookreporter inquiring about my "dream job". "What would you do if you suddenly found yourself in a position to pursue your dream job" I answered the question and won a book/audio book/poster package. The book was Cane River by Lalita Tademy. The book sat around my house for awhile, in line behind the many other books I keep on hand to satisfy whatever kind of literary craving I might happen to come up against. Recently, I felt in the mood to read something that might take me down a long winding road and I finally picked up Cane River. I didn't put it down untill I was finished and became so engrossed in the characters (all of whom were actual members of Lalita Tademys family) and the story that immediately after reading it, I began listening to the tape. It's a remarkable story about a wonderfully strong willed family of women and what they endured during their lives. I am so grateful to have been introduced to this book by bookreporter. Without you, I would have never experienced this fabulous story.

PamMacHig@aol.com
"Losing Julia" by Jonathan Hull
SheilaRum@aol.com
Bernard Schlink "The Reader"

Sblokzyl@aol.com
I go to the Book Reporter first to find new books to read from the reviews of other readers. The most recent was, The Bonesetter's Daughter, which I enjoyed very much. Since I have been a subscriber I rarely get a book I don't like. Please keep up the good work.

GDurisin@aol.com
In June of 1996, just before the debut of The Book Report on AOL, I started keeping a reading log.  I can't identify now which of the over 500 books that I've since added to that log first came to my attention through your site, but I do know many of them have.  Below are the best, the books I rated A+ in that five years of reading along with you:

Anderson, Laurie Halse.  Speak ’99   Wonderful young adult literature!  The summer before she enters high school, Melinda was raped by an older boy at a party – but no one knows. She copes with her silent pain for months, until she sees her former friend fall for the same guy, and she reaches out to protect her.  Her cautions are rebuffed by her friends, but rumors begin to spread, and eventually get back to the creep, who tries to silence her.  By fighting back and not remaining silent, Melinda regains her dignity and can again hold up her head in school.

Atwood, Margaret.  The Blind Assassin ’00   Described by reviewers as a novel within a novel, it's a complex read, but well worth the effort.  A love story, a mystery, a fantasy, and more all blended together.

Belkin, Lisa.  First, Do No Harm ‘93   Belkin does an excellent job exploring the complex decisions facing a medical ethics committee in a Houston hospital, and bringing to life the pain and emotional challenges faced by patients, their families, and medical personnel when serious injuries or illnesses raise the question how much is too much.  Medicine is able to do so much to prolong life that it now becomes necessary to ask when is prolonging life really only delaying inevitable and imminent death.

Benson, Ann.  The Plague Tales ‘97  One of the most enjoyable books I’ve read, takes the reader back and forth between 14th and 21st centuries and focuses on the original Black Death (Bubonic plague) and its recurrence in the future. Fascinating history and science fiction combo that really is believable.  Only the ending left me a little disappointed -- I’d have preferred the circumstances to be articulated more, with less left to the reader's imagination.

Berg, Elizabeth.  Until the Real Thing Comes Along ‘98   Beautifully written story of a thiry-something single woman desperate to have a family and a “real life”, but unable to overcome her love for her gay friend and move on to find love with someone who can return her feelings.  Ultimately, she and Ethan decide to have a baby, since neither of them are likely to marry, and both love children.  All of the charactersare richly drawn and most likable. Some especially touching scenes and dialogue relate to her parents’ long-lasting love and the pain of her mother’s descent into Altzheimer’s Disease.  One of Berg’s best, I think.

Crowell,Jenn.  Necessary Madness  ‘97 Wonderfully written!  Gloria re-examines her parents’ relationship to each other and to her, as well as hers with her son, after the death of her husband from leukemia

Deaver, Jeffrey.  The Empty Chair ’00   The suspense never stops in this latest Lincoln Ryme novel.  Rhyme and company are in South Carolina, where he is to have experimental surgery in hopes of restoring some minimal muscle function.  An apparent murder and kidnapping by a local youth has officials stymied, and they enlist Rhyme’s aide to help them find the kidnapper and his victim.  Of course, nothing is completely as it seems, and the presumed “bad guy” may well be more of a victim than anyone is letting on.

DeBerry,V. and Grant, D.  Tryin’ to Sleep in the Bed You Made  ‘97  A wonderfully realistic story of two friends growing up together and learning to live with the decisions and feelings that make each of them who they are.

Dershowitz, Alan.  Just Revenge ‘99  A most enjoyable and thought-provoking read!!  A Holocaust survivor discovers, many years later, that the man who murdered his family is alive and living in America, but terminally ill.  Seeking revenge, he initially considers killing the man’s grandson, as a way of making him feel the same sort of pain he had earlier inflicted on Max.  With the help of a colleague, another Biblical scholar, he devises what he considers a “just revenge” that accomplishes his goal without his actively killing another person.  Once caught, however, he must face a jury that will decide whether justice truly was served.

Diamant, Anita.  The Red Tent ’97  The story of Dinah, daughter of Jacob and his first wife Leah, is limited in the Bible to a brief passing reference, but Diamant has developed her character fully in this beautiful and fascinating novel of her life and the women’s culture which centered, centuries ago, on the red tent to which they retired each month.

Divakaruni, Chitra Banerjee.  Sister of My Heart ‘99  What a beautiful book!  Anju and Sudha are cousins, but closer than sisters, raised together with their “three mothers” after the mysterious deaths of their fathers.  Their bond is so strong that each of them relies more than they know on the other, and Sudha in particular makes many sacrifices for Anju’s happiness.  Only at the end, when family mysteries are resolved, does Sudha realize that her love for Anju is based on more than guilt, and perhaps she CAN find her own happiness without taking anything away from her sister of the heart.

Dorris, Michael.  Cloud Chambers ‘97   Strong women and the weak men they marry in a family history extending from Ireland to a Montana Indian reservation -- beautiful writing!!

Dubus III, Andre.  House of Sand and Fog  ’00 Dubus has done a masterful job of portraying a conflict between individuals that is also to some extent a conflict between two cultures.  Behrani, a Persian expatriate, sees an opportunity to restore his family to their former wealth and status when a house becomes available at tax auction. But Kathy, who had inherited the house from her father and then lost it because of a tax office error, won’t give up her home and her inheritance so easily.  I wanted so much for there to be a way both characters could get what they wanted, but that sort of happily-ever-after ending was not to be.

Fowler, Connie May.  Before Women Had Wings ‘96  Very well written, with characters so realistic it’s almost as if I’ve met them in person.  A sympathetic portrait of a family beaten down by poverty and violence, and a mother who ultimately gives up her children to allow them to escape the spiral of suffering.

Gaarder,Jostein.  Sophie's World  A history of philosophy woven into a novel.

Gaffney, Patricia.  Circle of Three ’00  Outstanding portrait of three generations of women in the aftermath of the “middle” woman’s becoming a widow.  Gaffney captured the thoughts and feelings of mothers and daughters toward one another with great insight.  

Gaffney,Patricia.  The Saving Graces ‘99  Beautiful and inspiring story of four women who form close friendships in the context of a women’s “group” that sustains them even through the death of one of their members.

Graver, Elizabeth.  The Honey Thief ’99   A young widow and her 11 year old daughter leave NYC for a small town near the Finger Lakes in upstate NY, hoping for a fresh start in the country. The mother, Miriam, is secretly fearful that her daughter’s recent behavior problems may be early symptoms of a more serious mental illness, inherited from her father.

Hamilton, Jane.  The Short History of a Prince ‘98  Hamilton must truly like people, she makes her characters so completely human and lovable, even with all their faults.  Her homosexual lead character in this book is portrayed with such empathy it’s impossible NOT to like him.  The McCloud family suffers through the death of one son, and adjusts to the homosexuality of their other son, in the midst of a broader family drama involving memories and sibling rivalries  that emerge, layer by layer, as the story moves from Walter’s adolescence to his middle years.  Wonderfully done!

Hersch, Patricia.  A Tribe Apart ‘98 It took quite a while to finish, but was well worth the effort.  Hersch presents the lives of eight “typical” adolescents -- each one so different from all the others -- and ends with a plea for adults to rejoin the world of children and adolescents, to connect with this “Tribe Apart” -- one at a time, and bring them safely along to adulthood.

Hoffman, Alice.  Here on Earth ‘97  Wonderful characters, beautiful writing -- to think I almost passed this one by!  A completely engrossing story of love and obsession, building to a heart-breaking climax in Hollis’ death (suicide or accident?) after March finally leaves him, knowing it’s the only way to save herself.

Hull, Jonathan.  Losing Julia ’00  This may well be the best novel I have ever read. The main character, Patrick Delaney, is an 81 year old man living in an assisted living facility.  He tells the story in the first person, moving back and forth between the present, and the past, focusing on his days as a young soldier on the Western Front in World War I and on the woman he loved all his life, his best friend Daniel’s fiancee.  Patrick fell in love with Julia when he knew her only from Daniel’s descriptions.  Meeting her ten years after the war, he spends several days with her in and around Paris.  Though he ultimately returns to his wife and son, Julia remains his life-long true love, and in his heart and imagination, his life's companion.  Patrick is surely the fictional character I’d most like to meet and spend time with.  His wise and witty outlook on life and love make him a great role model for growing old, not gracefully perhaps, but with an incredible capacity for compassion and connectedness with others.

Jong, Erica.  Inventing Memory ‘98   A fictional Jewish family memoir (subtitled A Novel of Mothers and Daughters) begins with a gripping description of an infant’s death as he is pressed against his mother’s breast while she and others hide from Cossacks, and continues through the wrenching “differences” between mothers and daughters over the decades in America.  So many quotables, but here's one favorite:  “Mothers and daughters -- it’s a comedy, but also a tragedy.  We fill our daughters with all the chutzpah we wish for ourselves.  We want them to be free as we were not.  And then we resent them for being so free.  We resent them for being what we have made!  With granddaughters, it’s so much easier.  And great-granddaughters.”

Katzenbach, John.  Hart’s War ‘99  Absolutely the best he’s written!  Great characters and a very compelling plot in which a black WWII pilot is accused of murdering another prisoner in a German POW camp.  A young law student is assigned to defend him, and soon discovers that all is not as it appears.  Each man has --and rises to -- an opportunity to save the other’s life, and they finally succeed in breaking the barrier of racial animosity that keeps the black man so isolated.

Keller, Nora Okja.  Comfort Woman  ‘97  Told in alternating mother and daughter voices, the story of a Korean woman who had been sold as a comfort woman to the Japanese during the Korean War, and how she overcame her degradation and torture to go on and raise a daughter of her own.

Kelly, Susan S.  How Close We Come ‘97  Ruth and Pril, two women with the sort of friendship I’ve heard of but haven't had.  What a beautiful book - I spent my evening with them, and didn’t want it to end.  Hard to understand how Ruth could just leave without a word.

King, Stephen.  Hearts in Atlantis ‘99  Oustanding!  What an imagination King has!  Not quite a novel, but more than a series of short stories, Hearts in Atlantis is described in reviews as a book about the sixties, and King has captured that period so vividly, as his characters move from childhood through young adulthood, and on into middle age.  Re-uniting Bobby and Carol at the end was perfect.

Kingsolver, Barbara.  The Poisonwood Bible ‘98   A challenging read, but well worth the effort.  A family of six:  fundamentalist preacher father, his wife, and four daughters, go to the Congo in the late ‘50s to “convert the savages”, but find their own individual lives more changed than those of the Congoleze.  The last chapter is an excellent poetic treatise on the unity of all life in nature.

Kotlowitz, Alex.  The Other Side of the River ‘98  A non-fiction account of the death of a sixteen year old black youth that polarized the twin cities of St. Joseph and Benton Harbor, Michigan.  Kotlowitz spent five years researching andwriting this book, which draws no final conclusion re Eric’s death (accident?suicide? murder?) but clearly explicates the very different points of view held by black and white communities, and the reasons for them.

Lefkowitz, Bernard.  Our Guys ‘98   Without a doubt THE most compelling non-fcition book I have ever read -- and I read it virtually non-stop last night and today.  The story of the Glen Ridge rape case in 1989 has frightening parallels to the way kids seem to be raised in this area, with the boys’ sense of invincibility and omnipotence that allows them to act out in the most arrogant and obnoxious manner without meaningful consequences.

Mar, M. Elaine.  Paper Daughter ‘99   A wonderful memoir from a young writer to watch!  I can’t imagine the difficulties faced by little Man Yee living in abject poverty first in Hong King and then in Denver, alienated from and ostracized by her peers, and trying to find her way between two vastly different cultures.  That she survived Harvard on top of all that is amazing!  She describes herself in the book as a poet, but I’m hoping for more prose from her very soon.

Maupin, Armistead.  Maybe the Moon ’92  This is an author I discovered only recently, and one whose writing I enjoy very much.  Maybe the Moon is the story of a 31-inch tall female dwarf who aspires to be an actress but is type-cast by her size.  Told in the form of a diary, it includes a number of memorable characters, including Neil, her black lover; Jeff, her gay friend;  and Renee, the housemate who is just as dependent on Cady as Cady is on her. R>Maupin, Armistead.  The Night Listener ’00   This one went quickly because it grabbed so hard and wouldn’t let go.  Though it’s quite different from my usual reading, I loved Maupin’s story of a middle-aged gay man who connects with a dying, badly abused teenaged boy even as he’s dealing with his separation from his long-time lover and later with the death of his own father.

McCourt, Frank.  Angela’s Ashes ‘97  Memoir of growing up very poor in Ireland, and coming to America at 19 -- wonderfully lyrical writing!

Mitchard, Jacquelyn.  TheDeep End of the Ocean    Family tries to put life back together after their son is kidnapped -- and then he is returned to them, creating a whole new crisis.

Morris, Mary McGarry.  Songs in Ordinary Time ‘95   Small town lives with complex connections and secrets laid out in a Dickens-style tale of the trials and tribulations of the Fermoyle family, and especially of Marie Fermoyle, who wants so much to trust a man and be taken care of that she almost loses everything.

Oran, Daniel.  Ulterior Motive ‘98 Oran’s first book is so good I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next!  A fast-paced thriller that I read in one afternoon, it tells the story of a Bill Gates-type who runs for president and wins, but his campaign is a total sham, and his real game plan is facism.  Unfortunately for him, his running mate is even more greedy, and blows him and his plane out of the air the day after the elections.  Only the accidental witness to early events, and a reporter whose help he enlisted, can stop them.

Quindlen, Anna.  Blackand Blue ‘98  Frannie takes her son and leaves her brutally abusive husband Bobby, and starts a new life as Beth Crenshaw.  Then Bobby finds them and beats her up one last time before taking Robert away.  A beautifully empathetic book that seems so real I almost wonder if the author too was an abused wife.  She seems to understand the feelings so well.  Outstanding writing and characterization!!

Russell, Mary Doria.  The Sparrow ‘96   Sci-fi galactic travel, very well done; characters you want to get to know better.

Senna, Danzy.  Caucasia  ‘98  Told in the first person by Birdie Lee aka Jesse Goldman, the more “white-looking” of a pair of daughters of a white radical mother and black intellectual father in the early seventies.  Birdie and her mother go “underground” in the belief that the FBI is after Sandy, the mother;  father and other daughter travel to Brazil seeking respite from the racial “war” that is Boston in the seventies, believing that in Brazil race issues have been resolved and races live in harmony.  Birdie spends her life waiting, then actively searching, for reunion with her father and sister, finally finding them five years later.  Beautifully written!!

Sparks, Nicholas.  The Notebook ‘96  To thinkI sneered at this one, thinking it would be some trite romance.  Purchased this morning, read in an evening, ending with tears in my eyes. What a beautiful love story!! Noah and Allie found a love that could not be denied, strong enough to overcome, at least for a time, all the ravages that aging and the worst illness could create.

Tademy, Lalita.  Cane River ’01  Although written as fiction, Tademy’s book is based on her extensive research into her family’s history and centers on four generations of strong women, beginning with Tademy’s great, great, great, great-grandmother Elizabeth, who held the family together from slavery days in Louisiana to the early years of the twentieth century.  Very well written and fascinating account.

Tan, Amy.  The Bonesetter’s Daughter ’01  Ruth is a ghostwriter of self-help and similar books, and is struggling in her relationship with a man she loves and lives with.  Her mother’s increasing dementia leads her to leave Art and move in to her mother’s home, where she discovers pages of Chinese calligraphy that her mother has written.  From what she can decipher, it seems to be the story of her mother’s life, but does not seem consistent with the stories Ruth heard as a child.  With the help of a translator, Ruth begins to know and understand her mother and their painful family history, and the many mysteries and secrets that have made both of them who they are.  Beautiful writing, and this summary does not do it justice.

Woods, Stuart.  The Run '00   Definitely the best of Woods’s books I’ve read so far, centers on an extremely likeable candidate for President who is the target of both routine political attacks, and more ominous  -- and potentially deadly – threats from militaristic terrorist groups.  Along with the story, an interesting (and probably all-too-accurate) portrayal of the influence peddling that’s part of the modern campaign.  Very well done!

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