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FRKNRICANGEM@aol.com
THE COLDEST WINTER EVER
by Sister Soljah, 5 stars
To some people this is their life, to others it's a life they want to read, hear or just wonder about. It will put you to attention.
Caroline@swtexas.com
STOLEN LIVES: 20 Years In A Desert Jail
by Malika Oukfir, 4 stars
This is a very sad story of how the author and her family were imprisoned after their father's attempted assassination of Morocco's King. It describes the awful conditions they are forced to endure and what they did to keep their sanity.
bgigot@mail.nfls.lib.wi.us
THE NEXT ACCIDENT
by Lisa Gardner, 4 stars
I really like it!!
BREEZYWRITER@aol.com
FROM THE CORNER OF HIS EYE
by Dean Koontz, 4 stars
Pretty good Koontz novel - not graphic and gory. It relies on the storytelling which is a real plus.
Meerkat65@aol.com
ALLEGRO'S SECRET
by Ramon Harris, 4 stars
I read an earlier book of his, HIDING TREE, but forgot how much I liked his style and subject matter. Al Deforest and his wife Mandy are wealthy and retired and enjoying the waning years of their lives when an investigative reporter contacts them with news: he has unearthed scraps of Al's service file from an odd period between WWII and the Korean War. The scraps seem to indicate that Al was involved in previously unpublished actions against the then newly-formed Chinese Peoples Republic. The Deforests REALLY don't want this information public. They were involved in treason and murder back in those times, forming the basis for the elegant life they now lead. The story is told through a series of stylish flashbacks that leave you guessing right up to the end. Enough said - I won't ruin the ending for you. You'll be glued to the book - a real page-turner.
NGroves@aol.com
STAIRCASE OF A THOUSAND STEPS
by Masha Hamilton, 3 or 4 stars
I just finished this short novel, which is set in the Middle East in the 1960s. It's an unusual story of love, hate, and betrayal in a small village. The author also seems to have some points to make about the oppression of women as well as the subtle ways in which they sometimes are able to exert some influence over what transpires in their families and communities. It's one of the books in a new imprint of Penguin Putnam called BlueHen books, which features new, original writers. I look forward to reading more by this author and the other BlueHen authors.
jennysnell@netspeed.com.au
FIVE QUARTERS OF THE ORANGE
by Joanne Harris
A mother-daughter relationship full of conflict, secrets and lies set against the backdrop of war in a small French village.
Ripcow@aol.com
THE THIRD CHIMPANZEE
by Jared Diamond
I found this book very interesting in that it draws from a variety of academic arenas. It seriously considers our species' capability in dealing with our own weaknesses and strengths. It provides a looking glass that helps us to first understand why we do things and a way to recognize the way out of our dilemma.
VALAITISH@aol.com
PASSAGE
by Connie Willis, 3 1/2 stars
Researcher Joanna Lander teams up with neurologist Richard Wright to determine what is really occurring in the brain during a near-death experience. This novel started off with a bang and had an exciting ending. Unfortunately, there was the middle --- a very loooonnng middle --- to contend with. There was much too much detail. I was just about to throw the book aside and give up when it started to get interesting again. It does raise some thought-provoking ideas.
MACN4MONEY@worldnet.att.net
PLAINSONG
by Kent Haruf, 5 Stars
National Book Award Finalist 1999. A wonderful book that evoked all the senses with descriptions of place. The characters are real with an understanding of their psyches. The writing is spare which makes it more amazing that the setting and characters are so clear.
PASSING
by Nella Larson, 5 Stars
A book of the Harlem Renaissance period; author is a contemporary of Nora Zeale Hurston. Presents the race issue from the perspective of one woman who chooses to identify with the Black people and another who chooses to 'pass' as White. A short book that is extremely dense and worth more than one reading. Surprise ending that leaves one wondering. Marvelous writing. Ms. Larson became discouraged and quit writing to be a nurse. We as a society lost a literary marvel.
THE GOLDEN BOWL
by Feike Feikema (later known as Fredrick Manfred), 4 Stars
Book about a family and a drifter on the plains of the Dakotas during the Dust Bowl days of the Depression. They were hanging on and it shows the tenacity of the human spirit.
OUTLANDER
by Diana Gabaldon
Just started this series after my reading friends insisted I do. I can't rate it yet, but I am enjoying it so far. It's a 'lighter' read than my other three suggestions.
Vikkivand@aol.com
KISSING IN MANHATTAN
by David Schickler, 3 Stars
This book is a series of short stories surrounding the lives of some tenants in the same apartment building, the Preemption Building, in Manhattan. As you read on, you discover that their lives are quite entwined. The stories are sometimes humorous and sometimes just plain strange, but it was entertaining.
Bjglu@aol.com
GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING
by Tracy Chevalier, 3 stars
Must be me, but I was underwhelmed by this book. It's a good, period novel but not up to the hype it's received.
BEVBOOKS@aol.com
THE INFINITE
by Douglas Clegg, 5 stars
His best yet. This ghost story is just right for the Halloween season. Harrow House belonged to a madman, then was turned into a school. Now it is vacant (except, maybe it isn't?) Ivy Martin wants to bring the mansion back to life. Jack Fleetwood wants to find out Harrow's secrets. A creepy spooker; a nightmare world.
dbelk105@adelphia.net
SCARLET FEATHER
by Maeve Binchy, 5 stars
Another one of her super books. The story takes place from one New Year's Eve to the next. Cathy Scarlet and Tom Feather have long planned to open a catering business. They could never have imagined everything that would befall them in that year. Ms. Binchy at her best in this very enjoyable novel.
THE CORRECTIONS
by Jonathan Franzen, 2 stars
I ploughed through this one, but not with any pleasure. A novel about a dysfunctional family, it's much too wordy and filled with details I don't care about. Sorry, Oprah, this was not for me although I've enjoyed all her other picks, sometimes reading the book before she chose it.
KGRAND319@aol.com
VIEW FROM THE PORCH: A Journey of Spirit
by D.C. Brown
This is a new author and a wonderful book that I got off of Amazon.com. This would make a great book of the year for 2001. A great pleasure of life book, where people live life and know that love and other people are the treasures we should seek.
sstew@vfr.net
HUCK FINN and TOM SAWYER collaboration
by Mark Twain, 5 stars
TenajSpyce@aol.com
BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY
by Helen Fielding, 5 stars
Hilarious! Extremely creative and witty. I had a chance to view the film, and decided to check out the book. I cannot believe how much more enjoyable this is. We are given the pleasure of having access to Bridget Jones's diary, which unlocks and recalls the secrets and misadventures of so many women (and men too!) to find true love past their thirtieth birthday. Wonderfully romantic, humorous and true to the soul.
PRAYER OF JABEZ
by Peter Wilkinson, 4 stars
A very intriguing look at prayer and Christianity. Entertaining throughout for followers and non-believers. Discusses how great God's love is for his people, through examples in his holy book, especially on the prayer of a simple man named Jabez, who represents every common man. Recommend to all.
DEMOCRACY FOR THE FEW
by Michael Parenti, 4 stars
Distinctly analytical look at our government in both its excellency and its flaws. Parenti takes a look at how our country deals with many political, socioeconomic, and geopolitical issues, and how some of the freedom we have has put us in a kind of slavery. Very eye-opening and captivating throughout.
THE INDWELLING
by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, 5 stars
Many have probably heard something about the Left Behind Series, or that of the Tribulation Force adventures in this national hit which has reached the top ten list quite a few times. The series involves a suspenseful Tom Clancy-like fictional story set against the book of Revelation in the Bible and its predictions of the soon-coming end times of the world. "The Indwelling" is the 7th book in the series which continues the thriller-saga after the fact the Anti-Christ has been assassinated and a heart-pounding search for his killers ensues, eventually leading to one of the most frightening climax I have read yet. Everyone, Christian or not, should start these series immediately. Their relevancy seems to hit close to home, especially with the recent attacks.
meridian71@att.net
A TINKER'S DAMN
by Darryl Wimberley, 5 stars
Loved it so much I wrote a review (rare for me). Wimberley writes in a Falknerese style and has done a series of mystery novels (Barrett Raines Series) about a black detective (Raines) in an all white police department in a deep south town: "DEAD MAN'S BAY", "A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE", and "STRAWMAN'S HAMMOCK" (released this month). He also co-authored a primer on WRITING FOR INTERACTIVE MEDIA. But A TINKER'S DAMN is Wimberley's first journey into classic literary fiction and it's superb. The book is set in the Florida scrub country in the 1940's with a plot revolving about an unsolved murder and the Timber Industry (harvesting Cypress trees) that captures the flora and fauna in a beautiful fashion reminiscent of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings' novel, The Yearling.
GSLAIKS@aol.com
KAATERSKILL FALLS
by Allegra Goodman, 5 stars
This is a fascinating and intimate picture of the lives of a community of orthodox Jews who live in Washington Heights, NY for most of the year, but go with their Rabbi to a small upstate New York town for the summer months. Very well written.
THE CORRECTIONS
by Jonathan Franzen, 5 stars
This is a wonderful book about a dysfunctional family living in America today. The first chapter is very wordy and not easy to read, but once I got past that it was fascinating, very well written, and hard to put down. My husband is reading it now, and he, too, is enjoying it immensely.
SUZANNE'S DIARY FOR NICHOLAS
by James Patterson, 2 stars
I didn't care for this at all. I thought it was sentimental and childish. Perhaps it was cathartic for Mr. Patterson, but I found it self-indulgent and obvious.
mama@hovac.com
THE ASSOCIATE
by Philip Margolin
It is a good diversion for me right now....
songoden@earthlink.net
DAYS BETWEEN STATIONS
by Steve Erickson, 4 stars
California as you've never seen it before, in an almost alternate universe. Kim Stanley Robinson gave us something of the ilk in his trilogy that included The Wild Shore, The Gold Coast, and Pacific Edge.
THE PROFESSOR AND THE MADMAN
by Simon Winchester
From the book: "any grand new dictionary ought itself to be a democratic product, a book that demonstrated the primacy of individual freedoms, of the notion that one could use words freely, as one liked, without hard and fast rules of lexical conduct."
cleas@earthlink.net
ANGELS ON TOAST
by Dawn Powell
After many years of hearing how great she is, I took ANGELS ON TOAST on two airplane trips and am now thoroughly hooked. A little mannered, but beautiful.
Valjeang@aol.com
THE LAND
by Mildred Taylor
It is a pity that libraries and book stores ever started categorizing books as Children's or particularly, Young Adult. The fact is millions of people have missed out on millions of marvelous books because they wouldn't dream of ever taking one of "those books" home, being adults and all. I hope someone who reads this will search out Mildred Taylor's new book, THE LAND. It is beautifully written and tells the heartbreaking story of a young man during the Reconstruction period whose father is a white planation owner and mother is his former slave. The two children from this relationship have been raised with much love on the part of both parents but as the young man grows older, the father is trying to protect his biracial son by teaching him painful lessons of how he must act when he is around white people. Angry and resentful, this book allows us to be a part of his life through his growing years and up to his marriage to strong, spunky Caroline. Much of the book's focus involves his need to have his own land and the inhumane struggle it takes to be a man of color and have the perseverence to finally find a way to buy a prime piece of Mississippi land. This book is the prequel to ROLL OF THUNDER, HEAR MY CRY which won the prestigious Newbery medal. These people are the grandparents to Cassie Logan and her siblings. I believe there are now eight books where these characters appear and each of them is a tremendous read for all ages.
Giunbones@aol.com
TRANS-SISTER RADIO
by Christopher Bohjalian, 3 1/2 stars
This was a fun quick read with a surprising turn of events. It followed the exploits of a man undergoing a sex change to a woman. Alas, the matter becomes even more complicated when he falls in love with a woman while a man, but tries to continue a relationship with her after he's a woman! Sound confusing? It isn't! And, it is somewhat of an informational source for information about transexuals...
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