When I finished Fall of Giants, the first in Ken Follett's latest trilogy, I was filled with happiness. It was a stunning book filled with accurate historical accounts of the events surrounding World War 1 and the characters where rich and real to me. About five minutes later, I started to panic a little for the exact same reason - the book was over and I would never again get … [Read more...]
A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki (Book Review)
You know how sometimes you read a book and it raises so many philosophical questions that you know you'll be thinking about it for a long time to come? Well, A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki is one of those books. On the one hand, it's a novel, but on the other it's a philosophical discussion about life, time, and what's real in this world. This is likely because the … [Read more...]
Our Endless Numbered Days by Claire Fuller (Book Review)
I'm calling it - Our Endless Numbered Days is going to be a hit. I feel pretty confident in saying this because I usually don't like books told through the eyes of a child or teenager and I made it almost a quarter of the way through before realizing that's how this book is written, which says a lot. Plus, it has a twist that will leave you stunned.So what's the book … [Read more...]
Nafisi’s New Book Links Fiction and Democracy
From the author of Reading Lolita in Tehran comes a mind-expanding followup called The Republic of Imagination. The idea for the book is the result of a question about whether Americans appreciate their fiction and spirals into an analysis of three American classics and their impact on our democratic ideals. The driving argument through the book is that to appreciate … [Read more...]
‘Secret Rooms’ is an Exposé of the Wealthy (Book Review)
In 1940, John the 9th Duke of Rutland, locked himself in the servants quarters of his 356-room castle with his papers and journals and refused to leave, jeopardizing his health and ultimately leading to his death. What he did in these rooms, known as the Muniments Rooms, was a mystery until a few years ago, when the rooms were unsealed for the first times since … [Read more...]