Tag Archives: Review Copy

Beijing Bastard

Posted on December 1, 2014 by

Val Wang’s parents came to the United States from China when they were young adults with a spirit of adventure. Still, they wanted to give their daughter a sense of her heritage, so they sent her to Chinese school, taught … Continue reading →

Posted in Memoir, Nonfiction, Travel/ Exploration | Tagged | 8 Comments

Texts From Jane Eyre

Posted on November 14, 2014 by

oh my god         what this guy this publisher guy is asking me about my favorite canto in Childe Harold that’s like asking someone to pick who’s hotter his half-sister or his cousins it’s literally impossible Mallory … Continue reading →

Posted in Contemporary, Fiction | Tagged | 14 Comments

The Blackhouse

Posted on November 6, 2014 by

On the Isle of Lewis in Scotland’s outer Hebrides, the abandoned blackhouses are useful for private trysts, but the 16-year-olds we meet in the prologue of this novel by Peter May don’t find the kind of privacy they seek when … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Mysteries/Crime | Tagged | 14 Comments

Joss Whedon and Religion: Essays on an Angry Atheist’s Explorations of the Sacred

Posted on December 12, 2013 by

Most people know me as a reader, but I believe that a good TV show or movie can be every bit as rewarding as a good book. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is one of those TV shows that I return … Continue reading →

Posted in Nonfiction, Religion, Short Stories/Essays | Tagged | 15 Comments

Stitches: A Handbook on Meaning, Hope, and Repair

Posted on October 29, 2013 by

The problem of human pain is big, but Anne Lamott’s new book about it is small, probably because she knows that there’s no definitive answer to why we suffer and no point spending pages and pages on that fact. Instead, … Continue reading →

Posted in Nonfiction, Religion | Tagged | 3 Comments

The Ocean at the End of the Lane

Posted on June 30, 2013 by

Neil Gaiman’s newest book is packed with strange images that feel like they should have meaning. There’s a field of furry plants that turn out to be kittens. There’s a being who burrows into your feet as a worm in … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Speculative Fiction | Tagged | 15 Comments

Duel with the Devil

Posted on June 22, 2013 by

One of the things I enjoy about crime fiction is how much detail is required to tell a story. The details are where you often find the clues and the misdirection that lead to or away from the solution. True … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Nonfiction | Tagged | 5 Comments

The Lion’s World: A Journey into the Heart of Narnia

Posted on May 22, 2013 by

Despite growing up bookish in a Christian home, Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury, did not discover C.S. Lewis until he was in his teens, when he read several of his apologetic works. When he eventually turned to the Narnia … Continue reading →

Posted in Nonfiction, Religion | Tagged | 12 Comments

NOS4A2

Posted on May 14, 2013 by

Charles Talent Manx roams the country in his 1938 Rolls-Royce Wraith, stealing children. He doesn’t want to hurt them — oh, no! He wants to take them to Christmasland, a place not on any map, where the children will stay … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Speculative Fiction | Tagged | 10 Comments

Frozen in Time

Posted on May 4, 2013 by

“Greenland makes no sense,” writes author Mitchell Zuckoff in Frozen in Time. For one thing, it’s not green at all. More than 80 percent of Greenland is buried in ice. For centuries, the massive island has remained largely empty. During … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Nonfiction | Tagged | 8 Comments