I’m not going to use my traditional review format to write about Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer because, quite frankly, the book deserves better than that. In short, I thought this was an amazing read — it broke my heart but still managed to leave me feeling a little bit warm [...]
Book Review
Title: American Gods Author: Neil Gaiman Genre: Fiction Two Sentence Summary: Shadow gets out of prison only to find out his wife has been killed. On his way home for his funeral he meets the mysterious Mr. Wednesday who offers him a job as his assistant — job that turns out to be more mythic [...]
Title: Stiff — The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers Author: Mary Roach Genre: Nonfiction (292 pages, paperback) Two Sentence Summary: Once a person dies, what happens to their body? A whole host of different things, it turns out, if you donate your body to science. One Sentence Review: If you are the kind of person [...]
Title: The Man Who Ate the 747 Author: Ben Sherwood Genre: Fiction Length: 258 pages (hardcover) Two Sentence Summary: When J. J. Smith, Keeper of the Records for The Book of Records (like the Guinness Book of World Records) hears about a man eating a 747 to prove his love for a woman, J. J. [...]
Title: Rabbit, Run Author: John Updike Genre: Fiction One Sentence Summary: Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom is a 26-year-old former high school basketball start that can’t seem to grow up and accept his responsibility as a husband and father. One Sentence Review: Rabbit is not a likable character, and yet this book is surprisingly easy to love [...]
Title: A Reliable Wife Author: Robert Goolrick Genre: Fiction Length: 291 pages (hardcover) Two Sentence Summary: Lonely widower Ralph Truitt places an add for a “reliable wife” to join him in Wisconsin. Catherine Land answers the ad, but turns out neither one gets what they expected. Two Sentence Review: The writing style of this book [...]
Title: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks Author: E. Lockhart Genre: YA fiction Pages: 345 (hardcover) Two Sentence Summary: Fifteen-year-old Frankie starts out the year with a new, awesome senior boyfriend. But pretty soon Frankie gets tired of being treated like a little girl and strikes back. Two Sentence Review: This book is exactly the [...]
Title: Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith Author: Jon Krakauer Genre: Literary Journalism Pages: 369 (paperback) Two Sentence Summary: From the front of the book — “On July 24, 1984, a woman and her infant daughter were murdered by two brothers who believed they were ordered to kill by God. The [...]
Title: The Sinful Life of Lucy Burns Author: Elizabeth Leiknes Genre: Fiction (chick lit) Pages: 167 One Sentence Summary: Lucy Burns got stuck working for the Devil, but now, despite being gorgeous and able to each as much chocolate as she wants without getting fat, she wants to get out. One Sentence Review: This book [...]
Title: The Year of Magical Thinking Author: Joan Didion Genre: Memoir Pages: 227 (paperback) One Sentence Summary: In the middle of their daughter’s serious medical issues, Joan Didion’s husband dies unexpectedly and Didion tries to pick up the pieces. One Sentence Review: Despite the fact that this is a memoir about grief, I finished it [...]
