From the category archives:

read in 2010

Heidegger’s Glasses by Thaisa Frank

November 23, 2010

Thaisa Frank’s WWII novel, Heidegger’s Glasses, combines philosophy, mystery, war, and more, woven with crisp, no-nonsense dialogue and just enough detailed description to tantalize the reader to continue the journey.  The story centers on Operation Mail, Briefaktion, a Nazi program to entice Jews to volunteer for relocation by sending letters from their taken relatives.  The [...]

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Tipping Point by Fred Marchant

November 19, 2010

Tipping Point by Fred Marchant is a collection of poetry broken down into five parts and published by Word Works after winning the 1993 Washington Prize.  Readers may wonder what a former Marine Corps Lieutenant and one of the first honorably discharged conscientious objectors would have to say about the Vietnam War, especially having only [...]

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Fatal Light by Richard Currey

November 16, 2010

Richard Currey‘s Fatal Light is an unusual novel in which an unnamed narrator provides readers with an inside view of what it is like to be a draftee before, during, and after the war.  Beyond the bullets, the Viet Cong, the mines, and the brutality of war, soldiers had to navigate a culture they didn’t [...]

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Safe From the Sea by Peter Geye

November 12, 2010

Safe From the Sea by Peter Geye is steeped in rough seas, relationships, and a break in the weather.  From water imagery to isolated wilderness, Geye takes readers on a descriptive and detailed journey of Noah and Olaf Torr’s strained father-son relationship and the past that comes between them.  Set in the northern regions of [...]

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2010 Green Books Campaign: Crazy Love by Pamela Uschuk

November 10, 2010

Welcome to the 2010 Green Books Campaign, sponsored by Eco-Libris!  The campaign is in its second year and aims to promote “green” books being published today. Last year for the first campaign, I read Saffron Dreams by Shaila Abdullah. Crazy Love by Pamela Uschuk is just one of 200 books you’ll see reviewed or highlighted [...]

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Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers

November 9, 2010

Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers is a young adult novel for ages 9-12 or ages 12 and older depending upon maturity.  It touches upon the role and racism encountered by young African-American draftees and volunteers in the Vietnam War.  The coming-of-age novel was banned by certain school districts for its use of profanity, violence, [...]

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Mr. Darcy Takes the Plunge by J. Marie Croft

November 2, 2010

J. Marie Croft’s Mr. Darcy Takes the Plunge is filled with alliteration, puns, and word play, which can take away from the unique story she’s attempting to tell.  While plays on words and puns can be amusing, there are entire paragraphs and sections of alliteration that take away from the pace of the novel, such [...]

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Playing Basketball With the Viet Cong by Kevin Bowen

October 29, 2010

Kevin Bowen‘s Playing Basketball With the Viet Cong is his first collection of poems and they focus on his memories of the Vietnam War.  Although there are moments of brutality and horrifying images, many of these poems intend to infuse the enemy with humanity — whether that enemy is a U.S. soldier or a member [...]

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ShapeShifter: The Demo Tapes, Year 2

October 28, 2010

Susan Helene Gottfried‘s ShapeShifter:  The Demo Tapes, Year 2 is another volume of outtakes, short stories, and character sketches related to her newly published novel, Trevor’s Song.  The band ShapeShifter is like a wheel with its center, Trevor and Mitchell, and the spokes around that wheel.  Once these guys are on the road, look out [...]

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Jane and the Damned by Janet Mullany

October 27, 2010

Janet Mullany‘s Jane and the Damned follows Jane Austen’s transformation into Nosferatu shortly after the rejection of her first novel in 1797.  Jane is as brash and outspoken as Elizabeth Bennet, and her sister Cassandra is as beautiful and demure as Jane Bennet in Mullany’s novel.  Attending country assemblies bores Jane, but she takes out [...]

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Mr. Darcy’s Obsession by Abigail Reynolds

October 26, 2010

Abigail Reynolds is a go-to author of Jane Austen variations.  Mr. Darcy’s Obsession tells the story after Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy meet at Rosings, but Mr. Darcy never has a chance to propose because Lizzy must return home when her father falls gravely ill.  The death of her father, unfortunately, sends the Bennet family [...]

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Take a Chance on Me by Jill Mansell

October 20, 2010

Jill Mansell‘s Take a Chance on Me is another romp in England with some outrageous characters from the chauffeur Cleo Quinn to teenager Georgia Summers.  Set in Channings Hill, Cleo has been unlucky in love for a long time, but she’s had dreams of meeting Mr. Right for a long time, so long as he [...]

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