Once in a Lifetime by Cathy Kelly

If  I haven’t already mentioned it, Cathy Kelly’s books are some of the best amongst the chick lit category. This one has some great storylines, delving into grief and double lives and mystical experiences. Somehow her books never feel trashy although they hardly fall into the literature category. I always enjoy them and this one [...]

Second Glance by Jodi Picoult

Jodi Piccoult’s books are usually pretty interesting – they touch on unusual subjects. In this case, the subject matter deals with ghosts and a man’s belief that he is immortal, as well grief. The story moves quickly, the characters are appealing and I felt empathy with the characters. The subject matter was tolerable but didn’t [...]

Testimony by Anita Shreve

Anite Shreve’s books are reliably good and usually work on a premise based in deceit. In this case, there is a sex scandal at a high school which impacts all those involved. The story is told as if to a reporter, with each character having their own chapter/s. Otehr chapters follow a more descriptive style [...]

When You Are Engulfed in Flames

This is the first David Sedaris book I have read – his style is one of short essays in a sort of memoir style that all link together with a rough theme. I really like his style even though some of the essays seem a little irrelevant – they are amusing and I enjoyed reading [...]

The Lost Forest by Sue Miller

A man dies and the repercussions are felt throughout his family. The story is a solid one and the characters are well developed with several strong sideline characters as well. There is a hint of detachment so that I never felt fully captured by any one character but overall it was very readable and [...]

The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb

Wally Lamb’s books are notoriously epic in their manner and this is no exception. Thankfully they are also relatively easy to read and generally very engrossing. Again, this is not exception. Centred around the tragedy of the Columbine high school massacre and interspersed with real names, dates and facts, it is difficult to believe [...]

The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert

Elizabeth Gilbert wrote Eat, Pray, Love which is one of my recent favourites, although somehow I have not reviewed it yet .. This is a totally different book. Its a sort of biography of Eustace Conway. I had never heard of him but apparently he’s well known for trying to live a natural life, in [...]

The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder by Rebecca Wells.

Rebecca Wells is the author of the Ya-Ya books. I did like those books but I can’t say I loved them. They seemed a bit disconnected from my reality. This one is too but somehow it spoke to me more. I loved it. It made me contemplate the way I live my life, in the [...]