Anybody Out There ? by Marian Keyes

I have read this book before too. Its one of a set by Keyes that deal with the same family. In this case, one of the sisters is at home recovering from an accident while she desperately waits to get back home to her real life. There is a twist in the middle and some [...]

Past Secrets by Cathy Kelly

I have actually read this book before. Its a standard chick lit story of women with broken relationships and secrets and unfulfilled expectations. Its a good read though …

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 [...]

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 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 [...]

Twenty Chickens for a Saddle by Robyn Scott

This is a memoir about growing up in Botswana, Africa. LIke all memoirs there is a certain abstractness to the book, where we feel we are looking in on something but not actually there. However, the author does a much better job than most at making a readable story out of her life and making [...]

You or Someone Like You by Chandler Burr

This is an odd book. Its set in Los Angeles, in the midst of characters who are consumed with the movie industry. I have read books set in this environment before and they all have a shallowness to their characters which I now realise is deliberate. And not something I like. The characters in this [...]