Reader’s Notebook, 1/29/19
November Road – Lou Berney As with Tana French, I returned to another author that I read last November who gave me immense reading pleasure. Expectations for this one were cranked up a little, not just because I enjoyed his The Long and Faraway Gone so much but because of the historical event this book is anchored to: the assassination…
Reader’s Notebook, 1/16/19
A new reading year comes with a bit of a change. I still have my Carmel library card, which should be good for several more years.[1] Just before Christmas L and I finally went over to the Indianapolis public library branch that is about a mile away to get cards there. Our local library is very small. But you can…
Reader’s Notebook, 1/8/19
The kids are back at school, so time for one more piece of 2018 wrap up. I finished my reading year with two more excellent books, one of which was a big a change-of-pace for me. The Flight Attendant – Chris Bohjalian I put several books that I saw on Best of 18 lists on hold at the library, and…
Reader’s Notebook, 12/19/18
’Tis the season for quick reads. So some blurbs about a few (mostly) slim pieces I’ve rolled through recently. Being Santa Claus – Sal Lizard with Jonathan Lane A memoir by a Christmas season Santa who does everything from standard mall Santa gigs, to private events at homes, to visiting sick kids in the hospital. It’s pretty saccharine, but Santa…
Another View of Shepherd
I’m in the midst of my annual re-reading of Jean Shepherd’s A Christmas Story. If I’m not mistaken, this is the 10th-straight December I’ve reviewed the collection of short stories that much of the movie was based on. Every year I think, “I should go back and listen to some of Shepherd’s radio shows or read a biography of him.”…
Reader’s Notebook, 12/6/18
Although we’ve been in the new house nearly six months now, and I’ve read over 20 books over that span, I don’t know that I have a favorite reading spot. Or at least I didn’t until about a week ago. We have a sunroom that had been my spot, but it’s also just off the kitchen and you can hear…
Reader’s Notebook, 11/20/18
Blowing My Cover: My Life As a CIA Spy – Lindsay Moran I found this book while doing some research on DB John, whose tremendous Star of the North I read earlier this fall. It was on a list of some of his favorite espionage books, and thus seemed worth the read. I did not enjoy it as much as…
Reader’s Notebook, 11/5/18
The World As It Is – Ben Rhodes This memoir by the former speechwriter and national security aide to President Obama has been on my list since it came out earlier this year. I had heard good things in several places about it. But I was not sure if I was ready to re-live the Obama years, or if I…
Reader’s Notebook, 10/16/18
I’ve been on a sports book tear the past couple weeks. Football, futbol, and golf. Big Game: The NFL in Dangerous Times – Mark Leibovich This book, by The New York Times Magazine’s chief national correspondent, arrived with nearly endless praise about a month ago. Promised as an investigation to the troubles the NFL faces in current times, it delivered…
Reader’s Notebook, 10/2/18
Righteous – Joe Ide I was a big fan of Ide’s debut novel, IQ, which I read earlier this year. I was very pleased to read an interview with Ide in which he confirmed he would continue writing about the lead character, Isaiah Quintabe, aka IQ, the Sherlock Holmes of south central Los Angeles. I did not know he had…