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It’s Only a Matter Of…

Trust by Hernan Diaz

September 8, 2022 by Jake Leave a Comment

Read as part of CBR14Bingo: Dough. The book involves a man who makes a lot of money (“dough”) off the stock market in the 20s and 30s and how stories revolve around him. I was excited to get this one given both the premise and reviews. I have a yen for these kinds of neo-Gatsby stories set in the early part of the 20th century that examine finance and/or gangsterism juxtaposed with the American Dream. Legs by William Kennedy qualifies for this label, as does Jennifer Egan’s Manhattan […]

July 2022 Leftovers

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

From Crook to Cook: Platinum Recipies from Tha Boss Dogg's Kitchen by Snoop Dogg

Brighton Rock by Graham Greene

Plunder of the Sun by David Dodge

Stunt: A Mythical Reimagining of Nellie Jackson, Madame of Natchez by Saida Agostini

The Last Pirate of New York: A Ghost Ship, A Killer, and the Birth of a Gangster Nation by Rich Cohen

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

Defender of the Innocent: The Casebook Files of Martin Ehrengraf by Lawrence Block

Voluntary Madness by Vicki Hendricks

Two Gentlemen of Lebowski: A Most Excellent Comedie and Tragic Romance by Adam Bertocci

The Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor by Gabriel García Márquez

A Night to Remember by Walter Lord

Slonim Woods 9: A Memoir by Daniel Barban Levin

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

My Summer Darlings by May Cobb

The Cat Who Saved Books by Sōsuke Natsukawa

Firestarter by Stephen King

The Editor by Steven Rowley

Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson

Crossroad Blues by Ace Atkins

Lucky by Jackie Collins

August 5, 2022 by Jake 2 Comments

Here are reviews for the books I read in July that I didn’t have time or energy to do a full review on. Note: I was out of work in July so I read a lot. The Woman in Cabin 10 *** Read this while on a cruise ship and it definitely gave me some interesting feelings! A relatively entertaining thriller. I’d read another Ruth Ware book but wouldn’t rush out to do so From Crook to Cook: Platinum Recipes From Tha Boss Dogg’s Kitchen**** […]

June 2022 Leftovers

The Cage by Bonnie Kistler

Gangsterland by Tod Goldberg

Gone 'Til November by Wallace Stroby

Cover Story by Susan Rigetti

Survivor's Guilt by Robyn Gigl

The Old Man by Thomas Perry

Iron Annie by Luke Cassidy

The Drop by Michael Connelly

The Patriarch: The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P. Kennedy by David Nasaw

Barbed Wire Heart by Tess Sharpe

Amateur City by Katherine V. Forrest

Booth by Karen Joy Fowler

The Fury of Blacky Jaguar by Angel Luis Colón

He Kills Coppers by Jake Arnott

Lysistrata by Aristophanes

June 30, 2022 by Jake Leave a Comment

I was dealing with work turmoil and on vacation for most of June so I didn’t get the chance to write as many in depth reviews as I’d have liked to. Which is a shame because some of these deserved a longer look; I just didn’t have the time or energy… The Cage **** I went back-and-forth on my review. I’ve been giving out a lot of 4-star reviews lately and considered docking the book for that reason since it’s very borderline. But the more I […]

May 2022 Leftovers

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

Hollywood Godfather: My Life in the Movies and the Mob by Gianni Russo

Twin Peaks: The Final Dossier by Mark Frost

Clark and Division by Naomi Hirahara

American Tabloid by James Ellroy

Hot Springs by Stephen Hunter

Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung Frazier

Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier

Dead Soon Enough by Steph Cha

Bullet Train by Kōtarō Isaka

June 1, 2022 by Jake Leave a Comment

Here are the books I read in May 2022 that I didn’t get to give a full review for whatever reason. I read a lot of authors of AAPI descent; their books were all wonderful in their own respective ways… Sea of Tranquility **** Unquestionably a metacommentary on the author’s Station Eleven success in the shadow of Covid-19, it’s a beautifully written reflection on finding peace and contentment in the uncertainties of life. I don’t know that I enjoyed it as much as others did given […]

Burn, Baby, Burn

Tales of Burning Love by Louise Erdrich

May 24, 2022 by TQB Leave a Comment

Once upon a time, I signed up for my first CBR. I had a lofty plan of reading all of Louise Erdrich’s books in order. Why did I feel like I needed a theme? Who knows. All I know is that I fell down on book one, and it took me until last year to get back up. My recollection was that I was reading Tales of Burning Love at the time, and my stumble was going back to the beginning of her bibliography. I […]

Corona Days

Honor Thy Father by Gay Talese

Hit and Run by Lawrence Block

The Secret History of Twin Peaks by Mark Frost

May 8, 2022 by Jake Leave a Comment

After two-plus years of successfully evading the coronavirus, it finally caught up to me last week. Fortunately, my symptoms were mild (vaccinated and boosted), the only one lingering was fatigue. That and family responsibilities left me little time to write reviews this past week. So I decided to put these three here instead of my monthly dump because they were all worthy of longer reviews, two good, one damn fine. Honor Thy Father **** One of the things that made The Sopranos such an excellent television […]

Emmalita on But who ever really knows the experience of another?I've been burned by author recommendations so many times.
Emmalita on “Your body was numb to grief; perhaps you had felt it once, but you did not feel it anymore.”I'll send you another one if you need it later. The invitations do time out.
narfna on “Your body was numb to grief; perhaps you had felt it once, but you did not feel it anymore.”Well, I just clicked the link but it's blocked at my work, so. Sucky.
Emmalita on New Love and a Complete Bingo Board!Congratulations!
wicherwill on thank you to my friend EvinThe characters also don't really do the fantasy bits--they begrudgingly put up with the weird, which is why I was struggling with whether this counts...

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