“The Final Revival of Opal and Nev” by Dawnie Walton is a different kind of book. It’s a fictional rock-and-roll biography that often reads like the script of a biopic, with plenty of details to give it life. Most of it is in the form of interviews.
The Lincoln Highway" by Amor Towles is a wonder of a book. It starts as a road trip on a very special road, blossoms into an adventure, blooms into a character study, and even turns into a bit of a thriller. Holy cow!
I always say I don’t like thrillers, but of course that isn’t completely true. I love a can’t-put-down page-turner. I just don’t like twisted or gory stuff or personal violence. Happily, three recent books by popular authors fulfill most of my preferences.
Two recent books have “vanishing” in their titles. They are nothing alike!
When I was little, my mother had a big, thick book filled with gorgeous full-color plates of some of the world’s most famous paintings. Mom made me wash my hands before I handled it, and I would spend hours lost in the pictures, as if it were my own private museum.
Wildfires are affecting us all now, even here in Northeast Ohio. Last summer the smoke from the Canadian fires drifted...
I think it’s human nature to be fascinated with cults — maybe because we think we’re too smart to be pulled into the net of a cult leader.
Get ready to turn the pages, because these books go quickly.
Klara and the Sun is the latest novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2017. I found the book emotionally engaging, thought-provoking, and interestingly different. And it’s a good read. Technically a work of science fiction, this is really a tale about the human condition.
Family dramas make for some of the best reading. These books all tell great stories about daughters who lose their mothers, in completely different ways.
I have three good novels for you, and they all happen to be set — at least partly — in southern Asia.
Let’s end the year with one of the best of the year. “The Berry Pickers” by Amanda Peters is many things; it’s a mystery, a family drama, and a really good read.