This may be the best book I've read in the last 5 years. Robinson's language is beautiful and haunting. The characters are richly drawn and the prose was so vivid that I wanted to weep. I may read this again just to let it seep deeper into my soul.

I really wanted to like this book but I found the female character so unlikeable. I wanted her to get on with her life and enjoy the family that she had. She was cold and dull. The doctor? Well-meaning and wimpy. The story itself was interesting enough...if not a little far-fetched. The writing? So-so. I was going to scream if I read about the baby's "star-fish" hand one more time.
Quick read.

This was my favorite book this summer. The story behind the story is even more enthralling. How did this manuscript ever survive? But I'm so glad it did! It takes a little time to get the characters straight but this is beautifully written and gripping. EXCELLENT!

This book provoked a lot of discussion. We were uncomfortable with some parts and it was almost painful to read, Characters are vividly drawn and the story is one of the best this year.

I have read and discussed this book with 14 year olds and it always stimulates their young minds. Parts of it are brutal and painful but you can't help but be transformed by it. A classic.

UGH! I had a terrible time with this book. I hated the viewpoint... child speaking from "the other side." I hated her grisly death. This book gave me the creeps! It wasn't especially well-written and the characters were too flat.

I wasn't very impressed with this book. It was simplistic and the characters seemed very flat. Mary is the sweet one. Anne is ambitious and ruthless. Henry is the spoiled, pouting king. Ho hum. I had big hopes for this and I love historical fiction but this was just a bodice ripper set it Tudor England.

Brooks has taken a minor character, the absent Mr. March from Little Women, and made him complete. He is complex and his marriage is complex. We see 20+ years of his life and find out what made him the person he was. Parts of the novel are set against the backdrop of the Civil War and the descriptions are disturbing and very detailed. there are also references to the dangers of the Underground Railroad. Great Author! Great Novel!

I didn't expect to like this very much. The premise is that a group of various characters (and yes! I mean CHARACTERS!) are on a reality TV show. I hate reality TV but this was a clever idea. It's a novel about love and loss and about "finding" what really matters. Not a bad read.

It felt as if the author was trying to o hard to make this a "multi-cultural" read. Okay, I get it. This is a diverse group of women with seemingly nothing in common. They band together to form a sisterhood. Characters and dialogue were too predictable and flat to get my attention. The writing was too casual and silly. Dialougue felt forced. Not recommended for serious readers.

I enjoyed this book a great deal until I tried to analyze it afterward. It's written from the viewpoint of the grieving widower, Paul Iverson. Paul (a linguistics professor) is desperately trying to teach his Rhodesian Ridgeback to talk. His dog,Lorelei is the only witness to his wife's mysterious and sudden death. But Paul is an unreliable narrator as he is too deep in grief to read his surrounding accurately. There is a bit of mystery and suspense and there are some truly horrifying images that may be disturbing to dog lovers. There are a few parts of the book where things seem just too "pat." And Paul, sensitive husband though he may be, sounds too much like a woman. What man can describe his wife's dress is such vivid detail as having flowers on the bias?
All in all, this was an enjoyable read and characters are very vivid and detailed.

I liked this very much. It is a quietly powerful look at a boy's prep school in the 1960's. It reads very much like a memoir but it's fiction. Wolff is very skilled at the nuances that make characters so strong and so flawed. The fictional references to Ayn Rand, Robert Frost and Ernest Hemingway were fabulous! Parts of this book were written as short stories for The New Yorker.

I have been a middle school teacher for almost 30 years and I teach this book to my 8th graders. Rarely does a book generate so much discussion and such thoughtful queries. I am not a big science fiction or fantasy fan but this is a book that I can read again and again. Jonas lives in what appears to be a futuristic society. Although it is meant to be utopian it is clearly a dystopia. This is a world without pain and without prejudice. It is also a world without color, without music and without real love. How much would you give up in personal freedom to insure tranquility and peace? The novel touches on some painful issues... especially the euthanasia of infants, but is guaranteed to generate terrific and thoughtful discussions.

How have I gone through life without reading Annie Dillard? This was my first experience with her and I loved this slim novel. It is the story of the Maytrees... Lou and Toby and their long relationship. It is a novel about the stages of love and the power of forgiveness. Dillard writes beautifully and really SEES things around her. (So do Toby and Lou.) Sometimes I would read a paragraph again and again just to experience the beauty of her words. My only complaint? I had trouble keeping some of the minor characters in my head. They just weren't vivid enough. But this is a lovely little novel. I'm eager to read more of Dillard's work.

This was a really good read and I had trouble putting it down. I gave it four stars instead of five because I found a few things a bit formulaic. Sometimes the characters felt almost cartoonish. Ironically (because this is a male author) I thought the male characters were the least developed. Rasheed , the brutish husband, was just too flat a character for me. Even Tariq felt a bit stereotypical, I wanted to know more about his life away from Laila. Still, it was a compelling story and I very much enjoyed it.

Hard to believe some of this. I didn't love the writing and had trouble with relating to some of the characters///especially the Mom. I guess I was pretty neutral about this book overall. Wanted everyone to just grow up and take care of their messed up lives!

The stories are intertwined here on purpose. It is really three stories, It's the story of life's ups and downs. It follows the personal struggles of the author without being dull or sefl-pitying. It's about the economic struggles of a small town in Iowa AND it's how Dewey, a rescued kitten, manages to put a little salve on all kinds of wounds. Will it win a Pulitzer? no. It probably won't generate a ton of book club discussion. Still, it's a nice read.

I enjoy Tobias Wolff but I know he isn't for everyone. This was a strong collection of stories but they may be hard to discuss in a book club.

I enjoyed this and Merle is a dog who digs into your heart. I had a few problems with parts of the book though. The author gets a little "preachy" about dog research and really advocates for a happy life where dogs may run free. For most of us this isn't possible. We live in cities or suburbs with leash laws. Merle had a lot of fun running loose and exploring nature but most of us can't live that way. I also didn't care much about the author's love life. If you love dogs and you like a lot of dog research babble, this is a good choice.

As they quilt together, Hennie (age 86) and Nit (age 17) become confidants and close friends. The novel is often told via Hennie's stories. She lives in Colorado in the Depression era but recounts life just after the Civil War. The book has sad, tender moments but is ultimately an up-lifting story about love, forgiveness and survival. It is full of authentic verbal images of "mountain talk" but doesn't sound at all forced or corny. Dallas is a master of authentic period details and it makes her characters memorable and lovable. This is a sweet novel!

Billie Letts is one of my novelists for "escape reading." I don't expect anything too dense or too intellectual. This was a good read and the characters were engrossing overall but it became a little too predictable. Still, I liked the book. It was a quick read and had me engrossed enough to stay up late to finish it.

Calvin Trillin is one of my favorite New Yorker writers. This is a departure from his usual work. This is a sweet and tender memoir about his beautiful, late wife. It's touching and lovingly written.

I had heard so many good things about this book that I really looked forward to reading it. I almost put it down after the first couple of chapters. This is a true story of a female western Muslin who is a very accomplished M.D. Due to visa problems she needs to leave her beloved North America for Saudia Arabia. The culture shock is predictable. Wearing the abayallah and being chaperoned in public is the least of it. My problem with the story was the very poor writing. Dr. Ahmed felt the need to use EVERY adjective and adverb known to man. It was annoying and distracting. Also, her over use of designer names was making me crazy. Okay, I get it! A lot of people in Saudia Arabia are wealthy and they wear American and European designers with gusto. Ho Hum. Also, the book was peppered with spelling errors. Still, the story itself was interesting and I enjoyed hearing about the good doctor's trip to Mecca and her adjustment to this society.

Richard Russo is one of my favorite authors and he delivers the magic with this book. Jack and Joy Griffin have realized their dreams but happiness still eludes them. They have a lovely daughter and a comfortable academic life but Jack is still haunted by his parents (literally and figuratively) and his somewhat miserable childhood. Jack's parents are almost parodies of professors in the "mid-f***ing west." They are portrayed vividly and their patronizing voices are all too clear. I wish other characters were as keenly drawn... especially Joy, daughter Laura and friend Sunny Kim. I could easily have read another 300 pages of this book. Russo fans will recognize some of his old themes... self-absorbed, well-meaning men and their shattered dreams. Middle-age introspection. Academic snobbery. etc. There are many light moments in this book as well. A seagull with perfect aim, fender benders and a slapstick scene at a rehearsal dinner. In Russo fashion, this book explores some deep ideas but leaves the reader with a smile.

Elizabeth Strout is a gifted writer and this book does not disappoint. A small town, widowed minister deals with his grief and the grief of his young daughter. The book is a little dark in the beginning but I think the author wants us to see the flaws in the parishoners. The title, Abide With Me was a little lost to me until I read the lyrics on line.... then the book made more sense. (Listen to a young soprano named Hayley Westenra sing it on YouTube. Beautiful!) The ending happens maybe a bit too quickly, but the last few chapters contain some of Strout's best writing.

Marina is an elderly WWII survivor living in the US with her husband Dimitri. This is a dual story about Marina's fade into Alzheimer's disease and her memories of her war years in Leningrad. As her current life slips away from her, she vividly remembers her time as a guide in the Hemitage museum. The two stories flow seamlessly and the writing, including the description of the art, is gorgeous. Many of us in our book club didn't realize that so may Hermitage staff lived in the cellar of the museum during the worst of the war. The author's description of those years is moving and the people are brilliantly portrayed. Debra Dean also does an incredible job of describing what it must be like to lose one's grasp on the current time. Marina appears bemused initially and eventually she is totally helpless. The only reason I gave this 4 stars is that it felt incomplete. At 256 pages it reads more like a novella and I could easily have read another 200 pages. Great little novel!

This book is a short, quick read but I had to walk away from it several times. it is VERY graphic and very painful to read. Precious is a young woman trying to make her way in the world after years of abuse. She has been impregnated twice by her father and was repeatedly beaten by her sadistic mother. But Precious wants more for herself and her young son. This should be required reading for every teacher and social worker.

There are quotes on the cover of this book calling it "rollicking" and "hilarious." Stephen King says,"Funniest novel I have read in ten years." I don't know what King is reading but this novel is dark... VERY dark. I don't want to add any spoilers but suffice it to say that the ending doesn't fit the rest of the novel. There are redeeming things in this book. The characters are pretty realistic (even when their circumstances are not!) and the author paints a clear picture of high school in the 70's but the story is very far fetched and ultimately unlikeable.

Sweet story about Enzo the dog and his owner, the race car driver. Enzo is hampered by his lack of language and his lack of opposable thumbs but his huge heart makes up for it. He has a beautiful soul and wants to be reincarnated as a man. That was a flaw for me, as we all know that dogs are higher beings. *smile* Enzo's owner has many problems in his life, but the dog gives him strength.

I read this in an afternoon but there's just not much to it. Eleven women and 40 years of "friendship" will amount to the usual: deaths of parents, marriages, divorces, childbirth, loss. It's life in the microcosm of Ames' women. It really is the story of mean, popular high school girls and how they turn out. Some are okay... a few appear to be struggling. Yep, that's life. Up and down. What would you discuss at a book club? The only thing I can think of would be our own enduring friendships.

There were a lot of beautiful descriptions in this book and in some places the writing was lyrical, but overall it was tedious. Most of our book club members never finished the book. I stuck with it and I'm glad I did but there just wasn't enough in for me to say it is "book club worthy." Many characters were so unlikeable that we just didn't care what happened to them. Descriptions are sometimes gross (bathroom habits) and added nothing to the narrative. There are many better books out there.

I read this in an afternoon and it was entertaining enough but there's just not much to it. I never saw the movie so I can't compare it. I think there is a lot that people might discuss at a book club, but it just wasn't for me.

This is the third of the Sisterhood books and they seem to be losing steam. The story lines are too predictable and there's not much of a surprise anywhere. I get the feeling that the author was just cranking out another book while the Sisterhood fad was still hot. The first two are better.

This is a stark and powerful book about love, duty, loneliness and grief. It is told in the first person by Sanders Roscoe but it is the story of his neighbors, the Goodnoughs. The language is straight-forward and sparse like the high plains setting but it is lovely and moving at the same time. Haruf is better known for his novel, Plainsong, but this is a masterpiece.

This novel intertwines the stories of a dozen very diverse characters. There is a priest, a bartender, Park Avenue wives, an attorney and several prostitutes. The author does a skillful job of drawing the reader into their lives and showing how a single event brings their stories together. This is a tough book to describe, but it's a winner on many levels!

There wasn't much happening in this novel of Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley Richardson. Hemingway was brusque and offensive and she was dull and whiney. They drink too much, alienate friends and leave their child for weeks at a time. The writing felt very flat and the dialogue stilted and corny.