Novels Now

I must have passed out because I don’t remember who put me on this gurney without a blanket. [First Sentence]
Belly of the Whale by Linda Merlino
Kunati, 2008
Fiction; 199 pgs
I almost decided against reading Linda Merlino’s book, Belly of the Whale. It hits too close to home. Breast cancer has affected not only my […]

Popularity: 35% [?]

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The rabbi shrugged. “Faith is hard, Rosa. Nonbelievers often speak of faith as if it were something easy, a cop-out from the really tough business of confronting a meaningless universe, but it’s not. It’s doubt that’s easy. - From The Believers-
When Audrey Howard meets Joel Litvinoff - a radical American lawyer -  at a […]

Popularity: 33% [?]

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The Believers
By Zoe Heller
Completed October 24, 2008
The Believers by Zoe Heller is the story of the Litvinoff family – led by Joel, a political activist and lawyer whose sudden collapse from a stroke put his family into chaos – compounded when a secret was revealed that rocked the family’s already fragile structure.Joel and his wife […]

Popularity: 29% [?]

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Mike got up off the floor and sat on the sofa while he loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top button of his shirt, as if increasing the blog flow to the brain might help solve his problem. And it was then that the word containment entered his mind. And with that word, moral, […]

Popularity: 26% [?]

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The White Tiger
by Aravind Adiga
2008 Booker Prize winner
2008, 276 pp.

Hmmm, well, I happened to get this book from the library on the Saturday before the Booker Prize was announced “just in case.” When The White Tiger was revealed as the winner, I was really surprised. Not only did it have the longest […]

Popularity: 28% [?]

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Atmospheric Disturbances
by Rivka Galchen
Starred Reviews: Publisher’s Weekly, Booklist, Library Journal, and Kirkus
2008, 240 pp.

It’s rare that a book gets starred reviews from all four major review publications. Was this book that good; does it really deserve that much attention? Yes, absolutely. I really, really loved it; so much, in fact, that […]

Popularity: 24% [?]

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Anita Shreve
305 pages
ARC from Hachette Book Group
Several students at a private boarding school have participated in illicit sexual activity. Worse than that, they were foolish enough to tape it. When the tape makes it’s way into the hands of the headmaster, that’s just the beginning of a cascade of events that will leave many lives […]

Popularity: 20% [?]

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Exit Lines by Joan Barfoot
What will life be like when you are old(er)? This is the story of four very different old people, because even though we say old, everyone is very different. The stereotype of the little old lady is not possible because unless we are all the same now, there is no […]

Popularity: 21% [?]

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The undiscover’d country, from whose bourn
No traveler returns,  – HAMLET
Lin Enger’s debut novel is a modern take on Hamlet, but with a few differences from the original. Even though I’m very familiar with the play, I found that Undiscovered Country surprisingly kept me in suspense throughout. There were just enough differences to keep […]

Popularity: 27% [?]

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So Long At The Fair
By Christina Schwartz
Completed September 9, 2008
Christina Schwartz’s latest book, So Long At The Fair, was a story about adultery and distrust in relationships. At the center, it’s the story of Jon and Ginny, high school sweethearts who have been married for many years, and Jon’s affair with his co-worker, Freddi. But […]

Popularity: 25% [?]

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