Book Reviews

∼ A ∼

• The Art of Fielding, Chad Harbach ♥♥♥♥1/2

∼ B ∼

• Balzo, Sandra, Uncommon Grounds ♥♥1/2
• Bass, Jefferson, Carved in Bone  ♥♥♥
• Before and After, Rosellen Brown     ♥
• Belli, Gioconda, The Scroll of Seduction ♥♥1/2     
• Berendt, John, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil ♥♥♥♥1/2   
• Beukes, Lauren, The Shining Girls ♥♥♥♥1/2
• The Blessing Way, Tony Hillerman ♥♥♥3/4
• Blood Meridian, or the Evening of Redness in the West, Cormac McCarthy ♥♥♥♥
• Bone Dust White, Karin Salvalaggio ♥♥
• Bootlegger’s Daughter, Margaret Maron ♥♥♥1/2  
• The Boy in the Suitcase,Lene Kaaberbøl, Agnete Friis,♥♥♥1/2  

• Bradbury, Ray, Something Wicked This Way Comes   ♥♥♥♥
• Broken Harbor, Tana French ♥♥♥♥♥
• Brown, Dan, Inferno ♥♥♥   
• Brown, Rosellen, Before and After ♥
• The Buddha in the Attic, Julie Otsuka ♥♥♥♥
• The Button Collector, Elizabeth Jennings ♥♥♥♥♥

∼ C ∼

• Carthage, Joyce Carol Oates ♥♥♥♥♥
• Carved in Bone, Jefferson Bass  ♥♥♥
• Cassella, Carol, Gemini ♥♥♥
• Chbosky, Stephen, The Perks of Being a Wallflower ♥♥♥♥♥
• Choke, Chuck Palahniuk ♥♥♥♥♥
• Clavell, James, King Rat ♥♥♥♥♥
• Clavell, James, Tai-Pan ♥♥♥♥1/2
• Clavell, James, Shogun ♥♥♥♥♥
•  Cleeves, Ann, Raven Black ♥♥♥1/2 
• Coben, Harlan, Tell No One ♥♥
• A Cold Day for Murder, Dana Stabenow ♥♥♥1/2 
• The Cold Dish, Craig Johnson  ♥♥♥♥♥
• Connelly, Michael, The Lincoln Lawyer ♥♥♥♥  
• The Coral Thief, Rebecca Stott ♥♥

∼ D ∼

• Déjà Dead, Kathy Reichs ♥♥♥1/2
• Diffenbaugh, Vanessa, The Language of Flowers ♥♥♥♥3/4
• A Dirty Job, Christopher Moore ♥♥♥♥♥
• Divergent, Veronica Roth ♥♥♥♥♥
• Dreams of Joy, Lisa See ♥♥♥♥
• Dunn, Katherine, Geek Love ♥♥♥♥

∼ E ∼

• Easton Ellis, Bret, Glamorama ♥♥♥1/2
• Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert ♥♥♥1/2
• Erdrich, Louise, The Round House ♥♥♥♥♥
• Eugenides, Jeffrey, Middlesex ♥♥♥♥♥
• Evanovich, Janet, One for the Money ♥♥♥♥

∼ F ∼

• Faithful Place, Tana French ♥♥♥♥1/2
• Fall of Giants, Ken Follet ♥♥♥1/2
• Fitch, Janet, White Oleander ♥♥♥♥♥
• The Flood, Micheal McDowell ♥♥♥
• Flynn, Gillian, Gone Girl ♥♥♥♥
• Follet, Ken, Fall of Giants ♥♥♥1/2 
• French, Tana, Broken Harbor ♥♥♥♥♥
• French Tana, Faithful Place ♥♥♥♥1/2
• Funaro, Gregory, The Sculptor  ♥♥1/2

∼ G ∼

• Garey, Juliann, Too Bright to Hear Too Loud to See ♥♥♥♥♥
• Geek Love, Katherine Dunn ♥♥♥♥
• Gemini, Carol Cassella ♥♥♥
• George, Kathleen, Taken ♥♥♥3/4
• Gilbert, Elizabeth Eat, Pray, Love ♥♥♥1/2
• Glamorama, Bret Easton Ellis ♥♥♥1/2
• Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn ♥♥♥♥
• Grissom, Kathleen The Kitchen House ♥♥♥♥1/2

∼ H ∼

• Harbach, Chad, The Art of Fielding ♥♥♥♥1/2
• Heart-Shaped Box, Joe Hill ♥♥♥1/2
• Higgins Clark, Mary, Two Little Girls in Blue ♥
• Hill, Joe, Heart-Shaped Box ♥♥♥1/2
• Hill, Joe, Horns  ♥♥♥♥1/2
• Hillerman, Tony, The Blessing Way  ♥♥♥ 3/4 
• Horns, Joe Hill  ♥♥♥♥1/2
• A History of the World in 6 Glasses, Tom Standage ♥♥♥♥1/2
• Hoffman, Beth, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt ♥♥♥♥♥  

∼ I ∼

• Iles, Greg, The Quiet Game ♥♥♥♥
• In the Garden of Beasts, Erik Larson ♥♥ 1/2
• In One Person, John Irving ♥♥♥♥
• Inferno, Dan Brown ♥♥♥
• Irving, John, In One Person  ♥♥♥♥

∼ J ∼

• Jennings, Elizabeth, The Button Collector ♥♥♥♥♥  
• Johnson, Craig, The Cold Dish ♥♥♥♥♥

∼ K ∼

• Kaaberbøl, Lene, Agnete Friis, The Boy in the Suitcase ♥♥♥1/2
• King, Stephen, On Writing ♥♥♥♥♥
• King, Stephen, The Shining ♥♥♥♥♥
• King Rat, James Clavell ♥♥♥♥♥
• The Kitchen House, Kathleen Grissom ♥♥♥♥1/2

∼ L ∼

• The Language of Flowers, Vanessa Diffenbaugh ♥♥♥♥3/4
• Larson, Erik, In the Garden of Beasts ♥♥ 1/2 
• The Last Chinese Chef, Nicole Mones ♥♥♥1/2
• Lehane, Dennis, Shutter Island  ♥♥♥♥♥  
• The Lincoln Lawyer, Michael Connelly ♥♥♥♥
• Lippman, Laura, What the Dead Know ♥♥♥1/2

∼ M ∼

• Mantel, Hilary, Wolf Hall ♥♥♥1/2
• Maron, Margaret, Bootlegger’s Daughter ♥♥♥1/2  
• McCarthy, Cormac, Blood Meridian, or the Evening of Redness in the West ♥♥♥♥
• McCreight, Kimberly Reconstructing Amelia,  ♥♥♥
• McDowell, Michael, The Flood ♥♥♥
• McHugh, Laura, The Weight of Blood ♥♥♥3/4
• McMahon, Jennifer, The Winter People  ♥♥
• Middlesex, Jeffrey Eugenides ♥♥♥♥♥
• Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, John Berendt ♥♥♥♥1/2

• Mones, Nicloe, The Last Chinese Chef ♥♥♥1/2
• Moore, Christopher, A Dirty Job ♥♥♥♥♥

∼ N ∼

• New Orleans Mourning, Julie Smith  ♥♥♥1/2
• The Night Gardener, George Pelecanos ♥♥♥♥1/2

∼ O ∼

• Oates, Joyce Carol, Carthage ♥♥♥♥♥
• Obreht Téa, The Tiger’s Wife ♥♥♥♥♥
• On Writing, Stephen King ♥♥♥♥♥
• One for the Money, Janet Evanovich ♥♥♥♥
• Otsuka, Julie, The Buddha in the Attic ♥♥♥♥

∼ P ∼

• Palahniuk, Chuck, Choke ♥♥♥♥♥
• Pelecanos, George, The Night Gardener ♥♥♥♥1/2
• Penny, Louise, Still Life ♥♥♥1/2
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky ♥♥♥♥♥
• Pickard, Nancy, The Virgin of Small Plains  ♥♥♥♥

∼ Q ∼

• The Quiet Game, Greg Iles ♥♥♥♥

∼ R ∼

• Rash, Ron, Serena  ♥♥♥1/2
• Raven Black, Ann Cleeves ♥♥♥1/2
• Reconstructing Amelia, Kimberly McCreight  ♥♥♥
• Reichs, Kathy, Déjà Dead ♥♥♥1/2
• Roth, Veronica, Divergent ♥♥♥♥♥
• The Round House, Louise Erdrich ♥♥♥♥♥

∼ S ∼

• Salvalaggio, Bone Dust White ♥♥
• Savages, Don Winslow ♥♥♥
• Saving CeeCee Honeycutt, Beth Hoffman ♥♥♥♥♥
• Sayers, Dorothy L. Whose Body? ♥♥♥
• The Scroll of Seduction, Gioconda Belli ♥♥1/2
• The Sculptor, Gregory Funaro ♥♥1/2
• Sebba, Ann, That Woman: The Life of Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor 1/2 
• See, Lisa, Dreams of Joy  ♥♥♥♥
• See, Lisa, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan ♥♥♥♥♥
• Serena, Ron Rash ♥♥♥ 1/2
• The Shining, Stephen King ♥♥♥♥♥
• The Shining Girls, Lauren Beukes ♥♥♥♥1/2
• Shriver, Lionel, We Need To Talk About Kevin ♥♥♥♥
• Shogun, James Clavell♥♥♥♥♥
• Shutter Island, Dennis Lehane ♥♥♥♥♥
• Smith, Julie, New Orleans Mourning ♥♥♥1/2
• Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Lisa See ♥♥♥♥♥
• Soffer, Jessica, Tomorrow There Will be Apricots ♥♥♥♥♥   
• Something Wicked This Way Comes, Ray Bradbury ♥♥♥♥
• Stabenow, Dana, A Cold Day for Murder ♥♥♥1/2 
• Standage, Tom, A History of the World in 6 Glasses ♥♥♥♥1/2
• Still Life, Louise Penny ♥♥♥1/2 
• Stott, Rebecca, The Coral Thief ♥♥

∼ T ∼

• Tabor, Mary L. Who by Fire ♥♥♥♥♥  
• Tai-Pan, James Clavell ♥♥♥♥1/2
• Taken, Kathleen George ♥♥♥3/4
• Tell No One, Harlan Coben♥♥½   
• The Tiger’s Wife, Téa Obreht ♥♥♥♥♥
• Tomorrow There Will be Apricots, Jessica Soffer ♥♥♥♥♥
• Too Bright to Hear Too Loud to See, Juliann Garey ♥♥♥♥♥
• Two Little Girls in Blue,  Mary Higgins C lark ♥

∼ U ∼

• Uncommon Grounds, Sandra Balzo ♥♥1/2

∼ V ∼

• The Vanishing, Wendy Webb ♥♥♥1/4
• The Virgin of Small Plains, Nancy Pickard  ♥♥♥♥

∼ W ∼

• We Need to Talk About Kevin, Lionel Shriver ♥♥♥♥
• Webb, Wendy, The Vanishing ♥♥♥1/4
• The Weight of Blood, Laura McHugh ♥♥♥3/4
• What the Dead Know, Laura Lippman ♥♥♥1/2
• White Oleander, Janet Fitch  ♥♥♥♥♥
• Who by Fire, Mary L. Tabor ♥♥♥♥♥
• Whose Body? Dorothy L. Sayers ♥♥♥
• Winslow, Don, Savages ♥♥♥
• The Winter People, Jennifer McMahon  ♥♥
• Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel ♥♥♥1/2

∼ X ∼

∼ Y ∼

∼ Z ∼

 

Book Lists

• Top 10 read in 2013
• Mysterious USA Reading Challenge

• 10Disturbing Novels
• 10 Historical Novels
• Top 10 Read in 2012

3+1 Books

3 fiction and 1 nonfiction books about a particular subject

• 3 +1 books with strong Asian (American) Female Voices
• 3+1 books about Flowers
• 3+1 books about Food
• 3+1 books about the Ocean
• 3+1 great books about bad people