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both a sad and beautiful book. two deeply wounded people recognize acceptance in each other but never truly abandon themselves to it.
this book was different in the way the story was told: chronologically, in short-story type vignettes, until the main novel begins. it makes for the very different perspective: usually character memories are told in flashback but we never lose sight of the present day protagonist. this way, its a fully formed scene, and your reaction is not coloured by who the people ultimately become.... it's much for realistic this way: the past experience has a lasting shadow, and yet is so far away that there is confusion as a reader at first. is this the same character years later? we turn back a few chapters, and yes - these are the same people, grown up.

shocking for Keillor to write about sex... so accustomed am I to his being a Christmas presence in out house. but he still knows the core of a rotten heart, and we've all got a piece of one.

hilarious. this plays out like an extended movie / tv show that might be a farce of 'Wallander' (tv show) or Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. I really enjoyed how the plot kept moving along, how attempts to shrink it (like a thug threatening a witness not to talk, or locating a great safe house) never slowed the pace of progress. and how - if the book hinted at how one loose end was going to be tied up, it quickly applied the same logic to the mirror loose-end rather than drawing that plot point into another full chapter. in that way, it was a master of confidence: respecting the intelligence of the audience and continually spinning new and exciting 'yarn'. I hear it's a movie. I'll definitely watch :)

another sweet one from Telgemeier. reminded me so much of my daughter even though the main character is in grade 8/9.. braces, boys, finding her tribe. (although with all the graphics/text about caring for her teeth, I surprised dd didn't do a better job of it - she read this book 2 years ago, even before she got her own braces!)

so interesting! instead of focusing on one person and their creativity and invention, this book champions the collaboration of individuals and tries to give each person his or her due. a little systematic at times (each section starting with a rambling biography of the current focus) the actual 'meat' of the book is fascinating: real chemistry sets, fiddling with resistors and circuits, entrepreneurs that made the first video games out of tv consoles - the folks who, collaboratively, created the digital age were a curious bunch that laid their physical hands on innovation long before it was hidden away in the box we know as the computer. in the same way that Cory Doctorow's Little Brother made me want to build a computer from scratch, this book makes me want to know further still about all the digital devices that have taken over our lives.

a weird, convoluted tale of what I thought was one kid, but was actually 2 childhoods and one adulthood... I can't imagine how anyone followed it when it was released as a serial in a weekly Chicago newspaper (for 5 or 6 years?) but then again, being forced to read it so slowly might have helped the understanding process, and it definitely would allow a greater appreciation for the art (some of it spectacularly detailed). my favorite parts were the childhood(s) scenes. perhaps it was the sadness of the tale, or the mumbling protagonist as an adult, but I didn't enjoy this half as much as I thought I would.

had to read for a bookclub but it bored me so much that I forgot to finish. yada, yada, the city is a person, the boy is a musical genius with an angry father, a kindly neighbor and a vicious squatter living above him. that description sounds enticing but it wasn't.
I thought maybe this Koonzt guy was supposed to be mystery, but know it think it's more paranormal stuff... not my cup of tea since junior high.

ho-hum time shifting story that is too predictable to be truly enjoyed. this same guy did the scott pilgrim series which have long been on my list to read but, with this mediocre offering, I won't be getting to them any time soon.

What the heck? The best part of the book I read before this one -We Were Liars- was the notion/inspirational quote of 'be a little kinder than you have to be' and this book is chock full of inspirational quotes, mantras and then culminates with the principals speech asking everyone to be a little kinder.

as many books about WWII as there are, and as many as I've read, there always seems to be a little more... feeling? meaning?.. that can be squeezed out.
I truly enjoyed this tale of 2 separate narrators, alike only in age, who are destined to meet. perhaps the girl's story was more compelling - coming from the point of view of being blind. fear inside war is strong enough. now add being abandoned and blind; the terror is nearly too much to take.
I didn't need the update to 2013. not everything needs to actually tie to the present day to mean something. the war itself has merit on it's own.

graphic novel that was sweet enough

charming comedic romance (no wonder they are turning it into a movie) that takes advantage pop culture's current obsession with Sheldon Cooper's character from The Bing Bang Theory. the main character, hilariously unaware that he has asperberg's syndrome, starts a search for his ideal partner and accidently gets involved in a paternity quest. i laughed out loud many times, and that doesn't happen often.
granted - the book does bend the character traits at times in order for the plot to move forward, but if you read the book to simply enjoy yourself (and not look for truths) then it's a great read. i read that the author is going to write a sequel, and get paid TONS i'll bet :)

well, it was bound to come after all the blogs turned into books: a book filled with FB status updates...
taken in very small doses, it's not as offensive as it should be: a recovering-from-cancer mother takes her family to Paris for a year to write 4 (pre-commissioned) books, watch her 2 children struggle in their foreign language schools, comment on her husband's conversation partner's love life, intermittently travel to Italy to visit the in-laws, and document almost all her meals at chic French restaurants. in fact, I'd go so far as to say it's about one-third about the food and her consequent weight gain & lose (she's even so perfect that she gets herself back to pre-Paris weight before they head back home to the States