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jksquires has commented on (27) products.

Heading Out to Wonderful by Robert Goolrick

jksquires, April 27, 2013

While visiting my oldest daughter in Bend, Oregon last week, we stopped at a charming, small (but sadly going out of business) neighborhood bookstore, where I was immediately drawn to this novel when I saw it was written by the remarkable author of A Reliable Wife. I bought it and finished it in a day and a half because I found it to be even better than his excellent first novel. He captures perfectly the small town in Virginia in 1949 that just happens to become the home of a drifting young man with a mysterious suitcase of money. This young man seems to have found a real home but things take a dire and tragic turn when he is drawn into a love affair with the beautiful young wife of a wealthy brute. A very good read, indeed.

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In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson

jksquires, April 10, 2013

I just discovered Bill Bryson by accident last year, when I picked up a copy of his excellent "Home" and was hooked. In a Sunburned Country was my sixth Bryson read, and I've yet to be disappointed. In felt, I remarked to my sister that I felt sad when I finished this one, feeling I'd just said a fond goodbye to my favorite traveling companion. Bryson has a way of taking you with him, side by side, every step of the way on his literary journeys. You also learn a very great deal from every one of his books, but the acquisition of knowledge is not at all taxing--it comes with great pleasure. I now know more about Australian settlement, history and climate, along with all the variety of strange flora and fauna. He's also a very funny man! Goodbye for now, Bill, but I can hardly wait to join you on the next trip--in fact, I've already ordered the book!

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A Day in the Life of a Smiling Woman: Complete Short Stories by Margaret Drabble

jksquires, April 3, 2013

I've recently rediscovered how much I admire the genius of Margaret Drabble, and these short stories were not a disappointment. They were collected from stories Drabble wrote over decades and they reflect not only the changes she so brilliantly observed in society, but also reflect her point of view at different stages in her own life. I would compare Drabble favorably with another Margaret (the brilliant Margaret Atwood) as one of the two best authors of the last forty years. They never disappoint.

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Robert Redford: The Biography by Michael Feeney Callan

jksquires, March 22, 2013

The cover photo alone was enough to tempt me to buy this biography, but I was not the least bit disappointed when I started reading. Michael Feeney Callan is far superior to most celebrity biographers. I have always admired Redford's acting and directing talent, but he emerges as an intelligent, committed and truly decent human being in this well-researched, very well written book. *

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All on Fire: William Lloyd Garrison and the Abolition of Slavery by Henry Mayer

jksquires, February 4, 2013

I was inspired to read this after watching the excellent PBS series "The Abolitionists" and I was awakened to the fact that Garrison has not received nearly enough credit for being one of the very greatest Americans. His unrelenting, thankless and dangerous quest to end slavery in American was unrivaled. He was also an advocate for non-violent change and, in that regard, was a pioneer and a model for Ghandi and King. This book details his long struggle and his great remarkable life.

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