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Powell's Staff:
Five Book Friday: In Memoriam
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Every year, the booksellers at Powell’s submit their Top Fives: their five favorite books that were released in 2023. It’s a list that, when put together, shows just how varied and interesting the book tastes of Powell’s booksellers are. I highly recommend digging into the recommendations — we would never lead you astray — but today...
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Brontez Purnell:
Powell’s Q&A: Brontez Purnell, author of ‘Ten Bridges I’ve Burnt’
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Rachael P.:
Starter Pack: Where to Begin with Ursula K. Le Guin
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Customer Comments
Rachel Coker has commented on (109) products
Queen of the Night
by
Alexander Chee
Rachel Coker
, June 24, 2018
"Queen of the Night" is a spectacular novel, one I wished would go on and on (maybe even longer than its 500+ pages!). It's easy to lose yourself in this work of historical fiction, to be absorbed completely by the romance, sex, opera, tragedy and court intrigue that Alexander Chee has created. If you love Paris and opera, as I do, the book is irresistible. But really: Who can resist a book that features a 19th century American orphan triumphing over humble beginnings, the follies of European royalty, mysterious courtesans and a look backstage at a circus to boot? As Carmen tells Don José: "Le charme opère," the spell works! The same is true for this book. What a spell it casts!
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All the Birds in the Sky
by
Charlie Jane Anders
Rachel Coker
, June 01, 2018
"All the Birds in the Sky" explores the tension between technology and nature as seen from the vantage points of two young people, both misunderstood by their families and rejected by their peers. One is a brilliant scientist; the other, a powerful witch. They become friends as children, lose track of each other in high school and reconnect as young adults. Charlie Jane Anders skillfully blends tropes of young adult fiction (school bullies, young love, social media obsession) with sci-fi and fantasy themes (apocalyptic weather, artificial intelligence, magic). The story unfolds at a good clip, and it will give you something to think about no matter how old you are.
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The Female Persuasion
by
Meg Wolitzer
Rachel Coker
, May 29, 2018
"The Female Persuasion" will resonate with women, young and old, who have mentored or been mentored. Meg Wolitzer, who has become one of my favorite novelists in the past decade or so, doesn't just remember what it feels like to be in your late teens/early 20s; she *understands* the highs and lows of those years and the way that small-scale stuff can feel so very high stakes. (Which party should I go to? Who gets to ask a question when a famous person visits our campus?) She manages to put her readers right in the thick of it all as protagonist Greer Kadetsky leaves home and tries to make her way in the world. Will Greer's hero/mentor live up to her expectations? Will Greer live up to her own impossibly high standards? Wolitzer deftly wedges in a lot of other things along the way, including a critique of "rich white lady feminism" and some interesting ideas about grief. Highly recommended.
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Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine: A Novel
by
Gail Honeyman
Rachel Coker
, March 22, 2018
Eleanor Oliphant is a most unusual heroine. She's depressed, lonely, quick to anger and slow to find joy in anything at all. Even so, you come to fall in love with her and to cheer on her small attempts to improve her situation. I laughed and cried over Eleanor. I also felt pangs of empathy as I thought about the many, MANY mysteries of adult life and what the world must be like for someone who hasn't been taught about them. (Why do people say, "Don't bring anything" when you're expected to come with at least a small gift? Why do women wear so much makeup in an effort to look "natural?" How sad is too sad for a funeral?) A coworker pressed this novel into my hands and encouraged me to read it. I'm so glad she did!
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Alice Network
by
Kate Quinn
Rachel Coker
, March 14, 2018
"The Alice Network" features two strong women, each trying to find her place in the world during and immediately after one of the world wars. In chapters that alternate between eras, Kate Quinn introduces us to a network of female spies operating in German-occupied France during WWI and to a disillusioned college student searching for her missing cousin in France in 1947. This work of historical fiction moves along at a roaring pace, with lots of cussing and defiance of societal norms. There's romance, intrigue and a truly evil villain, too. "The Alice Network" has such a cinematic feel that I can only assume there will soon be a movie.
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So You Want to Talk about Race
by
Ijeoma Oluo
Rachel Coker
, March 06, 2018
Ijeoma Oluo has some excellent advice for white folks in "So You Want to Talk About Race." This book may be most helpful to people who think "I'm not racist" or who read about Black Lives Matter and #takeaknee and can't understand why they're necessary. Oluo addresses topics that you may hesitate to raise with black friends, encourages you to revisit your understanding of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X and explains concepts including emotional labor and white privilege. Consider this anti-racism 101. For white folks ready for the 200-level anti-racism course -- people who are ready to accept that White Supremacy is real and that they've benefited from it -- Oluo offers additional challenges. I especially appreciated her call toward the end of the book to move beyond talk and into action. Find a place, whether it's your kids' school or the local political scene, and use your privilege to help dismantle systems that have done so much damage to people of color. If you're not ready for this book or don't view discussions of race as a necessary part of your life as a white person, I'd encourage you to read "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates and "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson, both of which led me to empathy and anger and prompted me to speak out in ways I hadn't previously.
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Flying Couch Art Memory & the Search for Home
by
Amy Kurzweil
Rachel Coker
, December 31, 2017
"Flying Couch" is a graphic memoir that features a Holocaust survivor's story. This isn't Art Spiegelman's "Maus," though. This is something completely different, a story of three generations of Jewish women, struggling with their Jewish and professional identities. What does it mean to be a good Jew? An American? How do you make yourself the protagonist of your own story when the stories of your ancestors are so potent and still so alive to you? Amy Kurzweil introduces all of these topics through her illustrations. That she doesn't come up with answers for all of them doesn't take anything away from the accomplishment of this book.
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Turtles All the Way Down
by
John Green
Rachel Coker
, December 20, 2017
"Turtles All the Way Down" addresses mental illness, the loss of a parent, teen friendships and romance with the kind of sensitivity and intelligence that readers have come to expect from John Green. He's in fine form here, with expertly drawn characters, a mystery, some drama and a little humor as well as a satisfying conclusion. If you know someone who has experienced anxiety or OCD, you will especially appreciate his treatment of the heroine's struggles with everyday life. Somehow, Green manages to treat even the darkest, most difficult topics with a light enough touch that you finish the book feeling just a tiny bit better about the world.
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No One Can Pronounce My Name: A Novel
by
Rakesh Satyal
Rachel Coker
, December 16, 2017
"No One Can Pronounce My Name" addresses elements of the immigrant experience not often addressed in fiction: The loneliness of middle age as an empty nester in a foreign country. The challenges of coming out as gay in your second language when you can barely articulate your desires to yourself. As Rakesh Satyal introduces a couple of Indian-American families and their friends and colleagues, he goes beyond the clichés (high-achieving Princeton student, ditzy receptionist, quiet and accommodating wife) and cuts right to the heart of the things we're all striving for: connection, success, genuine friendship and love.
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Manhattan Beach
by
Jennifer Egan
Rachel Coker
, November 19, 2017
In "Manhattan Beach," Jennifer Egan gives us Irish and Italian immigrants, sailors, divers, schemers, mobsters, goody-goodies and rule-breakers. She paints a vivid picture of life in 1930s and '40s New York City, following a girl named Anna as she grows up during the Depression and the run up to World War II. Anna's family members desert her one by one, but she turns out to be much stronger than the loneliness that threatens to envelop her. The book got off to a somewhat slow start, but the last third of it is a page-turner. Highly recommended and very different from Egan's last book, "A Visit from the Goon Squad."
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Little Fires Everywhere
by
Celeste Ng
Rachel Coker
, October 08, 2017
Celeste Ng knows that even the largest, most beautiful house on an idyllic suburban street can harbor fantasies and fears capable of burning down its residents' lives. In "Little Fires Everywhere," she brings to life two families, one large and uber-traditional, the other small and artsy. The teens of each family long for some of the values and comforts of the other. Ultimately, long-held secrets tear them apart, but not before the teens and the mothers of the two families have grown in important ways because of their interactions. This is a compelling, finely drawn novel that touches on adoption, race and suburban conformity.
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We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy
by
Ta-Nehisi Coates
Rachel Coker
, October 03, 2017
In "We Were Eight Years in Power," Ta-Nehisi Coates offers an examination of the Obama presidency, the role of race in American politics and a distressing coda related to the ascendency of Donald Trump. Some readers will find statistical and historical evidence to back up theories they may have already considered. Others may be stunned to see these facts marshaled in this way. Readers of The Atlantic will recognize large portions of the book, as each chapter is essentially a fresh introduction along with an article that previously appeared in the magazine. Personally, I find Coates' synthesis impossible to refute. White people in America continue to benefit from what he describes as the "bloody heirloom," getting preferential treatment at every stage and level of existence, from the first day of kindergarten to the day they apply for a mortgage and beyond. Reading "The Case for Reparations," I am struck by the logic of his arguments. America is centuries overdue for a truth and reconciliation discussion and policy agenda. "We Were Eight Years in Power" is one of the most important books of 2017.
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Sing, Unburied, Sing
by
Jesmyn Ward
Rachel Coker
, September 29, 2017
"Sing, Unburied, Sing" really isn't like any other novel you've ever read. There are ghosts, drug-addicted women and imprisoned men. Racism, child neglect and superstition. Pieces of it will shock you with their violence and cruelty while other pages may make you gasp at their beauty. This is magical realism in modern-day Mississippi. This is a novel that brings the insanity of mass incarceration to painful life. This is a book that can rightfully consider itself a descendant of Toni Morrison's "Beloved" while also standing entirely alone, without peer.
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Precious and Grace: No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency 17
by
Alexander McCall Smith
Rachel Coker
, July 03, 2017
Alexander McCall Smith's "No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" series is the only series I keep up with at this point. His latest installment, "Precious and Grace," does not disappoint. I find these books unfailingly gentle, kind and warm-hearted. This one has an especially lovely message about forgiveness at its core.
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Anything Is Possible
by
Elizabeth Strout
Rachel Coker
, June 04, 2017
Elizabeth Strout returns to Amgash, Illinois, the town at the center of her earlier book "My Name is Lucy Barton." There, she gives us the stories of many more of the town's residents, both those who are still struggling there and some of those who managed to escape to other parts of the Midwest. We see Lucy, briefly, and her siblings, too. Once again, Strout's gift is to create essentially unlikable characters and then to make the reader care deeply about what happens to them. In Strout's world, everyone is a little (or, sometimes, a lot) broken and longing to be seen in the light of true understanding.
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A Gentleman in Moscow
by
Amor Towles
Rachel Coker
, June 04, 2017
Amor Towles' "A Gentleman in Moscow" rarely goes beyond the revolving door of the Hotel Metropol in Moscow, and yet presents readers with a sweep of Russian and Soviet history, literature, politics and more. At the heart of this wonderful novel is the charming Count Alexander Rostov, sentenced to "house arrest" in the luxury hotel in 1922. The Count, who once was told that "we must master our circumstances or our circumstances will master us," determines to -- in a more modern turn of phrase -- bloom where he is planted. Over the course of several decades, he creates a rich life and deep friendships without leaving the hotel.
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The Hate U Give
by
Angie Thomas
Rachel Coker
, April 24, 2017
Roger Ebert once described film as "a machine that generates empathy." If that's true for movies, it's doubly true for novels. "The Hate U Give," a young adult book inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, is the kind of empathy machine that needs to be fired up all over this country. Angie Thomas' novel gives readers a chance to see the world as it appears to a black teenager who witnesses her childhood friend's murder by a police officer. After the shooting, Starr, who's 16, wrestles with whether and how much to cooperate with law enforcement as they investigate and whether her friends at her mostly white school can ever understand what's going on. The novel takes on a lot (romance, family dynamics, racism, police violence and more) but never loses its focus on Starr. I'd recommend it without reservations for teenagers and their parents.
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Homegoing
by
Yaa Gyasi
Rachel Coker
, April 18, 2017
"Homegoing" presents the crime, heartbreak & lasting wounds of slavery through multiple generations of a family originally from what today is Ghana. This is Yaa Gyasi's debut novel, but you'd never know it as you read one compelling story after another, striding forward from the 1700s to the present.
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Lincoln in the Bardo
by
George Saunders
Rachel Coker
, April 09, 2017
"Lincoln in the Bardo" is weird, crass, gorgeous and melancholy. The novel is nominally about Abraham Lincoln during the period just before and after his 11-year-old son, Willie, dies of typhoid. But it's also full of the ghostly beings who inhabit the cemetery where Willie is buried and their reflections on their own previous lives. In that way, it reminded me just a tiny bit of "Spoon River Anthology," although this book really is unlike any other I've encountered.
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We Are Still Tornadoes
by
Michael Kun
Rachel Coker
, November 17, 2016
"We Are Still Tornadoes," an epistolary novel set in the early 1980s, boasts two likable teen characters and first-rate music references. Cath and Scott, two childhood friends separated when one goes off to college and the other stays in their hometown, write to each other about everyday life, dating drama and family challenges. Along the way, they fight, offer each other encouragement and discover how much they value their friendship. This is not serious literature, but it was a quick and enjoyable book and a lovely reminder of how intense and important friendships can be at that age.
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My Brilliant Friend
by
Elena Ferrante
Rachel Coker
, November 27, 2015
"My Brilliant Friend," which unfolds in Naples, Italy, in the 1950s, follows two girls growing up in a poor neighborhood. Both are exceptionally intelligent, but numerous forces -- from parental expectations to early marriage -- threaten to keep them hemmed into an ordinary, possibly even dull, life. Will they stay in school? Remain friends? Make it out of their neighborhood? Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan series, which has earned comparisons to Jane Austen's novels, begins here. I initially found the large cast of characters overwhelming, but by the middle of the book I was entirely absorbed by the story. I plan to continue reading the series.
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Light in the Ruins
by
Chris Bohjalian
Rachel Coker
, November 15, 2015
"The Light in the Ruins" combines a murder mystery set in 1955 Florence, Italy, with the story of a wealthy Tuscan family's downfall at the close of World War II. Author Chris Bohjalian expertly weaves the two together, building suspense and highlighting the moral quandaries facing everyday Italians during the war. He presents each of his characters with depth and sensitivity, even the ones who have done something reprehensible. The elements of the story, including battles, forbidden love and a deranged murderer, make for a novel with a truly cinematic feel.
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Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy A Novella
by
Rachel Joyce
Rachel Coker
, November 02, 2015
In "The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy," Rachel Joyce revisits the characters from her first novel, "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry." That book follows Harold on his journey to visit a friend and former coworker he hasn't seen in some 20 years. This one follows Queenie while she waits for him to arrive. Even though Queenie's literally on her deathbed, the novel avoids dipping into trite or sappy territory and instead gives us some of the Big Truths about life, friendship and love. (And, yes, there are some references to T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," too.)
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Circle
by
Dave Eggers
Rachel Coker
, October 26, 2015
This near-future dystopia imagines a Bay-area firm with the combined abilities and influence of Google, Amazon, Facebook, Twitter and Apple. It creates spectacular products and services, but there's a nefarious undercurrent to the operation: All of these "advances" will be paid for with the steady erosion of our privacy and, eventually, our private thoughts and free will. Author Dave Eggers pulls off a tone that's satirical without ever being silly. I'm a collector of dystopian fiction, but you don't have to be a tech nerd or utopia/dystopia expert to appreciate "The Circle." If you liked the theme of Gary Shteyngart's "Super Sad True Love Story" or appreciate the approach of George Orwell's "1984," then "The Circle" will appeal to you as well. If you've worn a fitness tracker or been asked to "rate us a 10; anything less is failure!" then you will relate to what happens to the protagonist, Mae Holland. This book is guaranteed to make you hesitate for just a moment before your next Instagram post. (And, yes, I'm aware of the irony of rating this book online. I half expect someone from the Circle to call me and ask me what could've been better! )
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Everything I Never Told You
by
Celeste Ng
Rachel Coker
, October 19, 2015
In "Everything I Never Told You," Celeste Ng gives us a family struggling to make sense of a devastating loss. As the story travels backward and forward through several decades, we learn about the parents' childhoods, their courtship and marriage, their children's triumphs and carefully guarded sorrows and, finally, come to understand the central mystery of the book: How did 16-year-old Lydia die? Ng's masterful flipping from one point of view to another puts the reader in a unique position to empathize with each character, from the tentative little sister to the father who has always felt like an outsider. A spectacular book, one of the best I've read this year.
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In the Unlikely Event
by
Judy Blume
Rachel Coker
, September 06, 2015
I haven't read anything by Judy Blume in 20+ years. It's refreshing to return to her, and to find her weaving such an interesting story, one meant for grownups even if the teenagers get the most interesting parts. "In the Unlikely Event" draws on the real-life story of Elizabeth, N.J., which witnessed three fatal plane crashes in a three-month period in 1951-52. Blume was a teenager living in Elizabeth at the time, and she has turned this traumatic episode from her childhood into an epic story. Hearts are won and broken; parents' expectations are fulfilled (or not); and teens learn to sift apart fact and fiction. Blume packs in so many great details about entertainment, fashion, foods and ethnic traditions of the era. You'll be able to picture yourself walking through Elizabeth by the time the second plane goes down.
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Me & Earl & the Dying Girl Movie Tie In Edition
by
Jesse Andrews
Rachel Coker
, August 31, 2015
If you look back upon high school with fondness (or would consider yourself part of the "in" crowd right now), "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" is probably not for you. It's the story of a misfit wannabe filmmaker who befriends a fellow high school senior who's dying of leukemia. This is not a sweet, inspirational "The Fault in Our Stars" kind of book. It's more nihilistic, profane and (probably) more truthful. This is a rare book about a high school boy's life that really sounds like it came from a high school boy, albeit an exceptionally sensitive and smart one.
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A Man Called Ove
by
Fredrik Backman
Rachel Coker
, August 31, 2015
If you had told me there was a new sub-genre of fiction called Books About Seemingly Crotchety But Actually Softhearted Old Swedish Men, I would not have necessarily expected to enjoy even one book that fit into it. Now I've thoroughly enjoyed *two*. "A Man Called Ove" doesn't have much in common, really, with "The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared," but something about the sensibilities and central characters definitely offers a bit of a connection. In this novel, minor irritations keep getting in the way of a grumpy widower's plans to kill himself. After a while, it's nearly impossible to resist empathizing with Ove.
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Snow Flower & the Secret Fan
by
See, Lisa
Rachel Coker
, August 18, 2015
"Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" tells the story of two girls growing up in 19th-century China. The customs of the age, including foot-binding and a secret language called "nu shu," may be unfamiliar, but the bond between two lifelong friends is entirely universal. Author Lisa See clearly did a tremendous amount of research, but the novel never feels weighted down by it. This is a selection for a new book club I'm in, and I think it will provide lots of fodder for a good discussion.
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Between the World and Me
by
Ta-Nehisi Coates
Rachel Coker
, August 01, 2015
Toni Morrison said "This is required reading," and it's plain to see why. This book is a thoughtful, personal, heartbreaking synthesis of the consequences of centuries of American injustice. Ta-Nehisi Coates addresses this book to his son, and any parent who reads it will understand the way that the world becomes more fraught and your interests in it shift when you bring a child into the world. I dare you not to be shattered when you read about Coates' feelings as he watches his son play with a new group of kids on a preschool tour and wishes he'd hold back a bit. "...now I understand the gravity of what I was proposing -- that a four-year-old child be watchful, prudent, and shrewd, that I curtail your happiness, that you submit to a loss of time. And now when I measure this fear against the boldness that the masters of the galaxy imparted to their own children, I am ashamed." Anyone who has studied abroad, who has left their home country behind for at least a few months, will recognize what happens to Coates in Paris. The experience gives you a new view not only of your host country, but also of your own people. Now imagine that what you see reveals to you that your hardships are even harder than you imagined on your worst days. That's what he sees: America has stolen not only his body, which was his fear all along, but also his eyes. Coates doesn't prescribe a fix for America. He ponders a future in which systems that have plundered black bodies begin to break down, but he suspects that their failure would only bring further pain down on his people. And, seeing the world through his eyes at least for a little while, it's hard to disagree.
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Crane Wife
by
Patrick Ness
Rachel Coker
, July 16, 2015
This is a modern myth fashioned from a Japanese folktale with the utmost care and artistry. It is utterly implausible and utterly beautiful. If you are looking for a realistic story about an American man who moves to Britain and runs a print shop, do not read this novel. But if you are open to something more magical and strange and lovely, you will not be disappointed by "The Crane Wife."
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In the Woods
by
Tana French
Rachel Coker
, July 11, 2015
"In the Woods" is my idea of a great summer read. It's a fast-paced, suspenseful and well-crafted murder mystery. Set in and around Dublin, Ireland, the novel is narrated by a homicide detective who survived a horrible crime as a child. As the book begins, he and his partner, a strong-willed and whip-smart woman, take on a case that may or may not be linked to the one in his past. I found the characters interesting and the crime difficult to solve right up until the end.
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Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry A Novel
by
Rachel Joyce
Rachel Coker
, May 27, 2015
"The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry" seems like a simple story: A man sets off with a letter to an old acquaintance, then decides to deliver the note in person instead. As she's hundreds of miles away, he has abundant time to reflect on his life, his parents, his son, his marriage and more. What he finds is by turns disturbing and heartwarming. If you liked "Major Pettigrew's Last Stand," another book about an Englishman who overcomes his conventional upbringing to find his voice and his passion, you'll like this.
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The Buried Giant
by
Kazuo Ishiguro
Rachel Coker
, May 27, 2015
Kazuo Ishiguro's newest novel, "The Buried Giant," cannot be summed up in just a few words. It's centuries ago somewhere in Britain, and a man and a woman set off on a journey to see their son. A mist has descended over the country, robbing people of their memories and at the same time ensuring a fragile peace between Saxons and Britons. Ishiguro's use of language is unique, at once entirely precise and shrouding vital details from the reader until they burst forth. The book's essential question might be: Would you rather have a sharp memory accompanied by deep pain and longing or live untroubled in a deep fog?
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Roller Girl
by
Victoria Jamieson
Rachel Coker
, May 18, 2015
I first noticed "Roller Girl" on a list of best books for tween girls. As a parent of a tween (and a younger girl who loves graphic novels), I decided to check it out. It's really, really well done. The story focuses on Astrid, a Portland 12-year-old dealing with shifting friendships, a desire for growing independence and other pre-teen challenges. When she decides to attend a roller derby camp without her BFF, she has to find her own way in a new group of people while mastering a new set of skills. Along the way, she dyes her hair blue, fights with her mom and picks out a roller derby name. My daughters and I all read this book in a day. The kids enjoyed the story; I enjoyed having an excuse to talk with them about friends, middle school, boys and more. Thumbs up from all of us!
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Americanah
by
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Rachel Coker
, May 18, 2015
This stellar novel could be Exhibit A in a discussion of how fiction can build empathy and allow readers to explore other perspectives and cultures. I will never know what it’s like to be black in America ��" or to be a non-American black in America, either. But thanks to “Americanah,” I had an opportunity to look at my country through a different lens. The book is more than inter-cultural homework, however. It also stands up as a love story and as a coming-of-age tale with a Nigerian girl at its heart. Highly recommended.
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Book of Unknown Americans
by
Cristina Henriquez
Rachel Coker
, April 18, 2015
"The Book of Unknown Americans" knits together the stories of a diverse group of Hispanic immigrants who live in a Delaware apartment building. Cristina Henriquez's novel shares the big hopes (a better education, a career on Broadway, love) of these immigrants, along with their sorrows large (brain injury) and small (terrible canned food). She also somehow juggles more than a half-dozen first-person narrators without ever losing the reader's attention. This is a love story, a reality check on the American dream and a very good read. Highly recommended.
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Paris
by
Edward Rutherfurd
Rachel Coker
, March 19, 2015
"Paris" reminds me of the tasting menu at a fancy restaurant where the chef is operating under the misconception that he can do no wrong. Author Edward Rutherfurd serves up some tasty morsels in this epic novel, but he also delivers some rather self-indulgent and incoherent bits along the way. At this restaurant, it would've been better to get the four-course prix fixe than the 12-course tasting menu. The core of the novel, which follows several families living in Paris over the course of a few centuries, is really well done. Great research, interesting characters, beautiful settings, the works! Unfortunately, the novel is also bloated with pedantic passages in which Rutherfurd wants to show off how much he knows about something. I wish his editor had helped to trim this 800-page banquet into a slimmer, more elegant 500-page feast. I read this book over the course of a couple of weeks in which I was first getting ready to travel to Paris and then actually in the city. But what started off as a fun little project soon came to feel like a burdensome homework assignment.
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First Fifteen Lives of Harry August
by
Claire North
Rachel Coker
, February 24, 2015
"The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August" offers a fun, witty, occasionally thought-provoking mashup of time travel and reincarnation. It is written as a memoir of Harry August, a man who is destined to be reborn into the same circumstances over and over. It initially appears that Harry can tinker with the events of his own life but not the broad strokes of world history. The adventure really gains steam as he encounters others like himself. If you enjoyed "The Time Traveler's Wife" or "Life After Life," this novel may appeal to you as well.
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Sweet Tooth
by
Ian McEwan
Rachel Coker
, January 27, 2015
"Sweet Tooth" is a spy novel whose protagonist is a fiction-loving young woman. What's not to like? Ian McEwan gives us Serena Frome, the Cambridge-educated daughter of an Anglican bishop eager for a taste of independence and excitement in early 1970s England. When an older man recruits her for MI5, she finds herself living a London life that is by turns boring (endless typing in frigid offices) and thrilling (secret assignations). Serena falls in love with the novelist she's supposed to recruit for an operation code named Sweet Tooth, and the story takes off from there.
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Rosie Revere, Engineer
by
Beaty, Andrea
Rachel Coker
, January 04, 2015
I don't often take the time to leave comments about children's books, but "Rosie Revere, Engineer" is something special. The rhymes are clever; the illustrations are fun. Best of all is the message of this delightful book: You only fail if you give up. This is something today's kids need to hear over and over. Throw in the fact that the book introduces kids to the idea of becoming engineers, and this is a real winner.
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Station Eleven
by
Emily St John Mandel
Rachel Coker
, December 24, 2014
Dystopian fiction has been a favorite of mine for 25 years. Post-apocalyptic dystopias pose special challenges to the author, who must reimagine civilization *and* come up with a plausible cause for the collapse of civilization as we knew it. Emily St. John Mandel navigates all of this with ease, never leaving the reader feeling too lost even as she flies backward and forward through time. "Station Eleven" is a gem. The post-pandemic world of the novel is so interesting and so real that I wish the book were longer!
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Dept. of Speculation
by
Jenny Offill
Rachel Coker
, December 20, 2014
"Department of Speculation" plays with form in a way that is by turns fascinating and frustrating. The reader is left to fill in a lot of blanks as Jenny Ifill shows tiny shards of a woman's inner dialogue about growing older, married life and parenthood. There's very little in the way of traditional dialogue, character development or plot ... and yet, undeniably, there's a story. Ifill, author of the awesome children's book "Eleven Experiments That Failed," is experimenting here. What she produced isn't a straightforward novel and yet is definitely a success.
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Yes Please CD
by
Amy Poehler
Rachel Coker
, December 18, 2014
This was an entertaining and occasionally insightful metaphor, with a somewhat odd mix of levity; musings on divorce, motherhood and feminism; and anecdotes from Poehler's life. The good parts are excellent; the weak parts are really, really weak. Five stars for her take on women in the workplace and the overpowering love moms feel for their kids. One star for the parts where she whines about writing. I highly recommend the audio book version of "Yes Please," which features many cool guest voices (Patrick Stewart! Kathleen Turner!) as well as Poehler herself.
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Yes Please
by
Amy Poehler
Rachel Coker
, December 18, 2014
This was an entertaining and occasionally insightful metaphor, with a somewhat odd mix of levity; musings on divorce, motherhood and feminism; and anecdotes from Poehler's life. The good parts are excellent; the weak parts are really, really weak. Five stars for her take on women in the workplace and the overpowering love moms feel for their kids. One star for the parts where she whines about writing. If you do decide to read it, I highly recommend the audio book version, which features many cool guest voices as well as Poehler herself.
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Landline
by
Rainbow Rowell
Rachel Coker
, December 14, 2014
Rainbow Rowell's "Landline" was exactly as good as I heard it would be. Quirky, clever, by turns funny and full of heartache. It is not great literature, but it is easy to relate to, especially if you're a married mom of a certain age. It's surprisingly realistic for a novel featuring time travel.
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Olive Kitteridge
by
Elizabeth Strout
Rachel Coker
, November 12, 2014
"Olive Kitteridge" isn't a fun, feel-good book. Its heroine, Olive, is a prickly, depressed, brutally honest, introverted woman who also happens to be smart, perceptive and, in her own way, desperate for human connection. The novel moves seamlessly through time and among people in the little community on the coast of Maine where Olive lives. I found the novel similar to Edgar Lee Masters' "Spoon River Anthology" in the way that the reader gets to know characters better by seeing them from multiple perspectives. If you've ever doubted yourself, hesitated on the edge of a party, committed some small act of meanness, wondered if your family is as crazy as it seems or yearned for a deeper love, you may find yourself among the residents of Crosby.
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Sense & Sensibility
by
Joanna Trollope
Rachel Coker
, October 31, 2014
A modern retelling of Jane Austen's "Sense and Sensibility?" Yes, please! Joanna Trollope does an excellent job of bringing the Dashwood girls' plight and ultimate triumph into the world of Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. The villains are just as dastardly, the houses just as grand and the women just as obsessed with marriage and money as ever. It's light and frothy and fun, just as the original must have been a hundred years ago. This book is part of a project to update all of Austen's novels, and I'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of "Emma" as retold by Alexander McCall Smith this fall.
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Language of Flowers
by
Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Rachel Coker
, October 26, 2014
This is a challenging book with a protagonist who initially is difficult to like. But if you stick with it, you will find a novel that has a lot to say about self-love, motherhood, forgiveness and growing up. Along the way, you will also learn a bit about the Victorian-era language of flowers and about foster children. Highly recommended.
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Fortunately the Milk
by
Neil Gaiman, Skottie Young
Rachel Coker
, October 06, 2014
Such fun! Neil Gaiman gives us a harried father who spins a crazy tale featuring volcanoes, pirates and a time-traveling dinosaur. The ending, believe it or not, may remind you of "The Usual Suspects." This is a wonderful read-aloud book with kids, something beyond a 10-minute picture book but not the same time commitment as "The Secret Garden" and other big classics. We wrapped it up in three nights, and my 7- and 10-year-olds were entirely delighted.
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All the Light We Cannot See
by
Doerr, Anthony
Rachel Coker
, September 28, 2014
Once this gorgeous book sucked me in, I found the world around me dissolving and felt a frustration that there was still laundry to be done, dinners to be cooked, phone calls to answer. "All the Light We Cannot See" is a World War II book, a work of historical fiction and a coming-of-age story. But it's so much more. It conjures up worlds not often considered, from the despair of a brilliant orphan who barely escapes life as a miner only to be chewed up by the German war machine to the lives of civilians in Saint-Malo, trapped for years under occupation that threatens to squelch their humanity completely. I've read numerous books set during the war, but I've rarely encountered a story told with such beauty and lyricism. The story unfolds with a dramatically nonlinear timeline, which I know some readers will find difficult, but I found that it added a sense of suspense to the book.
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Moonlight Palace
by
Liz Rosenberg
Rachel Coker
, September 15, 2014
This is a small book, but by no means slight. It's exotic, moving and a bit suspenseful. "The Moonlight Palace" is a coming-of-age story set in 1920s Singapore. Liz Rosenberg's heroine, Agnes, is a descendant of the last sultan of Singapore and one of the few remaining protectors of a once-glamorous palace. Agnes, age 17, is curious, stubborn, daring and naive. She's also entirely likable. You'll enjoy finding out what happens as she flirts with suitors, looks for a job and faces the possibility of losing the only home she has ever known.
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Love & Treasure
by
Ayelet Waldman
Rachel Coker
, August 11, 2014
This book could be described in several ways: It's historical fiction. It's a romance novel. It's a Holocaust book. In this case, happily, the book is more than the sum of its parts. It's all of those things, blended together in a satisfying, challenging package. Ayelet Waldman does a phenomenal job taking her reader inside not only the lives but even the minds of a well-meaning Army officer in post-war Austria, a modern-day American Jewish woman contemplating the wreck of her marriage and a rebellious suffragette in 1913 Budapest. The item linking their stories -- a beautiful jeweled locket -- gives Waldman room to explore the famous Hungarian Gold Train and other aspects of WWII history in a surprisingly personal way. Even if you have read widely about the Holocaust, this book has something new to show you. It would be an excellent book club selection.
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We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves
by
Karen Joy Fowler
Rachel Coker
, May 12, 2014
"We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves" is complicated, smart and compelling. Its timeline is all mashed up, but the author does so with purpose rather than with irritating flourish. I don't want to say too much about the plot for fear of giving away a key revelation about the book. I will say that if you're interested in scientific research, particularly in psychology, this novel will have added appeal. Note to readers who are looking at this book because they've read Karen Joy Fowler's "Jane Austen Book Club:" This novel operates at another level entirely. It's far more challenging and deep. I enjoyed the earlier book as a fine bit of chick lit, pretty good but by no means life-changing. This book is real literature.
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100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window & Disappeared
by
Jonas Jonasson
Rachel Coker
, April 04, 2014
Such fun! This fantastic novel blends crime, comedy and a spin through 20th century geopolitics. It reminded me a bit of the Woody Allen movie "Zelig" combined with the storytelling concept that makes "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" work. Bright writing and a clever plot held my attention all the way through. Highly recommended.
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Divergent 01
by
Veronica Roth
Rachel Coker
, March 02, 2014
I love a good post-apocalyptic, dystopian teen drama. And if it features a female heroine who's both tough and smart? All the better. "Divergent" hits a literary sweet spot for me, just as "The Hunger Games" and "The Age of Miracles" did before it. I'd say Veronica Roth's "Divergent" is not quite as smart as Karen Thompson Walker's "Miracles" and does not represent quite as fully formed a vision as "The Hunger Games," but it's absolutely absorbing. Roth provides a good mix of philosophy, violence and cultural commentary. She also does an admirable job describing a future Chicago in which Lake Michigan is a marsh, emergency generators keep the elevators running at the Hancock Center and the Navy Pier is a wasteland. I finished "Divergent" in a couple of days, skipping most of a night's sleep so I could find out what would happen. I'm looking forward to reading the other books in this series.
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Me Before You
by
Jojo Moyes
Rachel Coker
, February 12, 2014
"Me Before You" is one of those books that sucks you in and doesn't let go. I blame this novel for a terrible night's sleep, and by that I mean that I stayed up until 3 a.m. so I could see what was going to happen to the two main characters. Moyes' novel challenges you to think more deeply about disability, what makes life worth living, romantic love and physician-assisted suicide. And, somehow, even with all that packed in, it's never preachy or boring. This would make an excellent book club selection. I assume a movie is in the works or will be soon.
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Husbands Secret
by
Liane Moriarty
Rachel Coker
, February 03, 2014
"The Husband's Secret" is a compelling, finely observed novel. Juicier than most fiction I've read lately. Liane Moriarty gets so much right about competitive school moms, about the banality of married life, about the little hurts and insecurities we all nurse in private. She manages to wrestle with some big ethical dilemmas in a surprisingly satisfying way, too.
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Touch
by
Alexi Zentner
Rachel Coker
, January 19, 2014
"Touch" is alternately stunningly beautiful and intensely frightening, even gruesome. Set in northwestern Canada, the book melds a straightforward story of a WWII-era pastor returning to his hometown to comfort his dying mother with a string of family stories that verge on myth or legend. This novel is a quick read, and a real treat for a reader who enjoys magical realism. Alexi Zentner has a new book coming out in 2014, and I look forward to reading it.
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Execution of Noa P Singleton A Novel
by
Elizabeth L Silver
Rachel Coker
, December 18, 2013
Elizabeth Silver created an absorbing, disturbing and suspenseful novel, one that I tore through in just a few days. If unreliable narrators make you crazy, this is a book to skip. Otherwise, check this out for a finely observed, well-crafted novel with a lot of interesting details related to life on Death Row and in Philadelphia.
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Constellation of Vital Phenomena
by
Anthony Marra
Rachel Coker
, December 18, 2013
"A Constellation of Vital Phenomena," a devastating book set in war-torn Chechnya, unfolds with such finely detailed examples of brutality and tenderness that it'll take your breath away. I came across Anthony Marra's work through "The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2012," which featured one of his short stories. When I saw this novel was on the National Book Award Longlist, I knew I'd have to read it. The book is tough to read, with difficult descriptions of torture, drug abuse and death. But there are also moments of stunning beauty as the characters reveal the shreds of humanity that war hasn't been able to take from them.
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Life After Life
by
Kate Atkinson
Rachel Coker
, December 18, 2013
Stunning. Totally non-linear, always surprising, occasionally frustrating, absolutely compelling. It's as though Kate Atkinson wanted to answer the question "What if Hitler had never come to power?" and found, instead of one answer, a dozen possibilities. I might describe this book as "The Time Traveler's Wife" meets "Groundhog Day," set in England from 1910 to 1945. But that wouldn't really tell you anything useful about this fantastic novel. Go read it!
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The Orphan Masters Son
by
Adam Johnson
Rachel Coker
, November 25, 2013
If I had to describe this book in one word, I would call it "haunting." I had vivid dreams in which I was trying to escape from North Korea while reading this novel. It's fiction, but of the sort that may contain deeper truths than non-fiction often does. This isn't light, fun reading, but if you're up for a challenging, absorbing, disturbing book, I highly recommend "The Orphan Master's Son."
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Ashenden
by
Elizabeth Wilhide
Rachel Coker
, September 14, 2013
This delightful novel was a true treat! It touches on more than 200 years of British history, as seen through the people who live and work in a grand estate outside London. The stories are interwoven beautifully, without a single forced or trite leap. Author Elizabeth Wilhide does an amazing job describing fashion, politics, architecture and even women's rights through the decades without getting bogged down in any one area for too long. Anyone who loves Jane Austen or Downton Abbey (or both, as I do) will find themselves swept away.
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Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children
by
Ransom Riggs
Rachel Coker
, August 13, 2013
This was a delicious, quick summer read for me. Despite some challenging themes (primarily a Holocaust allegory, but also mental illness) the book really is a coming-of-age story with a strong plot and unique characters. Liberal doses of time travel and magical realism propel the action in directions that will surprise you. The story has a wonderful cinematic quality, and the author makes creative use of the antique photographs that are sprinkled throughout. Highly recommended!
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Interestings
by
Meg Wolitzer
Rachel Coker
, July 28, 2013
Meg Wolitzer takes six friends at a mid-70s summer camp and from there deftly unfurls a huge number of stories spanning several decades. The novel touches on the AIDS crisis, two different Wall Street downturns, the 9/11 attacks, first- and second-wave feminism, folk music's retreat from the mainstream culture and much more, without ever seeming rushed. What Wolitzer achieves in "The Interestings" is the very thing that eluded Jeffrey Eugenides in "The Marriage Plot:" a clever yet truthful rumination on the lives of well-educated, slightly coddled middle- and upper-middle class Americans. No, this group of characters is not diverse. Yes, they enter adulthood with plenty of advantages. Still, their failures (small and large) and successes (small and large) are both believable and illuminating. You will have an easier time identifying with the characters in this book if you've ever felt yourself to be a nerd, an artsy kid or someone whose true self was only known to a select group of close friends (at camp, college or elsewhere). It probably doesn't hurt to be between the ages of 35 and 55, either. For me, fitting into both the fraternity of nerds and the age bracket, there were some moments of absolute clarity in this book. What do you do when your life doesn't match your expectations? What do you do when you realize those expectations weren't based on reality? What if you see that you can (or should) be happy with less? And what about your friends who realized or even exceeded their own high hopes? Can you still be friends with them?
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Mr Penumbras 24 Hour Bookstore
by
Robin Sloan
Rachel Coker
, January 30, 2013
Such fun! One of the best books I have read all year, no question. At one point, I desperately wanted to know how the novel would end and simultaneously didn't want to finish it. I liked the characters, the tone, the language, the plot. It's unusual to read a book that's *so* very of the moment, complete with references to Facebook and Google. But it absolutely works. I love the collaboration of bookish nerd and computer geek, the triumph of said bookish nerd and the concluding message: almost nothing is more important than "the right book exactly, at exactly the right time."
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Fantastic Flying Books of Mr Morris Lessmore
by
William Joyce, Joe Bluhm
Rachel Coker
, December 13, 2012
This book is a treasure. We've read it nearly every night for a week, and I know I'm enjoying it every bit as much as my kids. The illustrations are beautiful, and the story works on a literal and metaphorical level. It's the best book for children I've read in a very long time.
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Sacre Bleu
by
Christopher Moore
Rachel Coker
, September 27, 2012
What a fascinating, funny, occasionally crass, unexpected novel! If you love Impressionist art, art history and Paris -- and you have room in your imagination for magical realism and fantasy -- then I recommend giving this book a try. It fired up my brain by calling on my knowledge of the Impressionists and their work while bending the reality of 1890s France. In some ways, it was similar to my feelings as I read Jasper Fforde's "The Eyre Affair," which called on my knowledge of famous novels and their authors while doing something new with the characters and the writers. You'll never think of a Muse the same way again!
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Year of Wonders
by
Geraldine Brooks
Rachel Coker
, August 06, 2012
This was a unique piece of historical fiction, focusing on a small village in England that falls victim to the Plague in 1666 and takes on a self-imposed quarantine. Geraldine Brooks skillfully weaves in a lot of detail about the everyday lives of women, of miners and even of clergymen in that period, without ever slowing down the story she's telling. The epilogue seemed a bit of a stretch, but I otherwise loved the book.
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Poisoners Handbook Murder & the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York
by
Deborah Blum
Rachel Coker
, August 06, 2012
A well-researched, compelling book that blends the histories of chemistry and criminology in an interesting way. You'll never think of Prohibition-era America the same way again!
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State of Wonder
by
Ann Patchett
Rachel Coker
, August 06, 2012
I had high expectations for this book based on how much I loved Ann Patchett's "Bel Canto," and I'm pleased to say they were more than satisfied. In fact, I think Patchett did an even better job here. The conclusion of this book feels less contrived and less forced than the end of "Bel Canto." I don't want to say too much about the story for fear of giving things away, but I enjoyed every page. The novel builds suspense and remains compelling even as the main character is growing and changing and going through her own internal struggles. The book made me think about the ways one single day or mistake can change the path of your life and also how we place a value on the life we're leading vs. the lives others have built for themselves.
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What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank
by
Nathan Englander
Rachel Coker
, August 06, 2012
A solid collection of thought-provoking, tightly observed short stories. Englander seems to specialize in the contradictions of modern Jewish life and in the odd circumstances that Jews in the diaspora create and/or stumble into. From parable to memoir, Englander takes on a variety of narrative forms, mostly with great success. I'm going to recommend this as a selection for the synagogue book club I participate in.
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Cutting for Stone
by
Abraham Verghese
Rachel Coker
, January 01, 2012
This novel has an epic sweep, a solid plot, memorable settings and fully formed, interesting characters. My local librarian was so impressed with it that she recommended it to me several times. When I finally read it, I was pleased to find myself on an adventure that spanned several continents (from the UK to India and from Ethiopia to the United States) and several decades. Verghese takes the time to fill in details about people and places that other writers might gloss over; in this regard, the book reminded me of John Irving's novels. Verghese, himself a doctor, also infuses the book with a surgeon's perspective and does a credible job conveying the daily miseries and miracles to be found in an African hospital. Although the book felt a tad too long in spots, it mostly hums along. I recommend it without reservations!
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Dead Until Dark Original MM Art
by
Charlaine Harris
Rachel Coker
, October 24, 2011
This was an enjoyable, easy read. I don't consider it a classic or anything, but Charlaine Harris does know how to have some fun with the well-worn vampire genre. (I'd say I liked it more than the Twilight books but not as much as early Anne Rice. It's more explicit and grownup than Stephenie Meyer's stuff, but not as dark as Rice's Lestat books.) The characters are interesting, the plot held more than a few surprises and the telepathic main character offers some creative possibilities for moving the story along.
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Major Pettigrew's Last Stand
by
Helen Simonson
Rachel Coker
, October 14, 2011
I adored this book. It's the novel that Jane Austen would be writing if she were alive today. An incisive, witty, suspenseful comedy of manners set in modern-day England, complete with cell phones, obnoxious bankers, grasping nouveau riche Americans and interracial relationships ... and the usual tea, disapproving relatives, formal dinners, drawing rooms and brisk winter mornings. Every part of the story rings true, each character gets an appropriately complex story line and the descriptions are so vivid that you can picture each scene in your mind. It's truly hard to believe that this is Helen Simonson's first novel. I hope she's hard at work on something equally wonderful now!
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Shades of Grey
by
Jasper Fforde
Rachel Coker
, October 10, 2011
I love love love Jasper Fforde, though I'd recommend "The Eyre Affair" over this novel if you've never read any of his books before. "Shades of Grey" works as a social commentary, a dystopian novel and as a mystery. It certainly doesn't lack ambition! Fforde has a solid premise and a great plot. It's a shame he didn't have a more aggressive editor, though; I think the book could easily have been 75 pages shorter.
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Nurtureshock New Thinking about Children
by
Po Bronson
Rachel Coker
, September 20, 2011
This truly is a must-read for parents. The authors explore topics ranging from lying to sleep and from praise to language development, using the latest social science research to make points about why children do what they do and how parents can help them to do better. It's like "Freakonomics," but for parenting. The authors keep the chapters lively, with plenty of anecdotes and real-life observations mixed in with the research findings. The book may not persuade you to make radical changes at home, but at the very least it will change the way you think about certain behaviors.
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Little Bee
by
Chris Cleave
Rachel Coker
, August 20, 2011
I loved, loved, loved this book. It's not a pleasant or happy story, certainly, but one well worth reading. The novel tells the tragic, intertwined stories of a Nigerian girl and a British family. It's narrated in turns by the African girl and by the British wife/mother. "Little Bee" will make you think. Think about refugees; think about the notion of "developing" nations; think about so-called civilization. Think about marriage and about the roles we play in our relationships. Chris Cleave manages to articulate thoughts that must flit through many adults' minds about the choices and commitments they've made and how and whether they're fulfilling them. It's clear that a lot of reporting went into this book, even if it is fiction, and I appreciate the way Cleave gets his political and philosophical messages across while telling a compelling story at the same time.
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Lost in Shangri La The Epic True Story of a Plane Crash Into the Stone Age
by
Mitchell Zuckoff
Rachel Coker
, August 14, 2011
What a great read! This piece of well-paced, expertly researched nonfiction reads like a novel in places. Mitchell Zuckoff weaves together the details of everyone's lives with the story of the plane crash and subsequent rescue. It's an interesting adventure story with bits of anthropology and military history thrown in. A bonus for readers from upstate New York is that one of the key people in the story was from Owego.
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Room
by
Emma Donoghue
Rachel Coker
, July 17, 2011
This is an incredible book. I put off reading it because it sounded disturbing (It's the story of a woman raising the son she bore to her kidnapper in a tiny shed? Oh, and it's written from the point of view of the 5-year-old? No thank you!) but once I got into it I just tore through it. Emma Donoghue tells a compelling story, even with just three characters and very little physical space for much of the book. "Room" offers fresh insights about breastfeeding, television, parenthood and imagination, among other topics. It's one of the best books I've read lately.
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I Dont Know How She Does It
by
Allison Pearson
Rachel Coker
, July 17, 2011
This was a fantastic beach read: well written, funny and occasionally insightful. Any working mother will find humor in the life of Kate Reddy, a woman with an incredibly demanding job in the macho world of London high finance as well as two small kids and a well-intentioned husband. Allison Pearson really captured the way that moms feel they must give their all at home (perfect birthday parties, super-clean kitchen, well-dressed kids) and at work (tackling last-minute projects, traveling, covering up for less competent colleagues). I especially enjoyed the scene that finds Kate icing her daughter's birthday cake practically in the middle of the night. Been there, done that! The book is set in the early 2000s, and I can only imagine what the Reddy household would be like a decade later with the addition of smartphones and an iPad or two.
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Paris Wife
by
Paula McLain, Paula McClain
Rachel Coker
, July 07, 2011
Beautifully written. Fiction that captures a moment in history, with interesting characters (Hemingway! F. Scott Fitzgerald! Gertrude Stein! ... you get the idea.) and a heartbreaking story. This is the life the Lost Generation led in Paris between the wars, with a different view of adultery and excessive drinking than you'll get from Hemingway or Fitzgerald. It's told from the vantage point of Hemingway's first wife and though it's fiction every word of it rings true. Reading this amazing book has left me with a desire to re-read many of my favorites from this era, especially "The Sun Also Rises" and "The Great Gatsby."
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Super Sad True Love Story
by
Shteyngart, Gary
Rachel Coker
, June 11, 2011
This novel brought together many elements of fiction that I adore, especially ideas related to utopia/dystopia as well as unlikely romance. The fact that Shteyngart blends in some incisive cultural criticism was really just a bonus for me. The book, written as satire, though with a true beating heart, is set in a near-future, broken-down America in which no one reads books anymore, everyone's credit score is public information and the most desirable jobs are in retail. I dare you to read this book and not think differently about smart phones, Facebook and shopping. I know that some algorithm will tell you this more accurately than I, but I do believe that if you like Kurt Vonnegut and value his worldview, then this book will speak to you as well.
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Left Bank
by
Kate Muir
Rachel Coker
, June 06, 2011
"Left Bank" has real promise, though it didn’t entirely deliver. There’s a great setting, of course, and fairly interesting characters. What separates a book like this from being literature, and leaves it in the chic lit category, is what Muir does (and doesn’t do) with these characters. I enjoyed the progress of the nanny and the American actress-turned-French celebrity, though I felt the philosopher/philanderer was left rather flat in comparison. This was an entirely enjoyable quick read, just not the most intelligent bit of fiction you’re likely to find.
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Bossypants
by
Tina Fey
Rachel Coker
, May 27, 2011
This was such a fun read! I admire Tina Fey. She's smart, funny and beautiful. The humor in this book was great, of course. But the unexpected elements -- including the destined-to-be-a-classic The Mother's Prayer for Its Daughter -- related to parenting and life as a working mom were really a treat. I enjoyed the behind-the-scenes stuff, too, including the revelation that she played Sarah Palin on SNL for the first time the same weekend that she shot the Oprah episode of "30 Rock" ... and that her daughter's third birthday party was also that weekend. I relate to her musings on anxiety, hard work and seizing the moment, too. This may not be a work of Serious Literature, but it's a very witty light read.
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Rabbi's Daughter: a True Story of Sex, Drugs and Orthodoxy
by
Reva Mann
Rachel Coker
, May 02, 2011
I didn't care for this memoir, though it did spark some interesting conversation in our book club. Reva Mann, a rabbi's daughter who grows up in London, first rebels through excessive drugs and promiscuous sex, then tries her hand at life as an ultra-Orthodox wife and mother in Jerusalem. She's so selfish and immature that she doesn't seem to hesitate to leave a previous life behind, regardless of how much harm she does to lovers or even her three children. I'm not sure I've read a less contemplative memoir. Mann seems to lack the self-awareness that might have made this a more satisfying read.
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Let The Great World Spin
by
Colum McCann
Rachel Coker
, April 26, 2011
This is a beautiful book, with an unusual story and an unusual approach to telling it. The novel, set in NYC in the 1970s, weaves together several stories, bringing together the lives of seemingly disparate New Yorkers. There are hookers, artists, immigrants, a judge, mothers grieving for sons killed in Vietnam -- and the tightrope walker who dared to traverse the air between the still-unfinished Twin Towers. McCann occasionally gets carried away with his own literary style -- and I have to say that it took me a while to get into the book -- but ultimately this is great writing well worth your time.
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Day After Night
by
Anita Diamant
Rachel Coker
, March 14, 2011
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, a piece of historical fiction that focuses on four young women from Europe who emigrate to Israel after surviving World War II. They all end up in the Atlit detention camp, awaiting release to begin their lives in what was then Palestine. The story line is compelling and the characters develop beautifully. The novel has a lot to say about Jewish identity: What makes someone a Jew? What does a Jew look like? What does a Jew eat? It also presents some interesting ideas about Holocaust survivors related to guilt, betrayal, courage and fear. This is a title we read for our synagogue book group, and I believe it will lead to an excellent discussion.
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Cookbook Collector
by
Allegra Goodman
Rachel Coker
, March 03, 2011
A beautiful book with fully formed characters, diverse plot lines and honest reflections on the lives of women in their 20s. It's hard to explain how, but Allegra Goodman manages to weave in bits about high-tech start-ups, Jewish philosophy, rare books and extreme environmentalism, along with a dash of East Coast vs. West Coast elitism. There's romance, yes, but also plenty of action. I found the ending just a tad too fast, but this is one heck of a novel.
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Tiger A True Story of Vengeance & Survival
by
John Vaillant
Rachel Coker
, February 24, 2011
This is quite simply one of the best works of non-fiction I've read in a while. John Vaillant weaves in details about Soviet and Russian history and politics, Far East geography and plenty of ecological insight. He never takes his eyes off the compelling narrative at the heart of the story, though, and that's what makes this book read like a novel. The names of Russian people and places might occasionally blur in your mind, but the key facts of the man-eating tiger and the race to subdue him will be seared into your imagination.
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Seven Blessings
by
Ruchama King
Rachel Coker
, February 20, 2011
This book captures the challenges and blessings that come with being single long past the age when you thought you'd marry. Ruchama King deftly manages the stories of several characters of reasonable depth, capturing the ambiguities and twists of fate inherent in courtship and dating. She also provides an interesting look inside the lives of observant Jews living in Jerusalem. She squeezes in some thoughts about the Torah and portrays one character's crisis of faith with humanity and insight.
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Manhood For Amateurs
by
Michael Chabon
Rachel Coker
, February 20, 2011
Mostly good, and occasionally great, essays. Chabon has some worthwhile insights about modern parenting and recounts some interesting anecdotes from his childhood and young adulthood. A fast read.
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Freedom
by
Jonathan Franzen
Rachel Coker
, February 01, 2011
This is the first of Jonathan Franzen's books that I've read. The novel received such glowing reviews that just about any author would have a hard time living up to the hype. That said, it is beautifully written. He manages somehow to capture perfectly some of the inner monologue of women in their mid-20s and 30s. He also gives a spot-on description of the instinctive dislike that some moms feel for other moms, often for no good reason. That's the good news. On the other hand, there's not a single character here that you can really root for; no one escapes unscathed. I also didn't care for the ending at all. I was stunned to see him take what I consider the easy way out after crafting such complicated characters and situations.
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Color Of Water A Black Mans Tribute To His White Mother
by
James Mcbride
Rachel Coker
, January 25, 2011
This was a selection for our synagogue's book club. It's interesting and well written, with lots of great detail about life in a big family and New York City and the South in the '50s and '60s. It didn't inspire me or radically change my views about race or anything like that, but I think I have pretty high expectations for memoirs at this point. I will say that I find it amazing and odd that a woman could keep so much of her personal history from her children for so long.
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Help
by
Kathryn Stockett
Rachel Coker
, December 20, 2010
A wonderful read: thought-provoking, with characters that felt real and some scenes that were downright cinematic. This is a novel that has a lot to say about the lives of women and about the way we interact with people who are (or seem to be) different than ourselves. Though it's set in the '60s, some of the issues in it are still disturbingly fresh/current, including the way women can relentlessly harm other women through a myriad of seemingly small slights.
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Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
by
Rebecca Skloot
Rachel Coker
, December 05, 2010
Compelling science combined with a compelling human story. I'm not usually a fan of writers injecting themselves into the stories they're telling, but Rebecca Skloot pulls it off beautifully here. I appreciate that she didn't shy away from the details that placed her subjects in a less-than-flattering light, even as she became a closer and closer friend to them. She's also completely honest about the portions of the story where the truth has been lost or possibly embellished over time. The book made me reconsider what I thought I knew about bioethics and intellectual property. You need to have some interest in scientific discovery to propel you through the book, but you absolutely don't need to be a biologist to appreciate the story.
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Special Topics In Calamity Physics
by
Marisha Pessl
Rachel Coker
, November 16, 2010
What a delightful, quirky, fun, interesting, witty, intelligent novel! The writing is unlike almost anything else I've ever read, though I think if you enjoy Dave Eggers this will appeal to you as well. She gets a lot of the details of high school life -- especially the stereotypes -- just right. Her portrayal of the father, an academic, alternates between vicious and sweet in a way that struck me as very honest and realistic. And the plot has some surprisingly great twists to boot.
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The Outside World
by
Tova Mirvis
Rachel Coker
, October 21, 2010
This novel offered great insights into the everyday lives of modern Orthodox Jews. It's a truly thought-provoking, occasionally wrenching book. I found it fascinating to see the differences in the family members' level of belief and adherence to various traditions. My own family, a mix of Reform and Conservative Jews as well as non-Jews, experiences some of these same challenges. I'm not sure that non-Jews would be able to understand the rituals and some of the vocabulary Mirvis uses, though the struggles between parents and their children that she writes about are universal ones. The novel raises numerous interesting questions, among them: What do you do when your child is more observant than you are? How much independence should you give your nearly adult children? Can a mother force her children to be friends with each other? This is a perfect book club selection!
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Master Butchers Singing Club
by
Erdrich, Louise
Rachel Coker
, October 14, 2010
Incredible novel! Epic in its sweep, with fascinating characters, strong plot and delicious prose. My mom felt so strongly about the book that she bought it for me -- and she's a librarian who doesn't buy a lot of fiction! I can't wait to read more books by Louise Erdrich.
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Manhunt The Twelve Day Chase for Lincolns Killer
by
James L Swanson
Rachel Coker
, October 14, 2010
One of the most compelling pieces of nonfiction I've ever read. Just incredible, and packed with things I never knew about that era of U.S. history. Great research, great writing.
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The River Wife
by
Jonis Agee
Rachel Coker
, October 14, 2010
Magical, amazing book! I loved the epic sweep of it, the characters, their quirks, everything. I'm on a mission to get more people to read this!
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The Road
by
Cormac McCarthy
Rachel Coker
, October 14, 2010
This book is at once bleak and beautiful, simple and complex, raw and refined. It’s a triumph in terms of McCarthy’s use of language, with descriptions of a post-apocalyptic world that are achingly evocative. I have a longstanding (and maybe peculiar) interest in utopian and dystopian fiction, and this book will stand out in that genre along with masterpieces such as “Brave New World” and “Fahrenheit 451.” It’s amazing to me that McCarthy can at once offer so little detail about what caused the apocalypse or even where in the former United States his characters are and yet leave no doubt about their circumstances or the outlook for their survival. My own hopes and expectations for humanity are more optimistic than those expressed here, but there’s no doubt that McCarthy’s imagined future could come to pass in a world with so much violence and hatred. “The Road” is difficult to read -- and impossible to put down. Experiences like this are the reason I read novels.
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Water for Elephants
by
Sara Gruen
Rachel Coker
, October 14, 2010
A quick and enjoyable read, with colorful characters, a great plot, interesting villains and an unusual love story. I enjoyed the way the story was narrated by the same man at very different times in his life (as a naive virgin in his 20s and as an irascible old guy in his 90s). The book also presented some interesting detail about Depression-era life in the United States. The ending is quite satisfying, which is a nice change. A lot of new literary fiction doesn’t deliver in that department for fear of being too predictable or not “artsy” enough.
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Interpreter of Maladies
by
Jhumpa Lahiri
Rachel Coker
, October 14, 2010
What a wonderful read! Great insights into human nature and especially the experience of Indian immigrants in America. The last story, "The Third and Final Continent," made me cry. It also filled me with hope for the many talented graduate students from India with whom I work every day. This selection is part of my plan to get caught up on winners of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, and it did not disappoint!
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Poisonwood Bible
by
Barbara Kingsolver
Rachel Coker
, October 14, 2010
This book is a masterpiece. A moving story about a family, woven into the heartbreaking story of Africa's recent past, with numerous interesting insights into family dynamics and the allegiances and rivalries that form between sisters. It was NOT a quick read, but the time I devoted to it was richly rewarded.
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Picture of Dorian Gray
by
Oscar Wilde
Rachel Coker
, October 14, 2010
A true classic. Beautifully written, compelling story, haunting characters, the works! This was my third or fourth time reading it, and it never disappoints. I think this is actually an incredibly modern story, one that makes more and more sense in our universe of reality TV and worship of unworthy superstars. I also noticed a few passages that I think had an influence on plot lines in the Harry Potter books.
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Stone Diaries
by
Carol Shields
Rachel Coker
, October 14, 2010
This is a beautifully written, thoughtfully constructed tale that effortlessly brings the reader through the late 1800s and into the 1970s. It's epic in terms of the time but entirely personal in terms of the characters' development. The characters are quirky and believable. I found the women interesting archetypes/stand-ins for people of their generations. I picked up the novel because I'm determined to read more winners of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. (The Stone Diaries won in 1995.) Now, I'm determined to read more books by Carol Shields! She wrote a biography of Jane Austen, so that's going right onto my list.
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The Hours
by
Michael Cunningham
Rachel Coker
, January 03, 2010
One of the best books of the decade! Beautifully written, complex characters. Made me rethink my idea of happiness. It's possible that some seemingly ordinary day will, in fact, be one of the best times of your life.
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