Monday, April 4, 2011

MARCH READING LIST

UNDUE INFLUENCE / Steve Martini ** VERY predictable legal thriller. Had it figured out by page 130 and thought: "surely, it can't be that simple." But ... it was. Also, Martini has a choppy prose style which makes his dialogue a chore to get through. Needs to simple it up.

THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE WORLD / Mark Booth *** Exhaustively researched book about world history as told from the viewpoint of the Freemasons.

THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP / John Irving **** A 12th time re-read. Still great!

THE HUNGER GAMES / Suzanne Collins *** I would have rated this 5 stars except for that fact it is written in present tense, which does nothing to improve the book, and distracts from the narrative. But, it is an excellent YA novel about a futuristic America.

THE REVERSAL / Michael Connelly **** Connelly is the best current crime writer - period. This is an ingenious legal thriller that is really about character reversals.

MINDING FRANKIE / Maeve Binchy **** This is vintage Binchy; full of flawed, flaky characters rallying around one another for support - mainly to support a single father who is suddenly thrust into the care of a infant daughter he did not know he had fathered.

KEEP THE CHANGE / Steve Dublanicia ** Very weak social history of gratuities. Avoid.

THE ALIENIST / Caleb Carr **** Excellent historical thriller.

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