THE PRINCESS OF LAS VEGAS (Chris Bohjalian) - April 24/24

 A solid book from Bohjalian. I didn’t always care about the mob stuff or the conspiracy stuff but the characters were compelling and the atmosphere was well done. All the Diana stuff was pretty interesting, too. ** out of ****

A FAREWELL TO ARMS (Ernest Hemingway) - April 19/24

 Man, the first half of this was so boring and such a slog. Hemingway’s stream of consciousness style is just grating and annoying, and ensures that the book just doesn’t feel well written at all. (This is especially true of the circular, repetitive conversations; was he paid by the word??) But I’ll admit I was finally drawn in by the final stretch, starting with their escape to Switzerland and the death of their baby and her death, too. Deeply frustrating book, ultimately. ** out of ****

THE IDEA OF YOU (Robinne Lee) - April 9/24

 Insanely long but enjoyable, The Idea of You feels like a pretty classic romcom (albeit one with jarringly graphic sex scenes). I wasn’t able to keep all of the periphery characters straight, but Lee does a good job of establishing the main character and her irresistible relationship with Hayes. *** out of ****

DARK MATTER (Blake Crouch) - March 30/24

 Wow! I was a little baffled by some of the scientific concepts in the book, but it was ultimately irrelevant given how fast-paced and engrossing much of this book is. I really tore through the final third of this book, as it was packed with twist after exciting scene after another. Really good. **** out of ****

BOOK LOVERS (Emily Henry) - March 24/24

 Picked this up after I had to stop reading The Grapes of Wrath, this features an inventive premise and several very agreeable characters. But it’s overwritten to an absurd degree, as the story just drags and drags as Henry places her protagonists into one episodic, extensively described scenario after another. And the sex stuff is written with all the subtlety of a Harlequin novel. It’s fine, is the bottom line, but it should’ve been better. **1/2 out of ****

FLOAT (Kate Marchant) - March 10/24

 Yeah, this is fine but holy hell it’s so long. The characters are appealing enough and it’s basically readable the whole way through but it really drags in spots. It definitely feels like it should be half the length. **1/2 out of ****

DAY (Michael Cunningham) - February 28/24

 Cunningham is obviously a very good writer, and I was into this for the first third, but his incredibly descriptive and verbose style eventually became grating. **1/2 out of ****

ED KING (David Guterson) - February 18/24

 What a weird book. Adopted dude accidentally kills his dad and marries his mom! It’s such a long, padded-out novel, though. Guterson devotes page after page to descriptions of things. And the shifting perspectives initially threw me off, although I eventually got used to it. **1/2 out of ****

WINDMILLS OF THE GODS (Sidney Sheldon) - February 5/24

 I couldn't decide what to read, so I looked up bestsellers from 1987 and this was one of them. I'm glad I read it because it really reminded me of an old-school page-turner. The characters are all solid and there are plenty of twists to keep things interesting. (Angel is the fat lady! Who saw that coming?) Good stuff. *** out of ****

FOE (Iain Reid) - January 26/24

 The problem with this book is that it's obvious, super obvious, that there's a twist involving the main character but we don't find out what it is until the end, so basically everything that happens is missing a key piece of the puzzle, which makes it impossible to really care about what's going on. The book is, as a result, kind of boring for the most part. I liked the twist at the end that Hen had herself replaced with a robot, at least. **1/2 out of ****

FOUR BLIND MICE (James Patterson) - January 17/24

 This decent but unremarkable Alex Cross thriller has all the ingredients but somehow it never took off for me. The ongoing emphasis on the Vietnam-era crimes didn't help, but I still enjoyed it well enough. Samson got married! **1/2 out of ****

RELIC (Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child) - January 8/24

 I started this one months ago but had to return it. This is just absurdly overlong. It's got way too many characters and there are paragraphs and paragraphs of description after description. I was barely able to keep track of all the characters, and the authors even botch the monster-focused stuff. (So much happens offscreen! It's ridiculous.) ** out of ****

CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET? (Sophie Kinsella) - December 30/23

 I wanted something light after The Right Stuff and that's sure what I got. The biggest problem with this book is that it's just so long. It feels twice as long as it should be, and as a result, I didn't really get into it until about 100 pages in and then it petered out long before it ended. It's a decent-enough premise that's in need of serious streamlining. (Like, did we need a fake break-up for both characters??) Kinsella's not the best writer, but I liked the central characters. **1/2 out of ****

THE RIGHT STUFF (Tom Wolfe) - December 18/23

 Yikes. I guess I was kind of into this at first but holy hell Wolfe’s stream of consciousness style becomes so grating after a while. He just rambles on and on about various topics and most of it isn’t interesting in the slightest. Did he bang this out over a weekend after a massive coke binge? I skimmed most of the second half. * out of ****

LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND (Rumaan Alam) - November 26/23

 I read most of this on the plane to California, which was maybe not the best choice given how grim and bleak it is. (I finished it in a lineup at Knott’s Berry Farm.) Alam is a pretentious writer and much of the novel is wildly overwritten but I nevertheless was pretty engrossed throughout. ***1/2 out of ****

OPPOSABLE THUMBS (Matt Singer) - November 23/23

 I had my doubts about this one, mostly because Siskel and Ebert mean so much to me, but Opposable Thumbs won me over. It's obvious that Singer is a big fan of the duo, and the book is jam-packed with interesting tidbits and stories. I loved it. **** out of ****

STARTER VILLAIN (John Scalzi) - November 17/23

 I was obviously attracted to this because of the cover, and at first I thought I'd made a horrible mistake. It's a little too wacky and off-the-wall at the outset (sentient cats?) but I'll admit I was drawn into the story and Charlie is a compelling protagonist. *** out of ****

LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY (Bonnie Garmus) - November 12/23

 We started watching the show and were really turned off after Calvin died, but then a copy was available so I started reading the book. I was initially a little skeptical but I was drawn in the more and more I read. It's just such a compelling read. The characters are all so engaging and there are plenty of twists and standout sequences. I really enjoyed this. **** out of ****

THE EXCHANGE (John Grisham) - November 7/23

 What a weird sequel. Grisham offers up a fairly static narrative that follows Mitch and company as they jump through hurdle after hurdle trying to come up with ransom money. It's all very dry and exacting, but I'll admit I wasn't bored. It's just bizarre given how propulsive The Firm was. *** out of ****

BURN IT DOWN (Maureen Ryan) - October 19/23

 Man on man did I really not enjoy this. Some of the stories were pretty compelling but mostly the book is Ryan giving her opinion on the subject matter and I just didn't care at all. It's like, get over yourself already. And the whole last stretch, which reads more like a textbook for criminal reform, was almost impossibly dull and boring. (Also, I find it impossible to work up any interest in stories by anonymous people. Like, maybe they're lying or Ryan is just inventing them out of whole cloth.) Nah, not for me in the slightest. * out of ****

ROMANTIC COMEDY (Curtis Sittenfeld) - October 12/23

 I enjoyed this. The SNL inspired first half was fun and the epistolary midsection works too. The romantic final third is pretty affecting, ultimately. *** out of ****

DOLORES CLAIBORNE (October 4/23)

 I was really not into this at the beginning, with its first-person style and emphasis on Dolores’ daily activities with her boss. But I was drawn in, especially by Dolores’ relationship with her abusive husband and his eventual interest in Selena, and did manage to tear through most of the book in two days. (It helped that I was doing 90 minute transit rides twice a day for those two days.) *** out of ****

TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A. (Gerald Petievich) - September 23/23

 I definitely enjoyed this more than I thought I would. There are a lot of characters but I was generally able to keep track of them, and it was quite propulsive in parts. The ending felt a little anticlimactic and abrupt, though. *** out of ****

THE TIME HAS COME (Will Leitch) - September 15/23

 A definite improvement over his last book, but I still had trouble keeping some of the characters straight. And there were certain revelations at the end that would’ve been more impactful had I remembered some things from the beginning. (I guess this was meant to be read in one or two sittings?) And what did she even want from the drug store, anyway? Regardless, I enjoyed the book. It’s pretty breezy and the characters are affable. *** out of ****

VIOLETS ARE BLUE (James Patterson) - September 2/23

 This long but satisfying Alex Cross story contained everything I hoped it would, including short chapters and plenty of twists. I liked that the central villains were knocked off long before the book ended, and I enjoyed Alex’s back and forth with Kyle. *** out of ****

THE MAKING OF ANOTHER MOTION PICTURE MASTERPIECE (Tom Hanks) - August 24/23

 Holy hell, this is one long book. It takes a really long time to get going, what with the bizarre and unnecessary journalist subplot, but the making of the movie itself is quite interesting (if maybe a little too detailed). Hanks does become bogged down with backstories for his various characters, but this did allow me to feel a certain amount of investment in the story. *** out of ****

THE LIBRARIANIST (Patrick DeWitt) - July 24/23

 I was immediately set on edge by this book, as DeWitt delivers an opening stretch rife with unreasonably quirky characters. So I was surprised that I did enjoy the next section, which flashes back to the main character's early 20s and his relationships with his girlfriend/wife and best friend. I wish the whole book had been just about that, because then it flashes back even further to his childhood, and this stretch is insanely tedious. (I couldn't have cared less about these off-kilter performers.) I was completely checked out by the time it returned to the present. A real misfire, this book. * out of ****

EILEEN (Ottessa Moshfegh) - July 15/23

 I basically enjoyed this, although it definitely feels too long and overwritten. But the self-loathing central character is quite compelling, and I enjoyed the last-minute turn into thriller territory. *** out of ****

HAVE YOU SEEN HER (Catherine McKenzie) - July 7/23

 Another typically bloated book from McKenzie. I basically enjoyed this, although it always feels way, way too long. I also wasn't crazy about the reveal that Cassie was in cahoots with Jada and Petal. Like, the book is written in the first-person perspective! It's just silly and obnoxious. **1/2 out of ****

MR. MALCOLM'S LIST (Suzanne Allain) - June 30/23

 Yeah, this is fine. I enjoyed it well enough in the first half but I did find my interest seriously waning after that. At least it's short. **1/2 out of ****

THE PAINTED BIRD (Jerzy Kosiński) - June 22/23

 I can't say I was really enjoying this in the beginning but I was eventually drawn in by the episodic narrative. It's really repetitive, though, and even though it's short, the book feels pretty long. **1/2 out of ****

DISNEY'S LAND: WALT DISNEY AND THE INVENTION OF THE AMUSEMENT PARK THAT CHANGED THE WORLD (Richard Snow) - June 16/23

 This is one long book. It's got some really interesting parts but Snow really gets into the minutia of certain things and as a result it did feel like I was reading this forever. Still, it made me very desperate to visit Disneyland, so there's that. *** out of ****

THE COLOR OF MONEY (Walter Tevis) - May 25/23

 I basically enjoyed this but I was glazing over at the very detailed descriptions of the various pool games. It was never not meaningless to me. But I enjoyed the stretch where Eddie tried to become an art dealer and the climax was pretty engrossing. **1/2 out of ****

MR. BRIDGE (Evan S. Connell) - May 13/23

 Well I didn't realize that this wasn't actually the first book but I doubt it matters much. This took me a while to get through but ultimately I was pretty impressed. Connell does a good job of capturing the inner life of this very stuffy character, and I'm certainly curious to read the same events from the perspective of his wife. *** out of ****

ROSES ARE RED (James Patterson) - May 12/23

 Pretty much the perfect book for our beach vacation in Cocoa Beach. I tore through it over the week that we were there and Patterson's reliance on short chapters and shocking twists keep things interesting. The last-minute twist that Kyle Craig was the Mastermind was genuinely unexpected. Can't wait to see where the series goes from here. *** out of ****

THE BIG BOUNCE (Elmore Leonard) - April 2/23

 Sigh. This one started out pretty well but I just completely lost interest maybe a third of the way through. It just wasn't interesting, for the most part, and Leonard spends a lot of time describing things I found tedious. And the abrupt conclusion is almost comically unsatisfying. (I had to do some googling to see if the final chapter was cut off and I'm still not sure it wasn't.) * out of ****

THE PLOT (Jean Hanff Korelitz) - March 11/23

 This one really petered out for me. I really enjoyed the first half, with its emphasis on Jake's rise to fame and his tentative relationship with Anna. But around the midsection I started losing interest as Korelitz began stressing Jake's somewhat tedious investigation. And then the fairly ludicrous finale stretch, complete with an absurdly monologuing villain, really didn't work for me. It's also a ridiculously long book, too, but I guess I didn't hate it anyway. **1/2 out of ****

ORIGIN (Dan Brown) - February 25/23

 It really did feel like I was reading this forever, even through our Orlando trip, mostly because it feels at least double the length it should be. Big chunks of the book feel like sitting through a scientific presentation, and the climactic reveal is, as a result, hardly as engrossing as it probably should be. Also it feels like Langdon hardly does any riddle-solving at all in this one. He's just along for the ride, mostly. I liked the reveal that Winston was behind the assassination but yeah I was mostly not really into this at any point. ** out of ****

FALLING (T.J. Newman) - January 26/23

 I wanted a page-turner and that's what I got, although Newman isn't quite as strong a writer as I would've hoped - which ensured that the book never quite became as gripping or exciting as I hoped. Still, I could see this making a terrific movie. *** out of ****

KRAMER VS. KRAMER (Avery Corman) - January 18/23

 I definitely enjoyed this book but Corman does have a tendency to repeat himself, as certain chunks dwell on Ted’s day to day life with his son. But I did breeze through the final stretch and I got choked up at the end, so it’s a good one. *** out of ****

BABY PROOF (Emily Giffin) - January 11/23

 I wanted something light and this is definitely that but it's also way too long. This book feels about twice as long as it should be and I did feel like it just wouldn't end. I enjoyed it, though, mostly because of the affable characters. **1/2 out of ****

THE ELEMENTARY PARTICLES (Michel Houellebecq) - January 1/23

 Yeah, this book is too smart for me. I enjoyed some of the character stuff but Houellebecq devotes large swaths of the novel to impenetrable theories and ideas, and I found myself glazing over huge chunks of the narrative. It's too bad given that I did enjoy certain portions, including one character's reasoning for why women are better than men. And some parts were unexpectedly erotic, too. ** out of ****

TAKE YOUR BREATH AWAY (Linwood Barclay) - December 11/22

 Well, I was in the mood for a page-turner and this certainly didn't disappoint. It's definitely longer than it needs to be, but it moved pretty quickly and Barclay still has an impressive talent for ending almost every chapter with a cliffhanger/twist. And the revelations in the final few chapters were indeed surprising. (I didn't guess that it was Greg who hired the contract killer, that's for sure.) *** out of ****

DIRECTED BY JAMES BURROWS (James Burrows with Eddy Friedfeld) - November 30/22

 It took me a while to get through this but I basically enjoyed it. Burrows tells a bunch of interesting stories about the shows he's worked on, and even the childhood stuff wasn't too bad. *** out of ****

FRIENDS, LOVERS, AND THE BIG TERRIBLE THING (Matthew Perry) - November 18/22

 I basically enjoyed this, although it was definitely a little repetitive in terms of his addiction struggles. I would've loved more stories about Friends and his movies. But I enjoyed this anyway. *** out of ****

HOW LUCKY (Will Leitch) - November 11/22

 What a disappointment. It felt like I was reading this forever; I just couldn’t connect with any of it, and the book felt like something being rattled off with little thought toward characters or story. I guess I kind of got more into it in the second half but yeah I was underwhelmed from start to finish. ** out of ****

THE CABIN AT THE END OF THE WORLD (Paul Tremblay) - October 18/22

 In retrospect, I probably shouldn't have spoiled the upcoming Shyamalan movie for myself by reading this. It's a decent book but it feels like it's been expanded from a short story. There are so many padded-out, overly descriptive stretches. But on the other hand, the premise is irresistible and there are admittedly a handful of genuinely gripping sequences. The non-ending is a little infuriating, though. **1/2 out of ****

MEANT TO BE (Emily Giffin) - October 15/22

 This typically easy read from Giffin features two likeable (albeit fairly one-dimensional) characters and I enjoyed reading about their burgeoning relationship. The opening stretch, detailing the heroes' respective pasts, did grow a little tedious, and I thought the reason for the couple's fake break-up was especially absurd (ie just tell him the truth, weirdo), but the book ended on a very satisfying note. *** out of ****

SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES (Ray Bradbury) - October 8/22

 Good lord what a slog. It almost feels abstract in its happenings and there’s nothing to connect to from start to finish. I can see how Stephen King was influenced by this book but thank Christ his stuff is so much better. I totally skimmed the second half of this because it was such an ordeal. I just don’t get it. No stars out of ****

PLEASE JOIN US (Catherine McKenzie) - September 25/22

 This is a typically erratic thriller from McKenzie but I basically enjoyed it. The characters are all fairly interesting and the plot does get more involving as it unfolds. The exposition-heavy climax, which is a whole lot of talking, isn’t super satisfying and I never really did get a handle on the various periphery characters. **1/2 out of ****

WOMEN TALKING (Miriam Toews) - September 16/22

 Well, this clearly isn’t for me. I was really struggling through most of this because there are so many characters and I never really got a handle on most of them. Plus there’s no real plot or forward momentum, so it’s kind of boring for most of it. And yet I did enjoy certain stretches and the relatively exciting climax. But wow this should’ve been a short story. ** out of ****

WHITE NOISE (Don DeLillo) - September 10/22

 Well, I was really not enjoying this for the first half. It’s just so rambling and meandering and there’s no plot or forward momentum. But I’ll admit the book did grow on me, particularly once stuff actually started to happen (eg the black cloud, the death pills, etc). And although DeLillo sure loves to pontificate on various subjects, I found a lot of the stuff relating to fear of death pretty interesting. The end was anticlimactic and pretentious, of course. **1/2 out of ****

HEAT 2 (Michael Mann & Meg Gardiner) - August 28/22

 Wow, I really enjoyed this. I loved all the prequel stuff and most of the sequel stuff, although I wasn't crazy about the complicated Chris and Ana storyline. But all the various parallels to the movie were fantastic, and the action was just as electrifying as the action in the movie. Perfect ending, too. ***1/2 out of ****

BOY A (Jonathan Trigell) - August 14/22

 I mostly enjoyed this but golly is it long and padded out. Trigell gets awfully descriptive from time to time and offers up whole chapters about periphery characters that I didn’t really care about. But still, Jack is a tremendously sympathetic figure and I was drawn into his exploits. Did he get away or not, though? *** out of ****

TRACY FLICK CAN’T WIN (Tom Perrotta) - August 8/22

 This very satisfying follow up did take a while to grow on me, admittedly. Perrotta introduces a whole mess of new characters and takes his time in establishing an actual plot, so for the first third I was mostly only engaged when it was about Tracy. But Perrotta knows what he’s doing and the second half becomes quite engrossing and the various characters all become extremely compelling. I feel like the climax was a little rushed but I wasn’t unhappy with how it ended. Good stuff. ***1/2 out of ****

ELECTION (Tom Perrotta) - August 4/22

 Yep, this is it. A real strong contender for my favorite book of all time. Perrotta just does a masterful job of establishing several very vivid characters and placing them in a narrative that's mostly fascinating and engrossing. The book's various digressions, including Mr. M's affair and Tammy's Catholic-School exploits, are all handled super well and incorporated into the story perfectly. And it's super short, too! Doesn't even come close to wearing out its welcome. So good. **** out of ****

THE LIONESS (Chris Bohjalian) - August 1/22

 I wound up having to read this one in two chunks, months apart. The first half of this book is really an endurance test, as Bohjalian loads the narrative up with characters that remain almost impossible to tell apart until the final third. The structure of each chapter, with the beginning and end the safari stuff and a section in the middle devoted to a flashback, didn't help in terms of the non-existent momentum. But I did find myself finally enjoying the book as the number of characters steadily dwindled, and I did race through the second half in just a few days. **1/2 out of ****

SLIVER (Ira Levin) - July 30/22

 This one started out a little iffy, there are so many periphery characters that it becomes impossible to keep track of them all, but eventually settled down to become a very readable thriller. I blazed through the second half in a couple of hours. *** out of ****

UNIVERSAL HARVESTER (John Darnielle) - July 23/22

 What in the world...? This started out with plenty of promise, with the narrative following a videostore clerk who stumbles upon sinister clips, but eventually becomes a muddled and completely random story about...I'm actually not sure. I completely lost the thread of the various subplots, to the point where I had absolutely no idea what was going on or who anyone was. What was up with those videos? I haven't a clue! What a waste. * out of ****

THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD MOTHERS (Jessamine Chan) - July 14/2022

 And on the other end of the spectrum is this absolutely interminable and loathsome novel. It started out okay but once I realized what the dystopian premise was, I knew I was in for a rough ride but this was so much worse than I expected. It’s just so pointless and repetitive. There’s nothing interesting about any of this and I was glazing over whole chapters towards the end. What an ordeal. No stars out of ****

STATION ELEVEN (Emily St. John Mandel) - July 3/22

 Wow! What a book! Station Eleven hooked me right from the jump and although I wasn’t sure about it after an initial flashback stretch (it seemed like the emphasis was going to be solely on the Walking Dead-like exploits of the survivors), I was drawn back in thanks to Mandel’s ingenious structure. (Things would be briefly mentioned early on and then brilliantly come around again.) I had a tough time keeping certain supporting characters straight, but the central protagonists were painted very vividly. I liked, too, that she didn’t dwell on the bad guys (the crazy cult thing had been done to death) and I really appreciated that the Prophet was killed fairly suddenly. I dug, too, that the book ends with some hope, with the sighting of a town using electricity. I loved this book. **** out of ****

RUN ROSE RUN (Dolly Parton and James Patterson) - June 26/22

 I was in the mood for something fast-paced and with short chapters, so this pretty much fit the bill. It's definitely too long but I was entertained. The final stretch was more exciting than I anticipated, too. *** out of ****

THE BIG DOOR PRIZE (M.O. Walsh) - May 25/22

 Yeesh, this was difficult to get through. Walsh is kind of going for a Perrotta thing with the small town and its assortment of offbeat characters, but Walsh is certainly no Perrotta. Large swaths of this thing are just dull, generally speaking, and Walsh's exceedingly (and excessively) descriptive style makes it difficult to make it through most paragraphs without one's mind wandering. I liked the twist that one guy was behind the machine and that he did it to get a woman's attention, but the reveal was pretty much glossed over. Meh. *1/2 out of ****

CUTTER AND BONE (Newton Thornburg) - April 30/22

 This fairly erratic book certainly kept me gripped for large chunks, as Thornburg sure paints a vivid picture of these two completely captivating characters and the '70s California in which they exist. But the author's extremely descriptive sensibilities ensure that certain sections just aren't that compelling (ie get on with it, already), but the final stretch is definitely quite electrifying and I was fairly shocked by the impressively grim conclusion. *** out of ****

NO EXIT (Taylor Adams) - April 18/22

 Wow! This is definitely the most entertaining and fast paced book I've read in quite some time. It starts out a little slow but the thing moves like a rocket once Darby sees the kid in the truck. I didn't know how Adams would keep things going after that, but he kept piling on twist after twist and the whole final stretch felt like an over-the-top '90s thriller - complete with a seemingly unstoppable villain! Good stuff. **** out of ****

THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LARUE (V.E. Schwab) - April 8/22

 Well this one is sure frustrating. It took a while to get going but I eventually got pretty invested in the central character and her exploits, and just when my attention was beginning to wane, Henry was introduced and I was very intrigued. I was rooting for them to make it, but Schwab's propensity for overwriting the hell out of this book eventually becomes impossible to overlook. And then the whole thing with the story becoming a Y.A. love triangle thing was astonishingly tedious. I wish some editor had chopped this thing in half, ultimately. **1/2 out of ****

SIX WEEKS TO LIVE (Catherine McKenzie) - March 23/22

 It felt like I was reading this forever. The plot is fine but McKenzie stretches everything to its breaking point, to the extent that the novel feels twice as long as necessary. And I was never able to completely separate the three sisters. The thriller elements are absent until the very end, but I had completely checked out by that point. ** out of ****

CHILLY SCENES OF WINTER (Ann Beattie) - March 10/22

 I'm pretty conflicted on this one. On the one hand, it's absolutely a vivid portrait of a fairly memorable figure and Beattie does a superb job of getting into his head. He's such a weird loner that I couldn't help but occasionally relate to him. But on the other hand, the book is really, really long and packed with descriptive passages. And the ending made me scratch my head. But oddly enough, I could see myself re-reading this some day. **1/2 out of ****

ALL WE EVER WANTED (Emily Giffin) - February 26/22

 After a couple of lousy books, I was in the mood for something brisk and easy to read so I figured an Emily Giffin book was exactly what the doctor ordered. I was right. *** out of ****

THE NATURAL (Bernard Malamud) - February 18/22

 Ugh, this was such a slog, which is weird because it's relatively short. But Malamud's insanely wordy and descriptive prose drains any excitement out of the narrative, and I just found that I didn't care anymore after a while. The bizarre, anticlimactic ending doesn't help, either. * out of ****

BLACK SUNDAY (Thomas Harris) - February 8/22

 I can't say I was super into this at the outset, as Harris delivers a slow-moving thriller that's just way too procedural-like for my preference. But the characters are interesting throughout, at least, and I'll admit that the book did transform into a pageturner in its final third. *** out of ****

THE MAID (Nita Prose) - January 31/22

 Read for the Spooner book club, I really enjoyed this one. It's a very brisk read that features at its core an incredibly likeable and sympathetic central character. I was a little disappointed at the book's final stretch (it seemed like there should've been another twist or two), but otherwise I tore through this thing. ***1/2 out of ****

SHINING THROUGH (Susan Isaacs) - January 27/22

 Well damn, this is one long book. I liked parts of it but it felt longer than a Game of Thrones book. She doesn't even become a spy until two-thirds of the way in! *1/2 out of ****

STATE OF TERROR (Hillary Clinton and Louise Penny) - January 12/22

 Read for the Spooner book club, I enjoyed this but holy god is it ever long. The book generally feels twice as long as necessary and it does, as a result, contain a bunch of less than enthralling subplots and periphery happenings. But the main storyline does grow pretty exciting, admittedly, and I liked the central character. **1/2 out of ****

HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD (Jack Thorne) - January 1/22

 It's definitely weird reading a script but I got used to that pretty quick. The time-travel-heavy storyline is pretty irresistible, and the new characters are decent. It's too long, but what else is new? *** out of ****

THE LOST DAUGHTER (Elena Ferrante) - December 30/21

 There are some interesting ideas here but they're crushed beneath the weight of Ferrante's ponderous and pretentious writing style. I never really connected to anything or anyone, which is too bad, certainly, given that it's well written and full of cogent observations about motherhood. ** out of ****

THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT (Walter Tevis) - December 23/21

 Read this for the Spooner book club and I really enjoyed it. Tevis does tend to go overboard in describing the various chess games, and I generally glazed right over them, but he also offers up a really striking, sympathetic protagonist and a number of engaging periphery characters and subplots. (I really enjoyed the fact that Mrs. Wheatley turned out to be extremely supportive, for example.) *** out of ****

NIGHTMARE ALLEY (William Lindsay Gresham) - December 14/21

 I definitely enjoyed parts of this book but mostly it's way too overwritten and sluggish. Gresham does a good job of establishing that world and the central character, and I enjoyed the twist at the very end (ie geek). But the book would've been better off had it been shorter and ended a lot sooner. (Why didn't it just end after he was hauled away by the mental hospital people?) **1/2 out of ****

DUNE (Frank Herbert) - December 8/21

 Good lord, what a slog. I didn't mind the first half of this, even though I was pretty baffled through most of it, but man the second half was just so tedious. I didn't care about any of it and I could barely keep track of the various characters. *1/2 out of ****

THE HUSTLER (Walter Tevis) - November 28/21

 I definitely enjoyed this book, although it's occasionally just a little too descriptive and gets a little too focused on the minutia of pool. But the main character and his arc were both quite engaging, and the periphery characters were all quite well developed too. *** out of ****

THE MOONSHINE WAR (Elmore Leonard) - November 20/21

 Big ol' meh for this one. I was entertained in parts, that scene where the thug makes a dude and his lady strip in the restaurant felt like it was right out of a QT movie, but Leonard bogs the story down with too many periphery characters and happenings. **1/2 out of ****

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS (J.K. Rowling)

This book is, like all the books in this series, probably longer than it needs to be, but honestly I was so enthralled for most of the second half that I didn’t care. This is an absolutely perfect climax to the series and I was happy to see that virtually everything I could think of was resolved. I also enjoyed a bunch of the action sequences and surprise twists, including of course the true nature of Snape’s feelings towards Harry. And the final confrontation between Harry and Voldemort was exactly what I wanted. I could definitely see myself starting the series from the beginning somewhere down the line. **** out of ****

HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE (October 27/21)

 Like the rest of the series, this is probably longer than it needs to be but I was hardly aware of it once the book's final third rolled around. It's very exciting and tense and full of terrific set-pieces that I'm sure will look great in the movie. And the murder of Dumbledore by Snape, even though I knew it was coming, still hit me like a ton of bricks. ***1/2 out of ****

BEAUTIFUL WORLD, WHERE ARE YOU (Sally Rooney) - October 11/21

 I basically enjoyed this but it's just so long and unfocused. Rooney kind of rambles and offers up several very long paragraphs that aren't super easy to get through. But the characters are well defined and there were definitely quite a few riveting stretches. But this reads like a book that the author refused to edit down. **1/2 out of ****

HOUR OF THE WITCH (Chris Bohjalian) - September 25/21

 Damn, I was reading this one for what felt like forever. It's a good book and the characters are pretty vivid, but it's just so darn long. And I'm not sure I'm crazy about the two separate courtroom sections hundreds of pages apart. The end was quite satisfying, however, with Mary escaping from prison, murdering her husband, and living happily ever after with her new husband and child. **1/2 out of ****

THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME (Laura Dave) - August 27/21

 I basically enjoyed this but it's pretty generic and paint-by-numbers as far as stories like this go. The book, as a result, unfolds almost entirely free of surprises or wholeheartedly engrossing stretches, but I did breeze through the second half in just a couple of days. The kind of harsh ending was a surprise, too. **1/2 out of ****

HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX (J.K. Rowling) - August 20/21

 This is the longest book in the series and it sure feels like it. As expected, Rowling employs an episodic structure that results in a midsection that couldn't possibly be more hit and miss. I was, as a result, kind of bored during much of this section of the book, but Rowling's done such a superb job of establishing the many characters that I never tuned out entirely. There's little doubt, too, that the proliferation of palpably exciting sequences in the second half, including Harry's confrontation with Death Eaters and eventually Voldemort himself in the Ministry of Magic, ensures that I was more and more enthralled as the story finally drew to a close. *** out of ****

THE GRADUATE (Charles Webb) - August 6/21

 I guess I didn't remember the movie at all, because most of what happened in this book surprised me. Webb's writing style is certainly unusual, as he tends to favor long, unbroken conversations over descriptive passages, and I did find myself drawn into Ben's oddball antics. But it's never super clear just what's driving him, specifically his desire to be with (and eventually marry) Elaine. Does he love her? It's very strange. *** out of ****

TERMS OF ENDEARMENT (Larry McMurtry) - Aug. 1/21

 In the end, I did enjoy this book, although it's just so darn long and so much emphasis is placed on Aurora's relationships with her various suitors. The relationship between Aurora and Emma is the highlight, and I thought it was interesting that McMurtry devoted the last chunk of the novel to Emma's solo exploits and her eventual death (which was surprisingly moving). (The portrayal of dying was unlike anything I've seen/read before, as McMurtry does a good job of exploring the exhaustion of slowly fading away.) *** out of ****

THE TROOP (Nick Cutter) - July 20/21

 I think the best way to describe this is Lord of the Flies meets The Ruins, and on that level it works. I was concerned that the emphasis on five teenagers would be tedious but Cutter does a good job of turning them into relatively compelling characters. (And Shelley is certainly as evil a figure as one could imagine.) I was surprised by the fat kid's death, and some of the horror-related interludes were quite gripping. I don't understand why there was an ongoing emphasis on animal-related cruelty, though. I skipped over all those parts. This Cutter guy seems to really hate animals. **1/2 out of ****

THE LIES THAT BIND (Emily Giffin) - July 16/21

 I had started reading the Poisonwood Bible for the Lexis book club but man it felt so much like work and then I got to a chapter from the perspective of a mentally-handicapped character and I threw in the towel, so I wanted something breezy and easy to read. This book definitely delivered in that department. It's super trashy but I liked the characters and a bunch of the twists actually surprised me. Good stuff. *** out of ****

BROKEN (IN THE BEST POSSIBLE WAY) - July 12/21

 Oh, Jenny Lawson. Half of this book is pointless, rambling, stream-of-consciousness bouts of silliness that inspire nothing in me aside from the desire to skim over such chapters. But Lawson packs the other half of the book with relatable and touching stories that make this thing worth reading, with this especially true of her struggles with depression. A mixed bag, to say the least. **1/2 out of ****

THE RUINS (Scott Smith) - July 8/21

 I wanted something super grim and bleak after Barry's death and this certainly fit the bill. It's a little too long but man Smith ratchets up the hopelessness chapter after chapter. ***1/2 out of ****

THE SOLITUDE OF PRIME NUMBERS (Paolo Giordano) - June 30/21

 I was super into this at first and the two main characters are certainly quite compelling, but Giordano's overly flowery prose is sometimes a struggle to get through. It could be a less-than-ideal translation, admittedly, but yeah I can't say I was enthralled from start to finish. The ending was satisfying, at least. *** out of ****

MADE FOR LOVE (Alissa Nutting) - May 29/21

 I'm pretty conflicted about this one. The first half of the book is almost intolerably quirky, and I skimmed over everything involving Jasper and the dolphin pretty hard. But the book eventually becomes impressively engrossing in its final stretch, particularly as Nutting explores the likeable protagonist's less-than-healthy mental state. **1/2 out of ****

BRAT (Andrew McCarthy) - May 19/21

 Such a breezy read. As expected, McCarthy is a very good writer who certainly knows how to keep things interesting, although I could've used a few more movie stories. (A couple of pages for Weekend at Bernie's and *nothing* for the sequel? That's harsh.) *** out of ****

THE GOLDFINCH (Donna Tartt) - May 17/21

 Wow, this took a while. (Just over a year and 61 returns/checkouts from the library.) Anyway, it's obviously extremely well written but boy oh boy does the narrative drag sometimes. There's a long stretch near the end where Theo is recovering and Tartt spends page after page dwelling on his dreams and thoughts. It's not great. But there are also some really profound portions that I actually found really moving, especially the final 50 pages or so. I'm glad I read this, ultimately, but I wish it had been shorter. *** out of ****

THE ONLY GOOD INDIANS (Stephen Graham Jones) - April 26/21

 Wow, what a frustrating book. I had originally started this and stopped it after a few chapters because Jones' style is so obnoxious, and it turns out I should've stuck with my decision to abandon it. There are some good stretches here, especially the fate of the first guy and the two women he accidentally kills, but Jones' wordy prose results in long stretches that are pretty much meaningless. (This is particularly true of the interminable and anticlimactic finale few chapters.) ** out of ****

THE SWITCH (Elmore Leonard) - April 15/21

 I picked this because I assumed it would be a short, breezy read but not so much. It's entertaining enough in spots, but the narrative is so sluggish and devoid of twists that long stretches are kind of dull. The characters are relatively interesting, at least, and I liked the ending. **1/2 out of ****

TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE (Mitch Albom) - March 23/21

 This kind of compelling but not exactly enthralling book is short but it feels like it could be shorter. Still, Morrie is very compelling and super sympathetic, and I did get a little choked up at the end. *** out of ****

BEHIND HER EYES (Sarah Pinborough) - March 18/21

 This book is almost absurdly overlong, and it's clear that it's building towards some big twist but man oh man does Pinborough pad the story out. And yeah, that twist was definitely a mind-blower but why'd it have to take so long to get there? **1/2 out of ****

THE ACCIDENTAL TOURIST (Anne Tyler) - March 3/21

 This almost insanely overlong book nevertheless won my over with its exceedingly vivid, affable characters, and I legit wasn't sure who Macon would end up with. But yeah, Tyler's decision to establish over a dozen supporting characters really pads the book, although I did enjoy the exploits of most of these people (including Macon's editor, Julian). It's a pretty standard romcom premise, but it's just done so well and so artfully. *** out of ****

A BRIGHT RAY OF DARKNESS (Ethan Hawke) - February 21/21

 Meh. I didn't hate this, I guess, but damn is Hawke pretty pretentious. I enjoyed the behind-the-scenes play stuff and the main character is kind of interesting and vivid, but the book is packed with so many stretches in which characters pontificate in as artificial a way as you could imagine. ** out of ****

ANXIOUS PEOPLE (Fredrik Backman) - February 13/21

 Read as part of the Lexis book club, I definitely enjoyed this one. It's much, much longer than it needs to be, but Backman has packed it with endearing, sympathetic characters. I liked how everything connected and the proliferation of twists throughout. *** out of ****

NEWS OF THE WORLD (Paulette Jiles) - February 6/21

 This erratic yet ultimately rewarding book admittedly did test my patience here and there, as Jiles' Cormac McCarthy-like prose is occasionally a little on the impenetrable side. (There are some egregiously descriptive passages here, for sure.) But the author does a solid job of establishing the central characters and their increasingly compelling bond, and it's clear, too, that there are a handful of genuinely exciting/tense sequences. I even got a little choked up after Kidd took Johanna back from her adoptive family and eventually gave her away to be married. (The Six Feet Under-like final stretch is quite well done, certainly.) *** out of ****

HEARTBURN (Nora Ephron) - January 30/21

 I wasn't too crazy about this at first mostly because Ephron tends to write in a kind of stream-of-consciousness style and emphasizes schticky jokes. But I got used to that stuff (though the jokes were never funny) and really found the characters well-drawn and interesting. I also felt like she made some unexpectedly cogent statements on relationships and marriage. Curious to see how it's adapted for the big screen, definitely. ***1/2 out of ****

THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY (Matt Haig) - January 19/21

 Read this for the Lexis book club. It turned out to be a lot more conventional than I was expecting and I have to say that while I did enjoy it, it ultimately felt a little repetitive and overlong in its midsection. Still, the book does feature a fantastic premise and a thoroughly compelling protagonist at its core. The ending, though predictable, was satisfying and entertaining. *** out of ****

AFTER HOURS (Edwin Torres) - January 13/21

 Yikes, this was a nightmare. I started it last year sometime and was put off by the main character's broken English. I wound up skimming through most of the second half last night and I can't say I enjoyed any of it. Amazing De Palma was able to wring a solid movie out of this poorly-written mess. * out of ****

GOOD MORNING, MIDNIGHT (Lily Brooks-Dalton) - January 6/21

 I have mixed feelings about this one. On the one hand, it's really well written and the various characters are all developed exceedingly well, especially Sully and Augustine. But on the other hand, it's filled with long, descriptive passages in which nothing much happens. (I was never bored, though.) And I can't say I was crazy about the vague ending, or the fact that Sully and Augustine never found out who the other person was. Why include such a massive coincidence like that if they're not going to figure it out? It's very weird. *** out of ****

HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE (J.K. Rowling) - January 1/21

 I finally finished it! Holy hell is this a long book. And the problem is, much of the first half and midsection is devoted to fairly tedious day-in-day-out type shenanigans. There's not much in the way of tension or suspense and I was seriously losing interest, right up until Voldemort has his epic showdown with Harry. That was surprisingly electrifying, but it's followed by so much more book and a whole lot of exposition and explanations. Does nobody edit these books? **1/2 out of ****

LOVECRAFT COUNTRY (Matt Ruff) - December 20/20

 Definitely felt like I was reading this one for a while, since it has some admittedly high highs but more low lows. Certain chapters are surprisingly engrossing, like the one about the character who travels to a distant galaxy, but others are just overwritten and not involving. Also I never really got a handle on the almost dozen different characters. **1/2 out of ****

SAINT JACK (Paul Theroux) - December 13/20

 Man, it took me a while to finish this one. I think Theroux is a very good writer but his style often gets in the way of his ability to tell an interesting story. I liked chunks of this book - the locale is very vivid and so is the main character - but Theroux's descriptive, trying-too-hard prose turned me off at far too many times to count. ** out of ****

CAPE FEAR (John D. MacDonald) - November 30/20

It's interesting how different this turned out to be from both films, especially the ending, but I definitely enjoyed this book. Max Cady basically disappears at around the midway point, which kind of wreaked havoc on the book's momentum. (He's just such a compelling figure that it's difficult not to miss him.) I liked the weird banter between Sam and Carol, but some sections were a little too descriptive and the dialogue was occasionally a little too verbose. Interesting too that Cady is killed offscreen. *** out of ****

THE ANSWER IS... (Alex Trebek) - November 26/20

 I probably enjoyed this book more than I was expecting to, even though it does contain a heavy emphasis on Trebek's upbringing and early days. He's just an interesting, down-to-earth guy, and though some chapters were just a little too earnest, I felt like I knew and respected him better as I read. The final stretch is fairly bittersweet, too, as Trebek comes to terms with his imminent demise. *** out of ****

A SIMPLE PLAN (Scott Smith) - November 22/20

 This book is clearly much, much longer than necessary, and yet I was riveted for most of it. It's interesting that the narrative reaches a point at which I assumed it would end - Jacob is murdered by his brother - but that's only about the halfway mark. Smith packs the novel with a whole bunch of really suspenseful scenes, and I definitely found myself sympathizing more and more with the protagonist. The bleak ending was expected but powerful. ***1/2 out of ****

WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING (Delia Owens) - November 14/20

 Read this on mom's recommendation and it's good. It's very, very long, and there are some stretches that are just way too descriptive (and there's so much poetry, too), but the story is inherently compelling and the main character is extremely well-developed and sympathetic. I even got a little choked up at the end, which I wasn't expecting. *** out of ****

THE DEVIL ALL THE TIME (Donald Ray Pollock) - October 28/20

 This one got off to a slow start but I eventually found it to be quite the page turner. Pollock does an effective job of establishing the myriad of characters and I found that I was pretty heavily invested in all the stories and subplots. ***1/2 out of ****

ARE SNAKES NECESSARY (Brian De Palma and Susan Lehman) - October 5/20

 This ultimately does feel like a new De Palma movie, although it does take a while to get going, as De Palma and Lehman introduce a whole mess of characters. The various plots converge at the end in what could only be described as a series of extreme coincidences, but I was entertained. (And I enjoyed the various De Palma touches, especially a slow-motion sequence in the climax!) *** out of ****

YOU CAN'T CATCH ME (Catherine McKenzie) - September 21/20

 I can't say I enjoyed this too much, ultimately. I thought the main storyline was actually pretty decent and even exciting, but McKenzie keeps cutting away to flashbacks of the protagonist's time living in a commune/cult and I couldn't possibly have cared less. The big revelations of the climax, which tie into the cult stuff, consequently fell completely flat for me. A rare misfire from McKenzie. ** out of ****

I'M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS (Iain Reid) - September 3/20

 Well, okay. I'm really not sure what to make of this. It's pretty well written and there were definitely some really interesting passages/scenes, but it just gets more and more surreal as it goes along, and I don't even have a clue what was going on in the last 50 pages or so. It's disappointing, given that Reid does have a lot of trenchant things to say about relationships. But I guess I wasn't bored, so there's that, anyway. **1/2 out of ****

THE INNOCENT MAN (John Grisham) - August 27/20

 I feel like I've had this book forever, but it's actually not bad. I wasn't super into the courtroom stuff - too many names to keep track of - but I definitely got into it during the prison portion (which is the entire second half of the book). Too long but mostly rewarding, ultimately. *** out of ****

THE WHISPER MAN (Alex North) - August 20/20

This impressive thriller is a little too long, but I was generally engrossed from start to finish and the characters (and mystery) were all quite compelling. *** out of ****

LEGENDS OF THE FALL (Jim Harrison) - August 14/20

 Oddly enough, I liked Legends of the Fall the least out of these three short stories (which I read months apart). Harrison's poetic and insanely descriptive writing style - this dude does not like dialogue - was an interesting novelty at first but eventually grew exhausting. ** out of ****

I'LL BE GONE IN THE DARK (Michelle McNamara) - August 12/20

 I think I have to accept that the true-crime genre just isn't for me. I enjoyed certain portions of this book, mostly when McNamara told personal stories about herself and some victims, but mostly I was bored by the emphasis on the minutiae of her investigation into the Golden State Killer. I would've been perfectly happy reading a 10 page version of this story. But it's well written and some stretches were admittedly pretty engrossing. **1/2 out of ****

THE SUNLIT NIGHT (Rebecca Dinerstein) - August 3/20

I'll be honest, I was seriously skimming the second half of this book. But that's only because the first half is pretty much unreadable; the book is unreasonably quirky, devoid of fleetingly interesting characters, and overwritten to an absurd degree. Dinerstein seems incapable of stringing together enough words to form even one compelling sentence. I really, really hated this. no stars out of ****

A VERY PUNCHABLE FACE (Colin Jost) - July 28/20

A typically erratic memoir. I was less-than-impressed by his childhood, but I definitely enjoyed his SNL stories and even some of his other tales (including a bite by a weird parasite). *** out of ****

YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT (Daniel Kehlmann) - July 24/20

This novel - well, novella, really - took a while to really grab my attention and Kehlmann doesn't help matters by initially focusing on the main character's screenplay (complete with excerpts!) But the book does get fairly creepy as it goes along, and the first-person perspective really adds to the unsettling atmosphere. *** out of ****

A KISS BEFORE DYING (Ira Levin) - July 12/20

Ira Levin knocks it out of the park again with this engrossing and impressively shocking/dark thriller. I will admit certain things didn't work for me - Levin's decision to hide Bud's identity during the Ellen stretch left me confused, and the overly descriptive stuff at the plant near the end was a bit much - but there were definitely stretches that were unexpectedly riveting and the ending is note perfect. Good stuff. ***1/2 out of ****

THE RED LOTUS (Chris Bohjalian) - June 29/20

This is probably one of Bohjalian's better books in a while, as it's quite readable and even suspenseful in spots. It's too long, as per usual, but Bohjalian does a nice job of fleshing out the central character and even a few periphery figures (including Ken. Poor, doomed Ken). I definitely think the book could've been trimmed, but that's true of most of Bohjalian's efforts. *** out of ****

STAY WHERE I CAN SEE YOU (Katrina Onstad) - June 21/20

It took me a good long while to get into this one - maybe half the book? - but I eventually found myself quite enjoying Stay Where I Can See You. Onstad is perhaps not quite as good a writer as she thinks she is, but she certainly does a nice job of developing the various characters. *** out of ****

NORMAL PEOPLE (Sally Rooney) - June 14/20

There's no doubt that Sally Rooney is a really talented writer. Normal People is packed with interesting, cogent observations and a pair of seriously compelling characters, and I definitely appreciated that the story rarely went where I thought it would (ie this could easily have been the setup for a cheesy romcom). But I also think that the book is overwritten to a degree; Rooney's writing style occasionally gets in the way of the story she's trying to tell. Nevertheless, she has a fan for life in me and I'm excited to read what she does next. *** out of ****

I KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE (Wally Lamb) - June 8/20

Good lord, this must be one of the longest books I've ever read. I'll admit, though, that I found I Know This Much Is True surprisingly absorbing in its first half, as Lamb does a superb job of establishing the various characters and the Three Rivers locale. It's grim stuff, but Lamb creates such a fully-realized world that I found myself reading longer than I might've planned. But Lamb's decision to eventually alternate chapters with the grandfather's autobiography proves fairly disastrous, as I first skimmed that stuff and eventually skipped it altogether. It's just too much, and should have been omitted. **1/2 out of ****

THE SHINING GIRLS (Lauren Beukes) - May 19/20

I'll admit I didn't think I was going to get into this, as the first little bit is so baffling and so off-putting that I skimmed through it pretty hard. But it eventually settles down and focuses mostly on Kirby and Harper, and I'll admit I was pretty captivated - even if I never did get a handle on how the time travel aspect works or even why Harper was targeting the girls. (Yeah, they were "shining" but how did that info about them get into the house?) The abrupt ending was a little disappointing, but overall I'd say I enjoyed this. *** out of ****

FIRST COMES LOVE (Emily Giffin) - May 9/20

I just wanted something readable and entertaining, so I figured I'd turn back to ol' Emily Giffin. And while this book is definitely too long, I was pretty engrossed the whole way through. I found myself getting unexpectedly caught up in Josie's baby drama, and the relationship between Meredith and Nolan, and of course the Josie/Meredith relationship. Yeah, I really liked this book. ***1/2 out of ****

THE GRIFTERS (Jim Thompson) - April 29/20

I feel like this should've been better than it was. There's some interesting stuff here and the three main characters are interesting, but there's virtually no forward momentum to the narrative. There's a lot of description of the protagonists' internal thoughts, but plotwise there's little to hold the reader's interest. The ending was impressively grim, I guess. **1/2 out of ****

THE NEW ME (Halle Butler) - April 17/20

Chose this one on a whim from the Best Bets section and I really enjoyed it. Butler delivers a fairly vivid portrait of a twentysomething temp worker who just can't get her life together, but it's really not as cheesy as that description makes it sound. It's often quite a bit darker than I expected, and I was almost convinced that the book was going to end with the main character just completely snapping. (Her grip on sanity seems to grow more and more tenuous as the book progresses.) I'm excited to read more of Butler's stuff. ***1/2 out of ****

THE DOMINO PRINCIPLE (Adam Kennedy) - April 2/20

I basically enjoyed this one, though it's occasionally a little too descriptive for its own good. But there are definitely some exciting moments and the main character is quite vividly sketched out (and I certainly couldn't help but picture Gene Hackman while reading). *** out of ****

LOGAN'S RUN (William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson) - March 24/20

This one started out pretty okay (I liked the initial descriptions of the futuristic world and of Logan's work), but once the main character runs, the book becomes dominated by long, tedious, and overly descriptive sequences. I was skimming a lot of this stuff, but the ending wasn't terrible. *1/2 out of ****

THE CALL OF THE WILD (Jack London) - March 11/20

Yeah, no, I hated this. It's all descriptive paragraphs and I really couldn't have cared less. * out of ****

CONVERSATIONS WITH FRIENDS (Sally Rooney) - March 6/20

I feel like I was reading this forever, but nevertheless I kind of liked it. Rooney does a nice job of establishing the various characters, and the central character was especially quite vivid and compelling (especially when she got that uterus thing). But the book is generally pretty long-winded and sporadically pretentious, so I can't say I really loved it at any point. **1/2 out of ****

JUST FLY AWAY (Andrew McCarthy) - February 17/20

Though I ultimately wound up enjoying this quite a bit, Just Fly Away is a kind of generic Young Adult novel that doesn't really have stellar writing to elevate it. But I enjoyed it more and more as the characters became increasingly well drawn, and I certainly liked that the book didn't really outstay its welcome. A fine fiction debut by McCarthy. *** out of ****

THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW (A.J. Finn) - February 4/20

There's nothing terribly original about this book but I nevertheless found it quite enjoyable (if a little overlong). The characters were all well drawn and I honestly didn't see any of the twists coming, although in retrospect they're all super obvious. Good stuff. ***1/2 out of ****

THE HOT ROCK (Donald E. Westlake) - January 25/20

Enjoyed this one quite a bit. It's got a few sluggish stretches, but Westlake does a superb job of establishing the characters and keeping the tone light (yet suspenseful in parts). I even laughed out loud once or twice, especially during Dortmunder's airplane hijacking getaway. Good stuff. ***1/2 out of ****

THE GETAWAY (Jim Thompson) - January 18/20

I was somehow never entirely able to get into this one, despite a solid assortment of characters and a smattering of compelling scenes (eg Doc pursues the thief onto a train and casually murders him). The surreal final 50 pages or so was terrible, to put it mildly, and I have no idea what Thompson was thinking. **1/2 out of ****

THE FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE (George V. Higgins) - January 10/20

Finally, an entertaining book. I'll admit it took me a while to get a handle on the various characters and there was a stretch near the beginning that lost its hold on me, but my interest returned with a vengeance after the first bank robbery, which was exciting and visceral. I can definitely see how this book has influenced certain filmmakers, especially Quentin Tarantino (the cheese sandwich/mayonnaise bit!), and I loved how brisk and appropriately short it was. ***1/2 out of ****

THE CHEMIST (Stephenie Meyer) - January 7/20

I liked the characters and the story here, but god almighty was this thing long. It felt like I was reading it forever, and certain stretches just drag like crazy. Instead of summing something up in one paragraph, Meyer devotes page after page to the most basic of things - to the point where I was just like, get on with it already! Anyway, it's a shame because she does an effective job of establishing the central characters and there are a few admittedly exciting passages. ** out of ****

THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT (Chris Bohjalian) - December 20/19

This typically readable work by Bohjalian boasts a compelling central character and a decent mystery, although, in typical Bohjalian fashion, the narrative does feel longer than necessary as he packs it with background and digressions. The final few chapters were definitely exciting and packed with surprises (definitely wasn't expecting Elena to die, nor did I predict that Buckley was the assassin). *** out of ****

A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS (Khaled Hosseini) - December 13/19

This is definitely a good book with some riveting moments, but overall I found it a little too long and a little too descriptive. *** out of ****

I WISH YOU HAPPY (Kerry Anne King) - November 29/19

Sigh. I can't say I enjoyed this too much. It's relatively short but it felt endless, basically. The characters are fine, if a little too quirky, but I just never cared about anything that was happening. I think I need to stick with known authors for the next little while. *1/2 out of ****

RED RISING (Pierce Brown) - November 13/19

Oh, no. Oh, dear. Read this based on Jason's recommendation and it's the last time I'll read something he likes. This was just awful. An interminable, endless slog through a series of dystopian cliches. There are so many descriptive battle scenes that I was skimming over large chunks of this mess. Needless to say I shan't be reading further installments. no stars out of ****

THE ICE STORM (Ricky Moody) - October 31/19

I definitely remember enjoying this more than I did - Moody's extremely wordy style can be grating - but I will admit that Moody does a nice job of establishing the various characters and detailing an especially eventful 24 hours in their respective lives. *** out of ****

PARIS FOR ONE & OTHER STORIES (Jojo Moyes) - October 12/19

A breezy and quick read, Paris for One is charming in precisely the way I might've expected based on the other books' of Moyes I've read. The short stories were all pretty decent, too. *** out of ****

THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (Thomas Harris) - September 29/19

There are a few overly descriptive stretches here and there, but for the most part, this is an exceedingly entertaining and occasionally thrilling novel that certainly deepened my appreciation for the movie. ***1/2 out of ****

THE SILENCE (Tim Lebbon) - September 5/19

Out of A Quiet Place and Bird Box, The Silence feels the most creepily possible and plausible, so I enjoyed the book on the whole. I did think that it was often much more descriptive than I generally prefer, and the inclusion of the Reverend as a villain was just a little too Stephen King-ish for my liking. The somewhat vague conclusion means that another book is coming? *** out of ****

WHERE'D YOU GO, BERNADETTE (Maria Semple) - August 21/19

Well, gosh, I really couldn't stand this one. It's just so quirky and the epistolary structure just doesn't work at all and I hated the characters. I totally glazed over whole stretches and it still felt like I was reading this stupid thing forever. no stars out of ****

PRESUMED INNOCENT (Scott Turow) - August 9/19

I mean, it's a good book, but boy howdy is it ever long. Turow offers up an incredibly dense narrative packed with descriptive paragraphs that seem to go on for pages, and it is, as a result, impossible to become wholeheartedly engrossed in the story. I was never able to really get a handle on the various supporting characters, most likely because I couldn't help but glaze over key stretches. It's just so darn long. **1/2 out of ****

TURTLES ALL THE WAY DOWN (John Green) - July 25/19

This is a pretty decent effort from Green. I definitely admired how accurately (and scarily) he portrayed Aza's occasionally debilitating anxiety, and though I enjoyed the other characters, they did seem a little too overtly quirky at times. I wouldn't say I was ever engrossed but I enjoyed the book all the way through. *** out of ****

WHO DO YOU LOVE (Jennifer Weiner) - July 14/19

I wasn't super into this at the beginning, with the long stretch about the two characters as kids, but this book definitely grew on me as it went along. The main characters became extremely likeable and sympathetic, and I definitely enjoyed the almost epic scope of the storyline. ***1/2 out of ****

THE PARTY (Robyn Harding) - July 5/19

I enjoyed this way more than I thought I would. At first it seemed like another generic Big Little Lies-esque drama but I definitely grew more and more attached to the characters as the book unfolded. Harding does a nice job of transforming all the protagonists into surprisingly compelling figures, and I thought the ending was quite satisfying, too. (Hannah plots her comeback as a popular girl at school.) ***1/2 out of ****

STILL ME (Jojo Moyes) - June 28/19

Of course this book is way longer than it needed to be but I nevertheless enjoyed it quite a bit. I really found myself getting invested in Louisa's NYC based exploits, and her relationships with the various people around her (including Agnes and Josh, and of course Sam). *** out of ****

WHO IS MICHAEL OVITZ? (Michael Ovitz) - June 21/19

I certainly enjoyed this book in the first half, as Ovitz includes pretty interesting stories about the formation of CAA and the making of movies like Jurassic Park and Rain Man. But I completely lost interest in the self-aggrandizing second half in which Ovitz details his work with various corporations and conglomerates and spends so, so much time talking about his beefs with people I couldn't care less about. The guy is just so darn full of himself. *1/2 out of ****

LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE (Celeste Ng) - June 10/19

The middle of this really long book was pretty much amazing. I was completely enthralled and the characters all became incredibly vivid. This definitely reminded me a lot of Tom Perrotta's work. I think maybe the whole thing ran out of steam in its last 100 pages or so, but still, just for the midsection, I'd say this is one of the better books I've read as of late. **** out of ****

MAGIC (William Goldman) - June 3/19

This got off to a pretty disastrous start, as Goldman delivers a kaleidoscopic/impressionistic opening stretch that makes exceedingly little sense (ie there's nothing to connect to). But once he settles down and delivers a straightforward narrative, Magic becomes surprisingly compelling. Corky and Fats are certainly quite intriguing, and I definitely enjoyed the last-minute revelation that Fats was the one in control (and not vice versa). Good stuff. *** out of ****

LOVE MAY FAIL (Matthew Quick) - May 27/19

I'll admit I wasn't enjoying this too much in its first half. It's super long and padded-out and the characters, mostly Mr. Vernon, are impossibly quirky. But once Portia and Craig got together (and Vernon exited temporarily), the whole thing became tolerable and even quite gripping in spots. *** out of ****

ELEANOR & PARK (Rainbow Rowell) - May 15/19

I definitely really enjoyed this one. I might even have loved it. Rowell does a superb job of capturing the feeling of first love, and the two protagonists are so perfectly developed and defined. There's a lot of chemistry between them, too. I do kind of wish Rowell hadn't made Eleanor's life quite so horrible - she has an awful home life *and* she's bullied at school - but it all felt pretty real and authentic. The abrupt ending wasn't entirely satisfying, admittedly, but it does sound like there's gonna be a sequel at some point. I can't wait. ***1/2 out of ****

THIS SIDE OF PARADISE (F. Scott Fitzgerald) - May 7/19

Guess I hate F. Scott Fitzgerald. This thing is the worst. It's super pretentious and the changing styles ensures it feels like it's been cobbled together out of disparate elements. I hated everything about this book. no stars out of ****

EATERS OF THE DEAD (Michael Crichton) - April 30/19

I think this might be my least favorite Crichton. It's just boring and the inclusion of tedious footnotes only exacerbates the tedium. * out of ****

VIDEO NASTIES (Duncan Ralston) - April 26/19

Big ol' meh on this one. None of the stories really stood out, and although some of them had some good moments, Ralston would mostly botch the endings. It just felt like he was trying way too hard for a Stephen King type vibe. ** out of ****

KNOTS & CROSSES (Ian Rankin) - April 23/19

I can't say I was enjoying this a ton initially, as the book comes off as a kind of overwritten crime novel stuffed with underdeveloped side characters. But the propulsive narrative eventually did capture my interest, particularly once the case became personal. I'd definitely read another Rebus book. *** out of ****

50 (Avery Corman) - April 15/19

I definitely enjoyed this way more than I thought I would. There are a few spots that drag but otherwise this was a pretty engaging drama about an impressively compelling central character. ***1/2 out of ****

BIRD BOX (Josh Malerman) - April 5/19

I really enjoyed this. Some of the periphery characters were hard to pin down but I dug the out-there premise and there were definitely some pretty tense moments sprinkled throughout. I definitely tore my way through the final stretch. ***1/2 out of ****

BINARY (Michael Crichton) - April 1/19

As expected, Binary contains an uninvolving first little bit devoted to technical stuff, but I'll admit that I was quite involved once the story itself kicked in. It reminded me a bit of 24 with its race-against-the-clock vibe. *** out of ****

THE AFTERMATH (Rhidian Brook) - March 27/19

This is a decent post-war drama and I enjoyed the exploits of the three main characters (and the twist that the German guy's wife was still alive), but it definitely dragged quite a bit in various stretches. And I never really got a handle on the weird hobo kids. **1/2 out of ****

THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10 (Ruth Ware) - March 14/19

Definitely enjoyed this fairly forgettable thriller. It moved quickly and there were some decent twists, although I did think the whole thing ended rather abruptly. *** out of ****

HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN - J.K. Rowling (March 6/19)

This one took me a while, a long while. It seriously drags in the middle, as Rowling devotes chapter after chapter to Harry and the gang's less-than-compelling Hogwarts-based exploits. It's just so episodic and devoid of momentum. But it definitely picked up towards the end with a BTTF 2 type climax and a reveal that Sirius Black isn't, in fact, evil. But yeah, if this one was dragging hard, I'm kind of dreading the next few books. **1/2 out of ****

THE STRANGER BESIDE ME (Ann Rule) - February 28/19

I mean, this book is absurdly long. Rule goes into tremendous detail about things I didn't really care about, but on the other hand, there are a few absolutely riveting stretches (including and especially Bundy's attack on a sorority house). **1/2 out of ****

POIROT INVESTIGATES (Agatha Christie) - February 9/19

Well, okay, it's safe to say I'm done with Poirot forever after this one. I hated all these stories. * out of ****

THE TWO FACES OF JANUARY (Patricia Highsmith) - December 20/18

Well, okay, I guess Patricia Highsmith isn't for me. I liked parts of this book but god almighty is it meandering in stretches. I can't help but wonder if she wrote it stream of consciousness style, because that what it feels like during the more descriptive portions. ** out of ****

EVERY BREATH (Nicholas Sparks) - December 11/18

Ehhh. I liked the core of this story but Sparksy has taken what could've been a pretty great novella and padded it out to a frankly unreasonable extent. We get all this backstory on these two people but little of it is actually interesting. Meh. ** out of ****

SPRINGFIELD CONFIDENTIAL (Mike Reiss & Mathew Klickstein) - November 29/18

This padded-out but interesting book offers interesting Simpsons tidbits and also an overview of comedy (as Reiss sees it). He's got a bizarre hatred of Tim Allen, but it's a decent book. And a quick read. *** out of ****

THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER'S WEB (David Lagercrantz) - November 26/18

It felt like I was reading this forever (even on my honeymoon!) but good lord does this thing drag. The Millennium series was always way wordier than it needed to be, but this was ridiculous. Lagercrantz offers up a plethora of barely-developed supplementary characters when the focus really should've been mostly on Salander and Blomkvist. This book could've easily been half as long. ** out of ****

HELLO, SUNSHINE (Laura Dave) - November 3/18

This decent but completely unremarkable book isn’t as charming as the last Dave book I read but the characters are decent and I was basically invested in the story, though certain periphery characters remained impossible to lock down throughout. **1/2 out of ****

THE SANCTUARY (Raymond Khoury) - October 24/18

Well I’ve hit rock bottom with this one. TNhis super generic and absurdly padded out thriller contain virtually nothing of interest and honestly, I skimmed through the bulk of it. What a horrible, cash grabbing worthless piece of garbage. No stars out of ****

THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY (Michael Crichton) - October 12/18

Yikes. This one was a bit of a slog. Crichton delves deep into the conventions of the time but it's all so tedious. The character stuff kinda sucked and the "heist" was only sporadically engrossing. Bleh. * out of ****

I HAVE NO MOUTH AND I MUST SCREAM (Harlan Ellison) - October 9/18

I'm a little on the fence with this one. On the one hand, I really like Ellison's style; the dude was clearly very talented, and his prose doesn't really remind me of much else I've read (like I suppose it's similar to Hubert Selby Jr and Jim Carroll but it's probably slightly better). The stories are very uneven, to be sure; the one about the sentient slot machine was interesting, and the title story is quite grim, but there are a few in between that don't really make the impact Ellison was probably striving for. Still, I'm intrigued and will check out further works from Ellison. **1/2 out of ****

THE RIVER WILD (Denis O'Neill) - October 4/18

This short book felt longer than a Stephen King novel (ie it's absurdly descriptive). I can't really say I enjoyed any part of this and I mostly wished I were watching the movie instead. *1/2 out of ****

TO ALL THE BOYS I'VE LOVED BEFORE (Jenny Han) - September 22/18

This affable romcom is probably a little longer than it needs to be, but the characters are all quite likeable and I enjoyed the love triangle more than I thought I would. *** out of ****

CRAZY RICH ASIANS (Kevin Kwan) - September 14/18

Okay, I'm not sure why this book is literally double the length it needed to be, but Kwan's penchant for describing the hell out of the various rich-people activities lends the book a decidedly superficial feel. My eyes were glazing over whole chapters, it felt like. But there's an undercurrent of soapiness that's pretty hard to resist, particularly with regard to Rachel's relationship with Nick and her eventual discovery of her true heritage. But it's lost within as bloated a novel as I can recall. ** out of ****

A SIMPLE FAVOR (Darcey Bell) - August 28/18

This decent Girl on the Train knockoff isn't exactly super well written and it meanders like crazy, but it's basically readable. **1/2 out of ****

THE MISEDUCATION OF CAMERON POST (Emily M. Danforth) - August 21/18

What the fuck. How is this book almost as long as a Game of Thrones novel? The main character doesn't even make it to the camp until halfway through, and by then, it feels like you've already read a couple of books. Seriously, this thing is ludicrously overlong and padded out, to the extent that it actually made me angry while I was reading it. Where do you get off, writing such a long book with such a thin storyline? Get over yourself, Jesus Christ. It's too bad, too, since Danforth is clearly a decent writer and the protagonist does become a fairly sympathetic, vivid figure. * out of ****

SUNBURN (Laura Lippman) - August 9/18

This is a relatively short book but my god did it feel endless. Lippman tries so, so hard to sound tough and hard boiled but she really and truly does not pull it off. None of the characters become sympathetic or interesting, and I was so bored almost from start to finish. * out of ****

MYSTIC RIVER (Dennis Lehane) - July 25/18

Well, I certainly wasn't expecting something this engrossing. I actually sat there and read about 30% of the book in one sitting, which I never, ever do. The rest of the book isn't quite as gripping - it gets into the nitty gritty of the investigation - but Lehane does an amazing job of developing the central characters and their complex relationships. And there are certainly some engrossing sequences in the book's second half (eg Jimmy and Dave's climactic confrontation). ***1/2 out of ****

FORGOTTEN (Catherine McKenzie) - July 19/18

The first McKenzie book I actually didn't like too much. The characters are all fine, but this is just such a thin story and it seems to go on forever. And everything involving the protagonist's investigation into the painting robbery is super tedious. A misfire. ** out of ****

THE THING ABOUT LOVE (Julie James) - July 7/18

Sayward picked this one and I was a little skeptical at first, especially coming right after the Goldman book (ie James isn't quite up to his level in terms of ability). But as the story went on, I did find myself growing more and more attached to John and Jessica and their exploits. The book really feels like a Sparks knockoff and it's way, way too long, but I enjoyed it. *** out of ****

MARATHON MAN (William Goldman) - June 30/18

I'll admit I was pretty bored for probably the first half of this, as Goldman's overdone writing style is compounded by a narrative that switches between Babe and the mysterious spy (which I accidentally spoiled for myself by reading Wikipedia because I was so bored). But once said spy is revealed to be Doc and Babe is thrust into this scheme, the book moves like a rocket. I think I read the final third of this book in less than a day. ***1/2 out of ****

MRS. FLETCHER (Tom Perrotta) - June 23/18

Perrotta does it again with this incredibly entertaining book packed with vivid, three-dimensional characters. I could've kept reading about Eve, Brendan, Amanda, and all the rest for many, many more pages. ***1/2 out of ****

THE DEAD ZONE (Stephen King) - June 18/18

Definitely one of the better King books I've read, but, of course, too long. There's a lot of padding in the middle of the novel and yet I did find myself getting more and more engrossed as it went along. The characters are all quite vivid and I breezed through the climax in a couple of hours. *** out of ****

BRAVE NEW WORLD (Aldous Huxley) - May 31/18

I enjoyed the first and last bits of this novel, but the midsection, detailing the "savage" and his origins, is so dull I was glazing over whole pages. But I definitely thought Huxley created a very interesting world, and the long monologue at the end explaining how and why everything works was pretty fascinating. **1/2 out of ****

ALL OUR WRONG TODAYS (Elan Mastai) - May 19/18

I really enjoyed large swaths of this book, even though Mastai has a predilection for going way over board in terms of describing things. He'll spend chapters explaining just how all this fake technology works or describing the hell out of his futuristic society. But at the heart of the novel is a story that's really interesting and stuffed with well-developed characters. I was absolutely riveted by the stretch in which Tom was forced to travel back 51 years *in real time*! (The Jaunt!) But Mastai kind of fumbles the climax by complicating things to such an extent that I couldn't really follow what was happening (the three personalities were fighting for control or something, I dunno). Definitely excited to see what Mastai gets up to in the future. *** out of ****

THE GOD OF SMALL THINGS (Arundhati Roy) - May 12/18

Sorry, Sayward. Nope. This is way too flowery and descriptive for my liking. Roy is just flat-out in love with her writing to the degree that narrative and character development is non-existent. It's the literary equivalent of masturbation. There were maybe two or three stretches I actually enjoyed - eg one of the kids is molested - but on the whole I found this rather torturous. And I never was able to figure out which character was which. * out of ****

READY PLAYER ONE (Ernest Cline) - April 28/18

Though it's definitely too long, I ultimately wound up really enjoying this book. The first quarter of the book is admittedly too descriptive and meandering but once the easter egg hunt kicks off, I found myself growing more and more enraptured by the brisk narrative. The characters were all well-defined and there were a number of interesting twists (eg Wade allows himself to be arrested by IOI). I'd love to see a sequel just to know how Wade and company spent all that money and what happened to IOI. *** out of ****

MIDNIGHT SUN (Trish Cook) - April 13/18

This really fast paced read doesn't bring much new to the teen tearjerker genre but I really liked the characters and I'll admit I did get choked up at the end. *** out of ****

THE REMAINS OF THE DAY (Kazuo Ishiguro) - April 9/18

I ultimately did enjoy this quite a bit, but I do feel like the story is occasionally bogged down with details I didn't care about (eg page after page of political discussions). Even this aspect eventually made sense, admittedly, and I wasn't expecting such a downbeat conclusion - although, by that same token, Ishiguro's hands-off style ensured that it wasn't nearly as emotionally devastating as I might've expected. *** out of ****

SPIN (Catherine McKenzie) - March 25/18

Ok, so this was way, way too long, but I nevertheless enjoyed it quite a bit. The characters were all pretty vivid and interesting and I was curious to see how everything was going to play out. But yeah, the middle does tend to drag a bit, especially during the many therapy sections. *** out of ****

LITTLE WOMEN (Louisa May Alcott) - March 10/18

Well, I only read Little Women and not Good Wives, so I didn't get to enjoy any of the sisters' deaths. (I think Jo dies?) But man did I hate this. It's been written in this ultra flowery manner and it's super episodic and I was bored to tears. I just wanted some substance or real emotion. Friggin' hell. 1/2* out of ****

FIFTY SHADES FREED (E.L. James) - March 5/18

E.L. James, what are you doing? I basically enjoyed this but it's literally the length of like four books. And as usual, the sex stuff gets awfully tedious. I liked that there were some twists and turns, including Mia's kidnapping, but yeah this should've been a lot shorter. **1/2 out of ****

A SHOCK TO THE SYSTEM (Simon Brett) - February 9/18

This very entertaining book kept me interested from start to finish, although I will admit it did take a while to get going. I suppose I wasn't expecting the author to be quite so descriptive. But once the protagonist is established and his decidedly sociopathic mindset becomes clear, the book becomes quite engrossing. *** out of ****

NOT JUST ME (Lisa Jakub) - January 12/18

Read this to and from Hong Kong. It's fine, I guess. Jakub lists the various anxiety disorders and the methods used to treat them, and some of it's interesting but a lot of it feels like a textbook. The book is at its most entertaining when Jakub is telling personal stories, like her trip to Texas to speak to soldiers suffering from PTSD. (I even choked up a little at the close of this section.) **1/2 out of ****

EASY GO (Michael Crichton) - December 26/17

This very early Crichton novel feels quite slight but on the whole I was entertained. It's a decent premise that's executed well, and although there's only one standout sequence (the dude that gets temporarily trapped in the tomb), it's a quick, easy read - although what's up with that almost comically abrupt ending? **1/2 out of ****

SHARP OBJECTS (Gillian Flynn) - December 18/17

I really enjoyed this one. The stuff with Camille's family is awfully quirky, almost excessively so, but the resolution was quite compelling (ie it became quite the page-turner). It's not difficult to see why Amy Adams would be drawn to this incredibly complex character. ***1/2 out of ****

A BEND IN THE ROAD (Nicholas Sparks) - December 11/17

Sure, this felt like it was written from a template but I enjoyed it regardless. The characters are very vivid and I was caught up in the love story and the mystery. The ending seemed a little abrupt but I was happy that Miles and Sarah were reunited. *** out of ****

MURDER ON THE LINKS (Agatha Christie) - December 5/17

Yeah, I'm thinking Christie isn't for me. Or at least the Poirot books aren't, anyway. I was digging this at the beginning but it just goes on and on. It's like if a Law and Order episode was 5 hours long and really got into the minutia of the case. I just stopped caring about halfway through. *1/2 out of ****

THE STAND (Stephen King) - November 23/17

My crazy brain wouldn't let me not finish that and although the first half was pretty much interminable, I will admit I found myself really enjoying the second half. Basically once the good guys are all together and Flagg and his gang are in Vegas. The characters became much more manageable and I found myself rooting for Stu and Frannie and the rest of the heroes, while Flagg does make for a pretty great villain. The way Flagg and his crew are killed seems awfully sudden, especially for all that buildup, but I liked the twist that he wasn't actually dead. Maybe the original, shorter version of this is more palatable? *** out of ****

IT (Stephen King) - November 4/17

Jesus H. Christ, Steve. I think I've been working on this one off and on for like three months and honestly it felt endless. The bones of the story are good - centuries-old evil torments small town, how could it not be awesome? - but damn does King ruin it by dragging it out beyond any reasonable measure. Far worse is his tendency to offer up completely dull, momentum-killing interludes involving one-and-done characters. Who cares? I glazed over a lot of this, especially the action heavy final stretch, and I'm shocked this was a well-received novel. * out of ****

GERALD'S GAME (Stephen King) - October 6/17

It's hard to believe there was ever a time I considered King my favorite writer. Gerald's Game is okay in parts but mostly it feels like he was challenged to make a book (and a long book at that) out of a 10 page short story. The biggest insult is the hilariously terrible final stretch in which she's escaped and is now recalling what happened in a book she's writing. It's just needless and awful. *1/2 out of ****

UP THE DOWN STAIRCASE (Bel Kaufman) - September 20/17

I really hated this at first because of the annoying style, but I'll admit it grew on me a little. The book is still seriously erratic, as Kaufman is constantly disrupting the flow with nonsensical little notes and announcements that aren't interesting, but the stuff between the teacher and her friend is a highlight. ** out of ****

THE WEDDING PARTY (Robyn Carr) - September 12/17

So I was struggling through It and even Up the Down Staircase when I decided I needed some chick lit and this certainly fit the bill. It's too long, definitely, but I liked it. **1/2 out of ****

THE DARK TOWER: THE GUNSLINGER (Stephen King) - July 20/17

Well this was an ordeal. King offers up an upsidedown world with next to no context and places a one-dimensional character at the center of a convoluted, uninteresting story. I feel like King was on some serious drugs when he wrote this, in what I can only imagine was a one-night, coked-up, stream of consciousness bender. No wonder I was glazing over whole paragraphs. What a mess. Doubt I'll bother with the followups. * out of ****

COMA (Robin Cook) - July 11/17

Like other Cook books, I enjoyed this one but damn if it's not way, way too long. There are some good twists, though. **1/2 out of ****

JOHNNY GOT HIS GUN (Dalton Trumbo) - June 30/17

I mean, it's stream of consciousness, so... I liked how grim the story is and the premise is admittedly very interesting, but Trumbo's terrible writing style is annoying pretty much the whole way through. (So much rambling!) ** out of ****

DARKBOUND (Michaelbrent Collings) - June 24/17

Well, it's certainly a bit jarring to go from Sophie's Choice to this. Collings is far, far from the writer that Styron is and though Darkbound is short, it's very rarely engrossing. There are only a few characters and yet Collings does a horrible job of transforming them into compelling protagonists. The thin narrative just seems like an excuse to kill each person brutally throughout. I was gonna give this two stars but I will admit the final twist, that the narrator was also a very bad individual and that the train was literally hell, was quite nifty and unpredictable. **1/2 out of ****

SOPHIE'S CHOICE (William Styron) - June 17/17

Well this was certainly nothing like what I was expecting. This basically feels like one of the longest books I've ever read and though I was annoyed at parts, I was never entirely bored either. It's so well written, which helps. But good lord are there a lot of digressions. It seems like it's mainly about the main character and his friendship with Sophie and Nathan, but Styron delivers all kinds of narrative left turns. It really does go on and on. And I also thought it was weird how Sophie's Choice is super quick in the book (maybe a page or two) AND her choice is revealed many pages earlier. Weird book but I'm glad I read it. **1/2 out of ****

TWO BY TWO (Nicholas Sparks) - May 31/17

Well, Jesus Sparksy. I was actively hating this book for most of its insanely overlong first half, as Sparks emphasizes the main character's crumbling marriage. But the problem is, his wife is portrayed as the uber bitch to such a degree that it makes no sense that the guy is still with her and eventually sad/surprised when she leaves. But the book improves once it's more about Russ' friendship with old flame Emily and the expected Sparks melodrama, this time involving a dying sister, is admittedly affecting. But goddamn did this ever feel long! ** out of ****

POP GOES THE WEASEL (James Patterson) - May 19/17

It's more of the same, pretty much. There's some exciting stuff here but it's ultimately too long. (I found little of the courtroom stuff interesting.) Shafer is an interesting (if somewhat superhuman) villain and I'm excited to see more of him in forthcoming books. (And excited to find out just what happened to Christine during that year in captivity.) **1/2 out of ****

GRAVE DESCEND (Michael Crichton) - May 12/17

Speaking of books that are just fine... This is short but not entirely engaging, and it generally feels like a Bond knockoff. The 007-like main character and especially the chatty villain are indicative of this feeling, but at least it's a quick read. **1/2 out of ****

THE HANDMAID'S TALE (Margaret Atwood) - May 9/17

I mean, it's fine. I guess? Atwood knows she's a good writer, so she delivers far too many instances of overly flowery writing. The point is made and one just wants to read a good story. But parts of this are engaging, though the whole thing seems entirely implausible. Maybe more background would've helped that point? And what's with the super anticlimactic finish involving a future historian discussing the Gileadean period? So weird. **1/2 out of ****

SMOKE (Catherine McKenzie) - April 29/17

I wasn't too sure about this one at first because it seemed like such a minor story, and it basically is but it grew on me. The characters are pretty solid and I enjoyed the mystery. *** out of ****

BIG LITTLE LIES (Liane Moriarty) - April 23/17

I wasn't completely sold on this in its first half - I mostly had trouble telling the three main characters apart - but boy was I hooked by the second half. The buildup to and the trivia night itself were riveting reading and I was completely entranced. **** out of ****

THE SLEEPWALKER (Chris Bohjalian) - April 13/17

Pretty typical Bohjalian. Overwritten, certainly, but also engaging in spots and full of vivid characters. The mystery wasn't quite as interesting as he intended, though, so the big revelation at the end wasn't exactly the mind-blower I might've expected. **1/2 out of ****

AFTER YOU (Jojo Moyes) - April 5/17

Sigh. I wanted to enjoy this but Moyes delivers an insanely overlong narrative that feels like three books crammed into one. I felt like I was reading this forever. And then, just when you think it's wrapping up, Moyes throws in a death scare for the love interest! Ridiculous. ** out of ****

THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE (Philip K. Dick) - March 22/17

I mean, whatever. I don't really see the entertainment value in this sort of thing. Dick spends so much time exploring and explaining the logistics of the alternate reality in which this transpires that I lost interest almost immediately. Plus he then spends an inordinate amount of time on the book penned by the title character. I glazed over much of the book's second half. * out of ****

FIFTEEN MINUTES TO LIVE (Phoef Sutton) - March 14/17

This is a decent yet pretty forgettable thriller. Sutton does a nice job of establishing the main characters, though he's not as successful with the periphery figures. It's kind of a one-note premise that probably would've been better served as a short story. **1/2 out of ****

A MAN CALLED OVE (Fredrik Backman) - March 8/17

This is extremely conventional but quite readable. Ove is quite compelling and so are the supporting characters. (Most of them, anyway; there are so many that I couldn't quite keep track of 'em all.) *** out of ****

THE MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR AT STYLES (Agatha Christie) - February 18/17

Big ol' nope for this one. I like the character of Poirot but the book's relentless emphasis on his investigation grows increasingly interminable and intolerable. Seriously, I feel like you could've boiled this whole thing down to a five page short story without losing any "character development" (of which there's virtually none). It's gonna be a while before I tackle another Poirot story, that's for sure. * out of ****

FIFTY SHADES DARKER (E.L. James) - Feb. 3/17

Okay, this is *way* too long. I don't remember there being this many sex scenes in the first one and I'll admit they grew awfully tedious as the book went on, to the point where as soon as one showed up, it was my cue to start speed-reading that portion. But I otherwise enjoyed the melodrama of Christian and Ana's relationship, and the various complications (eg Elena, Jack, etc). Solid ending, too, where Elena is forced out of Christian's life and Jack re-emerges as a villain! **1/2 out of ****

THE STAND (Stephen King) - January 23/17

Well, Jesus Christ. I mean there's long and then there's this. No book should be as long as six books, let alone a book with this simple of a story. King pads the book out to an ABSURD degree, offering up long, descriptive passages of aggressively simple things. (There was almost an entire chapter devoted to one character teaching another character to ride a motorcycle, for example.) By the time I started glazing over entire sections - especially the almost astonishingly tedious introduction to Mother Abigail - I was kind of like what the fuck is the point of reading this? I wasn't enjoying it at all and I was barely a third (!!!) of the way through. I remember trying and failing to get through this bloated trainwreck when I was a teenager and despite my best efforts, I just couldn't do it now that I'm an adult either. Fuck this book. Unfinished.

POWER PLAY (Joseph Finder) - December 26/16

This one started out as a slow but interesting Crichton type drama but eventually morphed into an all out Die Hard homage. It's pretty fast paced past a certain point, although I never was able to keep the periphery characters straight. *** out of ****

HIDE AND SEEK (Jack Ketchum) - December 6/16

This typically brisk Ketchum book is maybe a little too descriptive and the story does end kind of abruptly (I wasn't even immediately sure if Casey had survived or not), but it's a good setup and I'm surprised it hasn't been turned into a movie. *** out of ****

LOST DOGS AND LONELY HEARTS (Lucy Dillon) - December 1/16

Holy shit, Dillon. Why is this book about three times longer than it needs to be? It literally felt like two books crammed into one. Why has brevity become such a bad thing? There were aspects to this book I liked - the smattering of developing romances, for example - but they were mostly lost underneath a meandering, padded-out story that grew increasingly tiresome. Jesus. *1/2 out of ****

DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER (Ian Fleming) - November 16/16

I don't know what's up with Ian Fleming, but man was this a tough slog to get through. There are a few interesting parts but the book is mostly devoted to long, interminable sections in which Fleming describes the hell out of things that couldn't be less interesting. (Oh, is that how blackjack works? Thanks, Ian!) I was glazing over long portions of this thing and it's gonna be a while before I tackle another 007 book. * out of ****

ONE FOR THE MONEY (Janet Evanovich) - October 31/16

It's better than the movie, at least. I was really enjoying this for about the first hundred pages or so, as Evanovich offers up a breezy, fast-paced narrative that's anchored and heightened by an affable protagonist. But the novel is eventually bogged down in the details of Stephanie's case and I just couldn't have possibly cared less. There's a reason I tend to avoid procedurals on television. **1/2 out of ****

THE KILLING GAME (Iris Johansen) - October 23/16

After taking a break from books for a few days, I launched into this fairly generic and absurdly overlong thriller. The characters are fine, I guess, but man is this story padded out. And the dialogue... I would often wonder if the author had ever spent any time in the company of actual humans. ** out of ****

THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN (Paula Hawkins) - October 7/16

Obviously I wanted to like this one but man is it sluggish. Nothing really happens for most of the book and Hawkins emphasizes long, long stretch in which the main character drinks and investigates. Who cares? Was this stretched out from a short story? That's the only explanation I can think of. ** out of ****

SEINFELDIA (Jennifer Keishin Armstrong) - October 1/16

Well I'm sure glad I didn't buy this one. There's some interesting stuff here but most of the book is filler as Armstrong attempts to transform what should've been an internet article into a book. **1/2 out of ****

THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS (M.R. Carey) - September 27/16

I definitely enjoyed chunks of this - the demise of poor Gallagher is especially well done and suspenseful - but damn if Carey isn't way too impressed with his writing. The book just drags because of his penchant for long, descriptive passages. Just get on with it already, dude. ** out of ****

MIRACLE MILE (Walter Chaw) - September 16/16

I'm not sure why I'm surprised that a Walter Chaw book is far too academic to wholeheartedly enjoy. This was a bit of a slog to get through, and I thought it worked best when Chaw talked about his relationship with his father and his suicide attempt. Otherwise, yeah, it was too academic to get into. ** out of ****

THE TELL (Hester Kaplan) - September 15/16

Holy hell was this a slog to get through. This might be one of the most overwritten books I've ever read, and it was a challenge to go from page to page with this thing. The bones of the story are fine - the characters are decent and the subplots are interesting - but Kaplan obliterates any interest with her completely unreadable style. * out of ****

THE DEVIL'S CANDY (Julie Salamon) - September 5/16

I'm not sure how long I was reading this off and on but it felt like months. Salamon goes into INSANE detail about topics I couldn't care less about, and the book does, at times, feel endless. But it's also packed with a lot of fascinating details about the making of The Bonfire of the Vanities, and it's ultimately difficult to envision a more intimate look at a film's production. **1/2 out of ****

BEACH ROAD (James Patterson & Peter De Jonge) - August 18/16

This super fast-paced easy read basically felt like one of those '90s thrillers I love so much. It zips from chapter to chapter and the story and characters are compelling. I especially loved the somewhat implausible twist that the bad guy was one of the main characters! ***1/2 out of ****

FISHBOWL (Bradley Somer) - August 15/16

Okay this one really grew on me. I enjoyed the gimmick at first but I felt like Somer just spent too much time stuck in the minutia of the novel's events. (And I never really cottoned to the stuff with the goldfish.) But because I wanted to finish the thing, I read more than half of the book in an afternoon and it really gained in momentum as it went along. *** out of ****

THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN (Garth Stein) - August 6/16

I spent a lot of time actually disliking this book because Stein was just so manipulative in terms of his plot machinations. I like the idea of the story being entirely from the perspective of a dog, however, and I have to admit that I was basically sobbing when the dog finally died. (Stein ruins even this aspect of the novel by not ending the story right there and instead flashing forward a few years as the dog has been reincarnated as a little Italian boy. Oh brother.) **1/2 out of ****

BEFORE THE FALL (Noah Hawley) - July 31/16

This is better than Hawley's last book but I still found this to be more frustrating than entertaining. The story is compelling and the structure of the novel is interesting, but Hawley's incredibly pompous writing style grates and the book is much, much too long. I get the feeling that Hawley is one of those people who thinks he's an amazing, generation-defining writer, as his prose comes off as someone who's showing off rather than someone interested in telling a consistently captivating story. The final stretch, in which it's revealed that the plane was crashed by a spurned pilot, is fairly engrossing, at least. **1/2 out of ****

SEE ME (Nicholas Sparks) - July 22/16

Oh Sparksy, what are you doing?? This is a typically engaging Sparks read that's rife with his usual shtick but man oh man is this thing long. It feels about five times longer than it has any right to be, and Sparks pads out the novel by emphasizing the tedious investigation into Maria's stalker. Sparks has clearly entered the I'm-too-big-for-a-goddamn-editor phase of his career and it's not good. **1/2 out of ****

NIGHT (Elie Wiesel) - July 13/16

Big ol' meh to this one. It's a very familiar story that at least has the benefit of being true, but I think this must be a pretty bad translation because the writing is not very impressive, frankly. (It's just so choppy.) The book's only 100 pages but it felt much longer, mostly because there weren't really any interesting characters. **1/2 out of ****

AFTER HER (Joyce Maynard) - July 4/16

This is an incredibly long read but I nevertheless enjoyed it. The coming-of-age aspects work pretty well and so does the serial killer subplot. The ending was a little too neat and tidy (why was her newfound sister following her in the first place?) but I'm glad I read this. *** out of ****

RAGE (Stephen King) - June 22/16

This is surprisingly terrible. If it turned out that King wrote this in a coked-up, stream-of-consciousness marathon, I wouldn't be even a little surprised. The characters are poorly defined and virtually nothing of interest occurs. And the flashbacks are tedious. I was skimming big time by the last few pages. * out of ****

MOVIE FREAK (Owen Gleiberman) - June 16/16

This is a perfectly readable memoir, especially after you get past the interminable first 50 pages (nobody cares about your childhood, Gleiberman!), but it's also far too long. Gleiberman loves to boast and brag and talk about himself, and he treats his opinions as if they're the final word. *** out of ****

ME BEFORE YOU (Jojo Moyes) - June 8/16

This is a pretty entertaining yet thoroughly overlong romantic drama. I did get choked up a few times in the first half but all the big stuff at the end didn't do much for me. I think I was just happy the story was drawing to a close. *** out of ****

EVERYONE BRAVE IS FORGIVEN (Christ Cleave) - June 1/16

Holy shit, Cleave, what happened?? I loved/really liked Cleave's first three books, so I'm fairly astonished at the degree to which I hated this. The author employs an almost insanely descriptive writing style that was often infuriating and I found myself skimming over whole passages. It didn't help that the narrative was sluggish as hell and the characters were uniformly uninteresting, either. A complete mess. * out of ****

THE BROKER (John Grisham) - May 20/16

So taken as an overall view The Broker isn't bad. The storyline is sound and the protagonist's character arc is compelling. But the book feels much, much longer than necessary, and Grisham compounds this with a myriad of pointless subplots and underdeveloped supporting characters. ** out of ****

COME AND FIND ME (Hallie Ephron) - May 6/16

This is an extremely by-the-numbers thriller involving the disappearance of a hacker's sister. There's some good stuff here, but Ephron mostly proves unable to cultivate an interesting atmosphere. *1/2 out of ****

A HOLOGRAM FOR THE KING (Dave Eggers) - April 25/16

Definitely conflicted about this one. The first half reminded me a little of Tom Perrotta, with the internal look at a thoroughly fleshed-out protagonist. But the book is ultimately a little too uneventful and the end comes way too quickly. (I wanted to know if Alan was going to be okay financially and personally, for example.) *** out of ****

THIS PERFECT DAY (Ira Levin) - April 15/16

It's kind of interesting how this book is essentially a template for all the YA dystopian literature that's dominated as of late, but although I did like certain sections and Levin is certainly a strong writer, this thing is just way, way too long. It became a real slog past a certain point, especially once Chip left the confines the the "family" and went to an island of "incurables." I liked the twist that the family had purposefully allowed Chip and his cohorts to escape, as well as the surprise involving the people behind the scenes. But geez, what a slog this became! ** out of ****

SO THAT HAPPENED (Jon Cryer) - April 1/16

This is one of the better memoirs I've read lately primarily because Cryer is a really good storyteller and because he doesn't shy away from telling revealing stories about costars. (He dated a coked up Demi Moore!) He seems like a pretty good dude, so I was happy to overlook some of the more padded-out stretches. *** out of ****

THE TERMINAL MAN (Michael Crichton) - March 25/16

Typical Crichton. (Well, lesser Crichton if you wanna get specific.) It's bogged down with overly scientific stuff that didn't interest me one bit, with the hands-off narrative compounded by a lack of fully-defined, wholly compelling characters. A passable read but nothing special. **1/2 out of ****

IRON HOUSE (Jerome Washington) - March 17/16

I've had this one since Carleton so I'm happy to finally have read it. But while there are some interesting tidbits, Washington's annoyingly pompous writing style essentially negates anything positive here. Get over yourself, dude. *1/2 out of ****

THE RISE OF NINE (Pittacus Lore) - March 13/16

So this was pretty rough going in the early stages since I didn't remember much of what happened in the previous two books. It didn't help, either, that the first-person perspective kept shifting between characters without any indication which character was now narrating! (I wonder if this was the fault of my e-book file?) Anyway, I finally began to get into it although there's just so much action in the second half of the book. **1/2 out of ****

CAT AND MOUSE (James Patterson) - March 7/16

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that Cat and Mouse is way, way too long, as that seems to be Patterson's modus operandi. But I did enjoy it for the most part, although the jarring shift to a different perspective about halfway through is somewhat tough to take. (I liked the revelation that the agent was, in fact, the killer.) All the Soneji stuff feels like an afterthought and it's clear this could and should have been two separate books. **1/2 out of ****

YOU LOOK LIKE THAT GIRL (Lisa Jakub) - February 20/16

Been waiting a while to read this and it's pretty decent. Jakub spends a lot of time talking about why acting wasn't right for her, whereas I'd preferred many more behind-the-scenes stories. (I think there was, like, one Robin Williams anecdote.) **1/2 out of ****

THE TREES (Conrad Richter) - February 16/16

Umm obviously I wanted to like this but the language is so archaic I was never able to get into it. I found myself glazing over long stretches and it often felt like it would never get finished. A bit of an ordeal, honestly. * out of ****