Ann Patchett’s newest novel gives us two separate portraits: one of a family and one of a house. Danny, the son of a self-made man, and presumptive heir to both his business and the luxurious Dutch House, narrates this story. I found I could never predict where the story was going to go. As soon …
Live from PAX West, a book review! There’s something to the notion of a time war, isn’t there? One faction wants This, another faction wants That, and time is the battlefield. There’s also something futile to the notion, but that’s another book (All of an Instant by Richard Garfinkle [out of print]). This book is …
Garth Stein, bestselling author of The Art of Racing in the Rain, has always been a storyteller. He went to graduate school for film and made documentary films for years before he wrote his first novel, which he did while also working on grant proposals. “It was almost accidental,” he says. “But I enjoyed the process, …
Gods and Generals by Jeff Shaara This is available as an abridged audiobook, if you have a drive or your bookstore is closed for the holiday. The Final Storm by Jeff Shaara This is #4 in the the World War II series. If you want to start right away on book one, here’s the audiobook; …
Perhaps you read Snyder’s bracing pamphlet, On Tyranny (or the Facebook post it was based on)—from its title, I had imagined this new, much larger book as an expansion of those ideas, but, while it’s written in the same level-headed-but-urgent tone (which Snyder’s voice for the audiobook perfectly represents), it’s doing something related but different, focusing less …
Audiobooks. More specifically, audiobook narrators and the ability of said narrators to make or break an audiobook experience. I was going to try to do this without naming names, but I’ve never before shied away from being upfront about what I don’t like, so why would I now? I think it stemmed from some …
Phinney Books’ Audiobook of the Week I am learning: a comedian reading their own audiobook is a good way to go. (Eddie Izzard next?) But W. Kamau Bell is not your average comedian, and his Awkward Thoughts is not your average comedian’s book. There’s not a punch line in every paragraph; sometimes there isn’t one on …
I’ve had ideas for new posts rattling around in my brain for months, but, to be perfectly honest, I just haven’t had the mental or emotional energy to get the words down. It started with the election or, really, with the campaign. It was just so dispiriting and disheartening and now it feels like it’s …
I adored this debut middle grade novel. Narrated by young Arturo, it tells the story of how he tried to save his family’s restaurant and his neighborhood from alluring yet ultimately devastating gentrification at the hands of a smarmy real estate developer. There’s some light romance, a touch of bittersweet sadness, a ton of hilarious …
Every spring, Phinney Books in Seattle gives a preview of upcoming titles. It usually comes around the time of the first crocuses, and it’s a harbinger of good things, indeed. This year, Phinney Books owner Tom Nissley kicked off the list with Lincoln in the Bardo, even though he hadn’t had a chance to read …
