GuideReviews Index

'Our Story Begins: New and Selected Stories' by Tobias Wolff - Book Review
�Our Story Begins� says it all. Tobias Wolff captures our stories with his clear distinct voice. With his focused direction, a short story never says so much.

'Eat, Pray, Love' by Elizabeth Gilbert - Book Review
'Eat, Pray, Love' is Elizabeth Gilbert's memoir of her year traveling to Italy, India and Indonesia in pursuit of pleasure, devotion and balance.

'The House at Sugar Beach' by Helene Cooper - Book Review
'The House at Sugar Beach' is an astonishing and moving memoir about growing up in Liberia during a violent civil war. Helene Cooper is the daughter of one of Liberia's elite families, but after a coup threw her people out of power she moved to the United States, eventually becoming a journalist. In 'The House at Sugar Beach,' Cooper delivers personal memoir, historical perspective, and journalistic reporting one book that you won't be able to put down.

'Last Last Chance' by Fiona Maazel
Last Last Chance, Fiona Maazel’s debut novel, is the frenetic, disjointed narrative of Lucy, a 30-year-old woman struggling to stay sober. Meanwhile, her father was a scientist working on the pneumonic plague; he killed himself after someone stole vials of the plague from his lab. Despite this, Last Last Chance is billed as a comic novel—while it isn’t exactly a-laugh-a-minute, it does have more humor than its subject would suggest. It’s also surprisingly powerful and moving.

'The Senator's Wife' by Sue Miller - Book Review
'The Senator's Wife' by Sue Miller is the story of two women -- one at the beginning of her marriage, one in her later years -- who live adjacent to each other. Miller's skilled writing creates a page turning story of their lives.

'Hollywood Crows' by Jospeh Wambaugh - Book Review
In Hollywood Crows a beautiful woman is frightened of her husband. Her plight (and looks) capture the attention of two LAPD Community Relations Officers or "crows." Wambaugh’s novel is as much about the work of these crows as it is about the beautiful woman.

'The House at Riverton' by Kate Morton - Book Review
In 'The House at Riverton' by Kate Morton, a former English servant who worked for a prominent family at the beginning of the nineteenth century remembers her relationship with the family and secrets about a suicide that she has carried for 70-something years.

'The English American' by Alison Larkin - Book Review
The English American is Alison Larkin’s first novel, and it’s a work of fiction drawn from the author’s own experience as a young English woman who meets her biological parents, two eccentric Americans. Part chick-lit story about finding love, part emotional exploration of the lasting effects of adoption, The English American is a charmingly-written novel.

'When You are Engulfed in Flames' by David Sedaris - Book Review
David Sedaris, the incredibly popular author of humorous memoirs including 'Me Talk Pretty One Day' has written a new collection of essays on his life called 'When You Are Engulfed in Flames.' His new book has a slightly more melancholy slant than some of his previous works, but when it’s funny, it’s laugh-out-loud, embarrass-yourself-in-public funny.

'Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict' by Laurie Viera Rigler - Book Review
Laurie Viera Rigler is, like so many other avid readers, a Jane Austen addict. In her first novel, Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, Rigler imagines a twenty-first century Los Angeles woman who finds herself transported to eighteenth-century England. Sure to appeal to Jane Austen fans everywhere, Confessions is a delightful read.

'Wit's End' by Karen Joy Fowler
'Wit's End' by Karen Joy Fowler is a funny, quick-paced mystery novel about a woman who learns more about her family history by moving in with her godmother, a reclusive mystery writer. Fowler is best known for writing 'The Jane Austen Book Club,' and her new novel is likely to entertain her loyal fans.

'Lush Life' by Richard Price - Book Review
In 'Lush Life,' Richard Price tackles the urban jungle and urban family of New York City with empathy and charismatic insight, whether he’s acknowledging the police, stickup boys, drug dealers, shop owners, hipsters or whoever else walks the city sprawl.

'Unaccustomed Earth' by Jhumpa Lahiri - Book Review
Jhumpa Lahiri is one of today’s most acclaimed writers, having won a Pulitzer Prize for her first collection of short stories, 'Interpreter of Maladies.' Her placid, poetic writing is back in another collection of stories, 'Unaccustomed Earth.'

'Certain Girls' by Jennifer Weiner - Book Review
Cannie Shapiro, the memorable heroine of Jennifer Weiner's smash bestselling chick lit novel, 'Good in Bed,' returns in Weiner's newest novel. In 'Certain Girls,' Cannie is married, her daughter Joy is on the brink of teenage-hood, and Cannie is still dealing with the fallout of writing a bestselling book about her life.

'Beginner's Greek' by James Collins - Book Review
'Beginner’s Greek' is the debut novel from James Collins, and it’s a shame he’s waited this long to begin. The story of Holly and Peter is a simple, old-fashioned story that’s sweet but not treacly; beautifully-written but not precious. 'Beginner’s Greek' is utterly delightful.

'Three Cups of Tea' by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
'Three Cups of Tea' by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin is the true story of Mortenson's work building schools in remote villages in Pakistan. Mortenson moves from a lost climber who promises a school to one small village to a major player in promoting peace through education in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

'People of the Book' by Geraldine Brooks - Book Review
In 'People of the Book,' Pulitzer Prize-winning Author Geraldine Brooks presents a fictional history of the Sarajevo Haggadah -- an important Jewish book that originated in thirteenth century Spain. 'People of the Book' is a set of stories about the book's survival, woven together through the story of a conservationist who is trying to unlock the mysteries of the book in the mid-1990s.

'The Monsters of Templeton' by Lauren Groff - Book Review
'The Monsters of Templeton' is a debut novel that’s gotten a lot of buzz—and it’s well deserved. Lauren Groff has written a book that’s an ode to her hometown, Cooperstown, New York. Filled with monsters, ghosts, ancestors with secrets, and illegitimate children, 'The Monsters of Templeton' is monstrously enjoyable.

'Trauma' by Patrick McGrath
Trauma, the latest novel by Patrick McGrath, tells the story of a New York psychiatrist who specializes in helping Vietnam vets suffering from trauma. As he learns more about his own family life, though, he finds himself caught up in his own trauma, and fighting the madness he knows is approaching. McGrath’s paints a dark picture of 1980s Manhattan as a backdrop for the human suffering Trauma explores.

'Bleeding Kansas' by Sara Paretsky - Book Review
'Bleeding Kansas' tells the story of the Grelliers, a farming family whose Kansas roots extend back to the fight over slavery. Though times have changed many of the struggles they face, including clashes between neighbors over war and religion, are just as critical. Paretsky’s novel paints an intimate portrait of a family and community dealing with each other’s differences.

'Whitethorn Woods' by Maeve Binchy - Book Review
Whitethorn Woods is the latest entry in Maeve Binchy’s lengthy and bestselling career. Whitethorn Woods is essentially a collection of interconnected short stories that take place in a small town in Ireland. By turns sweet and somber, the overall tone of Whitethorn Woods is uplifting, and will please Binchy’s fans looking to revisit her unique depiction of today’s Ireland.

'The Double Bind' by Chris Bohjalian - Book Review
The Double Bind is a story about a young woman working at homeless shelter who becomes fascinated with photographs taken by one of her clients, photos that suggest he might be tied to her own past in mysterious ways. Chris Bohjalian’s novel is plotted like a mystery but is written like the best literary fiction.

'The Reason for God' by Timothy Keller - Book Review
Timothy Keller, pastor of Redeemer Church in New York, tackles the biggest objections to Christianity and builds a case for the rationality of belief in 'The Reason for God.'

'Body Surfing' by Anita Shreve - Book Review
Anita Shreve’s previous novels, including The Weight of Water and A Wedding in December have established her as an immensely successful writer—Oprah’s Book Club endorsement of The Pilot’s Wife didn’t hurt either. Her latest release, Body Surfing, is even more appealing than her previous works. This moving story of a young woman who bonds with the family she works for will engross readers, thanks to Shreve’s skilled writing.

The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perrotta
Tom Perrotta once again focuses his observant eye and listening ear to white suburbia in his new novel The Abstinence Teacher. Here the conflict is between Ruth Ramsay, a high school sex education teacher who is seeing her curriculum tightened and restrained by a surge of born-again Christian outcry, and Tim Mason, her daughter’s soccer coach who has the team join him in prayer after a game to the chagrin of disapproving parents.