Summer Reading Review

Summer Reading Review (My time definition - Memorial Day to Labor Day)


The Women by T.C. Boyle - historical fiction about the women in Frank Llyod Wright's life. Well written, but read Loving Frank by Nancy Horan first otherwise the book will be spoiled. Recommended!

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Free book on my Kindle. Plus I wanted to refresh my memory after seeing the new Tim Burton movie.


Death in a Prairie House: Frank Lloyd Wright and the Taliesin Murders by William Drennan

Do you see a theme/obsession. His life is fanasting.


The Tinkers by Paul Harding - 2010 Pultizer Prize in Fiction. Very short book, not that interesting.


The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich - 2009 Pultizer Prize in Fiction runner-up. I listen to this book from audible.com It was interesting, but the transistions between characters and how they were related was a bit of a stretch. It was a good book. Recommended!


The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday: SPC #5 by Alexander McCall Smith - 5th book in the series. I am a sucker for serier of books. This is a good series, but like most of his writing, you are reintroduced to the characters in each book. One would thing that by book #5 you know who the characters are?! Recommended!


Swimsuit by James Patterson - easy reading. Not his best novel. It seems like his novels are rushed, except for the Alex Cross books. Thoes are fantastic. Recommended for fast, easy reading!

House Rules by Jodi Picoult - I have read all of her books and it is intersting to see her progress as a writer. This was a good book, but I did get frustrated with the characters and the ending was a disappointment. If you are going to read only one of her books, stick with My Sister's Keeper.


Scarlet by Alexandria Ripley - Written in the 90's as a continuation of Gone With The Wind. It focuses on Scarlet and Rhett's relationship. It is ~800pgs and could have been shorter. I love the relationship between Scarlet and Rhett, but this book doesn't do it justice. It is a great book and if you are a GWTW fan, I highly recommend this book!


A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley - 1992 Pultizer Prize Fiction winner. I enjoyed this book and the development of the three sisters. Unlike most Pultizer Prize winners, this book has a beginning, middle, and end. I like that! Recommended!

Rabbit, Redux by John Updike - This was book #2 in a series of 4 books. Books #3 and 4 are Pultizer Prize Fiction winners, and since I am trying to read all the Pultizer Prize Fiction winning books, I thought it was a good idea to first read books #1 and #2. #1 I hated. #2 not much better. It took me ~2years to finish book #2! I have started #3, but it is slow going. I wonder how long it will take me...



Enjoy!

-ELT