As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
fiction/literatue, (c)1930, 288pp
rating: ***

Despite being an english major, I never read any Faulkner as a college student or as a high school student. I've been trying to expand my literary horizons now that it doesn't feel like such a task to read "the classics", so I pulled As I Laying Dying off of my book ( Read more... )

Grendel by John Gardner
fiction/literature, (c)1971, 175pp
rating: *****

Grendel is a retelling of the "Beowulf" myth from the point of view of Grendel. It's pretty important to have read "Beowulf" before reading this book or you will be hopelessly lost. The majority of this book deals with life at Hrothgar's hall prior to the appearance of ( Read more... )

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold ( Read more... )

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe ( Read more... )

Case Histories by Kate Atkinson
310pp, (c) 2004, fiction
rating: *****

I picked up Case Histories on a whim, since there was no proper description on the back cover. I flipped through it and it looked interesting. The cover claims that it is a mystery, though upon my first quick inspection, it looked less like a mystery and more like something ( Read more... )

Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier
384pp, (c) 1938, fiction/gothic
rating: *****

About a month ago, I was having a discussion with some friends about good female authors to check out. Upon perusing my bookshelf, my eye fell on Rebecca, by Daphne DuMaurier. I brought it out and we all immediately heaped praise upon it. I realized that I hadn't read it ( Read more... )

A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L'Engle
fiction/childrens, (c) 1973, 240pp
rating: ***** (again, more for my childhood memories than for adult enjoyment)

A Wind in the Door is the second book of Madeleine L'Engle's Time Quintet. This book find Charles Wallace Murry sick and seeing dragons in his vegetable garden. Though Meg, his big sister, is ( Read more... )

A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L'Engle
fiction/childrens, (c) 1962, 232pp
rating: ***** (for my childhood memories, mostly)

Upon hearing the news of Madeleine L'Engle's death, I felt compelled to revisit two of my favorite books from when I was a child. I remembered reading A Wrinkle In Time in bed, after I was supposed to have to gone to sleep ( Read more... )