BookBrowse | Book Reviews and Recommendations

Reviews by Kristina K. (Glendale, CA)

Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald
by Therese Anne Fowler

Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald (4/1/2013)

It was hard to read this novel after having seen Woody Allen's movie, "Midnight in Paris." I kept hearing his actors' voices in my head while reading. In spite of that, like some of the other reviewers, I found the novel challenging to get into at first. And while I …more

With or Without You: A Memoir
by Domenica Ruta

With or Without You (12/28/2012)

The description on the back of the book hales it as "a darkly hilarious chronicle of a misfit '90s childhood." This description doesn't do this memoir justice. In beautifully fluid and poetic prose, Domenica Ruta presents her life's story much like she describes her …more

Loose Diamonds: ...and other things I've lost (and found) along the way
by Amy Ephron

Loose Cubic Zirconia (8/6/2011)

The concept of "loose diamonds" is poetic, the idea of those loose moments in life that are either lost or found. The way that Ephron plays with the metaphor in the introduction works for the most part throughout this collection, but not all of her loose vignettes shine …more

Adam & Eve: A Novel
by Sena Jeter Naslund

Adam and Eve (9/21/2010)

This novel is at times poetic, profound, ironic, while also placing a bit of a strain on the suspension of disbelief. Like other readers, I found the entire narrative thread difficult to follow...more of a loose weave than a thread, and yet I do enjoy the blending of the …more

The Journal Keeper: A Memoir
by Phyllis Theroux

A Walk Through Life (1/8/2010)

"The Journal Keeper" is a walk through several years of Theroux's life during her later years that she recorded in a series of journal entries. At first the obvious life lessons in her entries felt too pat or contrived (or maybe I just complain a lot more in my own journal), …more

A Short History of Women: A Novel
by Kate Walbert

A History of All Women (5/12/2009)

I’ve read two of Kate Walbert’s previous works, "Where She Went" and "Our Kind," and loved both. Walbert is a master at weaving together separate strands of history and multiple characters’ story lines, often featuring the stories of women, into one poignant narrative …more

BookBrowse Book Club

Lessons in Chemistry
by Bonnie Garmus

Praised by Parade and The New York Times Book Review, this debut features a 1960s scientist turned TV cooking star.

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Daughters of Shandong
by Eve J. Chung

Based on the author’s family story, comes an extraordinary novel about a mother and her daughters’ escape from Taiwan.

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The Lilac People
by Milo Todd

For fans of All the Light We Cannot See, a poignant tale of a trans man’s survival in Nazi Germany and postwar Berlin.

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Ginseng Roots
by Craig Thompson

A new graphic memoir from the author of Blankets and Habibi about class, childhood labor, and Wisconsin’s ginseng industry.

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Awake in the Floating City
by Susanna Kwan

A debut novel about an artist and a 130-year-old woman bound by love and memory in a future, flooded San Francisco.

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Serial Killer Games
by Kate Posey

A morbidly funny and emotionally resonant novel about the ways life—and love—can sneak up on us (no matter how much pepper spray we carry).

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The Original Daughter
by Jemimah Wei

A dazzling debut by Jemimah Wei about ambition, sisterhood, and family bonds in turn-of-the-millennium Singapore.

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