BookBrowse | Book Reviews and Recommendations

Reviews by Judith G. (Ewa Beach, HI)

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Peking to Paris: Life and Love on a Short Drive Around Half the World
by Dina Bennett

My vicarious first rally (3/19/2013)

Finding a couple with such opposite yet complementary personas....I was immediately hooked. So many times I laughed seeing my husband and myself in the same situations. A marvelous, descriptive guide to places in the world I won't see anytime soon. Car talk vs ballet. I …more

Children of the Jacaranda Tree
by Sahar Delijani

Only 33 pages into it (2/16/2013)

It was difficult for me to take a deep breath through the first 52 pages of this novel. I was drawn into the intensity of place, emotions, and happenings that were carefully crafted. I wanted to keep reading to know that things would get better. They did but only in small …more

The Forgetting Tree: A Novel
by Tatjana Soli

Deja vu (8/13/2012)

I grew up in Southern California so really enjoyed the setting among orange trees, etc. I don't like fantasy novels and found this to include (to me at least) some of that genre. Voodoo....maybe if I were from Haiti it would make more sense...but I'm not. Wondered why …more

Heading Out to Wonderful: A Novel
by Robert Goolrick

Missing characters (5/26/2012)

I more often than not read a book in a day or two. This one was no exception because I needed to know the ending.

Why I gave it a poor rating is that I found the absence of Boaty throughout much of the story puzzling. In my opinion he was a major factor in the dynamics of …more

King Peggy: An American Secretary, Her Royal Destiny, and the Inspiring Story of How She Changed an African Village
by Peggielene Bartels, Eleanor Herman

Fewer details, please (12/20/2011)

This non-fiction story is interesting. The writing with so many details leading to the 'meat' of the story was off-putting. Perhaps it's the holiday tasks and appointments that kept me from reading this leisurely. I haven't finished the book and don't feel the pull to do so. …more

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

A great beach read (8/2/2011)

I grew up in Hollywood so really enjoyed knowing the location of the streets/beaches/roads mentioned in this book. Each short story stands on its own and the entire book can be read quickly (or savored slowly if one prefers.) Light fare for a relaxing read.

Ten Thousand Saints: A Novel
by Eleanor Henderson

Should have read it first (5/15/2011)

I picked up this book just after I finished reading Anne LaMott's "Imperfect Birds"....following that the angst of teenage druggies was too much. I'll try again later when there's some time between the two but for now I have to say I didn't like it and couldn't finish it.

A Box of Darkness: The Story of a Marriage
by Sally Ryder Brady

Surprises and more surprises (1/12/2011)

Beginning with a 'forgotten' cache of ashes it was apparent how the book would end. But the in-between was fascinating reading. How a marriage of such long-standing could survive the secrets and trials...one can only wonder. Sally Brady walks a fine line interspersing …more

Ever By My Side: A Memoir in Eight ~~Acts~~ Pets
by Dr. Nick Trout

"...just not for me." (1/11/2011)

This is an option given when the book is just not right for a reader. This was the case for "Ever By My Side." I found it tedious to read and was not willing to finish it when I had another waiting to review.

The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks and Giants of the Ocean
by Susan Casey

Warning! (8/4/2010)

I expected a treatise and found a very readable (yet alarming) story of waves, tsunamis, climate, change, and concerned people.

I'm a native Southern Californian and have lived on the island of Oahu for 20 years and feel most comfortable at the ocean's edge. I know the …more

The Lotus Eaters: A Novel
by Tatjana Soli

Deja vu and VietNam (1/15/2010)

I read this hoping I would recognize places and buildings in VietNam that I have seen and I did. Tatjana Soli captured the cloying heat as well as the green countryside and villages. With three (for me) competing protagonists the story flowed easily between and among their …more

Baking Cakes in Kigali
by Gaile Parkin

Sent to to the kitchen to bake... (5/31/2009)

This is a wonderful, poignant, illuminating tale of life on the African continent. I loved Angel...and she was indeed an angel to her friends and neighbors. The story is touching and alarming at the same time. How little we know of that 'dark continent' and the people who …more

Cutting For Stone
by Abraham Verghese

Too heavy to put down (1/9/2009)

Each chapter is short so I found myself reading 'just one more'....and then not wanting the book to end.

I felt as though I were in the doctors' shoes and the medical/scientific terminology was no obstacle to this being an exciting, interesting read.

ShivaMarion caught my …more

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
by Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows

WWII for non-history majors (7/27/2008)

Page 11: "...one tiny thing will interest you in a book, and that tiny thing will lead you onto another book, and another bit there will lead you onto a third book. It's geometrically progressive---all with no end in sight, and for no other reason than sheer enjoyment." I …more

Broken Colors
by Michele Zackheim

Too many colors (3/1/2008)

My interest in words is much greater than my interest in colors. I found the many 'colorful' descriptions throughout the text tedious to read. I should have known ... given the title. I enjoyed the character descriptions and the poignant ending. Would I recommend it? With …more

BookBrowse Book Club

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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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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