Adam Ross’ book, Mr. Peanut, should have been titled Mr. Penis. I read this book because it was hyped up all around town here in Nashvegas–Ross is a local author and newly formed celebrity. Mr. Peanut was released to incredible acclaim–the New York Times said Ross is a “sorcerer with words.”From Publisher’s Weekly we hear: [...]

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It’s RESOLUTION time! Aren’t you just pumped? I’m totally psyched out of my MIND to set my new resolutions. Actually, no, I’m not, because I’ve got pounds to lose and laps to swim and self-improvement galore that needs doing, but hey–I’ve got a lot of reading to catch up on, too. I have a different [...]

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I read Capote’s In Cold Blood earlier this year, my toes appropriately curled up in horror the whole way. But I’ve always heard the legend of Capote himself, the troubled young socialite/writer who tattled tales on all his celeb friends and fell out of favor. A personality like that intrigues me and I wanted to [...]

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Sassy young women, time travel, months-long earthquakes, death, destruction, myth, tall tale, it’s all here. Candace Moonshower’s The Legend of Zoey has been too long on my to-read list. I’m ashamed that I only just now got to it for more reasons than one. First of all, Moonshower is an incredible writer. That much becomes [...]

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I wanted to love  Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs because I do love the cover and the title. And I love old photos. But it’s a lot like wanting to love the cute guy in your chemistry class; that’s all he might be, just cute. This book had the spooky pics [...]

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Don’t we all have that sick little Anne Frank fantasy where we wonder how we’d spend our time hidden away somewhere? How would we deal with all those hours of isolation? Would our spirits bounce, like Anne’s, or would we succumb? In Emma Donoghue’s ROOM, we meet Jack, our five-year old narrator who is locked [...]

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Halloween’s over, I know. But I just hate to let it go. We only just today threw out our jack o’ lantern. It’s my favorite holiday and it just whizzes right on past. There’s no decent mourning period. In fact, not only are we DONE with Halloween come about 10PM on October 31st, we have [...]

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Oh, Wendy McClure. You had me with your hilarious commentary on fish jello molds (the Weight Watchers recipe cards! The Amazing Mackerel Pudding Plan: Classic Diet Recipe Cards from the 1970s). But her book about a sojourn into Laura Ingalls Wilder world, The Wilder Life, had me more. The book is a journal of her [...]

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Anne Patchett’s just damned good at coming up with titles, isn’t she? Bel Canto, The Magician’s Assistant.  They are the kind of good titles that make me frankly hate her just a little because I think, “Damn, that’s good. I could have done that,” but of course I couldn’t or I would have. This novel, [...]

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Sometimes you want a book to swallow you whole. And that’s just what Karen Russell’s Swamplandia! did for me. We meet our cast of characters in their island theme park in the Florida Everglades–the Bigtree family: the Chief (that’s dad to you mainlanders), his wife Hilola, his father Sawtooth (yes, like the swamp grass), and [...]

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