The Heretic’s Daughter, by Kathleen Kent (1 July — 3 July)
When I opened up this book and saw a letter (the kind you send), I was a little nervous. I’m not a big fan of epistolary novels (Ella Minnow Pea notwithstanding) in general, because the exposition is always unwieldy and annoying. However, the letter soon ended and the book became simply a description of the … Read more
People of the Book, by Geraldine Brooks (20 May — 27 May)
People of the Book is the fake story of the Sarajevo Haggadah, an illuminated seder text that baffles historians to this day. Brooks took some of the facts of the haggadah’s discovery and created fictional characters and situations to explain how these things came to be. Our protagonist, Hanna Heath, is a young but excellent … Read more
Christine Falls, by Benjamin Black (8 March — 9 March)
Hmm. I’m not sure what to say about this book. I picked it up because I loved Tana French’s Irish crime novels (as you well know by now!) and I was like, “Oooh. More Irish crime novels!” But they aren’t the same at all, and I’m not sure I’d even classify this book as a … Read more
Elantris, by Brandon Sanderson (9 February — 11 February)
This book was awesome. The end. Okay, okay. But really! Awesome! I was drawn in from the first line of the first chapter (not counting the prologue, because that was whatever): “Prince Raoden of Arelon awoke early that morning, completely unaware that he had been damned for all eternity.” Indeed. Raoden has been taken by … Read more
Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett (19 October − 27 December)
Good job, Alison! I finally (finally!) finished this book, which, as you can see, I’ve been working on for two months. Now, obviously, I’ve read maybe a few other books since I’ve started this one, so two months is not terribly pathetic, but it certainly feels like I’ve been reading this forever. Pillars of the … Read more
Keeping Faith, by Jodi Picoult (25 September — 3 October)
I love Jodi Picoult, but I did not particularly like Keeping Faith. The premise is interesting; a little girl called Faith is seeing God, even though she’s been raised essentially without religion by a Jew and a Christian. She performs some awesome miracles, like bringing people back from the dead and curing a baby with … Read more
The Sparrow, by Mary Doria Russell (9 September − 13 September)
Read this book. Seriously. The Sparrow mostly follows the story of Emilio Sandoz, a Jesuit priest who, through coincidences (or God’s work?) ends up on a mission to a just-discovered planet near Alpha Centauri. The book follows two timelines, one starting when Sandoz returns to Earth, as the last surviving member of the crew, several … Read more
The Reincarnationist, by M.J. Rose (6 July − 24 July)
You know, I really liked this book, but it took me forever to read it, due to a combination of business, tiredness, and the 450 pages I had to get through. The premise of this one is that there’s a guy, Josh, who has “lurches” that take him back to his previous lives as a … Read more
Change of Heart, by Jodi Picoult (6 June − 8 June)
So… yeah. I think we established a long time ago that I love Jodi Picoult. This is her newest book, and I waited a few weeks in a library queue for it. Unfortunately, the book was okay. I was expecting awesome. The premise of the book is that the hired help kills a woman’s husband … Read more
