I haven't picked up a Geraldine Brooks title since her 2001 debut novel, Year of Wonders, which promptly became an international bestseller. I definitely had that sense of 'wow' when I finished, but then I inexplicably ignored the rest of her titles ...
The work of Shigeru Mizuki, a legendary 90-year-old manga artist in his native Japan, arrived Stateside last year with the first-ever English translation of the award-winning Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths, which draws on Mizuki's own experiences during World War II when he was drafted into Japan’s...
Months (maybe longer) have passed since I finished Aminatta Forna’s third and latest title, exquisitely narrated by British actor Kobna Holdbrook-Smith. I think I just didn't want to let it go by posting a review ...
A full decade has passed since Yann Martel won the coveted Booker Prize for his Life of Pi. I confess I had to force myself to finish that book when it first appeared; I admit to being befuddled to learn of its Booker win and the...
You could flip through Michael Cho’s new graphic title in just a few minutes and pronounce it 'read.' But you'd be missing the whole point of the book ...
When the running gets tough (and long), I find my latest default stuck-in-the-ears choices to last me another 10, 20, 30 miles is something by Harlan Coben (because his Tell No One was my first pulp mystery ever and remains a favorite over a decade later) or Carl Hiaasen (because I get so...
Sometimes the best thing that can happen to a book is to get banned. REALLY. Just ask Rajaa al-Sanea (yes, the spelling of her name is different on the cover of her book from what she has on her personal website – which has two variations of...
As this is the penultimate volume in the 22-part series, I suppose I should have savored it ...
'Gritty' is the first word that comes to mind after finishing this slim young adult novel about a teenage Chinese immigrant's struggles with his conservative father over his sexuality. Ray Liu is new to the West. He's left behind half his family in China, including his...
She begins her life as Ling, the first-born twin of a well-to-do Shanghai family. Half the family is cleaved from the other, seeking new fortune on the British outpost called the Black Isle. During the sea voyage that takes Ling, her twin Li, and their father...
I always feel a twinge of guilt chuckling over murder mysteries – how can I be laughing in the midst of grisly, graphic slashings and shootings? But Vish Puri – "India’s Most Private Investigator" – is, for all his quirky habits (sneaking food when the wife's not looking, spouting centuries-old...
While I do enjoy a clever mystery now and then, I confess the real reason I randomly picked up the Vish Puri – "India's Most Private Investigator" series – is because I was so taken with the title for #3: The Case of the Deadly Butter Chicken, which hit...
Fourth-grader Anna Wang is going through those tortuous tween years. Her longtime best friend Laura is busy chasing after Abigail and Lucy who have more social clout. She's uncomfortable admitting to friends that her mother cleans homes in "one of those high rises ...
I debated for a couple of weeks over posting about this book (no, I really don't post every title I read) ...
The copy of this story I hold in my hands is apparently the fourth iteration of a Japanese modern classic-in-the-making – it debuted in 2007 as an animated film, was then adapted (and expanded) as a novel in late 2007, became a manga in 2010, and...
Kodoku is one of those rare titles that immediately makes you want to learn more about what you just read. The slim kiddie book chronicles the extraordinary voyage of a young man – "Kenichi the brace, Kenichi the adventurer" for whom "the wind blows forever / across...
Don Lee is definitely a good news-bad news sort of guy, albeit all in the same breath. Good news: he's not going to Texas this summer, because his fourth and latest book, The Collective, is published this month and he's going on a book tour so...
With everyday declarations of about how different we are (bipartisan struggles, ongoing wars, shifting borders, even playground scuffles), sometimes we need reminders of how alike we are to connect us back together. As founders of the Milestones Project which champions mutual respect, understanding, and acceptance...
Nope, tomorrow still hasn’t arrived for midlife slacker Oguro. As volume 3 opens, Oguro continues to struggle with his manga-making, his disappointed father isn’t above smacking him since “just telling [him] isn’t doing it,” and his teenage daughter has little choice than to detachedly watch...
When a book is this original, this heartfelt, this inspiring, this real, I find myself babbling in cliché: Wonder is truly wondrous. Auggie Pullman is 10. He's about to start fifth grade after being homeschooled, and he's more than a little nervous: "I know I’m not an...
