April and May, 2016

Apr 16 The Legends Club John Feinstein 17 The Kind Worth Killing Peter Swanson 18 One in a Million boy Monica Wood 19 Tuesday Nights in 1980 Molly Prentiss 20 Dept. of Speculation Jenny Offill May 21 Kill Switch Jonathan Maberry 22 All the Light We Cannot See Anthony Doerr 23 History of Wolves Emily Fridlund 24 December Boys Joe Clifford 25 Britt-Marie Was Here Fredrik Backman 26 Tell Me Three Things Julie Buxbaum

I really loved some of these books, those are the ones I'll recommend.

The Legends Club by Joh Feinstein is a must read for anyone who loves college basketball.  Feinstein knows sports and that's what he writes about.  This book covers Mike Krzyzewski. Dean Smith, and Jim Valvano. In the skillful hands of John Feinstein, this extraordinary rivalry, and the men behind it, come to life in a unique, intimate way.

One in a Million Boy by Monica Wood is a richly layered novel of hearts broken seemingly beyond repair and then bound by a stunning act of human devotion.  This is a quote from another author that I think sums this up, "this novel hums with energy, warmth, wisdom, humor, and soul." ~ Christina Baker Kline.

Kill Switch by Jonathan Maberry.  Maberry manages to blend SciFi, Horror, TechnoThriller and Crime all together in this latest installment of the Joe Ledger series.  It's a great, fast page-turner.


All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr was an instant best seller, and justifiably so.  It took me awhile to jump on the bandwagon, but I was sorry I waited so long.  This quote, from the New Yorker, sums up why you should read it. “Intricate… A meditation on fate, free will, and the way that, in wartime, small choices can have vast consequences.”

December Boys by Joe Clifford.  I'm a huge Joe Clifford fan.  This is his third book and second novel.  He told me that his publisher has ordered five more Jay Porter sequels.  Read his books!

Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman.  I'm also a huge fan of Backman.  This is his third novel.  He's a Swedish columnist, blogger, and writer.  His writing is funny, moving, observant and humane. I met him this year at Book Expo, and he was very funny in person, too.  I've read all his novels and I've been impressed with each one.  One of the hurdles of writers from other countries is having a great translator, and Backman has been very lucky with the translation of all his books.

Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum was a great read.  I don't read a lot of YA, but wanted to see how Buxbaum did in this genre.  I'm not too proud to quote another author ~ “Three Things about this novel: (1) I loved it. (2) No, really, I LOVED it. (3) I wish I could tell every teen to read it. Buxbaum’s book sounds, reads, breathes, worries, and soars like real adolescents do.” —Jodi Picoult,  The target reader is 12 - 17-year-olds, but I think good writing is for all ages.  This is a good story with good writing.

What are you reading?