*** NOVEL: Night Train to Lisbon AUTHOR: Pascal Mercier (pseudonym of Peter Bieri) YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 2004 (English translation 2008) REVIEW:  *** Night Train to Lisbon probably wasn’t meant to be read while lounging poolside, but somehow that’s what I did, finding myself, despite the unlikely setting, thoroughly absorbed in this philosophical novel.  It concerns … Continue reading On Our Bookshelves: Night Train to Lisbon →

I read Kenny & the Dragon along with my first grader (and the rest of her elementary school–each year, the entire school reads a book together) and found it to be a rather sweet story.

Happily, I saw a copy of The Hunting Party on the small bookshelf located between the t-shirts, postcards, and Florida souvenirs, and it was $9.99 well spent.

*** NOVEL: Airs Above the Ground AUTHOR: Mary Stewart YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 1965 REVIEW:  *** Due to complicated circumstances, Vanessa March finds herself traveling to Austria to try and locate her husband, who has apparently been lying to her about his whereabouts.  She’s accompanied by Timothy Lacy, a young man who at age seventeen has … Continue reading On Our Bookshelves: Airs Above the Ground (1965) →

The Beauty in Breaking is a memoir by Michele Harper, an African American emergency physician. It’s about her experiences as a woman and a minority in the medical profession, and it’s about her journey in life.

I recently revisited an old favorite from my childhood, The Shrinking of Treehorn. The plot is simple: the titular Treehorn, a young schoolboy, begins mysteriously to shrink. 

*** NOVEL: The BFG AUTHOR: Roald Dahl YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 1982 REVIEW:  *** I adored Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as a kid, and read it to my own kids.  I am not a big fan of its sequel, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, which is weird, episodic, and has some appallingly racist bits … Continue reading On Our Bookshelves: The BFG →

Everything Happens for a Reason–and Other Lies I’ve Loved is a sad story.  It is also an extremely funny story.  And it is very much a real story.

Loveboat, Taipei concerns Ever Wong, recent high school graduate, who gets sent by her overbearing parents to an educational summer program, Chien Tan (in English, the Overseas Compatriot Youth Taiwan Study Tour). 

*** BOOK: The Design of Everyday Things (Revised and Expanded Edition) AUTHOR: Don Norman YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 2013 REVIEW:  *** Don Norman, the author of The Design of Everyday Things, is a very accomplished writer, researcher, professor, and consultant.  He’s most famous, however, for giving his name to the Norman door–which are those horrible doors … Continue reading On Our Bookshelves: The Design of Everyday Things →