The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears32 reviews Dinaw Mengestu Riverhead Trade, 2008 Worthy Debut Novel About the Immigrant Experience + The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears Mengestu's debut novel brings to life the American immigrant experience in a touching way. The novel is about an Ethiopian immigrant, Sepha, and his experiences in the Washington DC area over a seven month period in the 1970s. Mengestu captures the hopes and dreams, as well as the struggles and ...             The Alchemist1289 reviews Paulo Coelho HarperCollins, 2006 Inspiring + Actually life-changing + Overall, a good read Anyone unsure of what they want to do after high school should read this book.             Moral Disorder and Other Stories18 reviews Margaret Atwood Anchor, 2008 A BRILLIANT, DEEPLY MOVING, TOUR DE FORCE CHARACTER STUDY -- AND SEIMI-AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL TO BOOT! + Brilliant Writing at its Best! + Good, but not her best "Moral Disorder" by Margaret Atwood is a collection of eleven short stories. Each stands easily and delightfully alone; in fact, five of them have previously appeared in magazines. But taken as a whole, this collection gathers synergy and eventually morphs into a most uncommon and extraordinary ...             The Bastard of Istanbul27 reviews Elif Shafak Penguin (Non-Classics), 2008 Exceptional book + What a story............. + A Pleasant Book About A Different Point Of View + A pleasant surprise; engaging storyline amidst controversy             The Girl Who Stopped Swimming34 reviews Joshilyn Jackson Grand Central Publishing, 2008 The Girl Who Stopped Swimming + A moving, absorbing thriller hard to put down + Highly entertaining page turner + Great reading! Jackson is an excellent writer! + Review             The Hearts of Horses32 reviews Molly Gloss Houghton Mifflin, 2007 DID NOT WANT THE BOOK TO END + Book + Finding A Way + Lovely and quiet + Take the ride             A Person of Interest: A Novel15 reviews Susan Choi Viking Adult, 2008 Would give it 10 stars... + Very good premise, disappointing ending I found this book entirely engaging and wonderfully well-written, true literature and at the same time suspenseful. The author moved smoothly back and forth in time, revealing characters slowly and fascinatingly. Yes, it was a bit hard going at times to make out all of her meanings, but that ...             The Monsters of Templeton62 reviews Lauren Groff Voice, 2008 Whimsy Abounds + Take Your Time + Monsters and Ghosts and Scandal, Oh My! The Monsters of Templeton traces several weeks in the life of Willie Upton after she arrives in her small hometown unexpectedly, knocked up and disgraced. Shortly after her arrival, her mother drops a bomb on her: Willie's father is not who Willie thought it was, and her real father is closer than ...             World Without End419 reviews Ken Follett Dutton Adult, 2007 Wonderful stand-alone sequel! + world without end + Fabulous Book + Good novel + Wonderful read!             Mudbound37 reviews Hillary Jordan Algonquin Books, 2008 Mudbound people and relationships + Excellent. This book will touch all your emotions! + Compelling, gripping and tragic as fierce, brave women emerge + A Bit Shy of Originality + Language and voices tell the same story             Salvage6 reviews Jane F. Kotapish Macadam Cage Pub, 2008 Kotapish weaves magic into her imagery + Watch This Writer + Dealing with depth + Startling writing + Jane Kotapish paints a verbal masterpiece in Salvage             A Fraction of the Whole61 reviews Steve Toltz Spiegel & Grau, 2008 An extraordinary story well told + Excellent story! + Reminds me why I became a writer + Should have won the booker! + A Stellar Debut             Daughter of York: A Novel11 reviews Anne Easter Smith Touchstone, 2008 Daughter of York + Historical Fiction at it's best! "History is delicious and engaging in Daughter of York. Anne Easter Smith's fresh writing and captivating personages draw her readers so deeply into fifteenth century Europe, they will find it difficult to return to the present. Walk with Margaret of York through a world meticulously researched ...             The Uncommon Reader: A Novella82 reviews Alan Bennett Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007 Charming, and very funny. + A perfect gift for someone who is a compulsive reader! + One Has An Interest + Uncommonly Good Book! + Even HRH can love books             The Commoner: A Novel47 reviews John Burnham Schwartz Nan A. Talese, 2008 A Beautiful Book in Every Way + Interesting Fictional Biography + An Ordinary Girl Finds Herself In Extraordinary Circumstances I have never read anything by this author before, and when I picked up this book, I was not sure I would like it. After I finished it, I longed for more of the same. The book in written in the first person, by a man, told through the eyes of a young woman....very well done and very clever indeed. ...             The Secret Adventures of Charlotte Bronte9 reviews Laura Joh Rowland Overlook Hardcover, 2008 Valiant Victorian + Very Worth The Read + Fascinating This is a masterfully crafted historical fiction set in Victorian England in 1848. Charlotte Bronte (1816-1855) and her sisters Anne (1919-1848), Emily (1820-1849) and brother Branwell (1818-1848) are featured in this story. Readers who are not familiar with the works of the illustrious Bronte ...             The Soul Thief: A Novel20 reviews Charles Baxter Pantheon, 2008 A Problem of Identity Readers who enjoy metafiction, fiction that is about storytelling itself, will have more than a little fun pondering Charles Baxter's newest novel. This is not his first book to call attention to the circumstances of its own creation. A Feast of Love begins with, guess who, Baxter himself out for a ...             The Gathering (Man Booker Prize)128 reviews Anne Enright Grove Press, Black Cat, 2007 Graceful & Imaginative I'm not surprised that this book won the Booker Prize. Enright has a superior command of the language. She creates fluid yet surprising prose, moving between real and imagined events, past and present with astounding grace and skill. This book is a surreal meditation on family--mother love, sister ...             Love in the Time of Cholera (Vintage International)456 reviews Gabriel Garcia Marquez Vintage Books, 2007 It was inevitable: the scent of bitter almonds always reminded him of the fate of unrequited love. + Metaphorical Romp Garcia Marquez can write. No doubt about it. The man is a marvel. I'd be puddling along, reading of Fermina Daza, and her adolescent passion (and his for her) of Florentino Ariza, or of her married life with Juvenal Urbino when I'd be swept away by a phrase or image, or the smell of bitter almonds. ...             The Cure for Modern Life: A Novel15 reviews Lisa Tucker Atria, 2008 TUCKER IS THE CURE FOR MODERN LITERATURE + What if.... With each book Lisa Tucker gets better and better. She's that rare author who writes beautiful, original stories with deep and meaningful characters. This book has her trademarks - people who crave family and carve it out of thin air if that's what they have to do - people who break your heart ...