“We think of English as a fortress to be defended, but a better analogy is to think of English as a child. We love and nurture it into being, and once it gains gross motor skills, it starts going exactly where we don’t want it to go: it heads right ... more >
I took a look at my 5 star reads for the year and created my top 10 from that. I’ve decided not to rank them; it’s too hard to do and they were all fabulous books. Iron & Magic by Ilona Andrews. Magic Triumphs could easily have made this list ... more >
Yes, I’m reposting this review I originally did in early 2017 because – yippee! – Endeavour Press has now released this book. I think the earlier one was a bootleg edition but this one is legit. And I actually like this cover too, so bonus! “Just pretend that the man ... more >
A gifted surgeon illuminates one of the most profound, awe-inspiring, and deeply affecting achievements of modern day medicine—the movement of organs between bodies—in this exceptional work of death and life that takes its place besides Atul Gawande’s Complications, Siddhartha Mukherjee’s The Emperor of All Maladies, and Jerome Groopman’s How Doctors ... more >
This is a short list because I decided to confine myself to A category books only. Usually I’ll include at least B+s, but looking at my log this past year I really do think these five represent the best of what I read in 2018. Bed of Flowers ... more >
During the Nazis’ brutal siege of Leningrad, Lev Beniov is arrested for looting and thrown into the same cell as a handsome deserter named Kolya. Instead of being executed, Lev and Kolya are given a shot at saving their own lives by complying with an outrageous directive: secure a dozen ... more >