Here are some new and forthcoming books to look for, with a preview of some full reviews to come from me later in the month.
TOP TEN TUESDAY: Short and sweet
Short stories and novellas can get lost in the shadow of epic novels and great works of biography, but the compact storytelling form can pack a wallop. Aside from my standbys Poe, Maupassant and Conan Doyle, these are some of my favorite stories and novellas.
Top Ten Tuesday: Books that take place in another country
Sometimes the best plane ticket we have is a good book. It’s certainly the most reliable time machine (so far). I love reading about far off places, especially ones I want to see for real, someday. Here are some of my favorite books that live in another place.
Top Ten Tuesday: Literary Settings I’d Like to Visit
The reason we read is to go somewhere else, if only in our minds. In some books the setting is merely a backdrop. But in others, it is pervasive. We can immerse ourselves in another world. These are eight literary places* I would like to visit.
*many will be in England. Control your surprise.
REVIEW: A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW
The literary community has been waiting for a follow-up to the Towles’ debut bestseller Rules of Civility. Dare I say, his second outing is even better. Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov finds himself in an awkward time to be aristocracy. The Bolshevik revolution has dismantled the Russian monarchy and finds anything from the old culture dangerous and…