Author Archives: bseat

Gold Diggers by Sanjena Sathian

This book was not what I expected. I mostly don’t like magical realism and have avoided Gabriel Garcia Marquez and have struggled when reading Haruki Murakami, both of whom are known for their magical realism. It is a bit strange, … Continue reading

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What I Am Reading At the Beach

I am headed to the beach tomorrow for a week! I am looking forward to being away, being with family and having time to read! So this is a list of what I plan to read while I am soaking … Continue reading

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Istanbul Passage by Joseph Kanon

There are usually two kinds of spy stories: the thriller/action type like The Red Sparrow series by Jason Matthews or Shanghai Factor by Charles McCarry and the the more cerebral/thinking type like John Le Carré’s  Agent Running in the Field … Continue reading

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The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult

if you had the chance, would you live your life differently? What changes would you make? These are the questions that are central to this novel by Jodi Picoult, and they are just as provocative and challenging for the main … Continue reading

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The Rose Code by Kate Quinn

This book has everything; spies, romance, code breaking, strong female characters and an intriguing plot. Quinn, who wrote The Huntress and The Alice Network, which I previously reviewed, is quickly turning into one of my ‘go to” authors. In 1940 … Continue reading

Posted in Beach Read, Books to take on vacation, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance, Spy/Covert Operatives, Suspense | Tagged , | 1 Comment

A Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

“Brief and beautiful,” was one reviewers reaction to this 2011 Man Booker Award winner and I tend to agree. I find that award winning books do not always sustain my interest or are particularly readable, but Barnes has written a … Continue reading

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The Neapolitan Novels by Elena Ferrante, translated by Ann Goldtstein

These novels by Elena Ferrante have been described as “ferocious”, “explosive,” as if they are describing some kind of action/thriller series, but instead Ferrante tells the story of two girls growing up in post WWII Naples whose friendship becomes more … Continue reading

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The Distant Hours by Kate Morton

Do you ever lose books? It doesn’t seem it was as easy to lose books when I bought physical books, since I could usually visualize in what bookcase and in what room I had shelved it, but since I went … Continue reading

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One by One by Ruth Ware

Ruth Ware has an ingeniously disturbed mind! The first book I read by Ware was In a Dark, Dark Wood. The title says it all and it kept me up at night.  The next book was, The Woman in Cabin … Continue reading

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The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles

There has been a lot of novels published about WWII recently, particularly about the ways women served as spies, cryptographers, aviators or were just caught up in the war in many unexpected ways. The Huntress, The Nightingale, The Alice Network, … Continue reading

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