All Books Considered

Desert Boys by Christopher McCormick Blurb from Goodreads : A VIVID AND ASSURED WORK OF FICTION FROM A MAJOR NEW VOICE FOLLOWING THE LIFE OF A YOUNG MAN GROWING UP, LEAVING HOME, AND COMING BACK AGAIN, MARKED BY THE STARK BEAUTY OF CALIFORNIA'S MOJAVE DESERT AND THE VARIOUS FATES OF THOSE WHO LEAVE AND THOSE WHO STAY BEHIND. This series of powerful, intertwining stories illuminates Daley Kushner's world - the family, friends and community that have both formed and constrained him, and his new life in San Francisco. Back home, the desert preys on those who cannot conform: an alfalfa farmer on the outskirts of town; two young girls whose curiosity leads to danger; a black politician who once served as his school's confederate mascot; Daley's mother, an immigrant from Armenia; and Daley himself, introspective and queer. Meanwhile, in another desert on the other side of the world, war threatens to fracture Daley's m...

So if you read my Monday Musts from a few weeks ago, you saw me post about the following segment on NPR regarding unreliable narrators, comparing books written by women and the 'girl' in the title phenomenon of recent thrillers/mysteries.  This segment was also inspired by this really interesting article by Megan Abbott .  I've been thinking about this a lot since I heard this segment so listen to it and read Megan's article then we can discuss: Unreliable Narrators: YAY or NAY? There is nothing I dislike more than a book becoming super popular and then every book that may be even tangentially similar being compared to that book.  First, it was Twilight , and when that was an international phenomenon, there was a drove of YA fantasy love triangles written and released, all of which were touted as the next Twilight .  And then it was Fifty Shades of Gray , and I'm sure we all remember all sorts of erotica being published once that book took off, an...

The Passenger by Lisa Lutz Blurb from Goodreads : From the author of the New York Times bestselling Spellman Files series, Lisa Lutz’s latest blistering thriller is about a woman who creates and sheds new identities as she crisscrosses the country to escape her past: you’ll want to buckle up for the ride! In case you were wondering, I didn’t do it. I didn’t have anything to do with Frank’s death. I don’t have an alibi, so you’ll have to take my word for it... Forty-eight hours after leaving her husband’s body at the base of the stairs, Tanya Dubois cashes in her credit cards, dyes her hair brown, demands a new name from a shadowy voice over the phone, and flees town. It’s not the first time. She meets Blue, a female bartender who recognizes the hunted look in a fugitive’s eyes and offers her a place to stay. With dwindling choices, Tanya-now-Amelia accepts. An uneasy―and dangerous―alliance is born. It’s almost impossible to l...

He Will Be My Ruin by K.A. Tucker Blurb from Goodreads : The USA TODAY bestselling author of the Ten Tiny Breaths and Burying Water series makes her suspense debut with this sexy, heartpounding story of a young woman determined to find justice after her best friend’s death, a story pulsing with the “intense, hot, emotional” (Colleen Hoover) writing that exhilarates her legions of fans. A woman who almost had it all . . . On the surface, Celine Gonzalez had everything a twenty-eight-year-old woman could want: a one-bedroom apartment on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, a job that (mostly) paid the bills, and an acceptance letter to the prestigious Hollingsworth Institute of Art, where she would finally live out her dream of becoming an antiques appraiser for a major auction house. All she had worked so hard to achieve was finally within her reach. So why would she kill herself? A man who was supposed to be her salvation . . . Maggie S...

Top Ten Tuesday  is hosted by the fab ladies at  The Broke and the Bookish ! 1.   The Truth According to Us   by Annie Barrows I can't stop thinking about this book, six months later.  Absolutely unparalleled for me this year.  I still feel like I crawled into a lost Carson McCullers reading this book.  My review HERE .  2.  Last Night in Montreal   and  Station Eleven   by Emily St. John Mandel Emily St. John Mandel's words are haunting -- I normally do not include books on my list not released the same year of the list but my exception is these two!  My review of Last Night in Montreal   HERE . 3.   Where All Light Tends to Go   by David Joy I just finished this book late Saturday night/early Sunday morning and I'm so glad I did because I can't imagine it not on this list.  My review will be posted this Thursday but the voice in this book -- absolutely ast...

Top Ten Tuesday  is hosted by the fab ladies at  The Broke and the Bookish ! Who are the best new-to-you authors you discovered this year?   I didn't realize it until I created this list but many of my favorite books this year were by new-to-me authors -- there is a lot of overlap between this list and my top books of 2015!

Top Ten Tuesday  is hosted by the fab ladies at  The Broke and the Bookish ! 1.   It's July 3, so the sun is a heat lamp with no off switch, the blacktop road a cast-iron griddle, and any living thing caught between the two is just meat set to singe on high. I tried to tell Daniel this. I know this swath of high desert as well as I know his profile. The Mojave's cracked surface is as familiar to me as the dark mole tucked to the side of his right eyebrow-- his only imperfection, and one I love. 2.     "You're right, Jottie, but what good is it? Rightness is nothing. You can't live on it. You might as well eat ashes." I glanced at Father, his bloodshot eyes and the stain on his pants. I loved him so. Once more, I tried to explain. "This is all we can do; it's all we're allowed. We can't go back. The only thing time leaves for us to decide" -- I picked up Father's hand and held it tight-- "is whether or...