The Biblioracle | Raging Biblio-holism

May We Be Forgiven

October 23, 2012 by Drew

The Short Version: After his brother’s wife kisses him at Thanksgiving, Harold Silver’s whole existence gets thoroughly shaken up. In the course of 365 days, his life – and the lives of his brother, sister-in-law, niece & nephew, and many others – change irrevocably and when the survivors come back together for Thanksgiving one year later, there is much to be thankful for – and much to ask for forgiveness from. The Review: So it seems as though my October […]

Categories: Fiction, Literature • Tags: A.M. Homes, Family, Fiction, Literature, May We Be Forgiven, Richard Nixon, The Biblioracle, The Tournament of Books 2013

Saul and Patsy

June 2, 2012 by Drew

The Short Version: Young couple Saul and Patsy Bernstein have moved into a small town in the Midwest, despite it not quite seeming like the right fit for two urban and cultural twentysomethings. Yet here they are. Saul takes a job as a teacher, Patsy takes a job at the bank, and after a while they start a family and continue to solidify their place in the world. But after a troubled youth from one of Saul’s classes takes startling action […]

Categories: Fiction, Literature • Tags: Charles Baxter, Fiction, Literature, Saul and Patsy, The Biblioracle

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The Funny Man

November 22, 2011 by Drew

The Short Version: The funny man is in trouble. He goes from being a struggling standup comedian to superstar in the blink of an eye after he adds a little ‘thing’ to his routine: sticking his whole hand inside his mouth. But superstardom isn’t quite what he’d hoped it would be – and his life spirals into what you might call madness, culminating in a trial for manslaughter. Then things take a strange turn. The Review: Hmm. I’ll say right off the […]

Categories: Fiction, Literature • Tags: Comedy, Fiction, John Warner, Literature, The Biblioracle, The Funny Man

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The Family Fang

November 6, 2011 by Drew

The Short Version: Caleb and Camille Fang were two of the world’s most eminent performance artists. Then they had kids. Instead of it killing their careers, however, it afforded them an opportunity to become something even larger: a family act. A & B (Annie and Buster) become as crucial to the events as their parents – but suffer the emotional scars of a truly fucked-up childhood. Those scars reverberate through to their adulthood and so they come home again, to […]

Categories: Fiction, Literature • Tags: Family, Fiction, Kevin Wilson, Literature, The Biblioracle, The Family Fang

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Stone Arabia

September 16, 2011 by Drew

The Short Version: Denise Kranis, middle-aged, finds herself reconciling not only her own non-starting life but that of her mysterious, reclusive, washed-up almost-rock-star brother. As the world spins seemingly out of control in an overwhelming way, she examines the fake world he created in his Chronicles – and creates her own “counter-chronicles” to attempt to tell the real story of their lives. The Review: This book has gotten quite a lot of buzz of late – I wouldn’t be surprised to see […]

Categories: Fiction, Literature • Tags: Dana Spiotta, Fiction, Literature, Music, Rock and Roll, Stone Arabia, The Biblioracle

The Quiet American

August 6, 2011 by Drew

The Short Version: Thomas Fowler, a middle-aged English reporter in Vietnam, meets Alden Pyle, an idealistic young American. While Fowler navigates the pre-America Vietnam War, Pyle becomes something of a romantic rival and a psychological opposite. Pyle’s simple – and very American – view of the world leads to horror and tragedy and Fowler is forced to abandon his disengagement and take a stand. The Review: I’ve never read any Graham Greene before. My closest experience is from the second season […]

Categories: Fiction, Literature • Tags: Fiction, Graham Greene, Literature, The Biblioracle, The Quiet American

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Case Histories

April 2, 2011 by Drew

The Short Version: Jackson Brodie, former-cop-now-private-investigator, ends up taking on three ‘cold’ cases that all somehow find themselves intertwining in and around Cambridge. Meanwhile, he’s trying to stay a good father despite his ex-wife’s best efforts and someone may be trying to kill him. The Rating: Something wonderful about coming home and reading a book in a day. Especially a decent sized one, like this. This was a recommendation from the always-reliable Biblioracle over at The Morning News and, interestingly […]

Categories: Fiction • Tags: Case Histories, Fiction, Jackson Brodie, Kate Atkinson, Mystery, The Biblioracle

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Horns

November 6, 2010 by Drew

I read Joe Hill’s first book, Heart-Shaped Box, on the plane back from Chicago the summer after my sophomore year of college. I was half in afterglow, half teary from parting – and not at all looking forward to getting back to work. I had finished the books I’d brought with me and needed something, so I picked this up at the airport kiosk. I’d heard good things, it looked pretty interesting… Turns out Mr. Hill is Stephen King’s son […]

Categories: Fiction, Horror • Tags: Fiction, Halloween, Horns, Horror, Joe Hill, The Biblioracle

A Thousand Cuts

August 3, 2010 by Drew

First off – dear Viking, you probably ought to spell check your author’s name for the title page. Simion Lelic =/= Simon Lelic. OOPS. Second off – this is my third recommendation from The Biblioracle over at The Morning News. If you’re reading this blog and you haven’t used John Warner’s monthly-ish service… well, you need to get your act together. I don’t need to tell you about Gravity’s Rainbow or Geek Love – you can read about them […]

Categories: Fiction, Literature • Tags: A Thousand Cuts, Fiction, Literature, Simon Lelic, The Biblioracle, The Morning News

Geek Love

July 1, 2010 by Drew

So, a book outside of any reading club or challenge. How exciting! John Warner, the Biblioracle over at The Morning News, recommended this to me. This was his second recommendation, the first being the wildly life-changing Gravity’s Rainbow. This is not Gravity’s Rainbow. Geek Love is not, for me, a life-changing novel. Perhaps it is for some – but I grew up (wow, I can actually get away with saying that, kind of) with Chuck Palahniuk novels. Nothing is going […]

Categories: Fiction, Literature • Tags: Fiction, Geek Love, Katherine Dunn, Literature, The Biblioracle

Raging Biblio-holism

The overwhelming urge to collect, consume, and consider books

Archives

May We Be Forgiven

Saul and Patsy

The Funny Man

The Family Fang

Stone Arabia

The Quiet American

Case Histories

Horns

A Thousand Cuts

Geek Love

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