Portnoy’s Complaint, a novel by Philip Roth, should be mandatory reading at all synagogues during Bar or Bat Mitzvah training. Actually, it should be mandatory reading for anyone who can relate to this excerpt from page 99-100 in my copy (ISBN 0-679-75645-0), the inclusion of which makes this review longer than 2 sentences. Pianist!...
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Posts Tagged ‘ Book ’
2 Sentence Review: Portnoy’s Complaint by Philip Roth
2 Sentence Review: The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz is a Pulitzer Prize winning book that teaches you as much about Dominican history and the human condition as it does comic books and funny Spanish swear words. Meant especially for anyone who gravitates towards the rhythms of spoken word or who likes...
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2 Sentence Review: We Need to Talk About Kevin
Haunting, devastating, gut-wrenching story that runs at you with its arms outstretched and then viciously stabs you in the back with a corkscrew. This book takes the genre of family drama character studies and turns a scenario you’ve only heard about on the news into a relate-able punch in the stomach that makes you think...
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Open letter to e-book publishers
Dear Macmillan and other arrogant publishing companies, I have a Kindle, first edition. I am part of a target audience for the Kindle and similar devices: I travel a lot, I’m overeducated, and an early adopter of technology (for another example, I bought my first Tivo in 2000). Recently, there has been a lot...
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[Book Review] The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
There are some people I know who love to read books about India. The Namesake, Interpreter of Maladies, The God of Small Things, The Inheritance of Loss, A Fine Balance…. I’m not one of them. (Heck, I’ve never even seen Slumdog Millionaire.) There are also some people I know who love to read books...
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Slowly, I’ll Learn
In 2009, I would like to review each book that I read. Whether my personal reaction to a book is a review is up for debate. (Last year, I tried one or two book reviews. But, I guess, each review focused on me as opposed to the book. Maybe that’s how I write book...
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Forward: Open Letter from a Distressed Bookseller
Column: Open Letter from a Distressed Bookseller Owner of Shaman Drum: “This is our darkest hour” BY KARL POHRTFEBRUARY 17, 2009 Karl Pohrt, owner of Shaman Drum Bookshop. This fall and winter Shaman Drum Bookshop went into a steep financial decline. Textbook sales declined $510K from last year. We managed to cut our payroll...
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Letters to Inspiring Writers: Josh Henkin wrote Matrimony. Now he’s my (goodreads) friend.
Last September, I received this e-mail from one of my mentors. From: Date: Wed, Sep 17, 2008 at 9:01 AM Subject: Strong suggestion Must read book of the year that no one has heard of: Matrimony by Joshua Henkin So, of course, I read it. It was a quick read....
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Book Review: The Late Bloomer’s Revolution by Amy Cohen
Those who know me (or who know my writing), may be surprised by my choice for my first book review attempt. It’s not that I don’t like chick-lit or that I have to be eponymous. I never expected, similar to the Jewish-female author Amy Cohen, to be addressing my own life as a single...
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the rut of half read books & half written letters
some of you may know that my (self-imposed) goal for the year is to read 50 books. You can see what i’ve read here. In addition to those books, I have about 7 other books that are half complete. I used to have an OCD manager who told me that I needed to work...
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