Around the World in 80 Dates, by Jennifer Cox

The premise of Around the World in 80 Dates is irresistible. Jennifer Cox, a divorced, late-thirties travel writer, tires of her unsuccessful love life and busy work life in London, and decides to go on a round-the-world trip to meet her Soul Mate, setting up (roughly) 80 dates with men in different countries along the [...]

The Midwife’s Song, by Brenda Ray

Rarely have I wanted to like a book as much as I wanted to like The Midwife’s Song. I enjoy Biblical fiction anyway — since I write it myself — and for a long time Brenda Ray’s novel has been Amazon.com’s “Better Together” selection to go along with my own Esther: A Story of Courage. [...]

Declare, by Tim Powers

Every so often circumstances conspire to make me read a book I would never have picked up on my own. This month’s book club selection for the Ship of Fools book club was Tim Powers’ Declare, a kind of espionage-fantasy hybrid. Now, fantasy I love, but espionage? Spies? Books about people whose entire lives are [...]

The Bitch Posse, by Martha O’Connor

First up, Martha O’Connor is a brilliant writer. No question about that. Second, The Bitch Posse isn’t for everyone. I know a wide variety of people read this blog, and — let’s just say that if you find the title offensive, you won’t like the inside any better.The Bitch Posse is a dark, raw, [...]

The Dying Days, by Shannon Patrick Sullivan

I would never have known about The Dying Days if Shannon Patrick Sullivan hadn’t posted a comment here on Compulsive Overreader, which just proves blogging is good for something. At least, I might have heard of the book (after all, it was published by Creative/Killick, a local press with whom I have more than a [...]

The Big Over Easy, by Jasper Fforde

The Big Over Easy is the first book in the new “Nursery Crime” series by Jasper Fforde, the almost unbelievably witty and inventive author of The Eyre Affair and other books featuring the time-travelling literary operative Thursday Next.

I think Jasper Fforde is one of those authors you just “get” or you don’t. If you don’t [...]