300 Days of Sun by Deborah Lawrenson

300 Days of Sun by Deborah Lawrenson was the perfect book to read during my 10 days of sun on Spain’s south coast. I knew from having read The Lantern by Lawrenson that 300 Days of Sun would be a pager turner that wouldn’t lack in intelligence. And set mostly in Faro, Portugal, it wasn’t too far from the Costa del Sol.

Purity by Jonathan Franzen

Jonathan Franzen. JFranz. The Fran-Fran Man. Some people love to hate him. Others hate to love him. After reading his latest, Purity, I’m in the hate to love him camp. At worst his misogynistic, at best simply sexist, but his prose – the way he can string a sentence together – is bliss.

The Blue Hour by Douglas Kennedy

I have really mixed feelings about The Blue Hour by Douglas Kennedy. Like, really mixed. It’s a kind of schizophrenic book for me, and perhaps for the publishers as well, as it is published in the UK as The Heat of Betrayal. And for the record, given the cover and title of the UK edition, i don’t think I ever would have picked it up.

Without You, There is No Us by Suki Kim (audio)

I don’t listen to audio books very frequently. So often they just don’t ‘sound’ right to me. But I’ve had a head cold and a massive headache and did not read for 5 days. This is almost unheard of in my life. The one thing that saved me was the audio version of Without You, There Is No Us by Suki Kim.

DNF: The Last Bookaneer by Matthew Pearl

I should have liked The Last Bookaneer by Matthew Pearl, a historical novel about the illicit book trade between the United States and Europe. But I just couldn’t do it and it all comes down to one reason: style. There is a certain style with which some historical novels are written, and i just don’t like it. Here are some of the elements:

The Vacationers by Emma Straub

Remember last spring and summer when everyone was talking about The Vacationers by Emma Straub? When it was referenced in several magazines as a summer must-read or a perfect vacation read? And the chances of getting it from the library were slim to none? Well, finally my number came up and I got it from the library.

I Am Radar by Reif Larsen

I wanted to like Reif Larsen so badly. I was captivated by the look of his first book, The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet, by its maps and illustrations, but alas I could not finish it. And visually, Larsen’s website is a dream. Really go check it out. So with the above evidence in hand, I had to give Larsen another go with I Am Radar.

The Expats by Chris Pavone

I don’t often read spy thrillers, but when I do they will be by Chris Pavone. It’s like he gets me and knows what will hook me into an action packed read. Earlier this year I read and reviewed The Accident by Pavone and my love of it propelled me to read his first novel, The Expats.

Euphoria by Lily King

In my world Euphoria by Lily King has become known as the book that almost ruined Christmas. And just to be clear, that is a statement of high praise. Euphoria was so good I almost had to forgo speaking to my family, who I’d flown across the Atlantic to visit, until I had finished reading it. Every time someone attempted to talk to me I got nasty. It wasn’t pretty.

No Country by Kalyan Ray

Be patient with me people!! I’ve been so busy lately that almost no reading is getting done. It’s tragic, not least of all because this is supposed to be my Free Range Reading time.

Officially, No Country by Kalyan Ray is my second book for Free Range Reading, and yes, I agree, that is pathetic seeing as Free Range Reading started at the beginning of November. That being said, No Country is a behemoth of a book and not at all what I expected.