Reviews by Rating

Here are all the reviews I’ve written since I started this blog in April 2009.

In summary, this is what I mean by my ratings:

• 5 stars: One of my favorite books.  Whatever flaws it might have did not interfere with my enjoyment at all.
• 4 stars:  Enjoyed it quite a bit. A very good book. I try to pick books to read that I think will end up here, and usually succeed.
• 3 stars: Liked it, didn’t love it.  Might have some significant flaws or might not have enough good stuff to pull it up further.  If I didn’t commit to a review I might not bother unless there is something I want to say.
• 2 stars: Didn’t like it.  If I’m not committed to read it, I probably won’t finish and it won’t appear here.
• 1 star:  Hated it with a fiery passion.  This doesn’t really happen, but I’ve reserved the rating just in case.

My ratings reflect how I feel about a book, as opposed to an attempt at an objective measure of quality.  Sometimes these are closer than others.

(A) indicates an Audiobook review

• 5 stars
  • The God of the Hive by Laurie R. King
  • Original Sin by Beth McMullen
  • Science Fair Season by Judy Dutton
  • Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
  • Where She Went by Gayle Forman
  • Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
  • If I Stay by Gayle Forman
  • The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean
  • The Help by Kathryn Stockett
  • Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
  • The Gift of an Ordinary Day by Katrina Kenison
  • Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
  • The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale
  • The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
  • The Language of Bees by Laurie R. King & revisited review
  • Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
• 4.5 stars
  • Pirate King by Laurie R. King
  • Domestic Violets by Matthew Norman
  • Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis
  • State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
  • Just Like Heaven by Julia Quinn (A)
  • The Last Unicorn (Graphic Novel) by Peter S. Beagle
  • The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist (A)
  • Wrecker by Summer Wood
  • Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Sausages by Tom Holt
  • The Cat, the Professor and the Poison by Leann Sweeney
  • Stiltsville by Susanna Daniel
  • North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley
  • Horns by Joe Hill
  • All That’s True by Jackie Lee Miles
  • A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
  • Moonface by Angela Balcita
  • The Mischief of the Mistletoe by Lauren Willig (A)
  • The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown
  • The Year of Fog by Michelle Richmond (A)
  • A Secret Gift by Ted Gup
  • The House on Olive Street by Robyn Carr
  • Real Life & Liars by Kristina Riggle
  • Russian Winter by Daphne Kalotay
  • The City & The City by China Miéville (A)
  • Last Night I Sang to the Monster by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
  • The Mystery of Grace by Charles de Lint (A)
  • The Cookbook Collector by Allegra Goodman
  • An Abundance of Katherines by John Green (A)
  • The Language of Trees by Ilie Ruby
  • The Soloist by Steve Lopez (A)
  • Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri
  • The Starlet by Maureen Johnson
  • The Singer’s Gun by Emily St. John Mandel
  • Love Walked In by Marisa de Los Santos
  • Belong to Me by Marisa de los Santos
  • Dismantled by Jennifer McMahon
  • My Life in France by Julia Child
  • The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
  • Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
  • Tainted by Brooke Morgan
  • To Desire A Devil by Elizabeth Hoyt
  • The Financial Lives of the Poets by Jess Walter
  • Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell
  • The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
  • Second Honeymoon by Joanne Trollope
  • 31 Hours by Masha Hamilton
  • The Way Home by George P. Pelecanos
  • Tallgrass by Sandra Dallas
  • Looking for Alaska by John Green
  • Halting State by Charles Stross
  • Mind Scrambler by Chris Grabenstein
  • Julie & Julia by Julie Powell
  • Last Night in Montreal by Emily St. John Mandel
  • The Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand
  • Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
  • Finger Lickin’ Fifteen by Janet Evanovich
  • Shoot From the Lip by Leann Sweeney
  • The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
  • Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead
• 4 stars
  • Fun and Games by Duane Swierczynski
  • Grace Interrupted by Julie Hyzy
  • How I Made It to Eighteen: A Mostly True Story by Tracy White
  • Bath Tangle by Georgette Heyer
  • 22 Britannia Road by Amanda Hodgkinson
  • Things We Didn’t Say by Kristina Riggle
  • The Uncertain Places by Lisa Goldstein
  • Every Last One by Anna Quindlen (A)
  • The Girl in the Garden by Kamala Nair
  • Promises to Keep by Charles de Lint
  • The Cat, the Lady and the Liar by Leann Sweeney
  • Guilt by Association by Marcia Clark
  • Formula for Murder by Diana Orgain
  • The Bird Sisters by Rebecca Rasmussen
  • Feed by M.T. Anderson (A)
  • True Grit by Charles Portis (A)
  • Dying for Mercy by Mary Jane Clark (A)
  • The Orchid Affair by Lauren Willig
  • Room by Emma Donoghue (A)
  • Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby (A)
  • Kitty and the Midnight Hour by Carrie Vaughn(A)
  • Kitty Goes to Washington by Carrie Vaughn (A)
  • Slay Ride by Chris Grabenstein (A)
  • Up from the Blue by Susan Henderson
  • The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
  • Even the Queen & Other Short Stories by Connie Willis (A)
  • Secrets to the Grave by Tami Hoag
  • An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin
  • Matched by Ally Condie
  • Dangerously Funny by David Bianculli
  • Outside the Ordinary World by Dori Ostermiller
  • A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny
  • Live to Tell by Wendy Corsi Staub
  • The Thousand by Kevin Guilfoile
  • Huck by Janet Elder
  • Home Again by Mariah Stewart
  • Oogy by Larry Levin
  • Coming Home by Mariah Stewart
  • The Life You’ve Imagined by Kristina Riggle
  • The Island by Elin Hilderbrand (A)
  • Tangled by Carolyn Mackler
  • Wicked Intentions by Elizabeth Hoyt
  • The Koala of Death by Betty Webb
  • Deadly Fear by Cynthia Eden
  • A Kiss at Midnight by Eloisa James
  • The Search by Nora Roberts (A)
  • This Time Together by Carol Burnett (A)
  • One Season of Sunshine by Julia London
  • For the Win by Cory Doctorow
  • The House on Fortune Street by Margot Livesey
  • The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larsson (A)
  • Heart of Lies by M.L. Malcolm
  • Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson (A)
  • Plum Pudding Murder by Joanne Fluke (A)
  • Loving Frank by Nancy Horan
  • Huge by James Fuerst
  • All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris
  • Firefly Rain by Richard Dansky
  • Motherhood is Murder by Diana Orgain
  • In the Shadow of the Cypress by Thomas Steinbeck
  • To Sin With A Scoundrel by Cara Elliott
  • The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker
  • Everything Hurts by Bill Scheft
  • Knots and Crosses by Ian Rankin
  • The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
  • Exit Music by Ian Rankin
  • Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen
  • Austenland by Shannon Hale
  • Buckley’s Story by Ingrid King
  • Silence by Thomas Perry
  • Sometimes We’re Always Real Same-same by Mattox Roesch
  • Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris
  • Blue Smoke and Murder by Elizabeth Lowell
  • The Impostor’s Daughter by Laurie Sandell
  • Life After Genius by M. Ann Jacoby
  • Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
  • The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
  • Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett
  • A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore
  • Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris
  • Babydoll by Allyson Roy
  • The Accidental Time Machine by Joe Haldeman
  • Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant
  • Only Milo by Barry Smith
  • Laced With Magic by Barbara Bretton
  • Mercy Street by Mariah Stewart
  • Two Years, No Rain by Shawn Klomparens
  • Slam by Nick Hornby
  • Club Dead by Charlaine Harris
  • Welcome to Biotech Nation by Moira Gunn
  • Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
  • Benny & Shrimp by Katarina Mazetti
  • A Summer Affair by Elin Hilderbrand
  • One Scream Away by Kate Brady
  • Pushing Up Bluebonnets by Leann Sweeney
  • Interred with Their Bones by Jennifer Lee Carrell
  • The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton
  • Beach Trip by Cathy Holton
  • Stones From the River by Ursula Hegi
  • The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz
  • Tribute by Nora Roberts
  • Cures for Heartbreak by Margo Rabb
  • The Writing on My Forehead by Nafisa Haji
  • Dead Ex by Harly Jane Kozak
  • Malice Domestic 3
  • Pardonable Lies by Jacqueline Winspear
• 3.5 stars
  • The Heroine’s Bookshelf by Erin Blakemore (A)
  • Don’t Breathe a Word by Jennifer McMahon
  • The Art of Saying Goodbye by Ellyn Bache
  • Folly Beach by Dorothea Benton Frank
  • The Upside of Irrationality by Dan Ariely
  • Almost Home by Mariah Stewart
  • A Drop of the Hard Stuff by Lawrence Block
  • Heart of Deception by M.L. Malcolm
  • The Wizard of London by Mercedes Lackey (A)
  • Fatal Error by J.A. Jance
  • The Mistress Of Nothing by Kate Pullinger
  • The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton (A)
  • Solar by Ian McEwan (A)
  • River’s End by Nora Roberts (A)
  • Miles from Nowhere by Nami Mun
  • To Have and to Kill by Mary Jane Clark
  • Killing Floor by Lee Child (A)
  • Even the Queen & Other Short Stories by Connie Willis (A)
  • The Christmas Cookie Club by Ann Pearlman
  • The Heir by Grace Burrowes
  • Goodnight Tweetheart by Teresa Medeiros
  • Wishin’ and Hopin’ by Wally Lamb (A)
  • Blue Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews (A)
  • Claude and Camille by Stephanie Cowell
  • Edge of Sight by Roxanne St. Claire
  • Broken Glass Park by Alina Bronsky
  • The Absolute Value of -1 by Steve Brezenoff
  • Sofie Metropolis by Tori Carrington (A)
  • Life After Yes by Aidan Donnelley Rowley
  • Chosen by Chandra Hoffman
  • Crazy for Love by Victoria Dahl
  • The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer
  • Grace Under Pressure by Julie Hyzy
  • Did Not Survive by Ann Littlewood
  • Saba by Mary Jane
  • The Liar’s Lullaby by Meg Gardiner
  • From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris
  • To Surrender To a Rogue by Cara Elliott
  • Making It Up by Penelope Lively
  • Zeitoun by Dave Eggers
  • Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris
  • How to Lose a Client by Becky A. Bartness
  • Life Sentences by Laura Lippman
  • Waking Up in the Land of Glitter: A Crafty Chica Novel by Kathy Cano-Murillo
  • Dream House by Valerie Laken
  • In Tongues of the Dead by Brad Kelln
  • Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
  • Tales for Delicious Girls by Barbora Knobova
  • Now & Then by Jacqueline Sheehan
  • The Seduction of the Crimson Rose
  • The Deception of the Emerald Ring
  • Breaking the Bank by Yona Zeldis McDonough
  • The Smart One and The Pretty One by Claire LaZebnik
  • A Note From An Old Acquaintance by Bill Walker
  • Sail by James Patterson
  • How to Tame a Modern Rogue by Diana Holquist
  • Admission by Jean Hanff Korelitz
  • Bundle of Trouble by Diana Orgain
  • Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner
  • Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris
  • A Summer Affair by Elin Hilderbrand
  • Sweet Talk by Susan Mallery
  • Of Bees and Mist by Erick Setiawan
  • Old World Daughter, New World Mother
  • Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
• 3 stars
  • I Think I Love You by Allison Pearson (A)
  • Deed to Death by D. B. Henson
  • Beaglemania by Linda O. Johnston
  • Seducing the Governess by Margo Maguire
  • Lydia’s Charm by Wanda E. Brunstetter
  • Dangerous Desires by Dee Davis
  • The Seven Year Bitch by Jennifer Belle
  • Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris
  • The Magicians by Lev Grossman
  • Fallen by Lauren Kate
  • An Assembly Such as This by Pamela Aidan
  • The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy
  • True Colors by Kristin Hannah
  • Tea Time for the Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall Smith
  • Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs
• 2 stars
  • The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein (A)
  • Money Can’t Buy Love by Connie Briscoe
  • The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson (A)
  • When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro (A)
  • Apple Turnover Murder by Joanne Fluke

Children’s Books (unrated)

• What Momma Left Me by Renee Watson
• Dear Pen Pal by Heather Vogel Fredrick (guest post)
• The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer (guest post)
• Written in Bone by Sally Walker (A)
• Virals by Kathy Reichs
• Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy
• The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
• Unwind by Neal Shusterman
• Rowan the Strange by Julie Hearn
• I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
• Gimme a Call by Sarah Mlynowski
• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
• Magyk by Angie Sage
• The Merchant of Death by D.J. MacHale
• Betsy-Tacy 9 and 10 by Maude Hart Lovelace
  • Betsy and the Great World
  • Betsy’s Wedding
• Betsy and Joe (Betsy-Tacy 8 ) by Maude Hart Lovelace
• Betsy-Tacy 6 and 7 by Maud Hart Lovelace
  • Betsy in Spite of Herself
  • Betsy Was a Junior
• Heaven To Betsy (Betsy-Tacy 5) by Maude Hart Lovelace
• Betsy Tacy 1-4 by Maude Hart Lovelace
  • Betsy-Tacy
  • Betsy-Tacy and Tib
  • Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill
  • Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown
• Shakespeare’s Secret by Elise Broach
• Luv Ya Bunches by Lauren Myracle
• Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary D. Schmidt
• Miss L’eau by T. Katz

Unrated for other reasons

• The Book of Lies by Mary Horlock
• Learning Curves by Elyse Mady
• The Case for the Only Child by Susan Newman
• The Uncoupling by Meg Wolitzer
• Triumph of the City by Edward Glaeser
• Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson
• Deep Kiss of Winter by Kresley Cole & Gena Showalter
• The Body Scoop for Girls by Jennifer Ashton

http://blog.imbookingit.com/2011/07/01/review-the-art-of-racing-in-the-rain-by-garth-stein-with-audiobook-and-book-club-notes/