book – The Ohioan

The Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas Preston

February 23, 2020

Image: Business Insider High-tech military equipment, a flesh eating disease, and ancient curses collide in this unapologetically modern twist on the gentleman-explorer narrative. Most books about white men exploring the jungle harken back to the grainy black-and-white days of Theodore Rosevelt or Queen Victoria but Douglas Preston’s trek in The Lost City of the Monkey … More The Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas Preston

Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson

February 22, 2019

Leonardo da Vinci joins the ranks of Walter Isaacson’s other Great Men – Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein, Henry Kissinger, and Benjamin Franklin – in this meaty 2017 biography of the eponymous Renaissance Man. Isaacson’s core thesis is that Leonardo’s ability to combine imagination and science is what galvanized his genius. Like most other people in … More Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson

The Dinner Club by Rebecca Serle

January 8, 2019

The Dinner List by Rebecca Serle had been popping up on the various screens in my life so I decided to give it a listen. It’s relatively short – only about 6 hours of audio – and was an easy, fast-paced read. Serle’s premise is unique and intriguing, a good introduction into romance for those who … More The Dinner Club by Rebecca Serle

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

December 27, 2018

The Seven (and a Half) Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is written as part cautionary tale and part whodunit. Upon reflection, I think the book was organized purposefully: confusing and a bit dense at the beginning, it’s hard for the reader to get a grasp on the story, much like it is hard for the first … More The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman

October 23, 2018

“Practical Magic” is my favorite [and the best] witch movie. I finally read the book Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman last year and was surprised and disconcerted by the dark tone of the novel compared with the movie. I was especially shocked at the stern, cold, calculating aunts from the book compared to the lovable free-spirits … More The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman

White Houses by Amy Bloom

September 19, 2018

Amy Bloom’s historical fiction White Houses follows Lorena “Hick” Hickock through her romantic relationship with then-first-lady, Eleanor Roosevelt. Based very much on fact, Bloom writes an imagined narrative from the perspective of Hickcock, the prize-winning war correspondent and close friend of both Eleanor and Franklin. It is a romance at times heartbreaking, nearly always frustrating, and continuously … More White Houses by Amy Bloom

The Witching Hour by Anne Rice

March 18, 2018

Anne Rice needed an editor. The Witching Hour is the first in a trilogy about The Mayfair Witches and it’s a decidedly delicious romp through New Orleans. After 900 pages, however, she’s only just getting started. If you’ve ever read 900 pages only to be left with a veritable cliffhanger, you know it’s incredibly frustrating. Rice’s narrative … More The Witching Hour by Anne Rice

The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean

March 22, 2017

The Madonnas of Leningrad is a two-fold story from the perspective of Marina, a docent at the State Hermitage Museum and survivor of the Siege of Leningrad during World War II. Debra Dean writes compellingly as both young Marina living through a Russian winter in the museum’s basement and as aging Marina, who can’t remember … More The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean

Book Review: The Signature of All Things

March 7, 2017

Elizabeth Gilbert is a talented author: she wrote a book with an extremely unclear plot, but one which I was compelled to finish to the 523rd page. The Signature of All Things is largely the life-long story of Alma Whittaker, the fictitious daughter of a fictitious upstart businessman who made his somewhat unscrupulous fortune through … More Book Review: The Signature of All Things

Book Review: Why Not Me?

March 4, 2017

I listened to comedian Mindy Kaling’s second book, Why Not Me? as an audiobook rather than reading the text. I preferred the audio because Kaling herself narrates, which makes the experience closer to having the quippy comedian in the car with you. Compared to other similar memoir-style books by female comedians like Amy Poehler and Tina … More Book Review: Why Not Me?