As I said in my last review, I have not been giving myself the easiest time with my reading choices. I seem to be moving quickly from one difficult read to another, without much pause. From William Styron's troubling masterpiece Sophie's Choice, to Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar, my recent selections have hardly been uplifting. … Continue reading Review: The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
I have spoken before about my foray into the world of book groups. With two 'To-Read' stacks, consisting of 30 books still awaiting consumption, I am hesitant to place further demands on my already hectic reading schedule. But I recently stumbled upon a new group that seems to cater exactly to my tastes - the … Continue reading Review: Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
I am, by anyone's reckoning, quite the Jane Austen fanatic (a true Austenite, if you will). My numerous copies of Pride and Prejudice are extremely well thumbed, and her most recognised masterpieces hold a similarly prominent place on my bookshelf (as well as in my heart). I have, however, long neglected her less celebrated works. … Continue reading Review: Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
If my previous rants on the subject didn't already make it clear to you, censorship is something of a hot button issue with me. For any bibliophile, the banning of literary works is one of the more perverse mechanisms of oppression and social control. Unfortunately, it is a reality that exists in almost every society. … Continue reading Review: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
A few weeks ago, I had a revelation. Assisting with an advertising campaign for Hitchin British Schools (where I played the role of wife and mother very effectively), I stumbled upon the fabulous Eric T. Moore Books - a seller of secondhand, out-of-print, and antiquarian books. It is an absolute treasure trove. If I hadn't … Continue reading Review: Dracula by Bram Stoker
A couple of weeks ago in my column for The Riveter, I talked about the importance of literature in cultural exploration. As I think anyone who has occupied multiple countries will appreciate, fiction can provide an invaluable window into the historical, social, and political factors (among many others) that feed culture. When I first moved … Continue reading Review: My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk
For diligent readers of The Book Habit (otherwise known as 'mother'), this review will be noted as out-of-sync with my recent reads. Pat Barker's Regeneration has succeeded in leap-frogging the backlog of books currently awaiting review. There are two reasons for this: (1) It is a truly fantastic work that has earned priority status; and (2) My … Continue reading Review: Regeneration by Pat Barker
I am undoubtedly a Murakami convert. I finished Kafka on the Shore with a strange sense of uncertainty, ambiguous on my feelings about the novel. Rarely am I faced with this situation. But I was certain about one thing - that Kafka was fundamentally unlike any other novel that I had read. As I sat … Continue reading Review: 1Q84 Books One and Two by Haruki Murakami
My recent review of Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi left me not only with a better understanding of the Iranian experience, but also with a fairly extensive reading list. After tackling Flaubert's controversial Madame Bovary, I felt that it was time to work through Nafisi's primary novel of focus - Lolita by Vladimir … Continue reading Review: Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
After working my way through some contemporary novels, I thought it time to return to the list of classics stacked in my To Read pile. For a while now, I have been waiting for a chance (when time and taste coincide) to pick up Flaubert's celebrated masterpiece Madame Bovary. It is a book that I … Continue reading Review: Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
The Book Habit 