Tag Archives: divinity

We Are On Our Own, by Miriam Katin

Posted on May 8, 2009 by Thistle

Random note: This was my first review on The Zen Leaf (original) instead of 5-Squared. And God said: Let there be light, and there was light…and it was good. And then one day, God replaced the light with darkness. We … Continue reading →

Posted in 2009, Adult, Visual | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The Sea of Monsters, by Rick Riordan

Posted on April 8, 2009 by Thistle

This is book two of the Percy Jackson series. I read The Lightning Thief in February, and am just now getting to the first sequel of the series (with my son’s encouragement). In this book, which starts the summer after … Continue reading →

Posted in 2009, Children's, Prose | Tagged , | 3 Comments

The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho

Posted on March 25, 2009 by Thistle

I imagine this book isn’t for everyone. It’s more of a parable than a story, the language is almost semi-Biblical in tone (it’s a translation from Portuguese, but I imagine the tone is similar in the original), the events are … Continue reading →

Posted in 2009, Adult, Prose | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Habibi, by Naomi Shihab Nye

Posted on March 16, 2009 by Thistle

Did people who committed acts of violence think their victims and their victims’ relatives would just forget? Didn’t people see? How violence went on and on like a terrible wheel? Could you stand in front of a wheel to make … Continue reading →

Posted in 2009, Prose, Young Adult | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Sky Burial, by Xinran

Posted on February 16, 2009 by Thistle

This book was surprisingly captivating, interesting, and fast. I began to read it last night, and within an hour, I’d gone through the first quarter. The book is sort of a memoir-in-proxy. Xinran is a journalist, and in 1994 met … Continue reading →

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Ella Minnow Pea, by Mark Dunn

Posted on February 4, 2009 by Thistle

[For ease of reading this book review, every instance of the word “letter” will refer to notes people write to each other, and “character” will mean a letter of the alphabet. I won’t use the word “letter” to refer to … Continue reading →

Posted in 2009, Adult, Prose | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan

Posted on February 2, 2009 by Thistle

Between ADHD, dyslexia, and a pretty defiant attitude, Percy Jackson has always had problems in school. In fact, he can’t make it more than a year in any single school. But in sixth grade, his problems get worse when mythological … Continue reading →

Posted in 2009, Children's, Prose | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Protected: American Gods, by Neil Gaiman

Posted on November 11, 2008 by Thistle

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

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In the Land of Invisible Women, by Qanta A. Ahmed

Posted on October 23, 2008 by Thistle

I hardly know what to say about this book. I’ve been trying to read it for the last two weeks, and though it’s only 437 pages long, I struggled to get through it. I don’t want to say it’s a … Continue reading →

Posted in 2008, Adult, Prose | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood

Posted on October 13, 2008 by Thistle

Spoilers. Better never means better for everyone, he says. It always means worse, for some. This book comes so highly recommended that I feel bad saying the dreaded words: I didn’t like it. I wanted to like it. But I … Continue reading →

Posted in 2008, Adult, Prose | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment