Friday, November 27, 2009

Recommendations from Julie


Bringing Home the Birkin by Michael Tonello
The subtitle of this book is “My life in hot pursuit of the world’s most coveted handbag.” Of course, I had no idea what a Birkin is. Thanks to Michael Tonello I now know a lot about them—the main thing being that I’ll never own one and probably never even see one in my lifetime. The writing was very light and breezy, easy and fun to read.

Thicker Than Water by P.J. Parrish
P.J. Parrish writes quick and easy mysteries. Louis Kincaid is an engaging detective and the stories hold your attention. In this novel, a man recently released from prison is accused of murdering his lawyer.
P.J. Parrish's website.

Self’s Murder by Bernhard Schlink
The three main points of interest in this book are the time and place: Germany after the fall of the wall; and the fact that the detective is an elderly man, a former public prosecutor. The case starts out as a search for a pre-WWII bank partner but ends up a case of multiple murder. The case is multi-layered because of the state of Germany during the war, after the war and the present time. Germany has had some major events in the 20th century and it is very interesting to see the effects of these events in fiction.

Bayou by Jeremy Love
Very interesting, fantastical and sad graphic novel. It takes place in 1933 Mississippi where a black body is swinging from every tree. Lee is a little girl whose friend, a white girl, is eaten by the monster of the bayou. Lee's daddy is accused of the crime and hauled off to jail. Lee sets out to find the monster and make him give back the girl so her daddy can go free. Lee is a little girl with a lot of grit and the creatures of the bayou and of the woods are so imaginative they transport you back to childhood where there are both good and bad monsters all around us. I can't wait for vol. 2.