Rabbi Aviva Cohen is Solving Murders Again!

Book Review for "Unleavened Dead: A Rabbi Aviva Cohen Mystery" by Rabbi Ilene Schneider

Name, Rank and 8200

Book Review for "Spies, Inc.: Business Innovation from Israel's Masters of Espionage" by Stacy Perman

The REAL Chocolate Wars

Book Review for "The Emperors of Chocolate: Inside the Secret World of Hershey and Mars" by Joël Glenn Brenner

Women who Orbited Fame

Book Review for "Almost Famous Women: Stories" by Megan Mayhew Bergman.

The Science of Love

Book Review for "The Rosie Project" by Graeme Simsion

Empty Nest and/or Wishful Thinking

Book Review for "Second Honeymoon" by Joanna Trollope

A Fry-ed Life

Book Review for "The Fry Chronicles: an Autobiography" by Stephen Fry

The Scent for Infatuation

Book Review for "Nectar: A Novel of Temptation" by Lily Prior

The Army for Enlightenment

Book review for "The Brotherhood of Book Hunters" by Raphaël Jerusalmy

A novel that will stick with you

Book Review for "We are all made of Glue" by Marina Lewycka

Connecting Two Lives Lived 50 Years Apart

Book Review for "The Hand that First Held Mine" by Maggie O'Farrell

Up Close and Undivided Attention

Book Review for "Divisadero" by Michael Ondaatje

Tasty Reading

Book Review for "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café" by Fannie Flagg

My Favorite Books of 2014 - the Year of the Curmudgeon

Looking back over this past year, it seems that many of the best-loved books that came out in 2014 featured protagonists who are, essentially, grumpy old men. While almost all of them hardly ever stop frowning, reading about them will certainly put a smile on your face (or bring a tear to your eye). Here is my countdown of the top five 2014 curmudgeons, plus some non-grumpy books with women I also gave five stars to in 2014 (links to my full reviews are in the titles). 

Bringing Worlds Together

Book Review for "The Distance Between Us" by Maggie O'Farrell

Abandonment and Devotion

Book Review for "Neither Here Nor There" by Miriam Drori

A Slice of Glasgow's Darker Corners

Book Review for "The Cutting Room" by Louise Welsh

The Making of a Remarkable Woman

The Boston Girl: A Novel by Anita Diamant

A Mother and a Mystery

Book Review for "The Perfect Mother" by Nina Darnton

The Taste of Passion

Book Review for "La Cucina" by Lily Prior

So fascinating, it should be outlawed!

Book Review for "The Collected Works of Billy the Kid" by Michael Ondaatje

An Ex-Lover Ghost Story?

Book Review for "My Lover’s Lover" by Maggie O'Farrell

The Cast and Curse of Genius

Book Review for "Rodin's Lover" by Heather Webb

The Mills of Love

Review for "Adore: A Novella" by Doris Lessing

What is and what is not

Book Review for "This Should be Written in the Present Tense" by Helle Helle

Protections and Professions

Book Review for "The Betrayers" by David Bezmozgis

Precious... but that's about all

Book Review for "The Kalahari Typing School for Men" by Alexander McCall Smith

That which was gone for those that remain

Book Review for "The Living" by Léan Cullinan

Best Laid Schemes and “Rancid Clichés״

Book Review for "The Escape of Malcolm Poe" by Allison Burnett

A Portrait of an Artist

Book Review for "Notes from an Exhibition" by Patrick Gale

When Souls Collide

Book Review for "The History of Love" by Nicole Krauss

Plowing Through the Family Problems

Book Review of "A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian" by Marina Lewycka

Stories that reveal much but say little

Book Review for "White Tiger on Snow Mountain: Stories" by David Gordon

The Masters of Misogyny

Book Review for "The War on Women in Israel: How Religious Radicalism is Smothering the Voice of a Nation" by Elana Maryles Sztokman

Take the Time to Travel with This Book!

Book Review for "The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger

Cauliflower Gratin vs. Trout Amandine

Book Review for "The Author and Me" by Eric Chevillard

The Consequences of a Hand Job (Not that kind...)

Book Review for "The Fourth Hand" by John Irving

What is a "Portrait of America?"

Book Review for "Freedom: A Novel" by Jonathan Franzen

No bones about it; this is a lovely book!

Book Review for "The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold

Very Carefully, Apparently

Book Review for "How to Talk to a Widower" by Jonathan Tropper

Flavored for Deception

Book Review for "Sweetness #9: A Novel" by Stephen Eirik Clark

That Which Emerges from Her Cocoons

Book Review for "The Behaviour Of Moths" (aka "The Sister") by Poppy Adams

Rapture, Ecstasy, and Bliss from Your Kitchen

Cookbook Review for "How to Be a Domestic Goddess" by Nigella Lawson

The Sparkle and its Tarnish

Book Review for "The Objects of Her Affection" by Sonya Cobb

Beneath the Black Hats and the Wigs

Book Review for "Invisible City" by Julia Dahl

Steaming Open a Family's Pandora's Box

Book Review for "Instructions for a Heatwave" by Maggie O'Farrell

Early 20th century American Romeo and Juliette

Book Review for "Marching to Zion" by Mary Glickman

Get Roped into this Story

Book Review for "The Shipping News" by Annie Proulx

Get Kissed by Kate and her Stories!

Book Review for "Me: Stories of My Life" by Katharine Hepburn

A Fictional Dismantling of the British Royal Family

Book Review for "The Queen and I" by Sue Townsend