Sometimes you just stumble upon a book that looks simple but turns out to be a really funny read.  That’s how I felt about Liz Climo’s works and now that’s how I feel about Carla Butwin’s If Animals Could Talk. Using animals, Butwin takes our preconceived notions of them and turns them on their head.  Irreverently funny, Butwin plays on words and the characteristics we place on certain animals. While it may look like a read aloud for your kids, I would not recommend it.  […]

I hadn’t read anything by Sherman Alexie until this book.  My wife is a huge fan of his and had picked this up from the library.  It looked interesting and based on her recommendation, I had been wanting to read from his oeuvre.  Thunder Boy Jr  is about a boy, about 7, who’s starting to realize his place in his family. In particular, he’s realizing that having the same name as your Dad isn’t what it’s cracked up to be.  The narration of the book […]

Me Before You was selected as our next book club pick by a member who’s usually picked more brainier pieces than Jojo Moyes’ hit.  I had my doubts because at first I thought this would just be chick-lit/beach read (which it was, but more later).  The member who picked it said she liked it because she wanted to spin off an intellectual conversation from the book’s discussion of assisted suicide.  We’ll see about that. First of all, as a male reader, I really don’t mind […]