A really interesting book, which introduced me to some new authors.

Sarah Vowell is a great writer, but her earlier books were better than this one.

I appreciate Joe E's sincerity, but still this book lacks substance, somehow.

I really enjoyed this look at mob rule in Cuba. Fidel put an end to all that.

Curtis Sittenfeld is an unbelievably good writer. I would read any book she wrote.

Plimpton's zest for life comes through loud and clear in this book. I liked it.

Carole Radziwill is a good writer. Her short book, written in spare prose, really puts you in her place as she recounts the sudden loss of three loved ones, two of whom bore the last name "Kennedy."

Okay - 800+ pages is too much information about anyone, but I did get through 3/4s of this book. Dare I say it? I don't think Buffett turns out to be all that interesting.

Jhumpa Lahiri is extremely talented and deserves all the praise she has received. I liked this book very much, but I wouldn't mind it if at least some of her stories weren't so downbeat.

I've read better. That's all.

I really like Lee Childs's books, although the gore level in this one was kind of gross.

The story falls off a wee bit at the end, but it is otherwise a superb pastiche of the life of George Bush. Read it.

This book is so, so, so good. I was never that interested in the Jon Benet Ramsay saga (r.i.p.), but this novel, which echoes the Ramsay story, is brilliantly written. Good job, Joyce!

Iris Chang wrote "The Rape of Nanking," which is a great book. I was truly sorry when I heard of Iris's untimely demise. If, like me, you enjoy feeling sad sometimes (as long as it does not actually involve me in any way), then you will sadly enjoy this sympathetic, moving biography.

I wanted to like this book but I did not. A lot of lyrics but no music, if you get my drift. (pun?)

John Cheever had his ups, but he seems to have had plenty more downs. He crabbed his way through decades' worth of journal writing, then told his son to publish them. Undeniably brilliant.

I don't know if Marcia Muller has finally run out of gas, or if I have lost interest in her mysteries, but some combination of the two left me unable to finish this book.

I read this tale of a wife beater with sick fascination. Memo to Leslie: No good relationship includes punching or choking.

The research for this books appears to be impeccable, but honest-to-pete, next time how about a little bit of blue pen action. I don't need to know the name and route of every ship that Corny sailed to appreciate his achievements. Best part - Description of Corny's contribution of the SS Vanderbilt to the North during the Civil War.

Nobody needs to tell Joni Mitchell that she is in the pantheon, because she already knows it. But JM is a great artist, and I agree with her observation that only Laura Nyro belongs in her particular stratosphere. Her interviews are at least as interesting as her songs, so I loved this book. It is the best bio of JM I have read. Those who gave it three stars are just wrong.