Category: From My Bookshelf – Lynn Willoughby

  • From My Bookshelf: Jim Fergus

    From My Bookshelf: Jim Fergus

    By Lynn Willoughby The Memory of Love ~ Jim Fergus A Colorado cowboy wants to enlist to fight in WWI. He leaves on horseback to get passage on a ship to France. He and Crazy Horse seem to lead a charmed life amid the rain of bullets and incendiary devices, and so the legend of…

  • From My Bookshelf: Holly Quan

    From My Bookshelf: Holly Quan

    By Lynn Willoughby The Sow’s Ear Cafe ~ Holly Quan The setting for this novel is the Black Diamond, Turner Valley, Longview area.  That is what captured my interest.  As I did more digging I found out the Sow’s Ear Cafe was located in the old Wray McRae building in Turner Valley.  How great to read…

  • From My Bookshelf: Alex George

    From My Bookshelf: Alex George

    By Lynn Willoughby Setting Free the Kites ~ Alex George This novel is something of a coming of age story.  Nathan and Robert meet in the eighth grade and an unlikely friendship forms.  Neither is fearless, they are lonely, friendless and Robert is continually cautious.  No matter – they are inseparable. There are two family…

  • From My Bookshelf: Stephen King

    From My Bookshelf: Stephen King

    By Lynn Willoughby The Outsider ~ Stephen King When I tell people I am a fan of Stephen King they don’t believe me.  Yes, his early writing was pure sci fi, but in the last fifteen years or so I can’t wait to read anything written by him.  He gets into my head like no…

  • From My Bookshelf: Laurie Frankel

    From My Bookshelf: Laurie Frankel

    By Lynn Willoughby This is How it Always Is ~ Laurie Frankel This novel was recommended to me and I loved it.  Much like “The Rosie Project” by Graeme Simsion, it deals with a difficult subject yet has moments that are hysterically funny. Claude is the youngest son of Rosie and Penn.  The older four…

  • From My Bookshelf: David Sedaris

    From My Bookshelf: David Sedaris

    By Lynn Willoughby Calypso ~ David Sedaris I love Sedaris’s writing – his quirky sense of humour, the things he observes that no one else even sees, the absurdity of life in general.  His wry pokes at his own flaws and foibles are wonderful and he can laugh at himself like no one else.  This…

  • From My Bookshelf: Elizabeth George

    From My Bookshelf: Elizabeth George

    By Lynn Willoughby The Punishment She Deserves: A Lynley Novel~ Elizabeth George I don’t read a lot of thrillers, but have always enjoyed the novels of Elizabeth George.  They are convoluted, with many intricate details and almost impossible to figure out the conclusion.  This book did not disappoint. Ian Druitt is a respected Deacon of…

  • From My Bookshelf: Jane Shemilt

    From My Bookshelf: Jane Shemilt

    By Lynn Willoughby The Daughter ~ Jane Shemilt What to say about this novel?  We have what seems to be the perfect family – the mom a GP, married to a highly successful neurosurgeon, three teenagers and a dog. Naomi, who is fifteen and the star in her school play, leaves to head to the…

  • From My Bookshelf: Lisa Genova

    From My Bookshelf: Lisa Genova

    By Lynn Willoughby Every Note Played ~ Lisa Genova The genre of this book is “medial fiction.”  Like Genova’s other books, she spares none of the ghastly details and the loss of control of bodily functions and dignity when living with ALS.  Genova herself is a neuroscientist and her knowledge and research is impeccable.  But…

  • From My Bookshelf: Isabel Allende

    From My Bookshelf: Isabel Allende

    By Lynn Willoughby In the Midst of Winter ~ Isabel Allende There is a huge snowfall in Brooklyn and Professor Richard Bowmaster – a 60 year old human rights scholar, rear ends the car of Evelyn Ortega.  While this is an inconvenience, Bowmaster leaves his contact information and heads home. Later that evening, however, Evelyn…

  • From My Bookshelf: Thomas King

    From My Bookshelf: Thomas King

    By Lynn Willoughby The Back of the Turtle ~ Thomas King This award winning Canadian author has not written a book I have not enjoyed.  They are not wildly exciting, there are no unexpected twists or tragic heroes.  They are character driven and one never has to look back to see who this person is…

  • From My Bookshelf: Martin Walker

    From My Bookshelf: Martin Walker

    By Lynn Willoughby The Caves of Perigord ~ Martin Walker This novel covers a lot of ground.  It is part mystery, partly a war story and also the story of prehistoric men painting on caves.  It should have been great, but honestly, I was underwhelmed. The parts I liked best were actually about Deer and…

  • From My Bookshelf: Graeme Simsion and Anne Buist

    From My Bookshelf: Graeme Simsion and Anne Buist

    By Lynn Willoughby Two Steps Forward ~ Graeme Simsion and Anne Buist “A funny and profound book about being comfortable with who you are and what you are good at….”  Bill Gates Martin and Zoe don’t know each other.  Martin is English, Zoe is American.  They each commit to walking the centuries old pilgrim route…

  • From My Bookshelf: Bill Browder

    From My Bookshelf: Bill Browder

    By Lynn Willoughby Red Notice ~ Bill Browder I generally read fiction, but when someone not only recommends a book – but actually hands it to me, I read it.  And I am glad I did. While Browder is a financier, not a writer, this work is not too technical and moves along at a…

  • From My Bookshelf: Amulya Malladi

    From My Bookshelf: Amulya Malladi

    By Lynn Willoughby The House for Happy Mothers ~ Amulya Malladi The ethics and emotions of surrogacy are the theme of this novel.  And the surrogacy market in India is the locale.  Is it exploitive?  Is there a win-win? Priya is a second generation woman living in the trendy Silicon Valley.  She has a loving…