Category Archives: 101greatreads

The burning room by Michael Connelly (Orion)

Posted on November 17, 2015 by drewsmith28

“Deep down Bosch knew the dead were the dead and they no longer suffered the cruelties of life.” I lIKE Harry, he is the sort of detective you might want on your block, ex-Vietnam ‘gator, single parent, coffee obsessive, jazz-listener, … Continue reading →

Posted in 101greatreads, fiction | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

A brief history of seven killings by Marlon James (Oneworld)

Posted on October 23, 2015 by drewsmith28

“I know I was fourteen. That me know. I also know that too many people talk too much, especially the American who never shut up, just switch to a laugh every time he talk ’bout you, and it sound strange … Continue reading →

Posted in 101greatreads, fiction | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Nora Webster by Colm Toibin (Penguin)

Posted on October 21, 2015 by drewsmith28

“You must be fed up with them. Will they never stop coming?” WE are back in Enniscorthy on the south east tip of Ireland midway between Dublin and Cork. We have already met Nora tangentially in Brooklyn. Eilis’s mother called … Continue reading →

Posted in 101greatreads, fiction | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

So you don’t get lost in the neighbourhood by Patrick Modiano (Maclehose)

Posted on October 2, 2015 by drewsmith28

“Almost nothing. Like an insect bite that initially strikes you as very slight. At least that is what you tell yourself in a low voice so as to reassure yourself.” THE perfect novel, I might speculate, would be 155 pages … Continue reading →

Posted in 101greatreads, fiction | Tagged , | 1 Comment

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara (Picador)

Posted on September 15, 2015 by drewsmith28

“The eleventh apartment had only one closet, but it did have a sliding glass door that opened onto a small balcony, from which he could see a man sitting across the way, outdoors in only a T shirt and shorts … Continue reading →

Posted in 101greatreads, fiction | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Blood, bones and butter by Gabrielle Hamilton (Vintage)

Posted on June 8, 2015 by drewsmith28

“We threw a party. The same party every year, when I was a kid. It was a spring lamb roast, and we roasted four or five whole little guys who each weighed only about forty pounds over an open fire … Continue reading →

Posted in 101greatreads, Biography | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The Gathering by Anne Enright (Vintage)

Posted on June 1, 2015 by drewsmith28

“I would like to write down what happened in my grandmother’s house the summer I was eight or nine, but I am not sure if it really did happen.” THE back cover copy on my edition says that this 2007 … Continue reading →

Posted in 101greatreads, Biography, fiction | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman (Simon & Schuster)

Posted on May 21, 2015 by drewsmith28

“You would think it would be impossible to find anything new in the world, creatures no man has seen before, one-of-a-kind oddities in which nature has taken a backseat to the coursing pulse of the fantastical and the marvelous.” STORY … Continue reading →

Posted in 101greatreads, fiction | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (Vintage)

Posted on April 28, 2015 by drewsmith28

  “It was 7 minutes after midnight. The dog was lying on the grass in the middle of the lawn in front of Mrs Shear’s house.” On first reading of Mark Haddon’s Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time … Continue reading →

Posted in 101greatreads, Biography, fiction | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sapiens, a brief history of humankind by Yuval Noah Harari (Harvill Secker)

Posted on April 9, 2015 by drewsmith28

“About 13.3 billion years ago, matter, energy, time and space came into being in what is known as the Big Bang.” YOU will like this one. It is about you. Us. The master species. The wise ones.  Dr Harari’s middle … Continue reading →

Posted in 101greatreads, Non fiction | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment