Author Archives: Rosemary Wolfe, NoChargeBookbunch

About Rosemary Wolfe, NoChargeBookbunch

Avid reader; published writer; itinerant walker; experimental cook...

Best Kept Secret by Jeffrey Archer

Posted on May 15, 2013

The third book in Jeffery Archer’s saga of the Clifton and Barrington families – Best Kept Secret – resolves the inheritance issues from the second book, and introduces the next generation.  Sebastian, son of Emma Barrington and Harry Clifton, manages … Continue reading →

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The Great Gatsby

Posted on May 10, 2013

Before seeing the new movie version of The Great Gatsby, I wanted to reread the book.  Images of Robert Redford still emerge when I think of that West Egg mansion; before replacing them with Leo, I wanted Fitzgerald’s words again. … Continue reading →

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The Burgess Boys

Posted on May 9, 2013

From a tragic childhood incident and a headline grabbing prank turned into a hate crime, Elizabeth Strout slowly explores the subtle interactions of siblings in The Burgess Boys. Bob, a legal-aid lawyer in New York, and Susie, a divorced optometrist … Continue reading →

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Kinsella’s “Wedding Night” and Wecker’s “The Golem and the Jinni” – mood lifters

Posted on May 5, 2013

Nothing like a Sophie Kinsella novel for pure fun and games. Her latest – Wedding Night – is full of the usual ridiculous antics. When Lottie accepts a marriage proposal from an old flame on the rebound from her true … Continue reading →

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Benediction

Posted on May 3, 2013

With gentleness and respect, Kent Haruf’s Benediction examines ordinary lives in the small town of Holt in Eastern Colorado. Although this is the third book in his trilogy, following Plainsong and Evensong, this story stands on its own. Steeped in … Continue reading →

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Life After Live: A Novel

Posted on May 1, 2013

“Ursula’s life begins, ends, rewinds, begins again – and again – in Kate Atkinson’s Life After Life.   Would she ever get it right? Atkinson’s use of rewriting the same chapters cleverly demonstrates that road not travelled.  Each time Ursula … Continue reading →

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What the Family Needed

Posted on April 28, 2013

Steven Amsterdam’s What The Family Needed offers  perspective on how people cope with drama in their lives.  In a series of stories that span three decades, each focused on a member of two related families, Amsterdam gives some fantastic help … Continue reading →

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Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald

Posted on April 25, 2013

Say the name Zelda and clearly, the reference is to the legendary wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald. In Theresa Anne Fowler’s Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald, Zelda tells the story in her own voice – at times, reading like … Continue reading →

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Last Friends

Posted on April 19, 2013

One of the travel souvenirs I would have liked to have left behind – a debilitating headcold – had me seeking the comfort of hot broth and tea, and a new Jane Gardam book – “Last Friends.” Sometimes stuffed ears … Continue reading →

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Blind Spot by Barbara Shapiro

Posted on April 14, 2013

After reading Barbara Shapiro’s mystery thriller, “The Art Forger,” based on the famous art theft that is still making the news, I looked for more of her books. Her first three were out of print, but “Blind Spot” was available … Continue reading →

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Reading My Way Through Spain

Posted on April 12, 2013

Preparing for a trip can be as satisfying as traveling. As I looked forward to touring the paradores, drinking the Sangria, and eating the tapas, these books were on my Kindle: Tales of the Alhambra by Washington Irving The Blind … Continue reading →

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Kate Atkinson

Posted on April 8, 2013

Although I had Kate Atkinson’s Started Early, Took My Dog on my to-read list, my good intentions went astray and I never did read that book. Now she has a new novel, Life After Life, and the theme seems vaguely … Continue reading →

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Eat What You Read – Edible Books

Posted on April 4, 2013

The fourth annual Edible Book Contest, sponsored by the University of Hawaii library, offered readers a chance to see their favorite book covers in fondant – and eat the author’s sugary words. The Hawai‘i Edible Book Contest is part of … Continue reading →

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What Alice Forgot

Posted on March 30, 2013

A friend of mine always calculates her birthday at 29, celebrating its anniversary, and not admitting to aging beyond that age.  In Liane Moriarty’s What Alice Forgot, Alice hits her head and loses the memory of ten years just before … Continue reading →

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Travels With …

Posted on March 28, 2013

Books can vicariously take you many places, but the Smithsonian has a list of  books to inspire real travel – The Top Ten Most Influential Travel Books.   From Homer’s Odyssey to Mark Twain’s Innocents Abroad, the list also includes … Continue reading →

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