Reviewer Spotlight

Branch: Main Library

I'm a slow reader who likes big books. The more a book stays with me after I've finished it and makes me want to talk about it to others, the more worthwhile I consider it. I appreciate the opportunity that Reader's Club gives me to spell out just what I found memorable in a book. I try to describe it so that the reader will know whether he or she will like it, not just that I like it.

I like books with bold and original ideas - books that make me look at the world in a new way. The Da Vinci Code affected me this way, and so did American Gods, by Neil Gaiman.

I also like books that create their own worlds - historical fiction above all, but a little bit of science fiction and fantasy too. Recent examples of this kind of reading include Killer Angels, A Civil Campaign, and, of course, the Harry Potter books.

I like books that really explore characters in depth - books in series can show character growth over time and in response to new experiences. I read and reread all the Aubrey-Maturin novels by Patrick O'Brian and the Palliser and Barsetshire novels of Anthony Trollope.

Given my preference for historical settings and character studies, it's no surprise that I've written reviews of biographies for Reader's Club, too. Jane Austen, in the Penguin Brief Lives series, and An Imperfect God - about George Washington are two recent examples.

Thanks, Tom!