Brett Easton Ellis: the informers
These stories succeed brilliantly at being swarmy and uncomfortable, like the flashy cousin you never really wanted to visit.
Ann Packer: The Dive from Clausen’s Pier
A vivid, well-written novel about a young woman and her circle of friends and what happens to them when one of them, her fiance, is seriously injured in a foolish stunt that goes wrong. Great start, implausible ending.
Wallace Stegner: Angle of Repose
Stegner is a brilliant writer and this is an amazing, ambitious book–charting the entire history of the West through a Zelig- like couple whose marriage spans more than 50 years and the paraplegic 60-ish historian grandson writing their history.
Alice McDermott: Child of My Heart
McDermott’s light touch belies a more serious message in this entertaining novel about a precocious and focused 15-year old girl in a touristy beach town.
Po Bronson: What do I want to do with my life?
Okay, I confess, I haven’t started it yet, but you you know all about this one, right?
Betsy Lerner: The Forest for the Trees: An editor’s advice to writers
Serious, well-intentioned, and probably a bit too long for me.
Rosamund Stone Zander & Benjamin Zander: The Art of Possibility: Transforming Personal and Professional Life
Po Bronson probably read this one–carefully considered, luminous advice and sharing about life transitions and planning.
Robert C. Chope, Phd: Dancing Naked: Breaking through the emotional limits that keep you from the job you want
A fabulous, precise and intuitive book that approaches work from a psychological perspective. My friend Michael Fitzgerald is his neighbor and recommended it–thanks, Mike!
Brett Easton Ellis: the informers
These stories succeed brilliantly at being swarmy and uncomfortable, like the flashy cousin you never really wanted to visit.
Ann Packer: The Dive from Clausen’s Pier
A vivid, well-written novel about a young woman and her circle of friends and what happens to them when one of them, her fiance, is seriously injured in a foolish stunt that goes wrong. Great start, implausible ending.
Wallace Stegner: Angle of Repose
Stegner is a brilliant writer and this is an amazing, ambitious book–charting the entire history of the West through a Zelig- like couple whose marriage spans more than 50 years and the paraplegic 60-ish historian grandson writing their history.
Alice McDermott: Child of My Heart
McDermott’s light touch belies a more serious message in this entertaining novel about a precocious and focused 15-year old girl in a touristy beach town.
Po Bronson: What do I want to do with my life?
Okay, I confess, I haven’t started it yet, but you you know all about this one, right?
Betsy Lerner: The Forest for the Trees: An editor’s advice to writers
Serious, well-intentioned, and probably a bit too long for me.
Rosamund Stone Zander & Benjamin Zander: The Art of Possibility: Transforming Personal and Professional Life
Po Bronson probably read this one–carefully considered, luminous advice and sharing about life transitions and planning.
Robert C. Chope, Phd: Dancing Naked: Breaking through the emotional limits that keep you from the job you want
A fabulous, precise and intuitive book that approaches work from a psychological perspective. My friend Michael Fitzgerald is his neighbor and recommended it–thanks, Mike!