Monthly Archives: January 2011

American Gods

Posted on January 29, 2011 by

So none of this is happening. Such things could not occur. Never a word of it is literally true. Even so, the next thing that happened, happened like this: Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, unBucket Books | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Reasons to Live / The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel

Posted on January 21, 2011 by

When I go to sleep, I sleep on the side of the bed my mother used to sleep on. Sometimes, at dawn, I wake up and find myself in the pose my mother died in — lying on her side, her arm reaching from under her head as though she were doing the sidestroke in a pool, the pills she had swallowed weighing her down like so many pebbles in her pockets. Continue reading →

Posted in 1,001 Books to Read Before You Die, Fiction, Short Story, unBucket Books | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Memory Keeper’s Daughter

Posted on January 18, 2011 by

During a snowstorm in late 1964, Dr. David Henry and his wife rush to his small clinic in the middle of the night to give birth to their first child. The delivery unexpectedly produces boy / girl twins, and David immediately recognizes the signs of Down’s Syndrome in the little girl. Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, NYT Bestsellers, unBucket Books | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Girl With a Pearl Earring

Posted on January 13, 2011 by

Van Ruijevn takes an instant interest in Griet and sexually harasses her. She narrowly escapes and vows to avoid him in the future, but Van Ruijevn demands that Johannes paint the girl for him, using the commissioned portrait as a ruse to further intimidate Griet. Vermeer can hardly refuse, as his livelihood depends on giving the patrons of the arts what they desire. To make matters yet more uncomfortable, Johannes has decided that Griet should wear his wife’s beautiful pearl earrings when she sits for him. Continue reading →

Posted in Historical Fiction, NYT Bestsellers, unBucket Books | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

The Book Thief

Posted on January 3, 2011 by

Death explains that there are certain humans that he takes special notice of, and that he first saw Liesel when he came for her brother’s soul and witnessed her stealing her first book. Dubbing her “The Book Thief”, Death keeps an eye on her throughout her life as he comes for other people that she is close to. Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Historical Fiction, NYT Bestsellers, unBucket Books | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments