Books High and Low

  I really enjoyed this suspenseful thriller about a man who's trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter. Frank is a middle class ...

The Seven Dials mystery is Agatha Christie's ninth novel and second starring Superintendent Battle. Like The Secret of Chimneys , althou...

I really enjoyed this thriller by Frederick Forsyth, an author I had read more regularly back in the 1990s. I had enjoyed his work such as T...

I really enjoyed this detective story by Ian Rankin, the very popular author of the Inspector Rebus novels, set in Edinburgh, Scotland. The ...

  I've been following Salman Rushdie's story ever since he made the news with the publication of The Satanic Verses in 1988. Its pu...

  This is a fascinating history of books and reading during wartime. Focusing to a large extent on 20th century wars, primarily World Wars I...

  I first read this book as a kid when I found it in my aunt's apartment; I think it was left there by another cousin who was visiting. ...

  This is Agatha Christie's 8th novel (and 5th with Hercule Poirot). In it, Poirot tackles the murder of a wealthy woman on a luxury tra...

Agatha Christie gets the Marie Benedict treatment in this novel about Christie's 11-day disappearance in 1926. Alternating sections addr...

  I watched all of Mike Birbiglia's standup specials on Netflix last year and really enjoyed his funny, storytelling style. This book is...

  The queens of crime was my book club's April pick, and it was a good choice for me in particular since I've been reading Agatha Ch...

  The big four is billed as a Hercule Poirot mystery, but it's less of a mystery than a spy novel. It was pulled together from a series...

  I read this book for my book club a little reluctantly because I had read it before; however, I realized that I remembered so little of it...

Agatha Christie's third novel featuring Hercule Poirot has the detective in retirement (showing she didn't necessarily plan on such ...

This was an enjoyable spy thriller that takes place in the lead-up to World War II. Austrian-American actor Fredric Stahl is strong-armed by...

  This is an extraordinary study that shows how humans slowly transitioned toward the use of alphabetical order to organize all manner of th...

  I read this play in anticipation of a performance by Penn State's Centre Stage in April. It's one of Shakespeare's earlier co...

  I bought this book in the 1990s at the University of Pittsburgh bookstore when I worked at Hillman Library. I thought it would be a good w...

  In Agatha Christie's fifth mystery, down on his luck Anthony Cade travels from South Africa to London to deliver a manuscript memoir b...

  I really loved this science fiction novel by British author Adrian Tchaikovsky. Humanity is in decline, and when a virus disrupts the work...

  I have mixed feelings about this novel about three siblings, their spouses and children, and a young mother and her daughter. I had a hard...

  Agatha Christie's fourth mystery doesn't include any of her more famous detectives. The main character, Anne, is a young woman who...

I was disappointed in this novel by popular author Laura Dave. I had read another book by her and found it to be entertaining ( The night we...

In honor of Valentine's Day, I decided to read this short novel about love in its many forms. French lessons is about three French tuto...

  I really enjoyed this novel based on the true story of the discovery of an Anglo-Saxon ship burial in Sutton Hoo, England. As war approach...

  This is Agatha Christie's third mystery and her second one featuring Hercule Poirot. Although I read a lot of Christie as a teenager, ...

  I really enjoyed this fascinating and well-researched history of the finding and decoding of the Rosetta stone. After several men failed t...

  I liked this book about a group of Chinese immigrants who struggle with life and love in New York's Chinatown. The story actually span...

  I really enjoyed the second novel of Agatha Christie's. It's the first of five books starring the characters Tommy and Tuppence. I...

  I enjoyed this celebrity memoir written by actor, director, and producer Griffin Dunne. It brought to life the crazy life of his parents a...