Big Enough Umbrella

Enjoyed the writing and enjoyed the characters, which made up for the slow-moving and unthrilling plot.

This book was just plain bizarre. It read like the daydreams of a bored and somewhat disturbed office worker in a dreary cube farm.

Engrossing and heartbreaking. I had a hard time putting it down.

Laugh-out-loud funny, and more insightful than I expected. The self-absorption of the author, while necessary for the premise of the book, was made not-annoying by honesty and well-meaning.

Witty send-up of the dark brooding classics. This would have been fun to read in my high school English class.

This thriller just didn't do it for me. The characters did not come alive as in other books by this author and while I enjoyed the look into another culture, I didn't understand a lot of the underlying plot.

An interesting premise, but overdone. The characters were a little too quirky and precious for my taste. Would be a good rainy day quick read.

The writing was lovely, but at the end of the novel nothing had really changed from the beginning -- no one had learned and certainly no one was happier..

This book was actually more interesting than its cover made it out to be. A puzzle of viewpoints and timelines, with characters that weren't entirely likeable but could be understood.

Dark and diabolical. The storytelling was superb even though it twisted and turned and never really wrapped up.

A little overwrought, but very romantic and fantastical, and I enjoyed this book up until the final few chapters, when the protagonists were finally together and the story devolved into sloppy writing and juvenile dialogue. I knew this was the first book of a planned trilogy, but in my opinion it would have been better to have a true ending and stand alone.

This romance novel made the cut as one I could read past the first couple of chapters. The characters were unique, the heroine strong and direct, the hero sufficiently smoldering, and there was a enough of a plot to flesh out the book. (tee hee, "flesh")

Not as scary a novel as I expected, but a dark and sometimes darkly humorous story of two sisters and their demented uncle living alone in a gothic old house. All the familiar pieces were there -- family secrets, mean-spirited (and dim-witted) villagers, fortune-seeking villains -- but this was entirely original and engrossing.

Interesting study of what wishing has meant throughout history and the possibilities for fulfilled wishes today. But a skeptic like me read the author's own wishing results as "decent things happen to person who already has decent life."

I was afraid this would be a crime thriller, which is not my preferred genre, but gave it a try since the author is a Baltimorean. I enjoyed the psychological aspects and the unfolding of the plot using flashbacks, but I did think the author should have stuck to one, MAYBE two, points-of-view. There were a couple of superfluous chapters in my opinion.

Fascinating insights into how our brains naturally behave in stressful situations and what we can do -- and can't do -- to influence or change our behavior and increase our chances for survival.

Great storytelling, mild horror, but almost overpowered by overly ambitious writing style.

I first read this book four years ago and I loved it. I enjoyed it just as much this time around. Check out how the author completely pulls off what is probably the trickiest of narration perspectives.

Witty and good-natured story of the impending Armageddon, botched up by all the good, evil, human and animal forces involved.

Readable romance novel with a spirited (and busty) heroine, a very manly and of course well-built hero, and some assorted friends, villains and orphans thrown in.

This novel started out tight and focused, but spread out and diffused about 1/3 of the way in. I thought a small amount of it was superfluous, but mostly I enjoyed this atmospheric story, true to the convictions, arrogances and heartbreaks of childhood. Near the end I began to suspect there would not be a neatly wrapped ending, and I was correct -- this was frustrating but probably the right call.

Genuinely scary story. The paranormal happenings were creepy enough, but probably more frightening was the psychological component, which built as the story went on to an inevitable climax.

Romance novel starring brother number two in the Mackenzie family. It was OK, although the side plot of art forgery was pretty silly.

Gripping story of time travel gone wrong. I had a hard time putting this down. I enjoyed noticing the comparisons the author drew between human nature in the Middle Ages and human nature in the not-so-distant future.

This novel was devastating and terrifying, with only just enough hope to keep you going. It was fascinating but truly disturbing to put faces onto and give stories to women in Afghanistan even in the present time, and see how what are "current events" to me have not really improved their plights.

Quick read full of anecdotes of growing up in a small Midwestern town in a large, poor family.

Humorous and loving tribute to the author's dog, while the bigger picture is a look into rural Canada in the early half of the 1900s.

Laugh-out-loud anecdotes from an engaging narrator -- the author felt like a friend.

Entertaining and thought-provoking. I really enjoyed this and rooted for better lives for all the characters.

This story of a girl whose imprisoned mother continues to have a toxic effect on her even as she suffers through a series of foster families was not easy to read, but the descriptive and artistic language drew me in and provided the glimmer of hope through the book.

This young adult novel portrayed a technologically "advanced" future where anything you want to know is available to you instantly via a chip implanted in your brain... but it comes at quite a price. I wonder if actual young adults, who have grown up in a much more connected world than I did, will find it as chilling a future as I did.

This was a perfect book for reading over a few dreary rainy nights -- if only I could have sat beside a roaring fire! Atmospheric, spooky, and full of surprises. I could hardly put it down and even when I was finished I kept going over and analyzing it in my head. Loved it.

Made absolute sense.

Although it was predictable in several places, I enjoyed this book. I thought it had more substance than The Help, which I had heard compared to it. Rather than race being the forefront of the story, I liked that the power of women was the main theme.