Books Set in Australia

In a Sunburned Country, by Bill Bryson (2000)

Although a bit dated, (it was published in 2000), In a Sunburned Country is a humorous travelogue about Australia.   In addition to hearing about Bryson's travels throughout the country, he also provides a general history of the country,

Read: June 5, 2026

5 Stars

Books Set in North America; Georgia, United States

Pretty Girls, by Karin Slaughter (2025)

This novel was billed as a psychological thriller.  It's a horrible story.  The premise revolves around snuff porn and a disfunctional family.  Twenty-plus years earlier, Julia Carroll went missing and was never found.  Fast forward to present day, and Julia's younger sister, Claire, who seemingly has a perfect marriage, watches her husband murdered before her eyes.  When Paul dies, Claire reaches out to her estranged sister, Lydia, who is a former drug addict.  They are suddenly found in the midst of a snuff-porn scheme.  Is there a connection to their dead sister?

None of the characters were likeable and the premise was horrific.

I will not be reading other books by this author.

Read: May 20, 2025

2 Stars

Books Set in Europe and Asia; London, England, Turkey, and Iraq

There are Rivers in the Sky, by Elif Shafak (2024)

This is by far the best book I have read in a long time.

Read:  May 13, 2026 while in the South China Sea

5 Stars

Books Set in North America, Virginia, USA

The Perfect Marriage, by Jeneva Rose (2020)

Sarah Morgan is a high-level and successful defense lawyer.  She seems to have the perfect life with her husband, Adam.  Sarah, however, works long hours and Adam is a would-be writer with too much time on his hands.  He tries to write in their lake house, which is about an hour away from their home.  He spends most of his time there.  He runs into Kelly Summers, with whom he has an affair.  When she is found dead in his bed at the lake house, he is accused of her murder.  Sarah takes on the case to defend him.

There are lots of twists and turns in the book, but specific trial matter doesn't make sense.  That aside, it was a fun and quick read.

Read:  April 29, 2026

3 Stars

 

The Most Fun We Ever Had, by Claire Lombardo (2019)

This novel is a family saga about  David and Marilyn Sorenson and their four daughters.  The novel goes back and forth in time as we learn about the lives and struggles of this dysfunctional family.  In the "present", which is 2016 in the novel, each of the four adult daughters are struggling with live.  The eldest daughter, Wendy, seemingly has a perfect life, she dropped out of college to marry the love of her life, a wealthy man 15 years her senior.  When she is widowed young, she sought solace with a parade of men.  In her early 20's, Liza had a child whom she put up for adoption.  She later married and was a promising young attorney until she became a stay-at-home mother.  She began doubting herself and her life choices.  Liza lived with a very needy man who was more child than functioning adult.  When she became pregnant, he left her.  Finally, there was Gracie, the "epilogue" who was far younger than her sisters.  She failed to get into law school but was unable to tell her parents for fear of disappointing them.  When Liza son who had been given up 15 years earlier suddenly enters their lives, the family members must face the family secrets.

The book kept my attention, but wasn't great.

Read: April 26, 2026

3 Stars

Books Set in North America, New Orleans, Louisiana and New York

Returning: A Search for Home Across Three Centuries, by Nicholas Lemann (2026)

Read:  April 24, 2026

4 Stars

Books Set in North America, Washington State and New York City

Heart of a Stranger, by Angela Buchdahl (2025)

Heart of a Stranger is a memoir of Rabbi Angela Buchdahl.  She was born in Korea to a  Korean Buddhist mother and an American Jewish father.  When she was five-years-old, her family moved to a small town in Washington State, where she met her father's family and embraced Judaism.  Although she her mother was not Jewish, she was raised in the Jewish religion.  It wasn't until she was a teenager, that she learned that many because her mother was not Jewish, she would not be considered Jewish by all denominations.  This book follows her path to become an ordained Reform rabbi to leading one of the largest Reform synagogues in the United States.  At the end of each chapter, Rabbi Bachdahl provided a brief d'var Torah, a spiritual reflection on the preceding chapter.

The book is well written and explores her path to becoming the first Asian-American Rabbi.

Read: April 6, 2026

5 Stars