11 reviews 4 DEPENDS · 7 YES Who this is

• LITERARY FICTION Roundtable Demon Copperhead Barbara Kingsolver · 2022 I would not call it an easy recommendation because of the length, the violence, the addiction, and the amount of grief. A Hard Life, Told Without Looking Away DEPENDS
• NONFICTION Roundtable Into Thin Air Jon Krakauer · 1997 I finished it impressed by Krakauer's reporting and deeply unconvinced by the idea that Everest is a reasonable goal for most people who can afford the fee. The Mountain Was Not the Only Thing That Failed YES
• HISTORICAL FICTION Roundtable Lonesome Dove Larry McMurtry · 1985 That is a heavy book to spend time with, but it is an honest one. The Drive Is the Point YES
• LITERARY FICTION Roundtable Now Is Not the Time to Panic Kevin Wilson · 2022 The book earns that conclusion, even when it explains it one time too many. A Good Poster, a Bad Handoff, and a Panic That Gets Out of Scope YES
• CRIME & THRILLER Roundtable Only to Sleep: A Philip Marlowe Novel Lawrence Osborne · 2018 The case gets there by wandering, but the wandering has a destination. A Good Last Case for a Very Tired Man YES
• HORROR Roundtable Swan Song Robert R. McCammon · 1987 I finished Swan Song, and I am still not sure whether I admire it more than I distrust it. A Long Way to Go After the World Ends DEPENDS
• LITERARY FICTION Roundtable The Calamity Club Kathryn Stockett · 2026 The book occasionally overstates what its own characters have already made clear, but it earns the final feeling. A Good Story With Too Many Open Doors YES
• LITERARY FICTION Roundtable The Covenant of Water Abraham Verghese · 2023 I finished The Covenant of Water, and I am glad I did. A Big Book That Earns Most of Its Space YES
• HISTORICAL FICTION Roundtable The Nightingale Kristin Hannah · 2015 I ended up respecting The Nightingale more than I enjoyed it. A Strong Story That Does Not Know When to Stop DEPENDS
• CLASSICS Roundtable The Razor's Edge W. Somerset Maugham · 1944 But its practical counterarguments are strong, its secondary characters are memorable, and its best scenes understand that people rarely choose between good and bad. A Good Argument With a Problem It Never Solves YES
• NONFICTION Roundtable Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance Robert M. Pirsig · 1974 Read this if you are interested in the relationship between work, attention, technology, and identity, and if you can tolerate a narrator who keeps turning a useful observation into a complete philosophy of the universe. A Good Manual Buried Under a Lot of Philosophy DEPENDS

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