Book reviews from The Roanoke Times
A BIG LITTLE LIFE: A MEMOIR OF A JOYFUL DOG. By Dean Koontz. Hyperion. 288 pages. $24.99 - 11/22/2009
Dramatized history - 11/22/2009
County portrait in full detail - 11/22/2009
Backcountry in a new light - 11/22/2009
FICTION - 11/22/2009
Meet an author - 11/22/2009
BEST- SELLERS - 11/22/2009
Being a champ - 11/22/2009
Beauty in a hostile world - 11/15/2009
A dog's-eye view of nature at night - 11/15/2009
WHEN AUTUMN LEAVES. By Amy Foster. Overlook. 304 pages. $14.95 - 11/15/2009
Ghost story not up to snuff - 11/15/2009
When New Orleans was still whole - 11/15/2009
Disaster can be sweet - 11/15/2009
MEMOIR - 11/15/2009
Dark teen novel includes paranormal romance - 11/8/2009
"Books are not made for furniture, but there is nothing else that so beautifully furnishes a house." - 11/8/2009
Research into words reveals delicious mystery - 11/8/2009
Risky business - 11/8/2009
FICTION - 11/8/2009
l Book Signing - 11/8/2009
The year the war came home - 11/8/2009
SHORT STORIES - 11/1/2009
Creature comforts - 11/1/2009
Teen's tale told with warmth, humor - 11/1/2009
Thrills aplenty in 16th century - 11/1/2009
"Books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren't very new after all." - 11/1/2009
Supernaturally funny - 11/1/2009
A worthy spiritual journey - 11/1/2009
The perfect heroine in tragic times - 10/25/2009
"I pay the rent. What do you do?" - 10/25/2009
Horror flicks as sociology - 10/25/2009
Coffee, tea, then equality - 10/25/2009
Tale is a thorough haunting - 10/25/2009
FICTION - 10/25/2009
Where the wild things weren't - 10/18/2009
The Perks of Being a Wallflower - 10/18/2009
Expert advice for new moms - 10/18/2009
Tale of paranormal is unnerving - 10/4/2009
NONFICTION - 10/4/2009
Barnyard fairy tale has an important lesson - 10/4/2009
THE NIGHT MONSTER. By James Swain. Ballantine Books. 336 pages. $26 - 10/4/2009
Capital entertainment - 10/4/2009
A different wartime rescue - 10/4/2009
Costly errors - 9/13/2009
A pleasant surprise - 9/13/2009
Koontz thriller is good escapism - 9/13/2009
FICTION - 9/13/2009
"The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page." - 9/13/2009
Turning away from vengeance - 9/13/2009
Reader's patience is ultimately rewarded - 9/13/2009
Too much finger-pointing - 8/30/2009
Evolution of a comics master - 8/30/2009
Teens take a revealing road trip - 8/30/2009
ONE FIFTH AVENUE. By Candace Bushnell. Voice. 464 pages. $15.99 - 8/30/2009
NONFICTION - 8/30/2009
"Everything in the world exists in order to end up as a book." - 8/30/2009
Easy summer romance - 8/23/2009
Trouble in wine country - 8/23/2009
The aunt from beyond - 8/23/2009
Joy, wonder in taking control of fear - 8/23/2009
Collection reveals image in the making - 8/23/2009
Family drama rich in detail - 8/23/2009
FICTION - 8/23/2009
DEBT-PROOF YOUR KIDS, by Mary Hunt. DPL Press. 210 pages. $14.99 - 8/16/2009
No thrills in flaccid 'Fugitive' - 8/16/2009
3 pivotal weeks led to Allied win - 8/16/2009
Ads in books? - 8/16/2009
'Julia' cleans up 'Julie' among readers - 8/16/2009
Back-to-school fun with Junie B. - 8/16/2009
NONFICTION - 8/16/2009
Motherhood as an epic journey - 8/9/2009
May I recommend ... - 8/9/2009
A powerful novel of Appalachia - 8/9/2009
Author Mollie Cox Bryan book signing - 7/26/2009
Witches' coming-of-age series continues - 7/26/2009
Book review: "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" - 7/26/2009
Book review: 'Gold of Kings' - 7/26/2009
'Wife' ultimately disappoints - 7/19/2009
A fun and mindless read - 7/19/2009
'The Girls From Ames' - 7/19/2009
The inspiring 'Fire Chaplain Father' - 7/19/2009
May I recommend ... - 7/19/2009
Touch-and-feel book is tops - 7/19/2009
Rural rewards - 7/12/2009
'Star' may outshine classics - 7/12/2009
Another fine beach vacation romp - 7/12/2009
Tale of witchcraft casts spell - 7/12/2009
'I Have Fun Everywhere I Go' a fun peek - 7/12/2009
What a difference a summer can make - 7/12/2009
Political fiction echoes today's headlines - 7/5/2009
A year of upheaval, transformation - 7/5/2009
"My Sister's Keeper," by Jodi Picoult. Washington Square Press. 448 pages. $16 - 7/5/2009
History owns up to our dark sideWhere can you go to beat the summer heat and better yourself ? - 7/5/2009
Factual inaccuracies mar tale of young lives in rural U.S. - 7/5/2009
Like 'X-Men' meets '1984,' and loads of fun - 6/28/2009
May I Recommend... THE TENTH MUSE: My Life in Food, by Judith Jones. - 6/28/2009
First in a series - 6/28/2009
A thriller with imagination, depth - 6/28/2009
Lessons from Dad - 6/21/2009
Minor character gets his own novel - 6/21/2009
Not every goodbye has to be sad - 6/21/2009
Economic upheaval tough for authors - 6/21/2009
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - 6/21/2009
Lehrer's WWII novel disappoints - 6/14/2009
Thriller just the thing for summer - 6/14/2009
Coming-of-age tale full of suspense - 6/14/2009
No home run - 6/14/2009
The ultimate how-to book on friendship - 6/14/2009
"LIFE With Father," by the editors of LIFE Magazine. Life. 91 pages. $17.95 - 6/14/2009
'Scarecrow' is great Connelly - 6/14/2009
Family ties - 6/7/2009
A tale of two Wills - 6/7/2009
"A Good Dog" is a good read - 6/7/2009
Memoir is a screaming good time - 6/7/2009
Best sellers 6/7/2009 - 6/7/2009
Simplicity charms - 6/7/2009
'Splendor' is gone from history comics - 6/7/2009
Scandal! Love triangle! - 5/31/2009
Snarky, time-traveling bugle boy saves the day, despite himself - 5/31/2009
Life after murder - 5/31/2009
FICTION - 5/31/2009
Vegetarian authors - 5/31/2009
Ivy-covered tale ends in surprise - 5/31/2009
Libraries' book sale today in Roanoke - 5/24/2009
Memorial Day reading - 5/24/2009
Keys to a legendary treasure - 5/24/2009
"What do you do with a general when he stops being a general?" - 5/24/2009
A work of craft, imagination - 5/24/2009
NONFICTION - 5/24/2009
How a hero struck out - 5/17/2009
A girl's hard work on a farm - 5/17/2009
Story of a quest is one to cherish - 5/17/2009
The battle for believers: recalling Jerry Falwell - 5/17/2009
Children of a war-torn nation - 5/10/2009
May we recommend - 5/10/2009
Women we can admire and mourn - 5/10/2009
May I recommend... - 5/3/2009
In praise of those who set the stage for change - 5/3/2009
Reporter was Nebula contender - 5/3/2009
He survived to write the tale - 5/3/2009
Bookends: May 3 - 5/3/2009
Coming soon: Fiction - 5/3/2009
All about Uncle Shelby - 4/26/2009
Updike's last poems - 4/26/2009
Poetry portends planetary doom - 4/26/2009
Author breathes new life into Bard's sonnets - 4/26/2009
Steering through love, loss - 4/26/2009
Book sheds light on Martinsville publisher's family - 4/19/2009
Understanding the male mentality - 4/19/2009
"Good books are the warehouses of ideas." - 4/19/2009
Insight into anorexia, minus cliches - 4/19/2009
When girls are tormentors - 4/12/2009
Pair of garden designers share story of creating, sustaining their own plot - 4/12/2009
Entertaining glimpse of wagon train life - 4/5/2009
Chick lit with brains - 4/5/2009
A disappointing case of deja vu - 4/5/2009
South Africa is backdrop for well-told, brutal tale - 4/5/2009
Hoops book lacks heft - 4/5/2009
May I recommend..."Magic Time" by Doug Marlette - 4/5/2009
'Palace' holds little intrigue - 3/29/2009
The Becky Thatcher that Twain never knew - 3/29/2009
Playboy to patriarch - 3/29/2009
Ex-Dodgers boss gets sympathetic bio - 3/29/2009
'Skinny Bitch' an offensive, profanity-laden attack - 3/29/2009
A Southern morality tale - 3/22/2009
Faeries & fascination - 3/22/2009
May I recommend ... Coffee Love: 50 Ways to Drink your Java - 3/22/2009
Radford professor receives environmental award - 3/22/2009
A fragile family in crisis - 3/22/2009
What we're reading - 3/22/2009
Literary blend of medicine, mystery - 3/22/2009
A vivid portrait of India - 3/22/2009
A haunting story of New Orleans - 3/15/2009
Flannery O'Connor: Mysterious misfit - 3/15/2009
Depths and secrets of the Southern belle - 3/15/2009
Kids corner: Time to learn a valuable lesson - 3/15/2009
BOOKS & TALKS - 3/9/2009
A fine Norwegian import - 3/8/2009
Taking a stand - 3/8/2009
THE RISE AND FALL OF THE THIRD REICH - 3/8/2009
Murders, at a breakneck pace - 3/8/2009
Bus trip to Va. Festival of the Book is March 21 - 3/8/2009
The Bookworms - 3/8/2009
Life among the tombstones - 3/8/2009
100 sites that soar - 3/1/2009
The perfect golf trip - 3/1/2009
A 'picture bride's' story - 3/1/2009
Where the elite eat - 3/1/2009
A quick fix for Potterheads - 3/1/2009
"Seasons and Color of the Appalachian Mountains" - 3/1/2009
FICTION - 3/1/2009
'More than just a coach' - 2/22/2009
A honey of a tale - 2/22/2009
An American classic reprinted - 2/22/2009
All the buzz about Cece Bell - 2/22/2009
Screen gems of the rich, famous - 2/22/2009
A list of the top purchases at Barnes & Noble, Tanglewood, provided by assistant manager Robert Ball: - 2/22/2009
BEST- SELLERS - 2/22/2009
LETTERS FROM RAPUNZEL - 2/22/2009
Inside an American family feud - 2/15/2009
BOOKENDS - 2/15/2009
'Plum' is some fun - 2/15/2009
Mythology of Mount Vernon - 2/15/2009
May I recommend ... 'Dreamers of the Day' - 2/15/2009
FICTION - 2/15/2009
New perspective on the Pacific Theater - 2/8/2009
'Morning Joe' host has book out in May - 2/8/2009
A wild ride - 2/8/2009
Another Trigiani triumph - 2/8/2009
Not your normal, mundane history - 2/8/2009
BOOKENDS - 2/8/2009
FICTION - 2/8/2009
ABUNDANCE: A Novel of Marie Antoinette - 2/8/2009
For whom the bell tolls - 2/1/2009
Who was John Lennon? - 1/25/2009
Singular Va. figure brought to light - 1/25/2009
The top purchases at Cantos Booksellers in downtown Roanoke; list provided by owner Catherine Procopio: - 1/25/2009
CHILDREN'S BOOK - 1/25/2009
About the Caldecott Medal - 1/25/2009
Reading by Carrie Brown - 1/25/2009
BOOKENDS - 1/25/2009
Retire? Never! - 1/18/2009
All about the 7th day - 1/18/2009
King's unfulfilled radicalism - 1/18/2009
Dark, dark humor - 1/18/2009
"Twelve Terrible Things," by Marty Kelley - 1/18/2009
Book events - 1/18/2009
Bookends - 1/18/2009
Interpreting Obama's 'Dreams' - 1/11/2009
Sisters make double trouble - 1/11/2009
A murder mystery to lose sleep over - 1/11/2009
Fisher keeps writing, laughing - 1/11/2009
Short takes - 1/4/2009
Bookends - 1/4/2009
Meet the author of "Blue Ridge Chronicles" - 1/4/2009
A harrowing spy mission behind Nazi lines - 12/28/2008
Analysis of a dancer - 12/28/2008
A difficult coming-of-age - 12/28/2008
Murder in Va.'s wine country - 12/28/2008
High drama amid international diplomacy - 12/28/2008
A memoir and meditation on death - 12/28/2008
Roaring good presidential portrait - 12/14/2008
How to start your own holiday family traditions - 12/14/2008
Another winning romance from Nicholas Sparks - 12/14/2008
23rd in a series disappoints - 12/14/2008
Terrier turns on the charm - 12/14/2008
Book signing - 12/14/2008
A fascinating tale of bats - 12/14/2008
Extra! Extra! A colorful history - 12/7/2008
An affecting portrait of a family in crisis - 12/7/2008
Another Morrison masterpiece - 12/7/2008
Murder spills the ink in their veins - 12/7/2008
Profiles of assassins and inept, fame-seeking killers - 12/7/2008
Celebrating a local treasure: the Blue Ridge Parkway - 11/30/2008
The wonders of English letters and words: Alphabet Juice - 11/30/2008
A holiday visit to charming Ballybucklebo - 11/30/2008
Two heroes of 19th-century American history - 11/30/2008
Books that influenced Jefferson - 11/23/2008
Books: Best sellers (Nov. 23, 2008) - 11/23/2008
In command of the Union navy - 11/23/2008
The last of a popular science-fiction series? - 11/23/2008
Volunteer work in Haiti - 11/23/2008
Another era of challenges - 11/23/2008
A controversial filmmaker: Roman Polanski - 11/23/2008
The origins of our words - 11/16/2008
Who owns priceless works of art? - 11/16/2008
Two women and the Elgin Marbles - 11/16/2008
Two historic roads - 11/16/2008
Great men and a great city - 11/9/2008
A biography built on gossip columns - 11/9/2008
Alex Hawke turns spy in Russia - 11/9/2008
A social history of post-WWII America - 11/9/2008
The Chrysler Museum - 11/9/2008
The real Cleopatra - 11/2/2008
An important book on the Valley Campaign - 11/2/2008
Legendary bootlegger and robber - 11/2/2008
Essays about World War I - 11/2/2008
A courtroom thriller - 11/2/2008
Trouble in the mayor's office - 11/2/2008
BOOKSHow to become a better citizen - 10/26/2008
A continuation of 'Gilead' - 10/26/2008
Rating the presidents, again - 10/26/2008
Thomas Jefferson in retirement - 10/26/2008
Virginia's living treasures - 10/19/2008
Historical fiction about moonshine - 10/19/2008
Meeting the challenges of urban schools - 10/19/2008
Keeping the art in medicine - 10/19/2008
A novel of the British opium trade in China - 10/19/2008
BOOKSA love story in two dimensions - 10/12/2008
Back on the hunt with Sister Jane - 10/12/2008
Reminiscences of a Southern life - 10/12/2008
From Romania to America and back - 10/12/2008
A green travel journal - 10/12/2008
BEST SELLERS - 10/12/2008
Survivors of the storm - 10/5/2008
A failure of the American Dream - 10/5/2008
From Lane Stadium to Special Forces - 9/28/2008
Pope's choice of silence resonates - 9/28/2008
Ramsey case inspires corrosive social satire - 9/28/2008
Historical comic strip collection is past due - 9/28/2008
Political satire - 9/28/2008
A stroll with the nosy Isabel - 9/28/2008
Book pools the acquired wisdom of working moms - 9/22/2008
BOOK CALENDAR - 9/22/2008
Secularism and religion's prospect - 9/21/2008
Psychological thunder clouds - 9/21/2008
Rollicking with two country musicians - 9/21/2008
A novel of the Civil War - 9/21/2008
Son writes a moving family memoir - 9/21/2008
The making of modern India - 9/14/2008
The making of a literary classic - 9/14/2008
Seeking the simple life - 9/14/2008
Showdown at Poplar Forest - 9/14/2008
The girl who became queen - 9/14/2008
An epic love unites East and West - 9/7/2008
Intrigue on a Shenandoah Valley farm - 9/7/2008
Book Bulletin -- Historical resource once again available - 9/7/2008
The joys of nocturnal wildlife-watching - 9/7/2008
The story of the fake Vermeers - 9/7/2008
Book Calendar: Week of Sept. 1 - 9/1/2008
A primer of Jungian psychology - 8/31/2008
Much more than a thriller - 8/31/2008
From 'Dukes of Hazzard' to Congress - 8/31/2008
More memoir than novel - 8/31/2008
Struggles and joys of farming - 8/31/2008
Fly-fishing essays - 8/24/2008
State-promoted violence in Russia - 8/24/2008
Dark secrets and a socially poignant tale - 8/24/2008
A patriot argues the arguments - 8/24/2008
Troubles follow Robicheaux to Montana - 8/24/2008
Law, justice in Patrick County - 8/17/2008
Best sellers: Week of Aug. 17 - 8/17/2008
A lasting gift to all of us - 8/17/2008
Franklin and Eleanor trivialized - 8/17/2008
The art of modern animation - 8/17/2008
War's effect on generations of family - 8/17/2008
How Stephen Coonts got his groove back - 8/10/2008
Dog and man and hopes and dreams - 8/10/2008
New England's surprising history - 8/10/2008
Book Bulletin - 8/10/2008
A magical tale of East and West - 8/10/2008
Best sellers: Week of Aug. 10 - 8/10/2008
Myths of the Great Wall - 8/10/2008
