May 11 2017
The cover says that Militärmusik is a novel, but I suppose the main point of that designation is to relieve Wladimir Kaminer (why doesn’t he use the usual transliteration in English?) of any obligation even to pretend to be telling a true story. I mean, Militärmusik is told in the first person, the main character …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2017/05/11/militar-musik-by-wladimir-kaminer/
Dec 05 2016
The only problem with reading comics in their original single-issue format is that, if you’re like me and disorganized and somewhat absent-minded (and thus, the kind of person who finds Goodreads a godsend for its ability to help me keep track of what I’ve read and what I haven’t,) a lot of times, you don’t …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2016/12/05/fables-the-deluxe-edition-book-two-by-bill-willingham-et-al/
Jul 13 2016
Found this on my kitchen table this morning, likely unearthed by someone else in my family. Quick, delightful read centering on a six year-old in Japan and her daily life with her father, neighbors and friends. I thought the kids’ extortion of Jumbo at the Bon festival especially hilarious. Was also impressed by the clean …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2016/07/13/yotsuba-vol-03-by-kiyohiko-azuma/
Mar 12 2016
Partway through reading this delightful romp of a boarding school tale, I realized that my entire consumption of the genre to date has been nearly exclusively female-centric, starring Enid Blyton’s St Clare’s and Mallory Towers series (of course,) with a side of Elinor Brent-Dyer’s Chalet School and a soupcon of American tales, including the delightful …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2016/03/12/mike-at-wrykyn-by-p-g-wodehouse/
Mar 04 2016
Originally read this back in 2008, but picked it up to re-read before loaning it to my darling bff. Brilliant book: funny, topical, with a good mystery and courtroom/romantic drama to boot. There are several awfully convenient coincidences, but they don’t distract from the over-all worth of the story. I didn’t realize when I picked …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2016/03/04/rumpole-and-the-reign-of-terror-by-john-mortimer/
Feb 17 2016
The bff and I are both big fans of Wodehousian humor, so while trawling a Best-Of list last year, I stumbled across a glowing review of this novel, recently out in paperback, and thought I’d buy us a copy. Gave it to him for Christmas, and he passed it back to me recently to read …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2016/02/17/wake-up-sir-by-jonathan-ames/
Jan 28 2016
Q: Every book has its own story about how it came to be conceived and written as it did. How did Pardon Me evolve? Pardon Me began life as an idea for a short story. I wanted to invent a rubbish British diplomat whose ineptitude would be the cause of many of history’s real …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2016/01/28/an-interview-with-james-roberts-author-of-pardon-me-a-victorian-farce/
Jan 24 2016
There are several kinds of reader who will absolutely delight in this book. One is the kind who loves a sex romp a la Benny Hill, all innuendoes and awkward hilarity. Another is the kind who loves British/European/South African history of the Victorian era, particularly as the basis for a bit of speculative historical fiction …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2016/01/24/pardon-me-a-victorian-farce-by-james-roberts/
Dec 18 2015
I really enjoyed her fiction work, so in comparison, this collection of essays seems fairly bland. It’s okay if you want to read the musings of a young, single white American woman living in New York City, but it’s nothing groundbreaking, distinctive or even particularly memorable. There’s some humor to it, but I didn’t find …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2015/12/18/i-was-told-thered-be-cake-by-sloane-crosley/
Dec 12 2015
A sweet, clever romance set around the turn of the 21st century. It’s easy to see how Lincoln could fall in love with Beth via her e-mails to her best friend: I kinda wanted her to be my best friend, too, by the end of the book (pax, Jon, I know I already have the …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2015/12/12/attachments-by-rainbow-rowell/
Al Singh
Doug Merrill
Doreen Sheridan
Emily Lauer
John Pitzel
Lars N. Goldschlager
Laura Eilers
Professor X
Robert Maedgen
Sylvere Ap Leanan
The Shire