"Elsewhere" edited by Eliot Weinberger *****

• Poetry
• Japan, Haiti, Portugal, Senegal, Chile, Germany, Mexico, Turkey, Nicaragua, Austria, France, Spain
• Originally published by Open Letter in 2014
• Review:  Fantastic!  A book of poetry by poets from around the world, all of which are written about being "elsewhere".  Poems about Paris by a Chilean, a Japanese, and an Andean.  Better yet, each poem is followed by a brief biographical note about the poet and if he was affiliated with a particular school of poetry.  Only question....why no women?  Other than the gender issue, this collection is a gem!!

"The Testing of Luther Albright" by MacKenzie Bezos

• Audio book
• Originally published 2005
  
• US author

●  Review:  I think the best way to describe this novel is as a series of tests. Stability tests are run on dams after earthquakes. Just so are parents tested as children become adolescents and young adults. Just so are couples tested as they change over time. Tremors and after shocks test the stability of relationships. In this story, Luther Albright tries to fit his emotional world into his engineer's orderly framework. Frankly, the reader's patience is tested a bit too by Luther's/the author's pedantic process.

"The Transcriptionist" by Amy Rowland. *****

• Review:  Fabulous debut novel! Witty, dark, existential.....these are the first adjectives which come to mind after reading this book straight through. I could not put it down! The terror of alienation strikes the soul of a young woman as she tries to find a self in a world full of horrifying news. The characters are engaging, the plot is unique, and the author's use of language is memorable! Well done!
• Publication scheduled for 2014
• US author
• Early Reviewer edition

"My Own Miraculous" by Joshilyn Jackson ****

• Audiobook
• Novella
• US author
• Originally published in 2013
• Review:  What a charming novella!  This is, pure and simple, about maturing into adulthood, parenthood, and love.  Simply told, and well done! 

"Dust" by Patricia Cornwell **

●  Audiobook
●  #21 in the Kay Scarpetta series
●  US author
●  Originally published in 2013

Review:  What a terrible disappointment.  I have been a loyal fan of the Kay Scarpetta series.  Now she has become a hardened and embittered character.  Her cynicism is perhaps appropriate to the character, but she is no longer likable for me.  If this is the outcome of a life such as hers, it is truly a pity.  I will no longer follow this series......sad, but true!

"Ruby" by Cynthia Bond ****

• Early Reviewer edition for LibraryThing.com
• US author
• Scheduled publication 2014
• Review:  This is an Early Review edition of the novel, "Ruby".  I think Cynthia Bond is a wonderful writer.  Her use of language and phrasing were lovely!  This is a haunting tale set in rural Texas.  Two exquisitely sensitive young people are traumatized as children and then find one another as adults.  Despite the religious and social roadblocks they encounter, they realize their love.  This is not the Hatfields and McCoys, nor is it Romeo and Juliet.  This story is uniquely its own in a manner which is mystical, loving, and somehow rings deeply true.  There is sexual violence which is difficult to bear, but the core of this story is about love, and that makes the difference between too much and just right!

"Black Cross" by Greg Iles ****

• Audiobook
• German author
• Originally published in 2001
• Review:  Yes, another book about the Holocaust.  However, Greg Iles manages to really bring home the ethical dilemma of whether the death of a few to save the lives of many can be justified.  This is a chilling tale of people who are surprised at the depths of their beliefs and their reactions to the tests of those beliefs which they come upon unexpectedly.  It is about lies told to achieve the "greater good".  It is about the value of human life.  It is about good and evil.  Very good novel!