Why did you read this book? We bought it for Beckie to read aloud while I drove us around New Zealand. I think we were led to it from reviews of crime/thriller books on Amazon.

Has Beckie read it? Yes, aloud. Perhaps she will review it!

42 word review: Ex-cop housesitter tries to save starlet hunted by secret assassin organization with fantastic capabilities. Lots of action, and funny for all the traumas apparently unkillable protagonist endures. So many plot holes they detract from puzzling bits that are actually successfully resolved.

Overall rating: 2 throwing-stars (out of 5)

Why did you read this book? I didn’t. Beckie read it to me, while I drove our rental car across New Zealand. She chose the book because she liked a previous book by the same author, with the wonderful title The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland on a Ship of Her Own Making.

Has Beckie read it? Apparently you weren’t listening. Yes. She read it out loud. To me, while I was driving.

42 word review: Novella reimagines Snow White in old West. Excellent turns of phrase throughout. Good pacing and clever plot choices. Tone uneven: loses sense of whimsy for middle third, becoming very dark, then introduces screwball-comedy elements later. Magic elements creepy but not necessarily coherent.

Overall rating: 3 out of 5 dwarves (Bashful and Grumpy refuse to participate in the rating system, for different reasons)

Why did you read this book? I was looking for something by an Australian author, and I’d enjoyed one of the author’s books before (albeit in high school).

Has Jeremy read it? No, and it’s another one he won’t.

42 word review: The book started with an unsolved murder, but then focused on the characters whose relationships were affected by the crime. Unfortunately, the characters’ motivations were unconvincing, the revelations about the murderer came out of nowhere, and the prose was workmanlike, at best.

Rating: 2 red herrings (out of 5)

Why did you read this book? We were looking for something to read during a long-car trip. We liked his novel Adverbs, and crime/thriller books work well while driving. This is the same guy who writes the Lemony Snicket books, but I haven’t read any of those.

Has Beckie read it? She read it to me while I drove! You wouldn’t believe what a difference it makes for passing the time. Since we weren’t done when we got back, she kept reading it to me while walking around to yoga and restaurants for the next couple days, and then finally a marathon session in the apartment to the end.

42 word review: Knocks off The Secret History, only with artsy high-schoolers instead of classics-obsessed undergrads. Reader knows from beginning that protagonist murders friend, but why? how? Absolutely hilarious given that a homicide looms. Great voice of girl protagonist. Downside: big twist tipped too early.

Rating: 4 potoroos (out of 5). Plus a bonus potoroo for what a fun read it was on a trip.

Why did you read this book?: Because of The Luminaries, and I read that it also had an intriguing structure.

Has Jeremy read it?: Yes. It took me a while to finish this one because every time I took a break, I wasn’t that motivated to pick it up again.

42 word review: An impressive first novel about the roles people play in everyday life. The ambitious structure and perspectives couldn’t entirely carry the weaker characters and story. I enjoyed it while reading, but ultimately, I didn’t care enough to work out what everything meant.

Rating: 3 saxophones (out of 5)

Why did you read this book?: It’s Donna Tartt. She wrote The Secret History. We pre-ordered this months ago.

Has Beckie read it?: Yes, just before I did. We’ll see which of us posts our review first, since we are playing with WordPress post queueing technology. (Update: she posted first.)

42 word review: I’d have enjoyed it twice as much had it been half as long. Everything was there: great (if overdrawn) characters; intricate and careful plot; strongly developed themes; beautifully-crafted dialogue. Just too much in-between and too slow. Skimmed large portions, including the end.

Rating: 3 numbats (out of 5). Also, may knock a half-numbat off my recollection of The Secret History, because it reminded me of how she overdid a couple of the main characters in that.

Why did you read this book?: It won the Booker Prize.

Has Beckie read it?: Yes, she finished it first. Note: we bought the book twice, because I bought it for the Nook but haven’t been able to get the Nook program to work on my MacBook Air here in Australia, so I bought it again for Kindle.

42 Word Review: 1860s New Zealand. Bursting with plot and period details from the get-go. Was already loving it when halfway through I finally understood how the astrology part worked and I was over the moon after that. Brilliant idea for structure of long novel.

Rating: 5 possums (out of 5)