Hello Readers & Happy New Year!

Because I read so many more books than I have time to write about, I've decided that in addition to more detailed reviews I would periodically offer you a quick thumbs up or down for several books at once. Based on my regular reviews you can get a feeling for why I rate books as I do and if you like how I judge book, these quickie lists will give you some more great reading suggestions.

Keep reading!

The Bookenthusiast

Amersterdam by Ian McEwan. Literary Fiction - 4 Stars
I am a huge McEwan fan and found this shorter novel of his fascinating and well-written.

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese - Literary Fiction -3 Stars
I read this one twice and definitely appreciated the fairy-tale-esq story much more the second time around. There are a lot of layers to this complex novel that I didn't see the first time.

Little Bee by Chris Cleave - Literary Fiction - 3.5 Stars
Don't let the name fool you - this is a serious story about serious thought-provoking themes and I really enjoyed it.

In The Land of Invisible Women by Qanta Ahmed, MD - Memoir - 3 Stars
Interesting subject matter that does help provide some insight into current world-wide issues but I'm not a huge fan of her writing style. Large sections of the book read to me as if the author's native language was not English. I did manage to get past that issue and enjoyed the content of her experiences which is why I gave it 3 stars - not for it's literary merit.