Greg Barlin
The Best Books of 2024 So Far: Live!
A running list of my "Best Books of the Year", updated as I finish each book.
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Stephanie Barlin
- Aug 12
- 3 min
Here One Moment
★★★☆☆ Another attempt to imagine "what would you do if you knew you when you would die", but like other similar novels this also falls flat.
190
Greg Barlin
- Jul 9
- 4 min
Margo's Got Money Troubles
★★★★☆ When a 19-year-old finds herself desperate for cash after having a child with her professor, she turns to OnlyFans to make ends meet.
80
Greg Barlin
- Jul 2
- 3 min
I Cheerfully Refuse
★★★★☆ Richly rendered characters living in a deteriorating society, Enger's novel merges bits of beauty into an overwhelmingly sad world.
80
Greg Barlin
- Apr 20
- 4 min
The Ministry of Time
★★★☆☆ An alternative take on Stranger in a Strange Land; social commentary abounds as an 1847 explorer tries to acclimate to modern society.
140
Greg Barlin
- Mar 31
- 3 min
The Guncle
★★★★☆ Equal parts funny, heartwarming, and sad, the story of a gay uncle pressed into temporary custody of his niece and nephew for a summer
280
Greg Barlin
- Mar 8
- 2 min
City in Ruins
★★★☆☆ The Danny Ryan trilogy coasts to a conclusion, wrapping up open plot points but mostly just checking the box in this mailed-in effort.
130
Greg Barlin
- Mar 2
- 2 min
The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell
★★★★☆ A book club darling of a novel about a boy born with ocular albinism (red eyes), whose life I found less extraordinary than expected.
140
Greg Barlin
- Feb 16
- 4 min
Fifty Beasts To Break Your Heart: And Other Stories
★☆☆☆☆ By the author of the excellent Thistlefoot, a collection of short stories written six years ago that should have remained unpublished.
300
Greg Barlin
- Feb 14
- 4 min
Bright Young Women
★★★★☆ A reimagining of the events leading up to and surrounding the crimes of Ted Bundy, with a focus on the victims rather than the killer.
60
Greg Barlin
- Feb 12
- 5 min
All the Colors of the Dark
★★★★★ Whitaker delivers another masterpiece of character development while tackling several tough topics -- a challenging but uplifting read
580
Greg Barlin
- Jan 15
- 5 min
The Mayor of Maxwell Street
★★★★★ Skillful dialogue and prose adorn this debut that combines a love story with the search for a mysterious gangster in 1920s Chicago.
450
Greg Barlin
- Dec 23, 2023
- 14 min
The Best Books of 2023
A running tally of my "Best Books of 2023", updated each time I finish a book throughout the year.
5200
Greg Barlin
- Dec 21, 2023
- 4 min
The Covenant of Water (#2 of 2023)
★★★★★ It's long, but it's also a brilliant tour de force, presenting a multi-generational character study spanning nearly 80 years in India.
770
Greg Barlin
- Dec 19, 2023
- 3 min
Small Mercies (#4 of 2023)
★★★★★ A masterful book, Lehane's best since Mystic River, set against the racial tensions of Boston school busing during the summer of '74.
520
Greg Barlin
- Dec 18, 2023
- 4 min
Still Life (#5 of 2023)
★★★★★ A beautifully written character study of a cast of memorable souls that spans 30 years from the end of World War II until the mid-70s.
460
Greg Barlin
- Dec 15, 2023
- 5 min
Starling House (#8 of 2023)
★★★★★ Harrow returns to top form with a genre-blending story of a young woman trying to scrape by in a town haunted by its past and secrets.
230
Greg Barlin
- Dec 2, 2023
- 2 min
The Berry Pickers
★★★★☆ A decent but unremarkable debut about a young girl's disappearance, its impact on her family, and ultimately their path to reuniting.
100
Greg Barlin
- Nov 23, 2023
- 4 min
The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store
★★★★☆ Set in the 1930s, an expansive cast from the Black and Jewish section of Pottstown, PA come together to rally around a common cause.
130
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