As a devoted fan of diet coke who likes both cherry and vanilla flavours, I might have loved this. But I don’t. It’s silly to complain about it being artificial, but it is. It’s too sweet. And it reminds me of when I used to mix all the fountain juices together when I was a kid. Ew.

An excellent read—I couldn’t put it down. It’s the story of a devastating affair between teacher and student. The prose is lyrical, and the narrative is observant. But the dialogue between precocious teenagers is a real stretch, and some of the plot points, when viewed in light of the book’s resoluation, are far-fetched.

This book’s chronicle of a purge of gay students at Harvard in 1920 is fascinating, if not shocking. Wright does a good job of parsing the homophobic mentality of Harvard administrators, explaining how their views were reinforced not so much social norms as by Harvard’s self-conception. What’s remarkable about the events of 1920 is not how far we’ve come, but how much of those attitudes remain as common places today.

My only complaint is with one of the final chapters - “Homophobia’s Long March” - in which the author attempts both a history of and a biological explanation for homophobia. The issue is too complex to be covered in one chapter, and anyway, it’s somewhat apropos a history book.

I read these religiously, but I wouldn’t say they’re good.

Another great read. I read Francine du Plessix Gray’s biography of Simone Weil several years ago, and enjoyed her writing style so much that I was excited to pick up her memoir about her mother and step-father.

Their lives move countries and continents as they confront the menance of war and revolution, moving from Russia to France and ultimately to the United States. In the States, Tatiana builds a successful career designing hats for the New York’s elite, while Alexander Lieberman rises through the ranks of Conde-Nast.

The two are dynamic, artistic people, and their friends are a who’s who of important 20th century figures. But they are both unfailingly narcissistic, not to mention social-climbers. They neglect their daughter (Francine) to such an extent that she develops malnutrition. The author, nevertheless, is compassionate, and succeeds in making sympathic figures out of these two highly compromised people.

This book is a great young adult mystery. It’s a coming-of-age story that is chatty, funny and sweet.

Reading Elfriede Jelinek has been one the best things I’ve done this year. I read The Piano Teacher over a year ago, although I may not have even finished it. In any case it didn’t hold my interest. I might pick it up again now.

But Wonderful, Wonderful Times was completely captivating: disturbing, hallucinogenic, heartbreaking, and ultimately horrifying. I plan to read Women as Lovers next, as the first few pages were wonderful.

This book is a good introduction to the interactions between the Pentagon, the Whitehouse and the CIA. It describes the erotion of checks and balances at the CIA under the Bush.

I loved this book. It reminded me of being a teenager, was totally inspiring and completely hilarious.

I didn’t finish this. The reviews for it are great. On some level I recognize that it’s good, but it was a little goody-goody for me, so I just stopped reading it.