Elle Magazine Readers' Prize

I was thrilled to be chosen to contribute reviews to Elle Magazine for its 2004 Readers' Prize column. Free books and a byline are always an enticement. :)
I really loved the first book here, "Leg the Spread." I like non-fiction that's evocative and opens up a whole new subculture for me, especially about things I hadn't thought of getting interested in--here it's the vicious but oddly exhilirating world of stock brokering. "Journey From the Land of No" should be required reading for anyone interested in the real people of Iran, although I found the author's tone a bit detached.

Reflections of silver, beneath the rain...

In this review, I was aiming for something a little different. The film itself was so different from the usual American fare, the whole viewpoint so European, that I felt I had to strive for something that would let the reader taste that flavor in my review.... I also experimented with alternating among the first persons singular and plural, and the second person, as needed--and, contrary to Creative Writing 101, it worked.

A shelter of wings...

This turned out to be my favorite book last year. When it flew over the transom, I was ready to dismiss it--I'm not a big fan of bird books. :) But for some reason--maybe because the cover reminded me of the beautiful vista from a certain stone observation deck in Jerusalem--I started reading and fell in love with the story, the language and the characters. Shalev is a powerful writer, and the ultimate Israeli, and the climax is something I've never come across before and probably never will again. 

By lovely coincidence, my friend Dan Pine of j. the Jewish weekly of northern california interviewed the author at the same time I wrote my review, so I borrowed his story to dovetail with mine. I always love to create experiences like that for my readers. And I think I did a nice job planning the layout, too.