The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

The Sense of an Ending is a top selling book of 2011 and a National Best Seller. It is also a winner of the 2011 Man Bookers Prize.

The Book Description:

A novel so compelling that it begs to be read in a single setting, The Sense of an Ending has the psychological and emotional depth and sophistication of Henry James at his best, and is a stunning new chapter in Julian Barnes's oeuvre.

This intense novel follows Tony Webster, a middle-aged man, as he contends with a past he never thought much about—until his closest childhood friends return with a vengeance: one of them from the grave, another maddeningly present. Tony thought he left this all behind as he built a life for himself, and his career has provided him with a secure retirement and an amicable relationship with his ex-wife and daughter, who now has a family of her own. But when he is presented with a mysterious legacy, he is forced to revise his estimation of his own nature and place in the world.

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Some Editorial Reviews:

“Ferocious. . . . A book for the ages.” —Cleveland Plain Dealer

“Elegant, playful, and remarkable.” —The New Yorker

"Deliciously intriguing...with complex and subtle undertones [and] laced with Barnes' trademark wit and graceful writing." —The Washington Times

“Ferocious. . . . A book for the ages.” —Cleveland Plain Dealer

Read Many more reviews editorial and user reviews here on Amazon, you can even buy it there.

The Art of Fielding: A Novel by Chad Harbach

The Art of Fielding: A Novel by Chad Harbach is listed under the Top 20 Books of 2011.

The Books Description:

At Westish College, a small school on the shore of Lake Michigan, baseball star Henry Skrimshander seems destined for big league stardom. But when a routine throw goes disastrously off course, the fates of five people are upended.

Henry's fight against self-doubt threatens to ruin his future. College president Guert Affenlight, a longtime bachelor, has fallen unexpectedly and helplessly in love. Owen Dunne, Henry's gay roommate and teammate, becomes caught up in a dangerous affair. Mike Schwartz, the Harpooners' team captain and Henry's best friend, realizes he has guided Henry's career at the expense of his own. And Pella Affenlight, Guert's daughter, returns to Westish after escaping an ill-fated marriage, determined to start a new life.

As the season counts down to its climactic final game, these five are forced to confront their deepest hopes, anxieties, and secrets. In the process they forge new bonds, and help one another find their true paths. Written with boundless intelligence and filled with the tenderness of youth, The Art of Fielding is an expansive, warmhearted novel about ambition and its limits, about family and friendship and love, and about commitment--to oneself and to others

You can read dozens of more reviews, view the book and even buy it here on Amazon.

There are simply dozens, even hundreds of reviews and positive feedbacks on the book, for example:

"I loved the book and believe this is a book to be read and enjoyed equally by those who are and those who are not baseball fans." 

Aaron Lindsey

"Reading The Art of Fielding is like watching a hugely gifted young shortstop: you keep waiting for the errors, but there are no errors. First novels this complete and consuming come along very, very seldom."

Jonathan Franzen

"Not being a huge fan of the national pastime, I found it easy to resist the urge to pick up this novel, but once I did I gave myself over completely and scarcely paused for meals. Like all successful works of literature The Art of Fielding is an autonomous universe, much like the one we inhabit although somehow more vivid."

Jay McInerney

"Witty, intellectual and big-hearted."

Angie Drobnic Holan

"Harbach spins this simple premise into a wide-ranging book about desire and loss, friendship and loneliness....A rich, engrossing story."

Rob Brunner

The Art of Fielding: A Novel by Chad Harbach is one book to look for, a must read of course.

You can read dozens of more reviews, view the book and even buy it here on Amazon.

John Lennon Says

You don't need anybody to tell you who you are or what you are. You are what you are!.

John Lennon


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Henry Ford

Whether you think you can or whether you think you can't, you're right.

Henry Ford



Check out Henry Ford's Book My Life and Work at Amazon