Publisher’s note: This is the debut of our new book column, which will recommend one new book each week. In most cases, the book will be “new” only in the sense that you may not have heard of it before. Most of the books chosen for review here will be books published some years back: Some that were popular for a while but have since become obscure; others that have always been undiscovered gems. By all means, give us your feedback, not just on the recommended book of the week but on any other similar books you would like to bring to light.
Amazon.com assured me that I would like the novel Kindred by Octavia Butler. I like to rate the books I buy on Amazon, so the automated genies that run the site can recommend books they think I’ll like. They sometimes recommend books that are way off the mark, but as soon as I looked at Kindred, I knew this time they had picked a winner. It was a former bestseller--and justifiably so--but while it has won impressive reviews reviews on Amazon and has received critical acclaim from both popular and literary magazines, it has never achieved the kind of blockbuster status of, for example, The Time Traveler’s Wife. But the book is every bit as good, maybe better.
Amazon.com assured me that I would like the novel Kindred by Octavia Butler. I like to rate the books I buy on Amazon, so the automated genies that run the site can recommend books they think I’ll like. They sometimes recommend books that are way off the mark, but as soon as I looked at Kindred, I knew this time they had picked a winner. It was a former bestseller--and justifiably so--but while it has won impressive reviews reviews on Amazon and has received critical acclaim from both popular and literary magazines, it has never achieved the kind of blockbuster status of, for example, The Time Traveler’s Wife. But the book is every bit as good, maybe better.
