Throw This Book Awa...
Time to toss your copy of Zeitoun in your curbside recycling bin; it can land on top of Three Cups of...
Three Cups of Decei...
Three Cups of Deceit: How Greg Mortenson, Humanitarian Hero, Lost His Way, by Jon Krakauer. Anchor (2011) 96...
Formerly Favorite A...
What a disheartening year it’s been for those of us who want to believe that an author’s subsequent book...
Iceland
Did we really need a new book in which the author (according to the most recent issue of Publishers Weekly) “peppers the...
Another Cover Art D...
Who doesn’t love a vintage photograph from the author’s childhood on the cover of her memoir? When the image is just right,...
Little House Series
HarperCollins has made a horrendous, unfathomable decision that will surely be studied in future college marketing courses in...
Punctuation Matters
This month I read two memoirs that I would be giving glowing reviews to, if only they had employed quotation marks. Is anyone...
A Million Little Li...
(This review first appeared in January 2006) A Million Little Pieces, by James Frey. Random House (2004),...
Detectives and CIA ...
(This opinion first appeared in February 2003) The following words and phrases have no business in a decent...

The Book Shark began as an independent book review website created by Cindy Pinto and Donna Long in 2002.
From the beginning our goal was not only to write great reviews, but also to recognize the most well-written books we read each year with an award...
The Gustine Awards were named in honor of the main character in one of our favorite books—The Dress Lodger, by Sheri Holman. Awards have been given out yearly since 2002 in three categories: fiction, nonfiction, and memoir...
A book’s cover is as important as the writing within it. Yes, I really just said that. I am aware that this is a highly offensive statement to many authors who have toiled for years on their books and believe their words are the only thing that matters...
What’s the best or worst book you’ve ever read? What’s the most recent book that you’ve had a strong reaction to? Send us your thoughts, and we’ll post them in this spot.