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Member, National Book Critics Circle. Truly good books, books that tell a story that needs to be told, and well, are rarer than one might think, so when I find one, I am delighted to share the news: look for my annual "Top 10 Books Read" on my blog, Madam Mayo. Top 10 2011 #1: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy Top 10 2010 #1: Finding Iris Chang by Paula Kamen Top 10 2009 #1: Villa Air-Bel by Rosemary Sullivan Top 10 2008 #1 The Far-Traveler by Nancy Marie Brown Top 10 2007 #1: The Earth Knows My Name by Patricia Klindienst Top 10 2006 #1 A Portrait of a Lady by Henry James I have also reviewed numerous books on Mexico's Second Empire / French Intervention; these you will find listed in the sidebar of my blog, Maximilian ~ Carlota. Among the many recent reviews: Thomas M. Settles's John Bankhead Magruder: A Military Reappraisal; Margarita López Cano''s, Ópera en la Pubela Imperial; Konrad Ratz's Tras las huellas de un desconocido: nuevos datos y aspectos de Maximiliano de Habsburgo. More selected reviews on-line: From This Wicked Patch of Dust and Crossing Borders: Personal Essays by Sergio Troncoso, Literal Magazine, Spring 2012 The Prison Angel by Mary Jordan and Kevin Sullivan, Wilson Quarterly, winter 2006 The Stars Above Veracruz: Stories by Barry Gifford, Los Angeles Times, January 22, 2006 Octavio Paz: A Meditation by Ilan Stavans, Hyde Park Review of Books, Spring 2002 True Tales From Another Mexico by Sam Quinones, Wilson Quarterly, Spring 2001 Life in Mexico by Frances Calderón de la Barca, Tin House, Fall 2000 God and Mr. Gómez by Jack Smith, Journal of the West, October 1998

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Long
      ago I had the notion that I would spend comfy stretches of my
      weeks reviewing books for newspapers and magazines. It wasn't
      so comfy, so I changed my mind about that. Below you will find
      some book reviews I've done for the Los Angeles Times, Tin
      House, Wilson Quarterly, and others. In recent years my book
      reviews have become ever more brief (yea, blog posts) and consistently
      celebratory; brief because I prefer to put my writing effort
      into my own books, and celebratory because,
      as an author myself, I know how much work goes into writing a
      book (a heap more than most readers can even guess), and I know,
      too, how criticism can sting. But trust me: if I don't like a
      book or, for whatever reason, I don't think it deserves jump-up-and-down
      praise, I won't review it. Yes, some books deserve a drubbing
      (and God bless you all at the National
      Book Critics Circle). But, like I said, I'm busy writing
      my own books. Truly good books, books
      that tell a story that needs to be told, and well, are rarer
      than one might think, so when I find one, I am delighted to share
      the news: look for my annual "Top 10 Books Read" on
      my blog, Madam Mayo.



      Top 10 2009 #1: Villa Air-Bel by
      Rosemary Sullivan

      Top 10 2008 #1 The Far-Traveler
      by Nancy Marie Brown

      Top 10 2007 #1: The Earth Knows My
      Name by Patricia Klindienst

      Top 10 2006 #1 A Portrait of a Lady
      by Henry James



      The
      Prison Angel
      by Mary Jordan and Kevin
      Sullivan, Wilson Quarterly, winter 2006



      The Stars Above Veracruz: Stories by
      Barry Gifford, Los Angeles Times, January 22, 2006



      Octavio
      Paz: A Meditation
      by Ilan Stavans, Hyde Park Review of Books, Spring 2002



      True
      Tales From Another Mexico
      by Sam Quinones, Wilson Quarterly, Spring 2001



      Life
      in Mexico by
      Frances Calderón de la Barca, Tin House, Fall 2000



      God and Mr.
      Gómez by Jack
      Smith, Journal
      of the West, October 1998