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November Reading Wrap-Up

December 1, 2017

november

  Who knew November could be a blockbuster month for reading? I can’t go so far as to say the books were blockbusters, but I read a lot of them. The best part? I redeemed myself during Nonfiction November 2017 by reading 5 nonfiction books! That’s more than I’ve read in the last two years combined. Granted most of them were under 300 pages, but maybe that’s the secret to ... Read More...

6 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Feature Tagged: chick lit, health, historical fiction, Knopf, lists, Little Brown and Company, mini-reviews, mystery

Fates and Traitors

November 29, 2017

fates

Fates and Traitors is a novel about John Wilkes Booth as told from the vantage point of the three women who were most important in his life and one near stranger who let him into her life. There is his mother, Mary Ann Booth; his sister, Asia; and Lucy Hale, his secret fiancé. Mary Surratt is a woman sympathetic to the Confederate cause, who owned the boarding house where he ... Read More...

6 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, Civil War, Dutton, historical fiction

Heat by Bill Buford

November 27, 2017

heat

I’m not sure how seriously I can take a man who is foolish enough to invite a world class chef into his home for dinner, but I decided to give Bill Buford a chance. His invitation to Mario Batali leads him to ask if he can work as an intern in the kitchen of Mario’s restaurant, Babbo. When Mario says yes it results in his Italian food lover’s dream memoir, Heat. I realize, ... Read More...

7 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Non-fiction Tagged: cooking, food, memoir, restaurants, Vintage

Top Ten Books I’m Thankful For

November 22, 2017

thankful

The Broke and Bookish Top Ten meme this week is a perfect one for Thanksgiving—ten books I’m thankful for. No matter how you slice it, it’s hard, because I’m grateful for every single book that takes my mind somewhere else, whether it is invigorating or calming. But just choosing ten?! That’s almost impossible. I’ve read over 1,500 books since I started using Goodreads in 2009 ... Read More...

12 Comments
Filed Under: Feature, Reading Tagged: book clubs, childhood, historical fiction, lists, social issues, women

We Were the Lucky Ones

November 20, 2017

lucky

According to Polish law, a person of Jewish heritage belongs not to Poland but to a Jewish nation. Just when I think I have read as much fiction about the Holocaust as I need to, when I’m sure there can’t be another permutation of the horror and struggle for survival, I’m proven wrong. This time it was the gentle nudging of my blogging friend, Sarah at Sarah’s Book Shelves, ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, debut, family saga, Nazis, Viking, WWII

It’s Not You, It’s Me: Mini-Reviews

November 17, 2017

it's

I haven’t had a great year of reading (until recently), but generally it felt pretty clear that it was the books not working, not me. Except for these two recent reads, which is why they’re It’s Not You, It’s Me books. In both cases, the writing and story were good, but they were missing whatever indefinable element I need to keep me invested.   Given the title, it ... Read More...

9 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Feature, Fiction Tagged: childhood, ecco, family, mini-reviews, Southern life, Tin House

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