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The Necklace by Claire McMillan

July 14, 2017

necklace

  There are few literary set-ups more likely to grab my attention than the wealthy family black sheep/outcast who unexpectedly comes in to power when the patriarch/matriarch dies. What could go wrong? Everything and that’s what makes it so delightful. Claire McMillan must know this because it is the premise for her new novel, The Necklace. Nell Merrihew has never spent ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: family, historical fiction, Touchstone, wealth

Miss Jane by Brad Watson

July 12, 2017

miss jane

Summer is generally a time when I enjoy lighter books, those that don't take up too much brain space. Sometimes, though, it’s also lovely to disengage from all the activity, find a shaded space and give yourself up to gorgeous prose and stories with meaning. Miss Jane, one of my favorite novels from 2016 is out in paperback this week and fits the bill for this kind of reading. ... Read More...

1 Comment
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, family, literary, Southern life, W.W. Norton

Goodbye, Vitamin: A Novel

July 10, 2017

goodbye

  Rachel Khong's debut novel, Goodbye, Vitamin begins with a young woman named Ruth making the trip home for the holidays and her mother asking her if she could stay for a while longer because of her father. Because her father, a well-regarded history professor has begun forgetting things, to the point of being asked to take a leave from his job. And it turns out that by ... Read More...

9 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, contemporary life, family, Henry Holt and Company, humor, literary

Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore

July 7, 2017

midnight

  I’m a sucker for fiction about books and bookstores so to find a novel about them that is also set in Denver, Colorado (where I lived and still have family living) means I didn’t have any choice but to read Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore. Add in the fact that in the first ten pages, Lydia, a kindhearted bookseller, discovers Joey, one of her favorite misfit ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: debut, murder, mystery, Scribner

The Lost Letter by Jillian Cantor

July 5, 2017

lost

  In the present Kate’s father is succumbing to dementia. As his memory flickers on and off, she wants to give his life’s work meaning and so takes his enormous and beloved stamp collection to an appraiser to see if any of the stamps are valuable. In the past, Kristoff is an orphaned artist working as an apprentice for the renowned master stamp engraver, Frederick Faber. ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: historical fiction, Riverhead Books, WWII

June Reading Wrap-Up

July 3, 2017

june

  Quick disclaimer: it never got anywhere near warm enough in Seattle in June for outdoor swimming so this photo is fake news. There was no lounging and reading by the pool—I was wearing socks the last week of the month, but that’s all right for me. I spent three days in the 90° heat with 80% humidity that was Cleveland and it was more than enough to remind me why I love ... Read More...

5 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Feature Tagged: 16th century, Ballantine, contemporary life, England, family saga, historical fiction, India, literary, Mariner Books, mini-reviews

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