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What I’m Reading in August

August 3, 2020

august

  Somehow August is already here and I don’t know if I think it’s too soon or what took so long. I’ve really lost the ability to process time. Also, apparently to dress myself as I went half a day with a tee shirt on backwards. Sigh. The good news is that my July reading went well, even if it was different from my usual fare. Nonfiction came on strong. This month ... Read More...

18 Comments
Filed Under: Feature, Reading Tagged: historical fiction, lists, racism, thriller

July Reading Wrap-Up

July 30, 2020

july

  Goodbye, July! My first full month of real summer in the Midwest. What I loved: fireflies, thunder and rain storms that last for hours. What is not so much: humidity that flattens me but makes my hair explode. And flies. So many flies! Why? The natural world aside, even with the increasing crazy that is America, July was an outstanding reading month. I finished 15 ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Feature Tagged: dystopia, Italy, literary, memoir, mini-reviews, mythology, science fiction

The Woman Before Wallis: A Novel

July 27, 2020

wallis

My love of British royalty is old news. Earlier in the month I read, The Heir Affair, about the fictional modern-day travails of a newly married Prince of Wales and his American bride. I loved it and am happy to be back today with historical fiction about the real royal family. Bryn Turnbull’s The Woman Before Wallis is the best of both worlds—scandal encompassing the royals ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: 1930s, debut, England, historical fiction

Mexican Gothic: A Novel

July 24, 2020

mexican

Sometimes it requires a bit of effort to tease out a book’s theme or premise based on the title. That’s not the case in Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s debut novel, Mexican Gothic. It is exactly that, a noir horror novel set in 1950s Mexico. Noemi is the pampered daughter of a wealthy family whose her father asks her to go to a remote town to visit her newly married cousin, Catalina. ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: fantasy, historical fiction, horror, Mexico

Utopia Avenue: A Novel by David Mitchell

July 22, 2020

utopia

‘Utopia’ means ‘no place.’ An avenue is a place. So is music. When we’re playing well, I’m here, but elsewhere, too. That’s the paradox. Utopia is unattainable. Avenues are everywhere. Derek, Elf, Jasper, and Griff each has a dream: make it big in the music industry playing music they love. So far, it hasn’t panned out for any of them. But when manager Levon Frankland ... Read More...

6 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: 1960s, historical fiction, literary, London, pop culture

Smacked: A Story of White-Collar Ambition, Addiction, and Tragedy

July 20, 2020

smacked

Last week I shared a review first for me. Today I’m back with another one: Smacked is my third 5-star nonfiction book in 2020. At the halfway point of the year? That’s nuts. You know me—I don’t read a lot of nonfiction, so to be reading it and to have it be outstanding is a delight at a time when finding delight is not easy. Smacked is written by Eilene Zimmerman, a business ... Read More...

7 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Non-fiction Tagged: book clubs, debut, memoir, social issues

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