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February Reading Wrap-Up

March 6, 2023

february

February was a month of extremes. I either held onto a book for dear life or dropped it like a bad habit. There was no middle ground. Thankfully, the majority of what I read was outstanding with 6 of the 11 novels I read being 4 stars or higher. DNFs are painful, but that disappointment aside, it was a great month.   This was definitely a case of my bored mind ... Read More...

10 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Feature Tagged: dystopia, mini-reviews, suspense

The Secret Keeper of Jaipur

June 21, 2021

secret keeper

There are many types of satisfaction to be found in reading. One is the excitement of a new voice, a compelling story. But just as good (and sometimes better) is the quiet joy of opening a book and being immediately returned to a place and characters you already know. That’s the case with Alka Joshi’s The Secret Keeper of Jaipur. It’s the sequel to The Henna Artist, a novel I ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: 1960s, historical fiction, India, vacation reading, women

The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi

January 4, 2021

henna

For ten years Lakshmi has worked hard to build her own business. Now, at 30, she hopes to use her connections among the wealthy women of Jaipur to score a financial payout large enough for her to finally finish her own home and bring her parents from their small village to live with her. They’d married her off when she was fifteen, but she’d disgraced them by running away from ... Read More...

6 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, historical fiction, India, vacation reading, women

Five Best Debuts of 2020

December 28, 2020

five best

  Welcome to the last week of the longest year in history. I’m going to avoid any rehashing of what a nightmare it was for so many and stick to the easy stuff: my best books of 2020! Today I have five debut books that really stood out for me. Normally, I’d have more, but there was nothing normal in 2020. Like a lot of other readers, my taste and what worked for me was ... Read More...

8 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Feature Tagged: book clubs, debut, historical fiction, India, memoir, racism, social issues, women

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