If you’re a reader of Jodi Picoult’s novels then you know to expect meticulous, thorough research on whatever subject she’s writing about. She is also a pro at exploring both sides of complicated issues in an evenhanded way. Now, only one of these two statements is true in her latest book, By Any Other Name, a dual timeline story set in the 1500s London and contemporary NYC. ... Read More...
Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult
I’d left off reading Jodi Picoult after disliking her last two books and so didn’t read Mad Honey until two readers I trust said I would enjoy it. I listened to them, but this may be the briefest review of a 4 star novel I’ve ever done. Not for a lack of thoughts, but because the plot twists in this story just keep coming until the very end. Given that each is substantive and ... Read More...
November Reading Wrap-Up
Goodbye, November, hello, December! Did anyone else find November to be a rather placid month? It went a bit faster, but as I age I always think that. I just can’t remember anything extra good or bad that happened—which is great, right? My reading felt the same way as I bounced between thrillers and literary fiction. A lot of enjoyable reading, but very little that wowed ... Read More...
The Book of Two Ways
Jodi Picoult’s new novel, The Book of Two Ways, straddles the worlds of death and life choices, both in the present, and in the case of death, all the way back to ancient Egypt. Dawn is a woman fifteen years into a marriage when she decides she wants to know what might have happened in the life she had as a graduate student. Unlike other alternate lives novels (Life After Life) ... Read More...
December Reading Wrap-Up
If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time you know I can get pretty cranky about my reading and that this year was a rough one for me. Both of which make this monthly recap a bit shocking: December was far and away one of the best month’s I’ve ever had for reading! Seriously, I’m a little bit giddy here. Out of the 17 books I read, 12 got 3.5 stars or higher. I ... Read More...
A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult
Jodi Picoult is a seasoned pro at presenting both sides to highly charged and complicated issues—which is one of the reasons I love her books. She moves me out of my comfort zone and gives me perspectives that I might not come to on my own. Generally, she finds hot-button topics shortly after they’ve hit the mainstream news, but in her latest, A Spark of Light, she is prescient ... Read More...
