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Kate & Frida: A Novel of Friendship, Food, and Books

March 24, 2025

kate

It begins with a letter sent from Paris to Seattle. Nothing romantic or between friends, but business because in 1991 that’s how these things were done. Frida writes to the Puget Sound Book Store looking for a book. Kate is the employee delegated with filling this customer request. Neither could know that this brief correspondence would grow into an intense and wonderful ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: 1990s, book clubs, friendship, historical, women

Best Books of 2022

December 29, 2022

best books

  I’m going to cut to the chase: it was a challenging year for my reading. Not due to a lack of options, I just lost my reading mojo for a while. However, there were 8 books that broke through my broken brain and gave me all the pleasure I look for in my reading. If you got gift cards for Christmas, buying any of these will ensure book happiness. There’s no particular ... Read More...

8 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Feature Tagged: book clubs, contemporary life, favorite books, historical fiction, memoir

Love & Saffron: A Novel

February 7, 2022

saffron

Seattle and Los Angeles, same coast but vastly different places, especially in the 1960s. Imogene Fortier writes a column known to readers in the Pacific Northwest so is surprised to not only get a fan letter, but a gift from a young woman in L.A. It’s a small packet of saffron with a recipe for mussels. This innocuous beginning leads to an impactful friendship in Kim Fay’s ... Read More...

8 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: 1960s, book clubs, friendship, historical fiction, women

The Map of Lost Memories

August 19, 2012

map of lost

The one thing to remember about an adventure is that if it turns out the way you expect it to, it has not been an adventure at all.  They traveled at night as it was only then that the heat released its grip enough to make movement through the jungle possible. By 8am the temperature and humidity combined to immobilize every living creature. Despite the difficulties, this is ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: Ballantine, book clubs, debut, historical fiction, mystery, Southeast Asia

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