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Call Her Freedom

July 24, 2025

call her

A small village in the Himalayan foothills is the setting for Tara Dorabji’s debut novel, Call Her Freedom. Aisha’s mother is a midwife and teaches Aisha all about childbirth and herbal remedies when Aisha is not in school. An outstanding student it’s been her mother’s dream to see her go to university in the city.  But when her mother falls ill the only way to save their ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: cultural, family saga, historical, India, war

Careless People: A Memoir

June 3, 2025

careless

Careless People is the memoir from Sarah Wynn-Williams who worked at Facebook from 2011-2017 as the global public policy director. A former diplomat and lawyer she joined believing they needed someone with an understanding of foreign diplomacy. She was hired, but for a time, no one knew what to do with her, as Mark Zuckerberg was still plucking the American low-lying fruit of ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Non-fiction Tagged: memoir

The Bright Years

April 29, 2025

bright years

Four generations of one Texas family unfold on the pages of Sarah Damoff’s intimate debut, The Bright Years. What begins with the simple act of falling in love turns into something deeper and more profound as secrets and addiction pull apart the loving trio of father Ryan, mother Lillian, and daughter Georgette (Jet), leaving each to manage the fallout. The novel is told in ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, family, literary

The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus

February 19, 2025

life cycle

Monday I shared a literary novel I loved and now I’m back with another. The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus is the witty, contemporary story of two friends and their freshman year at the University of Edinburgh. Alice and Penelope both have their reasons for wanting to leave Canada and go to this particular school. Alice’s is practical in that she hopes it will be the gateway ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: coming-of-age, literary

Penitence: A Novel

February 3, 2025

penitence

When Penitence begins 13-year-old Nora is alone in a jail cell after turning herself in for killing her 14-year-old brother. An opening like this has the heft to carry a traditional thriller/mystery whether as a police procedural (solving the crime) or a courtroom drama (Nora on trial). Instead, debut author Kristin Koval forges a completely different path in what becomes a ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, debut, family, literary, mystery

From Here to the Great Unknown

January 24, 2025

from here

Those of us outside looking in, mired in our everyday lives, tend to mythologize celebrities and what their lives look like. The greater the star the larger they loom. This is even true for the children of the famous and in that realm, Elvis Presley’s daughter was tabloid fodder from the day she was born. Lisa Marie died last year, but had started writing a memoir with the help ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Non-fiction Tagged: memoir, pop culture

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