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The Beauty of Your Face

April 15, 2020

beauty

All of her career Afaf has been a teacher. Now, she is the principal of a Muslim school for girls in a Chicago suburb. She’s also face-to-face with the man who has gone through her school shooting her students.  As the minutes between life and possible death tick by in The Beauty of Your Face, her mind travels to her past and the event that tore her family apart—the ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, cultural, debut, literary, racism

Miss Austen: A Novel

April 8, 2020

austen

On Monday I reviewed what was a stunning, but intense book, so it’s with a bit of relief that I’m back with a book I’ll call recovery reading. Cassandra Austen is the older sister of author, Jane Austen. Jane has been dead for many years and Cassandra has felt it was her duty to be the arbiter and controller of her beloved sister’s legacy. To this end, she has been gathering ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: 19th century, England, historical fiction

Valentine: A Novel by Elizabeth Wetmore

April 6, 2020

five best

When you encounter a scene like the one that opens Elizabeth Wetmore’s novel, Valentine, and the words …she imagines him facedown in the dust, lips and cheeks scoured by sand, his thirst relieved by only the blood in his mouth. sear themselves on your brain you know you are in for high-intensity reading and immersion in a heartbreaking world. A world where a 14-year-old girl ... Read More...

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

The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel

March 27, 2020

glass hotel

A young woman named Vincent is at the heart of The Glass Hotel, a novel that stretches its plot around the globe and into the world of high finance, hotels, restaurants, and even global oceanic shipping. It’s a complex brew of stories and people who meet, side- step, brush up against, or collide, with each other in ways that mean much more to the big picture than they ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: contemporary life, Knopf, literary, mystery

Darling Rose Gold

March 25, 2020

rose

I’m hearing from a lot of bloggers and friends that they’re having trouble focusing enough to enjoy reading. Not surprising given what we’re all facing. I’m struggling with it as well and finding that mindless TV is the only distraction that seems to work (more on that in another post). However, I have a recommendation today that might fit the bill for fiction that will grab on ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: Berkley, book clubs, debut, mystery, suspense

Untamed by Glennon Doyle

March 23, 2020

untamed

Several weeks ago, I enthused about a novel that I thought was outstanding even though it was DARK (The Road, which I would not recommend reading anytime soon). Now I’m back to balance the scales by going full-on evangelical about a book so bright it glows. Untamed is Glennon Doyle’s journey, extracted and distilled into a nourishing and energizing blend of inspiration, wisdom, ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Non-fiction Tagged: book clubs, inspiration, memoir, social issues, women

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