The Gilmore Guide to Books

Connecting Books and Readers One Review at a Time

  • Home
  • About Me
  • Reviews
    • Reviews by Author
    • Reviews by Title
    • Reviews by Genre
  • Podcast
  • Policies
    • Review Policy
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Policy

Farewell, Dorothy Parker

December 20, 2013

farewell dorothy parker

  Have you ever played the history game where you can choose points in history you’d like to visit? For me, the era of the Algonquin Round Table in Manhattan is one such time. Men of great wit and intelligence drinking cocktails and being dominated by one of the greatest wits of all: Dorothy Parker. Given that choice, finding Ellen Meister’s novel, Farewell, Dorothy Parker was ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: Berkley, chick lit, humor, Manhattan, pop culture

Want Not

November 26, 2013

want not

In his new novel, Want Not, author Jonathan Miles explores the concept of wanting in contemporary American society. The story moves between the disparate lives of three groups: Elwin Cross, an overweight linguist professor whose wife has recently left him for a chef; Talmadge and Micah, a young freegan couple squatting in a tenement in Manhattan; and Sue, a 9/11 widow, her ... Read More...

5 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, contemporary life, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, literary

The Hive

September 16, 2013

the hive

  There is no shortage of mommy-lit in the world. There are stories (fiction and non-fiction) about nannies, schools, and mothers who work pitted against those who don’t. What is new is Gill Hornby’s debut novel, The Hive, which looks at the uber-competitive world of elementary school from the British mummy’s perspective. St. Ambrose is a school and community that prides ... Read More...

3 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: chick lit, debut, Little Brown and Company

Lookaway, Lookaway

August 21, 2013

lookaway lookaway

I’ll do my best not to overindulge in Civil War metaphors but I tore through Lookaway Lookaway faster than Sherman went through Atlanta. Wilton Barnhardt has written an addictive novel of the contemporary south. He combines the best and the worst of old and new in a way that is expansive and intimate. The story is about the Johnston family. Matriarch Jerene is the epitome of ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, humor, Southern life, St. Martin's Press

Wedding Night

July 19, 2013

Wedding Night

  It may be the weather, it may be work, and it may be the kids. There are any number of reasons a woman needs outrageous fiction to take her away (because, honey, Calgon is not going to cut it). It’s a matter of personal preference, of course, but from the moment I picked up my first Sophie Kinsella novel she became my tried and true, light, ... Read More...

1 Comment
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: Bantam, chick lit

I Can Barely Take Care of Myself: Tales from a Happy Life Without Kids

July 3, 2013

I Can Barely Take Care of Myself

  I Can Barely Take Care of Myself is comedienne Jen Kirkman’s humorous look at her decision to have a life without children. A decision that is questioned and tut-tutted over by virtually everyone she knows and many whom she does not. The book’s humor and strength begin even before the first chapter, meaning READ THE DEDICATION. One of the many reasons I loved this book was ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Non-fiction Tagged: children, humor, social issues

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • Next Page »
  • Bluesky
  • Email
  • Goodreads
  • Instagram
  • Substack

Save time and subscribe via email

No time to keep checking for new reviews? Enter your email address to subscribe and receive notifications of new posts by email. No spam!

Bookshop

Currently Reading

Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle
Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle
by Emily Nagoski
The Dutch House
The Dutch House
by Ann Patchett
Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me
Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me
by Adrienne Brodeur

goodreads.com

Affiliate Disclosure

I’m an affiliate for Bookshop. If you click on a link that takes you to their site and make a purchase I’ll earn a small fee, which goes towards the costs of maintaining this site. Your support is appreciated. Thank you!

Archives

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License.

Theme Design By Studio Mommy · Copyright © 2026

Copyright © 2026 · Beyond Madison Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in