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Good People by Pameena Sabit

February 23, 2026

good people

When the Sharaf family emigrated from Afghanistan to the United States in the 1980s they were met by an Afghan community that understood not only the terrors of war they’d escaped, but the hardships they would face in building a new life in a foreign country. They were welcomed and aided in their early years of extreme poverty. It’s startling then that when tragedy befalls the ... Read More...

6 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, cultural, debut, mystery

The Correspondent

September 16, 2025

correspondent

When Sybil Van Antwerp came of age there was no such thing as digital. Given that, she sees no reason to abandon her lifelong habit of communicating via letter. She’ll even use email when it is the only option, but that is as much as she’ll concede. This means Virginia Evans’ debut The Correspondent is an epistolary novel comprised only of Sybil‘s communications with the ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, debut, literary, women

Six Best Books of 2020

December 30, 2020

six best

In the same way 2020 turned life upside-down it had the same impact on people’s reading. For me, I read more nonfiction than ever before—from 11% up to 20%. Even more surprising, after reviewing my 2020 book ratings I saw how varied my favorite reading ended up being. Here are the six best new releases of 2020 covering six genres. Enjoy!   REALITY If I were to pick ... Read More...

7 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Feature Tagged: book clubs, dystopia, fantasy, inspiration, women

Blowout by Rachel Maddow

August 24, 2020

blowout

As you well know I’m not a big nonfiction fan, but like everything else in 2020, that fact is fiction right now. I’m enjoying a lot of nonfiction, especially audiobooks. So much so that I’m often scrolling through my online library catalog looking for something immediately available to listen to while I trudge up and down our basement stairs (cardio…yuck) or knit. That’s how I ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Non-fiction Tagged: book clubs, history

The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson

March 11, 2020

splendid

It’s May 1940, but Hitler is already on the move, invading and collecting countries like Monopoly properties. In Great Britain, Prime Minister Chamberlain has lost the confidence of his party and is going to be replaced. It is a momentous time in the world and in British history. Winston Churchill fulfills his lifelong dream of being Prime Minister when he is chosen as the ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Non-fiction Tagged: biography, Crown, England, history, world war II

Becoming by Michelle Obama

January 28, 2019

becoming

Leave it to Michelle Obama, an untested writer, to achieve something that has never happened in my reading history. I finished her memoir, Becoming, on January 15th and had no hesitation in ranking it 5 stars. This makes it not only the first time I’ve found a 5-star book in January, but the only time my first 5-star rating of the year has been given to nonfiction. I just don’t ... Read More...

20 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Non-fiction Tagged: book clubs, marriage, memoir, politics, Random House, social issues, women

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