Goodbye, July! My first full month of real summer in the Midwest. What I loved: fireflies, thunder and rain storms that last for hours. What is not so much: humidity that flattens me but makes my hair explode. And flies. So many flies! Why? The natural world aside, even with the increasing crazy that is America, July was an outstanding reading month. I finished 15 ... Read More...
What’s Left of Me is Yours
Sumiko’s mother, Rina, died in a car accident when she was a child. Her parents were divorced, her father not a part of her life, so she went to live with her beloved grandfather. Now, twenty years later, as What’s Left of Me is Yours opens, she receives a call about a man from her mother’s past. This call unleashes the flood that overtakes her life, sweeping away her memories ... Read More...
Eight Best Debuts of 2019
One of my favorite parts about being a book blogger is discovering new literary voices. Debut authors comprise almost 40% of my reading. Here are the eight debut novels that helped make 2019 such a strong year for my reading. I never thought a courtroom drama would not only be in my favorites but that it would also be one of only two 5 star novels in ... Read More...
November Mini-Reviews
All of the book love from Monday’s review of The Starless Sea really took it out of me so I’m giving myself (and you) a word break for the rest of the week. Today is mini-reviews—three very different books with fewer words about each. In Adrienne Brodeur’s memoir, Wild Game fact once again proves to be infinitely stranger than fiction. Adrienne is 14 when ... Read More...
The Starless Sea
If you know me at all you know I’m seldom at a loss for words. But when an author uses all the best words in their novel, the way Erin Morgenstern did in The Starless Sea, what’s left for someone trying to write about it? I have such tender feelings for this book I’m almost afraid to review it. Not that my paltry review is going to change its destiny, just that I won’t be able ... Read More...
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
Thanks to his strict grandmother, Elwood Curtis is the kind of young man anyone would be proud of. He's smart, honest, and dependable. He is a devoted follower of Martin Luther King, listening to a record of his speeches until he knows them by heart. After he graduates from high school he has the chance to take free classes at a nearby technical college. It’s on the trip to ... Read More...
