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Remarkably Bright Creatures

August 11, 2022

remarkably

Hello, everyone! I’m easing back in today with a novel that melted my curmudgeonly heart. Remarkably Bright Creatures is a debut by Shelby Van Pelt that takes place in Sowell Bay, a fictional small town in northern Washington State. Tova is an elderly woman, who works nights cleaning the town’s aquarium. It’s quiet work that, on the one hand, suits her wish to avoid prying, but ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: contemporary life, debut, Pacific Northwest

Bourdain: The Definitive Oral Biography

November 10, 2021

bourdain

Suicide is always shocking to those left behind, but when it’s someone famous, someone with what looks to be a “dream” life, it feels even more inexplicable. This was the case June 2018 when Anthony Bourdain killed himself. Bourdain was a chef turned television personality who created the iconic No Reservations and Parts Unknown series. He traveled globally in search of great ... Read More...

6 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Non-fiction Tagged: biography, contemporary life, food

Good Company: A Novel

April 12, 2021

good company

A happily married woman discovers her husband’s engraved wedding band in an envelope buried in a filing cabinet. Fifteen years ago, he told he lost it. Now, it’s the night of their daughter Ruby’s high school graduation and Flora sets aside her emotions to attend a party for Ruby, given by Flora’s oldest and best friend, Margot. After that, she’ll deal with what feels to be the ... Read More...

10 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, friendship, literary, marriage, women

We Run the Tides

February 24, 2021

tides

I'm not sure it's an actual publishing trend for 2021, but it's fairly unusual for me to read three novels on the same subject in one year. In this case, it's private girls' schools—always fascinating to me, but to the general public? I guess so. In January, there was The Divines and this month, All Girls. The final novel in this trifecta is today’s review: We Run the Tides by ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: contemporary life, friendship, literary, San Francisco

January Reading Wrap-Up

February 1, 2021

january

What a month. Parts of January left me stunned while others made me cry with relief. I’ll leave it at that. As for my reading, the year is starting out strong. I read 18 books, with more than half being 3.5 stars or higher. But I also DNFed three books in January, which is unusually high for me. Last year, I didn’t quit a book until February. One thing that didn’t change? My ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Feature Tagged: history, memoir, wealth, women

December Reading Recap

January 1, 2021

December

Let’s hear it for 2021! Without having done a damn thing it’s probably the most anticipated year of my lifetime. This winter may hold more darkness than light, but for many of us, the fact that we’ll have a decent, caring, grown-up in the White House in 19 days is enough to spark some hope. As is the fact that my December reading was on fire. I read 19 (what?!) books this month ... Read More...

6 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Feature

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