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February Reading Wrap-Up

March 2, 2018

february

February has come and gone and it’s the first month in a long time that didn’t feel like it disappeared, which is nice for a change. It was also a month when the Seattle weather matched my reading—unpredictable, with sunny highs and cold lows, snow, high winds, thunder, sleet, hail…you name it. In both cases (reading and weather), I didn’t mind it too much except that the ... Read More...

6 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Feature, Fiction Tagged: art, chick lit, mini-reviews, mystery, social issues

December Reading Wrap-Up

December 28, 2017

december

  So ends December and 2017! It was not an easy year. Initially, books didn’t even help but eventually reading became my escape again (to the tune of 183 books read). 2017 ended strong with November providing me with some of my favorite books of all time. December was a bit more hit or miss, with what I read below. You can check out my favorites for the year here and ... Read More...

11 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Feature Tagged: debut, historical fiction, lists, mini-reviews, mystery, thriller

It’s Not You, It’s Me: Mini-Reviews

November 17, 2017

it's

I haven’t had a great year of reading (until recently), but generally it felt pretty clear that it was the books not working, not me. Except for these two recent reads, which is why they’re It’s Not You, It’s Me books. In both cases, the writing and story were good, but they were missing whatever indefinable element I need to keep me invested.   Given the title, it ... Read More...

9 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Feature, Fiction Tagged: childhood, ecco, family, mini-reviews, Southern life, Tin House

September Reading Wrap-Up

October 2, 2017

september

Goodbye summer! What an odd one it was—mostly chilly, but dry with only three days got that anywhere near hot. The worst of it was in with the fires in the Columbia Gorge when, even though we live up in Seattle, we had ash settling on our deck, trapping the heat and smoke for almost a week of hot, sticky, smelly weather. My reading was odd as well—four DNFs in June and mostly ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Feature, Fiction Tagged: ecco, family, historical fiction, mini-reviews, Riverhead Books, Scribner, social issues, St. Martin's Press

Perfect Little World: A Novel

February 8, 2017

perfect little world

  On Monday I wrote about Swimming Lessons, a novel with prose that evinced an emotional response from me, even when the story did not work so well. Today’s review is about a book that is almost the complete opposite. It’s unusual for me to like fiction that didn’t impact me emotionally, but I did with Kevin Wilson’s new novel, Perfect Little World. I was devoid of much ... Read More...

8 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, contemporary life, ecco, family, social issues

The Nest

March 30, 2016

nest

The Nest is contemporary-family-behaving-badly fiction—a genre I generally enjoy. Oh, who am I kidding- I like any family behaving badly in fiction! I mean, why not; it’s so much more fun. Sadly, what makes The Nest contemporary is its all-too-realistic theme: people living out their material dreams through credit. In the case of Leo, Jack, Beatrice, and Melody Plumb the credit ... Read More...

6 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: debut, ecco, family, Manhattan

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