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March Reading Recap

April 1, 2022

march reading

I'm being optimistic with this March graphic as Michigan is mired in low temperatures right now. Earlier we had 70 degrees, but that was a tease from Mother Nature. Now, the sunshine (and reading) are best enjoyed from inside. A circumstance I'm happy to use as an excuse to curl up on the couch!   Dear William supposed to be a memoir about his son’s death from a ... Read More...

6 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Feature Tagged: art, historical fiction, memoir, mini-reviews

January Reading Wrap-Up

January 31, 2022

january

What to say about January? A month that went so fast, but didn’t seem to move at all. With subzero temperatures and a broken supply chain that left Costco with no Diet Coke (I can go without my meds, but no Diet Coke is a bridge too far). Those are the lows, but the important news is that January was an outstanding month for reading. Of the 14 books I read 9 were 4 stars or ... Read More...

6 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Feature Tagged: dystopia, literary, mini-reviews, mystery, thriller, true crime

Notes on an Execution: A Novel

January 24, 2022

execution

In twelve hours Ansel Packer will be executed. As the time unwinds, three women parse the life of a serial killer. Lavender is his mother, Hazel the twin sister of his wife, and Saffron the police captain involved in his capture. In Notes on an Execution their stories strip the filters from Ansel’s own Auto-tuned portrayal of himself and his life’s Theory, leaving behind ... Read More...

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

My 8 Best Books of 2021

December 27, 2021

  Best is a big word, especially these days when words that have been a part of the lexicon for lifetimes feel as if they’re losing their meaning. The first that comes to mind is “normal”. There is nothing normal about our weather, our politics, America.  There’s a COVID vaccine and a booster, but the virus has remained a partisan issue. Which is to say I went to the ... Read More...

8 Comments
Filed Under: Feature, Reading Tagged: book clubs, favorite books, literary, racism

My 6 Favorite Debuts of 2021

December 20, 2021

debut

  Happy Monday and welcome to my first yearend best-of lists. Today is a favorite category: best debuts. Finding new authors is one of my greatest reading pleasures and 2021 proved to be a very good year. Of all my reading, 38% was debut authors and of those debuts I rated 36% 3.5 stars or higher, with 3.5 being my baseline for a book I’d recommend to others. Finally, of ... Read More...

6 Comments
Filed Under: Feature, Reading Tagged: book clubs, childhood, debut, favorite books, historical fiction, literary, mystery

No One Will Miss Her: A Novel

November 15, 2021

miss her

Everyone has their own understanding of what appeals to them in fiction. Something I love is a dead narrator. For some reason, this makes me implicitly trust them. It’s even better if they acknowledge their own unlikability as is the case with the unloved Lizzie Ouellette. No One Will Miss Her opens with her imagining an old drunk sitting around the local bar after her death ... Read More...

6 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction

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