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Betty: A Novel by Tiffany McDaniel

March 29, 2021

Betty

A biracial little girl is the main character and the namesake in Tiffany McDaniel’s shattering novel, Betty. Born in 1954 and raised in Appalachian Ohio, the novel follows her and her five siblings, a Cherokee father, and White mother as their lives are acid-etched with racism from the outside  and tragedy from within. The South of the 1950s and 1960s was not known for its ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: childhood, historical fiction, literary, Southern life

Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir

March 10, 2021

kingdoms

Imagine being 22 years old, leaving home to live in Paris and work at a dream job, and meeting a great guy. Sounds like the beginning of a traditional chick-lit novel, right? But what if, despite all the excitement, physical problems you’d written off to stress weren’t getting better, they were getting worse? In this way, Suleika’s Jaouad’s memoir, Between Two Kingdoms: A ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Non-fiction Tagged: health, memoir

No Heaven for Good Boys

January 29, 2021

heaven

In Senegal, young boys are often sent from their rural villages to Dakar, a city where they have opportunities for religious and secular education not found at home. Most often it begins when the child is ten, but in the case of seven-year-old Ibrahimah when Marabout Ahmed saves his life, his father, Idrissa, agrees to let the holy man take his son and begin his education ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: Africa, cultural, debut, literary, social issues

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...

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

The Holdout: A Novel by Graham Moore

October 14, 2020

holdout

All “guilty” votes had to be alike in reasoning. But all “not guilty” votes could be for different reasons and still reach the same results.   Courtroom dramas are a staple in fiction, but they most often focus on the front of the house—victim, defendant, lawyers, maybe even judge. They seldom stray into the mysterious inner world of jurors. Graham Moore changes that ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: crime, mystery, suspense

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

September 14, 2020

transcendent

There are so many things I wish I could forget, but maybe “forget” isn’t quite right. There are so many things I wish I never knew.   Transcendent Kingdom is a novel that lies at the intersection of religion, addiction, science, and mental health. Gifty is a PhD candidate at Stanford, studying reward-seeking behavior’s role in addiction. Her dedication to her research is ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, contemporary life, literary, social issues

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