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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...

2 Comments
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...

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

July Reading Wrap-Up

July 30, 2020

july

  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...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Feature Tagged: dystopia, Italy, literary, memoir, mini-reviews, mythology, science fiction

Utopia Avenue: A Novel by David Mitchell

July 22, 2020

utopia

‘Utopia’ means ‘no place.’ An avenue is a place. So is music. When we’re playing well, I’m here, but elsewhere, too. That’s the paradox. Utopia is unattainable. Avenues are everywhere. Derek, Elf, Jasper, and Griff each has a dream: make it big in the music industry playing music they love. So far, it hasn’t panned out for any of them. But when manager Levon Frankland ... Read More...

6 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: 1960s, historical fiction, literary, London, pop culture

Smacked: A Story of White-Collar Ambition, Addiction, and Tragedy

July 20, 2020

smacked

Last week I shared a review first for me. Today I’m back with another one: Smacked is my third 5-star nonfiction book in 2020. At the halfway point of the year? That’s nuts. You know me—I don’t read a lot of nonfiction, so to be reading it and to have it be outstanding is a delight at a time when finding delight is not easy. Smacked is written by Eilene Zimmerman, a business ... Read More...

7 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Non-fiction Tagged: book clubs, debut, memoir, social issues

The Golden Cage: A Novel

July 6, 2020

golden

The story is not a new one in fiction: intelligent woman meets man in college, gives him great business idea, he runs with it, they marry, have children, and she finds herself left with nothing when replaced by younger, firmer version of herself. In The Golden Cage, Faye is the woman and in Sweden she lives of life of ease with her husband, Jake, and their young daughter, ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: contemporary life, mystery

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