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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

The Girls from Corona del Mar

June 24, 2020

girls

When Lorrie Ann and Mia become best friends, Mia believes herself to be the shadow behind Lorrie Ann’s golden girl. By the time they reach high school Mia is even more sure that Lorrie Ann is everything she is not. She is kind, caring and good, part of a tight knit family while Mia sees herself as dark and negative, isolated from her family. At 15 she makes the decision to end ... Read More...

8 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, debut, friendship, Knopf, literary

Pretty Things: A Novel

June 4, 2020

pretty things

Nina is the kind of pretty that stands out, but not enough to be a problem if you’re a grifter stealing from rich people in L.A. She’s got a keen eye, both for fine art and antiques (thanks to an MFA), and for drunk spoiled men who aren’t likely to miss valuable items from their homes. Vanessa is an heiress who fits Nina’s profile, but as an Instagram influencer she’s too aware ... Read More...

5 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: mystery, thriller

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