I don’t focus on writing negative reviews, but at the same time, when a new novel is getting a lot of hype, my reading friends want to know what I think about it. In this case the novel is Stephen Markley’s debut, Ohio. If all you need is a one sentence opinion then here you go: The novel is a grim mash-up of the plot from 13 Reasons Why and the setting of Hillbilly Elegy and ... Read More...
It’s Not You, It’s Me: Mini-Reviews
These days it seems it’s harder and harder to get anyone to agree on anything so why should books be any different? What is different is that we’re nicer people so sometimes I’m able to admit—It’s Not You, It’s Me when I don’t like a book. In this case, one book left me puzzled and emotionless and the other was a case of timing—American dystopia feels like non-fiction these ... Read More...
Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win
It didn’t matter that she wasn’t the most creative thinker or the most analytical person in the room: When she was presented with a problem, Charlotte Walsh could always fix it. Because I started the week with one strong woman (two actually) I thought I’d go all in and review another intense read about another determined woman. Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win is by Jo Piazza, ... Read More...
Quiet Summer Reading: The Verdun Affair
Last week I started this little feature for books that don't quite fit in the normal summer reading mold. This week's pick is still a quiet character study, but about a devastating time in history. I have read many, many novels about World War II, but very few about World War I. That, plus a level of ignorance that feels embarrassing means I didn’t know that in ... Read More...
When Life Gives You Lululemons
Just when you thought The Devil Wears Prada series was finished, author Lauren Weisberger is back. Previously, she visited Andi in her new incarnation as a magazine editor in Revenge Wears Prada (which I liked, not loved). Now, in When Life Gives You Lululemons, it is the snarky fashionista Emily who takes center stage. Which, if you ask her, is exactly as it should be. At ... Read More...
The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner
There isn’t any status in it unless you’d be impressed to know that the Mars Room is not a middling or mediocre strip club but is definitely the worst and most notorious, the very seediest and most circuslike place there is. In stark contrast to all that was warm and lovely in Monday’s book, Tin Man, I’m back today with a book that probably worked because it was ... Read More...
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