Tin House Books Archives - The Gilmore Guide to Books

Lucky Girl

Catherine — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 08:40:50 +0000

What is life like when you have an extraordinary gift? When you’re a child with an ability that goes far beyond your years and you have the determination to see it grow? For Lucy, the ability was dance and her ambition so fierce it takes her to the heights of commercial success in Lucky Girl, […]

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The Year of the Horses: A Memoir

Catherine — Wed, 17 Aug 2022 04:28:09 +0000

Courtney Maum’s memoir opens with a scene of a young daughter refusing her mother’s help to put on her socks despite the fact that they’re going to be late for an appointment. Maum is the mother and her frustration, veering into internal rage and the immediate weight of guilt, is so well-written my jaw clenched […]

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June Reading Recap

Catherine — Fri, 01 Jul 2022 04:08:27 +0000

June. What a month. Normally, this is a recap of my reading, but no matter how I try to stick to the subject of books my brain refuses to cooperate. By this time next week we’ll be starting the 2,200 mile trip from Ann Arbor to Seattle. The unending list of what needs to be […]

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Unsettled Ground by Claire Fuller

Catherine — Mon, 16 Aug 2021 04:11:53 +0000

When twins Julius and Jeanie’s mother, Dot, dies it signals an end to their life as they’ve known it. They live quietly in a small rural cottage on enough land for Dot and Jeanie to sell vegetables and eggs by the roadside and to a local grocer. Julius works in construction and does odd jobs. […]

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A Girl is a Body of Water

Catherine — Wed, 30 Sep 2020 04:38:13 +0000

I came upon Jennifer Makumbi’s novel, A Girl is a Body of Water, in my efforts to further diversify my reading. It’s a multi-generational saga centered around a young Ugandan woman named Kirabo. The novel begins in the 1970s when she’s 12. She lives in a sprawling rural compound with her grandparents and many relatives. […]

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October Reading-Wrap-Up

Catherine — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 08:34:32 +0000

I realize it’s already the first week of November but last week was taken up with family and I could not get myself pulled together until the weekend. Having said that, as much as I’d like you to read on, if you haven’t voted…GO VOTE. Done your civic duty? Super! Well, October was not […]

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It’s Not You, It’s Me: Mini-Reviews

Catherine — Fri, 17 Nov 2017 08:03:19 +0000

I haven’t had a great year of reading (until recently), but generally it felt pretty clear that it was the books not working, not me. Except for these two recent reads, which is why they’re It’s Not You, It’s Me books. In both cases, the writing and story were good, but they were missing whatever […]

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Swimming Lessons

Catherine — Mon, 06 Feb 2017 08:13:10 +0000

When Claire Fuller’s newest novel, Swimming Lessons, begins Ingrid has been missing for eleven years. Her daughters, Nan and Flora, have grown up and her husband Gil now spends most of his time going through the books in their house. He’s always been obsessed with the marginalia and ephemera left behind inside their covers, […]

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Dryland: A Novel

Catherine — Fri, 13 Nov 2015 08:38:13 +0000

Julie Winter is a sophomore in high school and if navigating those waters is not enough, there are the perceptions of her by people at her school. Her brother Jordan was a swimmer of Olympic caliber and so everyone who meets her thinks she must be a potential swimming superstar. When she is asked […]

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Our Endless Numbered Days

Catherine — Wed, 18 Mar 2015 07:02:30 +0000

There are few things more important to little girls than their fathers and Peggy is no exception. Her German mother is a famous concert pianist but she is often brusque and busy while her father has friends who come over and hang out, smoking and talking about exciting things she doesn’t fully understand. He plays, […]

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