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Strange Sally Diamond

August 8, 2023

strange sally

In rural Ireland 44-year-old Sally lives alone with her elderly father. They seldom come in contact with the outside world because Sally is neurodivergent and interactions with people never seem to go well. When Liz Nugent’s novel Strange Sally Diamond opens her father has just died. Sally handles the situation exactly as he told her to, but the after effect of her actions ... Read More...

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

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult

July 10, 2023

honey

I’d left off reading Jodi Picoult after disliking her last two books and so didn’t read Mad Honey until two readers I trust said I would enjoy it. I listened to them, but this may be the briefest review of a 4 star novel I’ve ever done. Not for a lack of thoughts, but because the plot twists in this story just keep coming until the very end. Given that each is substantive and ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, contemporary life, mystery, vacation reading

Light Summer Reading

June 16, 2023

summer

Apparently, with Tuesday’s review I forgot it’s summer—the time for light, bright reading so I’m back today to fix that. Whether you’re traveling to a new destination for a long getaway or just lounging on the porch, it’s a vacation. And for summer, vacation reading shouldn’t be anything you have to work for. To that end, I have two novels that work well as the kind of easy ... Read More...

3 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Feature Tagged: contemporary life, historical fiction, mini-reviews, women

Such Kindness: A Novel

June 13, 2023

kindness

I’ve been craving pace in my reading lately so am surprised to be here with an introspective novel spanning only a few days and very little action. Set in present-day Massachusetts, Such Kindness by Andre Dubus III is a tender, painful look at one man’s reckoning of an expansive life that once included marriage, a son, and owning his own business, but is now diminished to ... Read More...

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

May Reading

May 31, 2023

may reading

  May is over? Are we sure? The last time I looked it was the 13th. Thankfully, all the gorgeous flowers and colors here were a distraction from what was another month of meh reading. It would seem I’m getting crankier as I age because I’ve already DNFed 13 books this year, almost as many as I did for all of 2022—and we’re only at the halfway point. I do have some bright ... Read More...

10 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Feature Tagged: contemporary life, cultural, historical fiction, memoir, mini-reviews

Yellowface: A Novel by R.F. Kuang

May 29, 2023

yellowface

I’ve contorted the truth into such ways that I can, in fact, make peace with it. THIS. BOOK. Yikes. Ostensibly, Yellowface is about June Hayward, an aspiring writer who has quietly seethed as her friend Athena gets the success and accolades June craves. When Athena dies in a tragic accident June uses it as an opportunity to take her friend’s current manuscript for herself. ... Read More...

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

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