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Songbirds: A Novel by Christy Lefteri

August 26, 2021

songbirds

Sorry to start a review with a longwinded explanation, but…Songbirds was a new experience for me. I don’t remember ever starting a book and being so put off by the opening scene. Yiannis is a main character, living in Cyprus, a country that is in the direct migration path of millions of small, exotic birds. He’s a poacher, trapping them by the hundred in nets and then killing ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, cultural, literary

July Reading Wrap-Up

July 30, 2021

july

  July. What a month! On the bright side there was this: Me getting to see my mother after 18 months apart. She's the person who encouraged my love of reading. And that’s about as much as I need to write about July because everything else was just life. My reading was odd, but I’m hearing from a lot of friends that they’re going through the same thing. Namely, the ... Read More...

10 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Feature Tagged: contemporary life, cultural, humor, mini-reviews, vacation reading

June Books I’m Ready to Read

June 2, 2021

June

  Hello, June 2021! While some things feel as unsettling as they have for the past 4 years, others are getting easier. Those of us who are vaccinated are looking forward to a more open summer. But the country seems no less divided. Without meaning to, the books I want to read this June feel the same way—light versus dark, heavy versus fun nonfiction, sequels I’ve been ... Read More...

10 Comments
Filed Under: Feature, Reading Tagged: cultural, friendship, historical fiction, politics, suspense, women

The Last Exiles: A Novel

April 23, 2021

last exiles

Jin and Suja come from opposite worlds. Jin is the son of a factory supervisor in one of the poorest provinces of North Korea while Suja is the daughter of a high-ranking member of the government’s media. When Jin earns a scholarship to the university in Pyongyang they meet and begin a relationship. Both are committed to the ethos of their Dear Leader, but in The Last Exiles a ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: cultural, debut, North Korea

Of Women and Salt: A Novel

April 9, 2021

women

Jeannette is first-generation American in her Cuban family, but feels she knows nothing about her mother’s life or family left behind in Cuba. When asked, Carmen goes quiet. The only life she cares about is the comfortable one she has now in Miami. Ana is an 8-year-old girl who arrives home from an overnight stay at a babysitter’s house to find their home locked and no one ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, cultural, debut, historical fiction, literary

March Reading Recap

March 31, 2021

march reading

March was a great month for reading in that I ran from one book to another, but not so good for reviewing as my interest in writing fled in the opposite direction. Which now means I have a head full of tangled plots, character confusion, and dense clusters of missing information about what I’ve read. There will have to be some rereading in my future, combined with cursing ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Feature Tagged: cultural, literary, memoir, mini-reviews, mystery

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