Once again, I’m one of the last of the bloggers to weigh in on the best books of the year. The great news is that, unlike last year, which was a bleak year for my reading, this year was much better. My ten best books are all from 2018—no backlist! They’re a varied lot, ranging from mythology to miracles to food to marriage. The only constant in the majority of them is humor. ... Read More...
November Reading Wrap-Up
Well, my November this year was not as much of a blockbuster as last year, but I did read four outstanding books, out of a total of 12 for the month. Not too surprisingly, they were all books released several years ago. Generally, November is a slow time for new releases (which seems odd to me because it’s right in time for holiday sales). This means most of my reading for the ... Read More...
Books: Bits & Pieces
Unless you are the most blessed of readers you have run into slumps, books you could not finish, and those you couldn’t even start. If you’re also a book blogger there is another demoralizing category: books you’ve read that didn’t make enough of an impression to be reviewed. I can’t speak for anyone else, but for me books I loved or hated are easier to write about. A book ... Read More...
The Collector’s Apprentice: A Novel
Before I share my thoughts on The Collector's Apprentice, B.A. Shapiro's new art world novel, I need to fess up that this books contains two big pieces of literary kryptonite for me. One is kind of obvious—the cover. I love the era of well-dressed, elegant women in pearls, even if I spend 95% of my days in what can only kindly be called athleisure wear (read: really old ... Read More...
Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver
Willa and her husband Iano are stuck in a situation that strikes fear in the heart of anyone in midlife—she’s newly unemployed and the college where he had tenure closed and he’s been forced to take an entry-level at a small school in Philadelphia. His father is a morbidly obese, deaf, virulent racist who lives with them because his wife died. Their 26-year-old ... Read More...
A Well-Behaved Woman
The Vanderbilt family is one of the great success stories in American history. Author Therese Fowler picks up the line with the third generation in her novel, A Well-Behaved Woman. The woman in question is Alva Smith—a 21-year-old with a perfect pedigree, but no money. Teetering, in fact, on the edge of outright poverty, until her dear friend Consuelo (a Cuban sugar heiress), ... Read More...
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