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Mrs. Quinn’s Rise to Fame

April 30, 2024

mrs. quinn's

The trend of lighter reading has been working for me so I thought I’d wrap up April with one more charming novel. Mainly because it combined two things I really love: a favorite TV show and sumptuous descriptions of baking. The novel is Mrs. Quinn’s Rise to Fame and is about Jenny, a 77-year-old British woman who applies to and gets on a national TV show called Britain Bakes. ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: England, food, humor, vacation reading

The English Experience

August 21, 2023

english

I leaned into dark fiction last week so thought I’d give everyone a break and go light with the latest novel in a series I’ve thoroughly enjoyed. The English Experience is the third novel by Julie Schumacher chronicling the misadventures of hapless English professor, Jay Fitger. Fitger is the department head at the aptly named Payne University—an institution of higher learning ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: contemporary life, England, humor

The Queen of Dirt Island

March 8, 2023

queen

The week Saoirse Aylward is born her father is killed in an accident, leaving her mother, Eileen alone to raise her. Their lives in a small village in western Ireland are at the heart of Donal Ryan’s boisterous, tender novel The Queen of Dirt Island. Although the novel stays within the village’s borders it’s an expansive story encompassing four generations of Irish women with ... Read More...

8 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, cultural, humor, Ireland, literary

Killers of a Certain Age

November 21, 2022

killers

Before I dash into Thanksgiving week, I thought I’d review the kind of novel everyone needs when dealing with too much family togetherness and food. It’s Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn and it is FUN. Which may be an odd word choice for a novel about assassins, but there you have it. Natalie, Billie, Mary Alice, and Helen are all in their sixties and have known each ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, humor, suspense, women

Lessons in Chemistry

April 20, 2022

lessons in chemistry

It's the 1960s and you’re a brilliant chemist exploring one of the most elusive topics in chemistry—the chemical reaction that led to life. You should be at the forefront of the scientific community. Instead, you’re grappling with your thesis advisor as he tries to rape you and later being called “luscious” by the director of a chemical laboratory where you work. This is ... Read More...

10 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: debut, historical fiction, humor, women

August Reading Wrap-Up

September 1, 2021

august

August, what a month for reading. Even better—not just quantity, but quality. All this despite the fact that I cancelled my second cataract surgery because I found the results from the first so unsatisfactory. I’m making do with the new fuzzy implanted lens and a contact lens in my other eye. Not where I thought I’d be, but I’ll have to get it figured out. On to the books! I ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Feature Tagged: humor, literary, mini-reviews, New England, pop culture

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