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The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett

November 12, 2018

uncommon

Everyone knows the old saying that the best things come in small packages. I’m pretty sure it’s supposed to refer to jewelry, but I’m happy to report that it can also be true of books. For any number of reasons recently, a perfect storm on too many fronts had left me unable to process anything more than re-watching Parks & Recreation obsessively.  My mind was mush and I ... Read More...

5 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: England, Farrar Straus Giroux, humor

Last Bit of Summer: Mini-Reviews

August 27, 2018

last

This week is it—the last bit of summer. At least, the traditional vacation aspects of it, because who knows how much longer summer-like weather will last? Either way, I’m ready for it. The past two weeks have been unpleasant, with an air quality rating in Seattle worse than Beijing’s thanks to wildfires in Canada and eastern Washington. Enough about the weather! Time to jump ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Feature Tagged: Doubleday, ecco, family, humor, Manhattan, mini-reviews, satire

How Hard Can It Be?

June 11, 2018

hard

You know how sometimes you see a trailer for a movie and it is fantastic, then you go see the movie and realize all the best bits were in the trailer? The cover for How Hard Can It Be? is like that. Every woman I know who’s seen it has laughed out loud, but does that mean that what lies behind the cover is any good?  It’s the modern-day story of Kate Reddy, who after an absence ... Read More...

13 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: contemporary life, humor, marriage, midlife, St. Martin's Press

Quirky Women: Mini-Reviews

May 11, 2018

quirky

I am a huge fan of quirky characters, but when they fly by the eccentric train station heading full speed to weird I start applying the reading brakes. Today’s reviews are about two women who are quirky and then some. In one case it worked beautifully and led to a novel I loved. In the other, it was almost enough to overshadow a good book.   As mentioned, I always ... Read More...

5 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: contemporary life, debut, friendship, humor, mini-reviews, new adult, women

Anatomy of a Miracle

March 26, 2018

anatomy

  Cameron Harris is a patriotic young man who goes to Afghanistan and returns home paralyzed from the waist down after stepping on an IED. When Jonathan Miles’s new novel, Anatomy of a Miracle opens he is back in his hometown of Biloxi, Mississippi living with his sister Tanya. Days are spent watching TV, smoking, taking the cornucopia of pills he’s been prescribed, and ... Read More...

16 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, contemporary life, family, Hogarth, humor, literary

Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella

February 12, 2018

surprise

With Valentine’s Day coming up this week it felt like the perfect time to review a new novel about marriage from an author I love. Surprise Me  by Sophie Kinsella is about a couple who have been together for ten years. In the course of getting their yearly physicals for insurance purposes their doctor, who’s a specialist in longevity, informs them that they’re both going to ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: chick lit, humor, marriage, Random House

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