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2020 Underrated Gems

December 21, 2020

Well, it’s that time of year again…the extravaganza of lists about everything BEST in the world. I’ll be joining the fray, but my two lists (debuts and overall best) won’t be going up until after Christmas. For today, I wanted to give some love to four very different books I thought were gems, but that didn’t get much attention. Interestingly enough, none are light reading. I ... Read More...

10 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Feature Tagged: contemporary life, literary, memoir, Middle East

The Unraveling of Mercy Louis

November 23, 2020

mercy

Take high school sports, an oil refinery explosion, a grandmother ready for the Rapture, and layer in a fetus found in a dumpster and a Purity Ball and you have the world that is The Unraveling of Mercy Louis. Ostensibly, the novel is about Mercy, a high school senior who is one of the best basketball players in the state of Texas, but the events listed create a vortex of ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, coming-of-age, friendship, literary

EarthEater: A Novel by Dolores Reyes

November 20, 2020

earth

An unnamed young woman lives in the barrios of Argentina with her older brother and her aunt. They have recently buried her beloved mother and her father has left. She responds to the need for answers the only way she knows how…by eating dirt. Unpalatable and bizarre? Yes. But it tells her where people have gone and if they are alive or dead. Eartheater is her story. When a ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: contemporary life, cultural, debut, literary

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

November 9, 2020

invisible

Last week I wished for a big, immersive book to keep my mind far away from reality. Thanks to a recommendation from my friend, Susie, I got it. And, once again, in the way of the bookish universe, it was about making a wish. Or, at the very least: Be careful what you wish for. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue  is a novel that spans 300 years in a mere 400 pages and makes the ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: contemporary life, fantasy, historical fiction, literary

Backlist Beauties: Mini-Reviews

October 29, 2020

backlist

Last week I was supposed to start reading another fall new release novel. It's even one I'm looking forward to, Ken Follett's The Evening and the Morning, but the thought of 900 pages made my brain hurt. It's a sad truth—my attention span lately has shrunk to an amount of time easily measured by counting on my fingers. Except I usually forget what number I’m at before I hit ten ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Feature, Fiction Tagged: contemporary life, literary, relationships, women

In Love with George Eliot: A Novel

October 21, 2020

george

If you’ve ever read the classics (either for school or pleasure) you’ve heard of George Eliot. If you’re like me, you didn’t know, until later, that Eliot was a pen name and the great English novelist is actually Marian Evans. I learned this decades ago, but beyond that knew nothing about Evans herself. Now, thanks to In Love with George Eliot, by Kathy O’Shaughnessy I’m better ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: 19th century, book clubs, England, historical fiction, literary

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