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What I’m Reading This Week

July 29, 2019

reading

It’s probably not good form to begin a post by making excuses, but here it is: I spent most of last week getting my husband ready to move to Michigan and after he left on Saturday I had no energy left for anything but moping around the house. I did read last week, but nothing that stuck with me enough to review. I’m looking at today as a reset, because I’m going to be living on ... Read More...

6 Comments
Filed Under: Feature Tagged: historical fiction, literary, women

If You Want to Make God Laugh: A Novel

July 22, 2019

god

Delilah hasn’t been home in forty years, but when she arrives on her family’s farm in South Africa it’s to find her sister Ruth drunk on the couch and getting ready to sell the place. The sisters are polar opposites. Literally. Delilah left the family at 17 to become a nun and when that didn’t happen devoted herself to working in an orphanage in Zaire. Ruth became famous as a ... Read More...

8 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: 20th century, book clubs, cultural, literary, Putnam, racism, South Africa, women

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

July 17, 2019

nickel

Thanks to his strict grandmother, Elwood Curtis is the kind of young man anyone would be proud of. He's smart, honest, and dependable. He is a devoted follower of Martin Luther King, listening to a record of his speeches until he knows them by heart. After he graduates from high school he has the chance to take free classes at a nearby technical college. It’s on the trip to ... Read More...

6 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, Doubleday, historical fiction, literary, racism

A Prayer for Travelers

July 15, 2019

prayer

Cale doesn’t have a lot of people in her life. In fact, there’s only one since her mother left her in a hospital room when she was an infant. Her grandfather, a quiet old man who has no experience with children, who takes her to casinos while he gambles, but whose face, voice, and familiar smells are all she knows of love. It’s a small life in nowheresville Nevada until she ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: coming-of-age, debut, literary, Riverhead Books

Stalled: Mini-Reviews

July 5, 2019

stalled

In the past I’ve done a feature called It’s Not You It’s Me to indicate books I didn’t enjoy but that I believe other readers might like. Today is a bit different because in those cases I finished the books. With these three books I stalled out, set the book down and never came back to it. This is likely due to my personal circumstances—namely moving across country with a lot ... Read More...

17 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Feature, Fiction Tagged: essays, literary, Russia

After the End by Clare Mackintosh

July 1, 2019

after the end

There are many unimaginable things in life, but one of the worst is being the parent of a dying child. Max and Pip are a couple in love who adore their son Dylan. He’s a happy child, but developmentally a bit slow—he doesn’t talk much and falls down more than most children. Shortly before his third birthday they learn he has a brain tumor. A tumor that’s been causing the damage ... Read More...

10 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, family, literary, marriage, Putnam, social issues

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