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June Reading Wrap-Up

June 28, 2024

june

That’s it for June, another month in the books (sorry couldn’t resist). We’ve been fortunate here in Seattle with weather that’s been chillier than usual, but with plenty of sunshine. For someone who doesn’t like too much heat it’s been perfect. Apologies to all of you sweltering in various parts of the country. It’s also been a great month of reading if not writing. I’m still ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Feature Tagged: family, mini-reviews, satire, thriller

The Trees by Percival Everett

April 24, 2023

trees

Percival Everett’s novel The Trees is a dark and darkly humorous look deep into the foul, blood-clogged engine of racism. Set in a small Mississippi town locked in the 1950s, the death of two good ole boys has left residents stunned. Not because they were particularly liked (they were not), but because the crimes are so gruesome, specifically the removal of certain body parts ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: contemporary life, literary, racism, satire, Southern life

Fun Summer Reading

July 18, 2022

  Hello, lovely readers! Remember me? Remember fun? Let's pretend I'm sitting on a chaise relaxing by the lake in this photo. Ha. I survived the 2,200 mile drive from Ann Arbor, but am now ensconced in a utilitarian, extended stay hotel that is to put it kindly, dreary. My poor husband tries to manage Zoom calls at 5am with me sleeping in bed 3’ away. The fire alarm went ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Feature Tagged: chick lit, contemporary life, mini-reviews, satire, thriller, women

Riots I Have Known

May 20, 2019

eight

Sometimes a synopsis can come out of nowhere and make you pick up a book you never thought you would, but it’s a dicey proposition because marketing people are wily devils. Their entire purpose in life is to seduce. But it still doesn’t quite explain why I thought a novel about a Sri Lankan male inmate in an American prison in the midst of a riot would make for something I ... Read More...

8 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: contemporary fiction, debut, humor, literary, satire, Simon & Schuster

Radiant Shimmering Light

January 30, 2019

radiant

Lilian is trying to live her best life, but utilizing her ability to see animals’ auras while painting pet portraits is not working out. She can’t even earn enough to pay the rent on her Toronto apartment. She feels stymied and trapped so when her cousin Eleven (formerly Florence) Novak invites her to New York City to attend one of her famous female empowerment seminars she ... Read More...

1 Comment
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: Bloomsbury, contemporary life, debut, satire

The Dreaded DNF: Mini-Reviews

September 14, 2018

dreaded

There is more than one reason for not finishing a book. Sometimes it's a case of 'It's Not You, It's Me'. Other times it's the right book at the wrong time. And then, there are the cases when neither of these apply and it is more basic: life is too short for me to keep reading this book that is working my last nerve. It happens and becomes a dreaded DNF. Here are my two most ... Read More...

6 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Feature, Fiction Tagged: coming-of-age, contemporary fiction, historical fiction, satire, WWII

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