I may be writing this review to watch myself write because virtually every reader I know has already read Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See. Ostensibly, my excuse is, this Pulitzer Prize winning novel originally published in 2014 is being re-released in paperback. But really? WHY did it take me this long to read this wonder of a novel? I have no decent reason. ... Read More...
The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane
I have always enjoyed Lisa See’s novels for their intimate portrayals of women in China at various points in its history. The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane is her latest and, once again, See brings to life the stories about people and places about which I knew nothing. The novel is set in the 1980s in the Yunnan province, an area known for its tea. Li-Yan’s family, like ... Read More...
The Museum of Extraordinary Things
The Museum of Extraordinary Things is both the name of Alice Hoffman’s new historical novel and the name of the museum Coralie’s father owns. She lives alone with him in the house next to the museum on Coney Island. Her mother died when she was an infant and her father is highly protective so the only company she has is their housekeeper, Maureen. He is also adamant she not go ... Read More...
The Hundred-Foot Journey
I am almost speechless at how much I enjoyed this book. The Hundred-Foot Journey is a beautiful, thoughtfully written story about one man’s trek from unwelcome immigrant to renowned chef in Paris. Hassam Haji starts life living above his grandfather's restaurant in Mumbai. When they family leaves india and settles in France it becomes Hassam's dream to be a chef in a French ... Read More...
Doctor Sleep: A Novel
If you are one of the five people on the planet who has never read Stephen King let me bring you up to speed. He is the prolific writer of some of the all-time scariest books in history. The only way I was able to read The Shiningwas when I worked in a manufacturing plant, on work breaks, midday in a brightly lit room, sitting on a chair with my back to the wall and an open ... Read More...
The Silver Star
The Silver Star is author Jeannette Walls’ latest foray into fiction. Her memoir, The Glass Castle, is an intimate look at her childhood, when benign neglect, became not-so benign, as neither of her parents had the selflessness or aptitude to raise children. The Silver Star treads familiar territory in that the mother, while flamboyant and fun, is a narcissist with no interest ... Read More...
