Touchstone Archives - The Gilmore Guide to Books https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/tag/touchstone/ Connecting Books and Readers One Review at a Time Sun, 29 Jul 2018 21:35:23 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/cropped-books-on-table-2-150x150.jpg Touchstone Archives - The Gilmore Guide to Books https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/tag/touchstone/ 32 32 38398750 The Map of Salt and Stars https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2018/05/the-map-of-salt-and-stars/ https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2018/05/the-map-of-salt-and-stars/#comments Mon, 14 May 2018 07:30:35 +0000 http://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/?p=10629 Making maps is the fulcrum for Jennifer Joukhadar’s debut novel, The Map of Salt and Stars. Rawiya and Nour are young women who tell their stories side by side even though they are separated by almost a thousand years. Rawiya is a sixteen-year-old in ancient Ceuta who longs to see the world beyond her village […]

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]]> https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2018/05/the-map-of-salt-and-stars/feed/ 3 10629 Literally Me by Julie Houts https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2018/01/literally-me-by-julie-houts/ https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2018/01/literally-me-by-julie-houts/#comments Wed, 24 Jan 2018 08:48:33 +0000 http://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/?p=9966   After the heavy reading of Hillbilly Elegy, I needed something light and fun. With nothing at hand, I resorted to my favorite option—wandering the library. Within five minutes I’d found what looked to be perfect, even though I’m trying to move away from being a cover whore (it’s a process, all right?). Julie Houts […]

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]]> https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2018/01/literally-me-by-julie-houts/feed/ 2 9966 George & Lizzie by Nancy Pearl https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2017/10/george-lizzie-nancy-pearl/ https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2017/10/george-lizzie-nancy-pearl/#comments Fri, 06 Oct 2017 07:49:35 +0000 http://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/?p=9416   George and Lizzie of Nancy Pearl’s debut novel, George & Lizzie are one of those couples that can only be attributed to opposites attract. George is open, gregarious, and endlessly upbeat. Lizzie is quiet, self-absorbed, and largely aimless in what she wants to do with her life. George comes from loving parents and a […]

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]]> https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2017/10/george-lizzie-nancy-pearl/feed/ 10 9416 The Necklace by Claire McMillan https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2017/07/the-necklace-claire-mcmillan/ https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2017/07/the-necklace-claire-mcmillan/#comments Fri, 14 Jul 2017 07:47:30 +0000 http://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/?p=9062   There are few literary set-ups more likely to grab my attention than the wealthy family black sheep/outcast who unexpectedly comes in to power when the patriarch/matriarch dies. What could go wrong? Everything and that’s what makes it so delightful. Claire McMillan must know this because it is the premise for her new novel, The […]

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]]> https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2017/07/the-necklace-claire-mcmillan/feed/ 4 9062 Feast of Sorrow: A Novel of Ancient Rome https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2017/04/feast-of-sorrow-a-novel-of-ancient-rome/ https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2017/04/feast-of-sorrow-a-novel-of-ancient-rome/#comments Mon, 24 Apr 2017 07:02:03 +0000 http://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/?p=8638   One of the grandest things that can happen to a reader is coming across a book with a new perspective on a subject they’ve read about extensively. Recently, I read Crystal King’s Feast of Sorrow, a novel about Italy in the time of Caesar Tiberius, because, hello, I read all of the Colleen McCullough Masters […]

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]]> https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2017/04/feast-of-sorrow-a-novel-of-ancient-rome/feed/ 2 8638 It’s a Mystery: Mini-Reviews https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2016/07/mystery-mini-reviews/ https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2016/07/mystery-mini-reviews/#comments Wed, 27 Jul 2016 07:23:21 +0000 http://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/?p=4535   My timing may be off for conjuring all things creepy and mysterious, but somehow these three books found their way to me in the last month and I didn’t want to delay sharing them. And honestly, if all you read in the summer are beachy, light reads you’ll get bored. Sure it’s great to […]

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]]> https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2016/07/mystery-mini-reviews/feed/ 5 4535 The Madwoman Upstairs https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2016/03/the-madwoman-upstairs/ https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2016/03/the-madwoman-upstairs/#comments Wed, 16 Mar 2016 07:33:00 +0000 http://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/?p=6067   It’s no secret that Catherine Lowell styles certain elements of The Madwoman Upstairs after Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre. In fact, the novel’s protagonist, Samantha Whipple, is the last remaining descendant of the Brontë family after her father dies in an unexplained fire at their home. Now she’s at Oxford and her professor, Timothy Orville, […]

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]]> https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2016/03/the-madwoman-upstairs/feed/ 4 6067 Rebel Queen: A Novel https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2015/11/rebel-queen-a-novel/ https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2015/11/rebel-queen-a-novel/#comments Mon, 23 Nov 2015 08:53:52 +0000 http://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/?p=4728   As a fan of historical fiction I often find myself reading about women as either accessories or behind-the-scenes figures so it was a welcome delight to read Michelle Moran’s Rebel Queen, about Lakshmi, the Rani (or queen) of one of the states in India in the late 19th century. The novel is told from […]

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]]> https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2015/11/rebel-queen-a-novel/feed/ 4 4728 The New Neighbor https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2015/08/the-new-neighbor/ https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2015/08/the-new-neighbor/#comments Fri, 07 Aug 2015 07:18:27 +0000 http://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/?p=4293   At 91 Margaret Riley lives a life of isolation on the shore of a small lake in the mountains of Tennessee. Across the lake is another house that has stood empty for years since its owner died but suddenly fills with life again as Jennifer and her 4-year-old son move in. The New Neighbor […]

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]]> https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2015/08/the-new-neighbor/feed/ 5 4293 As You Wish: Cary Elwes https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2014/12/as-you-wish-cary-elwes/ https://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2014/12/as-you-wish-cary-elwes/#comments Fri, 19 Dec 2014 08:32:37 +0000 http://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/?p=3553 Some people think of reviewing books as solitary, quiet vocation and often, they are right. How nice then, to attend a book event that ends up feeling like a movie premiere—complete with large crowds, screaming fans and people in costumes. This was the fun-filled case earlier this week when I was at the University Book […]

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