Even within their evangelical Christian community the Quanbeck family is known as unusual, but in The Girl Who Slept with God, fourteen-year-old Jory is used to it. Until, that is, her devout sister, Grace, is allowed, at seventeen, to go off on a mission to Mexico, and returns pregnant. The potential embarrassment to their father within their religious circle is such that he ... Read More...
In Search of the Perfect Loaf
Carbs have fallen in and out of favor throughout the years but never with me. Bread is one of my favorite food groups and always will be! Samuel Fromartz feels the same way and documents his love in In Search of the Perfect Loaf: A Home Baker’s Odyssey. His story begins when he travels to Paris to work for a boulangerie known for their baguettes—a type of bread Fromartz has ... Read More...
A Conversation with Deborah Harkness
Yesterday I posted my review of The Book of Life, the final installment in the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness. Today her publishers, Viking, have been kind enough to share a question and answer interview they hosted with her. Read on for fascinating insight into what is a great paranormal fantasy series. A CONVERSATION WITH DEBORAH HARKNESS Q: In your day ... Read More...
Bristol House
Annie Kendall’s life has not gone the way she’d hoped it would. In the midst of a stellar academic career as an architectural historian she let a fondness for alcohol get away from her and in doing so lost custody of her young son. By the time she regained her sobriety both her personal life and career were in shambles. It is fortuitous then that billionaire Phil Weinraub ... Read More...
Coming to My Senses: A Story of Perfume, Pleasure, and an Unlikely Bride
Alyssa Harad is a 30-something, self-proclaimed feminist and scholar who finds herself at loose ends when a PhD in English and teaching do not work out the way she thought they would. She fills her time as a freelance writer until discovering a perfume blog that piques her interest. Soon, she is consumed by these blogs and anything to do with fragrance. Coming to My Senses is a ... Read More...
Rules of Civility
It is a rare occasion when the title of a book not only hints at the plot but perfectly describes the stylistic tone as well. The Rules of Civility is just such a book and it is a grand first effort for author Amor Towles. Towles takes us into Manhattan in 1938. Wealthy Manhattan, where what is said and seen on the surface is often not what is happening underneath. ... Read More...
