The Gilmore Guide to Books

Connecting Books and Readers One Review at a Time

  • Home
  • About Me
  • Reviews
    • Reviews by Author
    • Reviews by Title
    • Reviews by Genre
  • Podcast
  • Policies
    • Review Policy
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Policy

Sugar Run by Mesha Maren

February 11, 2019

sugar

Jodi has dealt with feeling unwanted and out of place for most of her life. As a little girl her parents decided she was best off being raised by her grandmother on a remote farm in the Appalachians of West Virginia. Later, as a teen she fell deeply in love with a woman who had a knack for playing poker and dangerous behavior. There’s passion, but the feeling is never quite ... Read More...

8 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: Algonquin Books, debut, literary, social issues, Southern life, women

Becoming by Michelle Obama

January 28, 2019

becoming

Leave it to Michelle Obama, an untested writer, to achieve something that has never happened in my reading history. I finished her memoir, Becoming, on January 15th and had no hesitation in ranking it 5 stars. This makes it not only the first time I’ve found a 5-star book in January, but the only time my first 5-star rating of the year has been given to nonfiction. I just don’t ... Read More...

20 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Non-fiction Tagged: book clubs, marriage, memoir, politics, Random House, social issues, women

Daring to Drive

January 7, 2019

daring

If I had to sum up Manal al-Sharif’s memoir Daring to Drive in one sentence it would be: Saudi Arabia is a country that despises women. I didn’t know this. Somehow, I thought it was one of the more enlightened Middle Eastern countries but after listening to Manal’s story of lifelong oppression for no other reason than being female, I realize how wrong I was.  Ostensibly, the ... Read More...

13 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Non-fiction Tagged: contemporary life, cultural, Middle East, Simon & Schuster, women

What I’m Reading This Week (10/19/18)

October 29, 2018

reading

This is a very interesting reading week for me. For the first time in several months I don’t have any upcoming releases I plan on reading. I’ve finished with October and there is nothing in November until the middle of the month. All of which means I’m left to my own devices—which could be a good thing or a not-so good thing, depending on how I choose. Do I go with ... Read More...

5 Comments
Filed Under: Feature, Reading Tagged: lists, social issues, war, women

A Well-Behaved Woman

October 17, 2018

behaved

The Vanderbilt family is one of the great success stories in American history. Author Therese Fowler picks up the line with the third generation in her novel, A Well-Behaved Woman. The woman in question is Alva Smith—a 21-year-old with a perfect pedigree, but no money. Teetering, in fact, on the edge of outright poverty, until her dear friend Consuelo (a Cuban sugar heiress), ... Read More...

8 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: 19th century, historical fiction, Manhattan, St. Martin's Press, wealth, women

A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult

October 3, 2018

spark

Jodi Picoult is a seasoned pro at presenting both sides to highly charged and complicated issues—which is one of the reasons I love her books. She moves me out of my comfort zone and gives me perspectives that I might not come to on my own. Generally, she finds hot-button topics shortly after they’ve hit the mainstream news, but in her latest, A Spark of Light, she is prescient ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: Ballantine, book clubs, contemporary life, social issues, women

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • …
  • 29
  • Next Page »
  • Bluesky
  • Email
  • Goodreads
  • Instagram
  • Substack

Save time and subscribe via email

No time to keep checking for new reviews? Enter your email address to subscribe and receive notifications of new posts by email. No spam!

Bookshop

Currently Reading

Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle
Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle
by Emily Nagoski
The Dutch House
The Dutch House
by Ann Patchett
Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me
Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me
by Adrienne Brodeur

goodreads.com

Affiliate Disclosure

I’m an affiliate for Bookshop. If you click on a link that takes you to their site and make a purchase I’ll earn a small fee, which goes towards the costs of maintaining this site. Your support is appreciated. Thank you!

Archives

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License.

Theme Design By Studio Mommy · Copyright © 2026

Copyright © 2026 · Beyond Madison Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in