I needed this book in my life right now. I don’t even know how to follow that up without hijacking this review into my own political soapbox, so for future reference, I’ll just note that we’re in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and may George Floyd rest in peace. I pray for justice and meaningful societal changes for him and […]
I was a bit familiar with the practice of honor killings and was of course appalled by them. The patriarch of a family apparently has complete discretion to order a woman in the family to be killed if she brings dishonor on the family. In the examples in the book, this usually comes about when a “woman” (usually barely past […]
This is Stephanie Plum! It goes without saying that she and Lula and Grandma Mazur are going to have some insanely funny moments. It also goes without saying that Stephanie is going to have some extremely…um, romantic? lusty? naughty? all of the above?… moments with Morelli or Ranger. You either like the formula or you […]
I “discovered” Joe Hill somewhere back around 20th Century Ghosts or Heart-Shaped Box. I don’t recall which I read first but I think I read them pretty close together. I’ve eagerly snatched up his new books as they’re published ever since, which isn’t something I do with most authors. I’m a library girl and have been all my […]
I’ve tried to read How to Do Nothing. I promise I’ve tried hard. I’m so guilty of spending too much time on social media and the internet and everything else that tries (successfully) to steal my attention away from the here and now. But I’m just not getting anywhere with this book. I […]
Vinnie had a fascinating life. She did actually marry Charles Stratton, “General Tom Thumb,” who toured with P.T. Barnum from the age of 5 until his death. Vinnie started her career with the American Museum but after her marriage, she and Charles toured Europe, the US, and eventually the world. That trip would have been almost […]
I try hard to avoid any blurbs or early reviews of books that I’m really anticipating, but somehow things just seep into my consciousness and I’m not even sure how they got there. So in addition to having my own ridiculously high hopes for this book, I’d come across things like “Hill’s magnum opus!” and “his best work to date” […]
I adore Neil Gaiman’s work, so I jumped at the chance to review this new collection of his nonfiction. I’ve read bits and pieces of his graduation speeches and stuff like that and it always makes me stand up and cheer, “Yes! This! This man gets it!” And that should probably tell you where my expectations were. The collection […]
I really, really want to give Save the Date four stars, and I would have, but somewhere about halfway through I got fed up with Cara. Up to that point, she’d been such a little fighter that I’d been rooting for her all along. And sure, she has a lot on her plate, but then she goes looking for–and creates!–trouble where none […]
4.5 Stars. I’m sitting here thinking about what it was, exactly, that I liked about this book. I can’t really say that it was about much of anything. It’s just a slice of everyday life. But I think what stands out to me most is that this is a book about male friendship. Not “good buddies” or even battle-forged bonds. These guys just like […]
3 Stars. Eh. Axel was a whiny wimp who complained endlessly about having to go on the trip. The minute his uncle, Professor Liedenbrock, started to get the least bit angry with him over his dithering, Axel would cave and blithely go along with whatever ridiculous plan the professor has in mind. Axel was generally the one with […]