A Lot Like Christmas by Connie Willis: Book Review
4 Stars. This is a great collection of non-traditional Christmas stories in the fantasy and science fiction vein with bits and pieces of other genres thrown in here and there. It sounds quirky and it is but it really worked for me. It was a nice change of pace during the holiday season. The quality is […]
The Best Strangers in the World by Ari Shapiro: Book Review
4 Stars. I’ve always liked Ari Shapiro on NPR so I was excited to read his memoir when I saw it. I was listening to a very long audiobook at the time so I decided to read The Best Strangers in the World in print, but I would hazard to guess that the audio is even better. I truly enjoyed reading […]
Shubeik Lubeik by Deena Mohamed: Book Review
5 Stars. I just need to say that this book was fantastic. It’s hefty, coming in at 518 pages, but there’s even more to to chew over and unpack than meets the eye. It’s written in three parts (because of course a book about wishes would be written in three parts) and each takes a slightly different approach […]
The Ashford Affair by Lauren Willig: Book Review
3 Stars. I am a surprisingly big fan of Ms. Willig’s Pink Carnation series for someone who doesn’t consider herself a fan of romances. But the witty banter, intrigue, and Napoleonic settings sucked me right in. I inhaled that entire 12-book series and wished for more. The author’s newer books look more serious to me so I’ve […]
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen: Book Review
3 Stars. According to the introduction to this edition, Northanger Abbey is the earliest of Jane Austen’s published novels but the last to be published, and even then it was published posthumously. I could tell this was an early work of hers, because her sarcasm and social commentary is much more obvious and pointed than in the other […]
My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell: Book Review
2 Stars. I’m sorry to say that this didn’t quite work for me. I’m disappointed since so many other readers love it. The tales of the family misadventures were hilarious. Larry, the budding author, is a know-it-all who can steer his mom in any direction he chooses. Leslie, the avid huntsman, shoots his guns and scares the wits […]
Enter the Detective by Mark Waid: Book Review
4 Stars. This graphic novel reminded me of a mashup between Sherlock Holmes stories and the TV series Penny Dreadful. It seems like an odd mix at first but it absolutely worked for me. I liked that the narrator of the story is a woman who is not all that she seems to be. I’m very curious to know more about her. The Sherlock […]
The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian: Book Review
4 Stars. There’s not really much I can say about this without giving anything way. The tension relentlessly builds all the way through to an amazing ending that left me flipping back through the pages […]
The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine: Book Review
3 Stars. So, I have a problem with these “Girl” or “Woman” books that have been everywhere the past several years. Do we have a genre name for them yet? You know the ones. Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train and on and on and on. I just can’t get into them. I loathe the characters. That’s exactly the point, but when I don’t like […]
Once upon an Eskimo Time by Edna Wilder: Book Review
4 Stars. Edna Wilder shared this collection of episodes from her mother’s life as a young girl growing up in a traditional Iñupiat village on the Norton Sound. It reads very much like an oral storyteller sharing her family history, which feels like the perfect format for this biography. She also included some traditional tribal […]
Atlas of the Invisible by James Cheshire: Book Review
3.5 Stars. This book shares much more complex data in formats that are unfamiliar to me and probably many other casual readers. There was a lot more text to explain both the data presented and the format. I devoted as much time as I could to it, but an impending return date (today, in fact) limited me. That’s why I’m rounding […]