There are roughly 30 years of Jesus’s life that are unaccounted for. Oh, there’s the one story about him teaching in the temple when he was 12, but other than that, he was born and then he started his ministry around the age of 30. Christopher Moore has fun imagining what exactly Jesus–or Joshua, as […]
The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory: Book Review
The Boleyn Inheritance is the story of Anne of Cleves, Henry VIII’s fourth wife; Jane Boleyn, her lady-in-waiting and Anne Boleyn’s former sister-in-law; and Katherine Howard, a beautiful young maid-in-waiting. By now, Henry is a hugely fat, sick, stinking, paranoid tyrant. These three women try their best to keep him happy and stay safe. I […]
Under the Dome by Stephen King: Book Review
A giant dome suddenly appears over the town of Chester’s Mill, Maine one beautiful October day, and the townspeople are left to their own devices. That’s a lame synopsis, but I don’t want to give anything more away. What would you do if you were cut off from the rest of the world? Perhaps more […]
The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie R. King: Book Review
“I should have thought it obvious,” I said impatiently, though even at that age I was aware that such things were not obvious to the majority of people. “I see paint on your pocket-handkerchief, and traces on your fingers where you wiped it away. The only reason to mark bees that I can think of […]
The Bright Forever by Lee Martin: Book Review
On a beautiful July evening, nine-year-old Katie Mackey disappears on her way to the library. And our hearts break. I just don’t know where to start. It’s hard not to compare this to Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones, but there’s a huge difference. As I remember it, The Lovely Bones dealt with the family’s grieving […]
Blue Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews: Book Review
Weezie Foley is back and better than ever. She’s trying her best to win Savannah’s historic district decorating contest, but the couple across the street are throwing tons of money into their efforts. To add to her troubles, her boyfriend Daniel always becomes decidedly Grinch-like at Christmas, and she just can’t get him into the […]
Black Mountain Breakdown by Lee Smith: Book Review
We first meet Crystal Spangler when she’s a dreamy twelve-year-old Virginia mountain girl, in the summer before she begins high school. We follow her as her dreaminess leads her to look for meaning, or for herself, in all the wrong places. I adore Lee Smith’s work. She writes about the mountains of Virginia. I’m in […]
The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore: Book Review
I can’t even really say what this is about without giving anything away. Let’s just say that the stupidest angel’s mission to create a Christmas miracle goes horribly, hilariously awry in ways that only Christopher Moore could write about. This wasn’t quite as funny as I expected it to be, but I think since reading […]
The Frog Prince by Stephen Mitchell: Book Review
4 Stars. It’s been several years since I read this, so I can’t say much about it except that I liked it. And I saved this quote from the book: “There are two kinds of women: those who marry princes and those who marry frogs. The frogs never become princes, but it is an acknowledged fact that a prince may very well, in the […]
The Temptation of the Night Jasmine by Lauren Willig: Book Review
3.5 Stars. Charlotte just isn’t quite Henrietta, Letty, or even Mary. She spent much of the book just fantasizing about Robert. While interesting enough, I kept waiting for the comedy of misunderstandings and the adventure of French spies pitted against our faithful British crew to get started. About halfway through, things […]
Mama Makes Up Her Mind by Bailey White: Book Review
4 Stars. You should see my copy of this book. One of my co-workers, who, for various reasons, has only recently seen how much I read, saw all the neon post-it flags sticking out of the side of my book and asked me what on earth I was doing. I blushed and tried to explain how the people in Bailey White’s humorous little […]