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Home » Book Authors » Michael Chabon

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon: Book Review

Joe Kavalier is a Jew living in Prague just as the Nazis are taking control of the city in the late 1930’s. With the aid of his escape artist teacher, Joe smuggles himself out of the country and all the way to New York City. Joe is just what his cousin, Sam Clay, has been […]

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Hurricane Helene Support

I’m from and still have my permanent home in Asheville, NC, which was devastated by Hurricane Helene. My family, close friends, and I were fine but if you’re able, I hope you’ll consider donating to a relief organization or shopping online at some of our local small businesses. If you’re unable to support my community financially, please keep us in your thoughts and/or prayers. It’s going to take years to recover from this.

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A graphic reading 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. 24/7 Call, Text, Chat

Please, if you need help, reach out to someone. Read about why this is an important topic to me in my Suicide Prevention post.

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My friend owns this small business offering editing, indexing, and coaching services. If you need help with a writing project, I hope you’ll reach out to her at Blue Legend Manuscript Services!

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Introverted Reader

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Instagram Feed. Introverted Reader book blog. Quietly Reviewing Books Since 2007. Traveling the US in my RV and reading on my Kindle. Permanent home in Asheville, NC.
Check out what I've been reading, reviewing, posti Check out what I've been reading, reviewing, posting, and doing on Introverted Reader in my weekly update for January 12, 2025! Full post at the link in my bio.Books read in the past two weeks:Hogfather (Discworld #20) by Terry Pratchett–4 StarsMooncakes by Suzanne Walker, illustrated by Wendy Xu–3.5 StarsWild Maps for Curious Minds: 100 New Ways to See the Natural World by Mike Higgins, illustrated by Manuel Bortoletti–4 StarsLumberjanes, Vol. 4: Out of Time by N. D. Stevenson, Grace Ellis, and Shannon Watters, illustrated by Gus A. Allen–4 StarsWe Are Here to Stay: Voices of Undocumented Young Adults by Susan Kuklin–4 StarsMarch: Book Three by John Lewis with Andrew Aydin, illustrated by Nate Powell–4.5 StarsSeeing a Large Cat (Amelia Peabody #9) by Elizabeth Peters–4 StarsRun: Book One by John Lewis with Andrew Aydin, illustrated by Nate Powell and L. Fury–4 Stars
Wild Maps for Curious Minds: 100 New Ways to See t Wild Maps for Curious Minds: 100 New Ways to See the Natural World by Mike Higgins: Books Review--4 Stars. Full review at the link in my bio.I thoroughly enjoy poring over the “Maps for Curious Minds” books. The authors and illustrators cleverly share data, both widely known and obscure, in fun, colorful maps and graphs. I find myself texting my husband and my sister with random facts while they’re each trying to work.This was just as interesting as the other two books in this loose series but it dealt a bit more with climate change and its effects on us, the earth, and animals trying to survive. It got a little depressing. There were maps that were somewhat hopeful, like the windiest coastlines that could generate the most power or locations that receive the most sunshine for solar power, but since we collectively don’t seem to be doing much to utilize either one, they didn’t really help. Maps about species that have gone extinct in the past hundred years and countries that are most vulnerable to rising seas just pack an emotional punch.One quibble that I’ve had with all three books is that the two-page spreads, which is what almost all the maps are, lose a lot of data inside the binding. It inevitably goes right through western Africa and Europe and I’m squinting and pulling at pages to see the text in there. Just a slight shift toward Greenland (no offense Greenland, but I don’t think you were singled out even one time in this collection) could correct that. It might not look as aesthetically centered but at least the data would be there.Overall, this is still an engaging, colorful collection. Depressing or not, I learned a lot and my inner map nerd had a lot of fun checking it out.
Of Time and Turtles: Mending the World, Shell by S Of Time and Turtles: Mending the World, Shell by Shattered Shell by Sy Montgomery: Book Review: 3 Stars. Full review at the link in my bioI read and loved Sy Montgomery’s earlier work, How to Be a Good Creature. I loved it so much that I literally read it twice back to back. So my expectations were high as I started this book.I was a little disappointed but that’s partly because of my own unrealistic expectations.In the early days of the pandemic, Ms. Montgomery and illustrator/turtle enthusiast Matt Patterson begin volunteering for the Turtle Rescue League. They learn about caring for and rescuing these wise animals but the turtles also teach them how to accept life as it comes and to just keep going, however slowly. That was a lesson we all needed in 2020.I knew there were groups working to save sea turtles but I didn’t really know that there are groups working to save our terrestrial turtles. Humans are decimating their numbers too. Draining the ponds and wetlands they need to live in, building in their territories and nesting grounds, and driving so fast they literally can’t see us coming. And then there are the heartless jerks who actively aim for them with their vehicles or their crossbows. Yes, crossbows.There was a lot of interesting information about turtles here. They see or at least process the world slower than we do. They can survive the most horrific, seemingly unsurvivable injuries. The founders of the Rescue League have learned not to declare a turtle dead until it starts to smell. They can even recover from spine injuries that should leave them immobile. They are fascinating creatures.But toward the end, I started to feel that the book was getting a little repetitious. The turtles were either progressing in their recovery or not. The same nesting grounds were being revisited. The injuries and deaths, though she doesn’t linger too long on them, were getting depressing.I do recommend reading this but it’s probably a book to be read a chapter at a time rather than all at once.
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett, read by Tom Hanks The Dutch House by Ann Patchett, read by Tom Hanks: Book Review--4 Stars. See the full post on my blog at the link in my bio.Every time I read a book by Ann Patchett, I wonder why I don’t read her work more often. She’s a thoughtful, beautiful writer. I guess I’m spreading out the love by reading her books slowly.This book is an exploration of family relationships and the bonds between siblings and between parents and children. Are we doomed to follow our parents’ footsteps? Patchett also looks at the things we do for spite versus the things we do for love. The people who love us most can also be blind to the ways they tear us apart. She also explores how yearning for the past and holding grudges robs the present of its joy. When is enough enough? When is it time to let go?I listened to the audiobook read by Tom Hanks and it was delightful. It’s a stupid thing to say but Tom Hanks just sounds so much like Tom Hanks and don’t we all love him as an actor?I highly recommend this book, especially on audio.
It's that time again--time for my top ten books of It's that time again--time for my top ten books of 2024! Full post at the link in my bio, along with my husband's top three books of the year.My books, in no particular order:Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery, read by Kate Burton (re-read)Can We Talk About Israel?: A Guide for the Curious, Confused, and Conflicted by Daniel Sokatch The Speckled Beauty: A Dog and His People by Rick Bragg Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus This Is How It Always Is by Laurie FrankelTress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon SandersonThe Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu MandannaA Woman in the Polar Night by Christiane Ritter, translated by Jane Degras
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