4 Stars. Thereโs a lot going on here as John Lewis transitions his life story from March to Run. The Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act were finally passed at the end of March: Book Three but that doesnโt mean that the struggle is over. The book feels a little chaotic to me but itโs about a chaotic […]
Wild Maps for Curious Minds by Mike Higgins: Book Review
4 Stars. 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 […]
Christmas Bliss by Mary Kay Andrews: Book Review
4 Stars. It’s been quite a while since I read any books in this series because I somehow missed that a fourth one existed! I can’t say that there was a whole lot going on here, plot-wise. There were a few things but they felt and largely turned out to be low-stakes. Mostly I just enjoyed re-visiting Weezie […]
Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan: Book Review
4 Stars. Iโm not a huge romance reader and even less of a young adult romance reader but Iโve watched my share of rom-coms and this is a rom-com with the cutest of meet cutes. I adored it. And what reader could resist its charms? Dash and Lilyโs paths cross when Lily leaves a red notebook with a dare hidden […]
American Christmas Stories, edited by Connie Willis: Book Review
4 Stars. I listened to Connie Willis’s collection of her own Christmas stories (A Lot Like Christmas) last year and went searching for more of her work. I stumbled on this anthology that she edited and decided to give it a try. The quality of the stories was remarkably consistent! The stories are arranged […]
The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley: Book Review
4 Stars. In this atmospheric mystery, I wasnโt even entirely sure who had been murdered until the end, much less who did it. I feel like I should have guessed the culprit because the clues were all there but I didnโt. The characters are largely unlikeable, even to each other. Theyโre that group of […]
It Ended Badly by Jennifer Wright: Book Review
4 Stars. I loved Jennifer Wrightโs book, Get Well Soon: Historyโs Worst Plagues and the Heroes Who Fought Them. I loved her humor in tackling a pretty grim subject. She brings the same humor to this examination of some spectacular break-ups. She shines a light on the following couples: 1. Nero […]
The Indigo Girl by Natasha Boyd: Book Review
4 Stars. The last time I was in Charleston, SC, one or two tours that I went on mentioned Eliza Lucas. Her father left her in charge of his plantations near Charleston in the 1740s while he went to war with the Spanish in the Caribbean. That really caught my attention. A woman running plantations?
At that […]
The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl by Issa Rae: Book Review
4 Stars. Confession: I didnโt know who Issa Rae is when I picked this up. Iโm only vaguely aware of pop culture at the best of times and influencers or even show writers and producers are just not on my radar. I donโt remember why I added this to my list but Iโm glad I did because it was so funny!
Iโm […]
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 […]