The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende: Book Review

3 Stars. I’m just not the reader for magical realism in literature. Oh, I do just fine with Sarah Addison Allen’s light touches of fantasy in otherwise contemporary novels. But a huge black beast of an unknown species adopting a family? Spirits wandering the house? Curses? Mermaid girls? All in dark historical fiction? I just […]

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Banned Books Week 2021

Banned Books Week 2021

Today kicks off Banned Books Week 2021. I’ve tried to acknowledge this week every year that my blog has been active. I never used to think of myself as a reader who chooses particularly controversial books. When I first started my blog, I mostly read fantasy. What’s offensive about that, right? But when I look […]

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Weekly Update for September 26, 2021

Welcome to my weekly update for September 26, 2021! My husband and I are flying home to Asheville, North Carolina tomorrow after spending three months in Anchorage, Alaska with his job. We’ve had a wonderful time in this beautiful state! My big bookish news is that I’ve been chosen as a round one panelist in […]

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Ten Books on My Fall 2021 TBR

Fall 2021 TBR

Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl invited us to share “Ten Books on My Fall 2021 TBR” (To Be Read list). I’m very much a mood reader but with Halloween just around the corner, Banned Books Week coming up in a few days, and several of my reading challenges having monthly prompts, I decided I […]

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Marbles by Ellen Forney: Book Review

4.5 Stars. I got behind on the monthly prompts for the Diversity Reading Challenge in August so I was looking for a short book about mental health or addiction when I stumbled on this title. It seemed like the perfect choice to help me catch up. But what started as a book I was reading simply to check a box quickly became a […]

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Time and Again by Jack Finney: Book Review

3 Stars. I’m not a fan of New York. To be fair, I’ve only spent one day there and that was the day after my best friend’s funeral; still, nothing about the city has ever appealed to me. That said, Time and Again didn’t work particularly well for me but I think those who love New York and its history will relish it. I don’t […]

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Weekly Update for September 5, 2021

Welcome to my weekly update for September 5, 2021! My sister arrives for a weeklong visit this evening (Friday)! I’m so excited to see her! We don’t have many specific plans but we are going to leave tomorrow to spend the weekend in Seward. She asked to do a sightseeing cruise and to visit the […]

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