4 Stars. Reading Our Time is Now in the wake of the 2020 election felt a bit like a victory dance. Anyone who isn’t outraged by voter suppression doesn’t have a good concept of what “government by the people” means. As a white woman, I’ve never experienced anything like what Ms. Abrams details in these pages. This review keeps […]
Weekly Update for January 24, 2021
Welcome to my weekly update for January 24, 2021! It’s been a quiet week here. I watched the inauguration ceremonies for at least half a day. I’m relieved that everything went off smoothly. I missed the Virtual Parade Across America because my TV station went to local news but I did stream it later. I […]
Circe by Madeline Miller: Book Review
4.5 Stars. Circe is every woman who has been treated as “less than” because of her gender. As a child, she accepts that everyone overlooks her. She’s not as beautiful as the other nymphs, so why would anyone pay attention to her? She’s starved for attention though, and makes some terrible decisions. But those decisions lead […]
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey: Book Review
4 Stars. I enjoyed this but as a woman who has chosen not to have children, I don’t think it speaks to me the same way it speaks to mothers or those who long to hold little ones in their arms. But even I found Mabel and Jack’s plight heartbreaking and rushed to find out exactly what was going on with the little snow girl. Was […]
Top Ten Audiobooks for Younger Readers
Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl invited us to share the “books I meant to read in 2020 but didn’t get to.” If you’ve been around my blog for any amount of time, you’ll know that I’m a mood reader and make very few bookish plans. So that means I’m posting my own list again this week. I shared my Top Ten Adult Audiobooks a couple […]
Weekly Update for January 17, 2021
Welcome to my weekly update for January 17, 2021! This week we’ll finally be inaugurating Joe Biden as our 46th president here in the US. I pray that this week passes uneventfully and the transfer of power is peaceful. We took the picture on the left at Strand Beach on a walk last week and […]
Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia: Book Review
4 Stars. What fun […] the humor and adventure in Tristan Strong are sure to appeal to readers who enjoy Percy Jackson and all of Riordan’s other books. My inner 12-year-old giggled a lot. I was surprised by the traces of darkness in these pages though. The first thing I noticed was Eddie’s death. So many kids do struggle with […]
Goldie Vance Volume Two by Hope Larson: Book Review
4 Stars. Volume Two was still a strong entry in this series but it didn’t charm me quite as completely as the first collection did. I enjoyed reading a bit more about Goldie’s mom but Goldie herself came across as a bit of an attention-seeker and a brat this time around. It wasn’t enough to completely turn me off but it was a […
Weekly Update for January 10, 2020
Welcome to my weekly update for January 10, 2021! Well. This week in the US was more exciting than I would have liked. I don’t even know where to start. My thoughts and prayers are with the family of the Capitol Police officer who was murdered in the line of duty and also the families […]
Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline: Book Review
3 Stars. While I did enjoy Ready Player Two, my expectations were so high from Ready Player One that it was almost guaranteed to be a bit of a letdown. I still loved all the ’80s Easter eggs that I identified but this older Wade isn’t quite as engaging. He’s still a major geek but his absolute resistance to listening to others’ […]
Top Ten Adult Audiobooks
Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl invited us to share our most-anticipated releases for the first half of 2021. I’m not very good at tracking new releases so I’m going off on my own tangent. Lexlingua asked me recently which audiobooks are my favorite of all time so this seems like a good week to answer her question! I had such a […]