Welcome to my weekly update for August 20, 2023! I hope those of you in the path of tropical storm Hilary are staying safe. We’ve been keeping an eye on it because my husband’s cousin and his family live in San Diego. They’re all good so far. We’re supposed to get some rain off the storm here in northern Idaho on Monday. We […]
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen: Book Review
3 Stars. According to the introduction to this edition, Northanger Abbey is the earliest of Jane Austen’s published novels but the last to be published, and even then it was published posthumously. I could tell this was an early work of hers, because her sarcasm and social commentary is much more obvious and pointed than in the other […]
Persepolis 2 by Marjane Satrapi: Book Review
4 Stars. Overall, I enjoyed this more than the first book. I missed her frequent conversations with God, but I found it easier to relate to troubled teenage Marjane than activist child Marjane. I was busy playing with Barbies when I was ten, not trying to figure out how I could sneak out to political rallies that frequently […]
Weekly Update for August 13, 2023
Welcome to my weekly update for August 13, 2023! My husband had a long weekend last weekend so we drove the scenic International Selkirk Loop. A lot of it was along Kootenay Lake in British Columbia. We’ve been lucky to avoid most of the wildfire smoke here in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho but we noticed it as soon as we crossed into […]
Renegades by Marissa Meyer: Series Review
4 Stars. I loved Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles so I eventually decided to read her take on a superhero story. I like superhero movies but that’s about as far as I go (no comics or other books), so this was a bit of a step outside my comfort zone. I really liked it. Sometimes superhero stories feel entirely too “good vs […]
My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell: Book Review
2 Stars. I’m sorry to say that this didn’t quite work for me. I’m disappointed since so many other readers love it. The tales of the family misadventures were hilarious. Larry, the budding author, is a know-it-all who can steer his mom in any direction he chooses. Leslie, the avid huntsman, shoots his guns and scares the wits […]
Weekly Update for August 6, 2023
Welcome to my weekly update for August 6, 2023! I don’t have any trips to write about this week so I’m going to post a plug for one of my friends instead. I’ve known Jessica Zellers since high school, when we were in band together. She recently launched her own editing company, Blue Legend Manuscript Services. She worked as a […]
Enter the Detective by Mark Waid: Book Review
4 Stars. This graphic novel reminded me of a mashup between Sherlock Holmes stories and the TV series Penny Dreadful. It seems like an odd mix at first but it absolutely worked for me. I liked that the narrator of the story is a woman who is not all that she seems to be. I’m very curious to know more about her. The Sherlock […]
The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian: Book Review
4 Stars. There’s not really much I can say about this without giving anything way. The tension relentlessly builds all the way through to an amazing ending that left me flipping back through the pages […]
Weekly Update for July 30, 2023
Welcome to my weekly update for July 30 2023! Oh my goodness. I knew it had been a while since my last update but I didn’t realize that it had been over four months! It’s been a busy season. My sister visited us in Escondido, CA the first week in May. We had a great time sightseeing all over southern California. My husband […]
10 Sets of Book Characters Who Should Meet
Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl invited us to share ten books we recommend to others the most. I decided that would be the same list as my ten favorite books of all time so I went rogue. I’m listing ten sets of book characters who should meet in some sort of time- and reality-bending fan fiction […]