“If she’s going through the pearly gates, she damn well ought to suffer on her way there.” Ann- Helén Laestadius’s Punished (translated from the Swedish by Rachel Willson-Broyles, Scribner 2025 – originally published by Romanus & Selling in 2023) will gut you just as surely and jaggedly as Stolen. I’ve said before that Laestadius reminds me ofContinue reading “PUNISHED – Ann- Helén Laestadius”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
WORDS OF RADIANCE – Brandon Sanderson
“No apologize. Boots.” “I know most stories, But I’d never sung this one before.” “The storm catches everyone, eventually.” My “Year of Sanderson” continues, and the first Sanderson selection of February was Words of Radiance. (Edgedancer rounded out the month, but I’ll get to that later.) The second book of The Stormlight Archive accomplished somethingContinue reading “WORDS OF RADIANCE – Brandon Sanderson”
BEFORE THE FEAST – Saša Stanišic
“I am sure she wanted me as a witness to carry the story of her child out into the world, and may God help me, I will do so.” Current installment of Tommi Reads the World – we’re still in the Bs. Country: BosniaTitle: Before the FeastAuthor: Saša StanišicLanguage: GermanTranslator: Anthea BellPublisher: Random House GmbH, 2014; EnglishContinue reading “BEFORE THE FEAST – Saša Stanišic”
THE FAVORITES – Layne Fargo
At the beginning of the year, I resolved to listen to more audio books, and while it is not my preferred reading medium, I am finding that I really enjoy it – especially if the narrator(s) “work” with the words. I think some of my early dislike of audio books was due to poor narrationContinue reading “THE FAVORITES – Layne Fargo”
WOMEN WHO RUN WITH THE WOLVES – Clarissa Pinkola Estes
“I’m really friendly but not quite tame.” I’ve wanted to read Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths & Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype by Clarissa Pinkola Estes for a bit, I just never got around to it. As someone who has been drawn to reoccurring archetypes in legend and lores throughout the world (and someoneContinue reading “WOMEN WHO RUN WITH THE WOLVES – Clarissa Pinkola Estes”
GOOD DIRT – Charmaine Wilkerson
“She is no stranger to keeping time by what she has lost.” When I reviewed Charmaine Wilkerson’s novel, Black Cake, back in 2022, I remarked that it was a solid debut, but I wished the transitions between POVs and timelines had been smoother. Her sophomore novel, Good Dirt (Ballantine Books 2025), similarly jumps timelines andContinue reading “GOOD DIRT – Charmaine Wilkerson”
THE LOVE ELIXIR OF AUGUSTA STERN – Lynda Cohen Loigman
“For a moment, Augusta could remember what it felt like to believe – not in the magic of witches or fairies, but in the magic of women who knew how to heal; the magic of women in the quiet of their kitchens, who could sweeten a bitter woman’ s heart or soothe a man’s temperContinue reading “THE LOVE ELIXIR OF AUGUSTA STERN – Lynda Cohen Loigman”
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF HANNAH CRAFTS – Gregg Hecimovich
Nearly twenty decades now, I fancied myself a wannabe or soon-to-be scholar, and while my focus centered on South African literature, I liked to apply postcolonial theories and the concept of “the empire writes back” to African American literature and the use of canonical works in carving out stories. I was also a person whoContinue reading “THE LIFE AND TIMES OF HANNAH CRAFTS – Gregg Hecimovich”
AMERICAN VISA – Juan de Recacoechea
“We’re all rotting in this country. Only the dead are saved.” Current installment of Tommi Reads the World – we’re still in the Bs. Country: BoliviaTitle: American VisaAuthor: Juan de RecacoecheaLanguage: SpanishTranslator: Adrian AlthoffPublisher: Librería-Editorial Los Amigos Del Libro, 1994; English translation, Akashic Books, 2007 My journey to read books from every country continues, and thisContinue reading “AMERICAN VISA – Juan de Recacoechea”
PS: I HATE YOU – Lauren Connolly
Lauren Connolly’s PS: I Hate You (Berkley Romance 2024) is absolutely stinking adorable. It reminded me a little bit of Abby Jimenez’s Just for the Summer, especially as it related to the mental health aspects and the general goofy smile reading the novel left on my face, and I loved it. Long story short –Continue reading “PS: I HATE YOU – Lauren Connolly”
A Girl Named Tommi 