I purchased this for the cover. I know it. I could say otherwise, but the cover of Mary Laura Philpott’s Bomb Shelter: Love, Time, and Other Explosives (Atria 2022) had me hit “select” without further consideration. I knew it was a collection of nonfiction, slice of life essays and that Philpott was known for herContinue reading “BOMB SHELTER – Mary Laura Philpott”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
BABEL – R.F. Kuang
My first read of 2023 was Babel by R. F. Kuang (Harper Collins 2022). Before I get into the review, I must mention the Harper Collins strike. Employees with the company have been on a strike since November, and they are striking for fair wages, stronger diversity commitments, and union rights. To read more aboutContinue reading “BABEL – R.F. Kuang”
AFTERLIFE – Julia Alvarez
“It tells a story. That it has been broken.” My last read of 2022 was by an author that fits in a special place in my booklover’s heart. I haven’t read Julia Alvarez in years, but you don’t forget How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents or In the Time of the Butterflies that easily. Continue reading “AFTERLIFE – Julia Alvarez”
BETTY – Tiffany McDaniel
“Then I buried the story alive, making sure it was deep enough, a wolf wouldn’t smell blood on it and dig it up.” I don’t really know what to say about this book, and I keep oscillating between a poor rating and a middle range rating. Part of the flipflopping is because I know thisContinue reading “BETTY – Tiffany McDaniel”
THE WILDERWOMEN – Ruth Emmie Lang
I’ve heard such good things about Ruth Emmie Lang, and I recently picked up both Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance and The Wilderwomen. I love magical realism, found families, and broken familial relationships. I was certain I would love The Wilderwomen (St. Martin’s Press 2022). And I tried. Oh, how I tried. But I wanted toContinue reading “THE WILDERWOMEN – Ruth Emmie Lang”
PACHINKO – Min Jin Lee
“History has failed us, but no matter.” Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko (Grand Central Publishing 2017) is a novel that has been on my physical TBR pile/cart for years. (It’s not the longest resident on that list, but it comes close.) I love family sagas, the chunkier the better, and this is a ridiculously well-done chunkyContinue reading “PACHINKO – Min Jin Lee”
THE STARDUST THIEF – Chelsea Abdullah
“To him, stories were truths painted over in gold.” “The Sandsea is a rip in the world, made from a fire so fierce it has never stopped burning. That kind of magic – you must stay away from it. Do you understand, Sweet Fire?” Most of us are familiar with the classic One Thousand andContinue reading “THE STARDUST THIEF – Chelsea Abdullah”
THE MARSH QUEEN – Virginia Hartman
Virginia Hartman’s debut The Marsh Queen (Gallery Books 2022) had the potential to be as stunning as its cover. A bird artist from the Smithsonian returns to the marshes of Florida to face the ghost of her father, the mental decline of her mother, and a mystery that has sullied the town for years; itContinue reading “THE MARSH QUEEN – Virginia Hartman”
ANCESTOR APPROVED: Intertribal Stories for Kids
“Your body remembers how to dance. Your ancestors have been dancing like this for generations.” Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids (Edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith, Harper Collins 2021) is a collection of eighteen stories that are all connected by the Dance for Mother Earth Powwow, an intertribal event held in Anne Arbor, Michigan. MuchContinue reading “ANCESTOR APPROVED: Intertribal Stories for Kids”
OTHER BIRDS – Sarah Addison Allen
“Maybe I thought that if I just collected enough words, I could totally rewrite myself one day.” “Stories aren’t fiction. Stories are fabric. They’re the white sheets we drape over our ghosts so we can see them.” Sarah Addison Allen’s Other Birds (St. Martin’s Press 2022) is full of whimsy and the best kind ofContinue reading “OTHER BIRDS – Sarah Addison Allen”
A Girl Named Tommi 