STONE BLIND – Natalie Haynes

“I see you. I see all those who men call monsters. And I see the men who call them that. Call themselves heroes, of course.” The story of Medusa isn’t about just Medusa.  It could never be just about Medusa because mythology weaves in and out. The gods and goddesses, the Fates and Greys andContinue reading “STONE BLIND – Natalie Haynes”

MEMPHIS – Tara M. Stringfellow

“The things women do for the sake of their daughters. The things women don’t. The shame of it all.” I’m still toying with the idea of reading the Women’s Prize for Fiction longlist, and I put in several holds at the library.  Since I’ve already read a couple and intended to read a few moreContinue reading “MEMPHIS – Tara M. Stringfellow”

AFTER SAPPHO – Selby Wynn Schwartz

“Those were the stories we were given.  When we were children, we learned what happened to girls in fables: eaten, married, lost. Then came our bouts of classical education, imparting to us the fates of women in ancient literature: betrayed, raped, cast out, driven mad in tongueless grief.” My Booker 2022 longlist reading journey isContinue reading “AFTER SAPPHO – Selby Wynn Schwartz”

THE SEVEN MOONS OF MAALI ALMEIDA – Shehan Karunatilaka

“All stories are recycled and all stories are unfair. Many get luck, and many get misery. Many are born to homes with books, many grow up in the swamps of war.  In the end, all becomes dust. All stories conclude with a fade to black.” “I was there to witness.  That is all. All thoseContinue reading “THE SEVEN MOONS OF MAALI ALMEIDA – Shehan Karunatilaka”

THE MOST LIKELY CLUB – Elyssa Friedland

Elyssa Friedland’s The Most Likely Club (Berkley 2022) is a fun little romp about a group of childhood friends in their early forties who’ve realized life didn’t quite turn out as they imagined when they were on the cusp of adulthood.  The novel alternates between the four friends, Melissa, Tara, Priya, and Suki  – aContinue reading “THE MOST LIKELY CLUB – Elyssa Friedland”

DEMON COPPERHEAD – Barbara Kingsolver

“She liked to tease me that if we lived to a hundred, she would still be the one to get there first. Which was true. No credit given for all the extra miles that take you nowhere.” Charles Dickens and his beloved David Copperfield inspired the phenomenal Barbara Kingsolver (I mean, have you read AnimalContinue reading “DEMON COPPERHEAD – Barbara Kingsolver”

BOMB SHELTER – Mary Laura Philpott

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”

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”

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”

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”