What an absolute delight! I just texted my sister to recommend Greenteeth to her. I wrote, “It’s an old school fantasy/fairy tale. It felt a little retro in a time when fantasies are either urban fantasies or sprawling epics with 50,000 characters and entire magic/religion/political systems […]
4 Stars. John Wesley Powell caught my attention when my husband and I visited the Grand Canyon in 2013. I would periodically think that I should read a book about him and then I would forget about it. When we visited Lake Powell and Horseshoe Canyon in Page, AZ a few months ago, I decided that it […]
4 Stars. It is absolutely amazing to me that the author and her team tracked down this man who had evaded capture for 40-some years in 63 days. Days. She is quick to point out that the officers, medical examiners, forensics workers, and others kept this cold case alive and laid the groundwork for […]
Every time I read a book by Ann Patchett, I wonder why I don’t read her work more often. She’s a thoughtful, beautiful writer. I guess I’m spreading out the love by reading her books slowly. This book is an exploration of family relationships and the bonds between siblings and between parents and […]
4 Stars. I’m digging up this review from 2009. So much more than just a “murder” mystery, this is really a story of Christopher’s personal growth. He knows that he’s different, he just doesn’t know how to be any other way. He can’t read people’s faces or body language. He says “I think prime numbers are […]
3 Stars. Hmmm. It’s hard to write reviews of memoirs that don’t exactly work for you, isn’t it? I don’t want to discount someone else’s life experiences. But I personally felt there were some serious issues with the writing. Enjeela and her family experienced a terrifying journey when they left Afghanistan […]
3 Stars. I’m not a foodie but my husband is so I thought he would like this book as a road trip listen. It’s a cozy, gentle read with lots of descriptions of Japanese food (and even one Italian dish) that probably leave real foodies drooling. That’s not me so I missed a lot of the appeal of the […]
4 Stars. I have loved and laughed out loud at Christopher Moore’s earlier work but Fool, Sacre Bleu, and Secondhand Souls did not do much for me. I had pretty much decided that I would stop reading his books. Then I was scrolling through my husband’s TBR looking for a book we could both listen to on […]
4 Stars. The ninth entry in the Amelia Peabody series is another solid mystery with the usual delightful characters against the backdrop of Egyptian archaeology in its most famous heyday. The author introduced some memorable new characters who I either appropriately loved or loathed, as intended […]
4 Stars. I picked this up from The Bookworks, an independent bookstore in Pacific Grove, CA, pretty close to the actual Cannery Row. In fact, I just realized exactly how close I was. Dang it. Missed opportunity because I did not go there. Anyway, as I read, I enjoyed reading Steinbeck’s descriptions […]
4.5 Stars. This was just the sort of soothing, hopeful book I needed right now. In a series of connected stories, the author explores different scenarios most of us can relate to. The young woman fresh out of college who feels stuck. The woman with an established career who finds herself struggling […]