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. I dinged book two of this series for being a little too reminiscent of Harry Potter. I still see direct parallels between a lot of the plot points in this book and The Wizarding World but I must not have cared as much this time around. It’s been two years since I listened to Amari and the Great […]
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 […]
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 Stars. There’s a lot going on here as John Lewis transitions his life story from March to Run. The Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act were finally passed at the end of March: Book Three but that doesn’t mean that the struggle is over. The book feels a little chaotic to me but it’s about a chaotic […]
4 Stars. I thoroughly enjoy poring over the “Maps for Curious Minds” books. The authors and illustrators cleverly share data, both widely known and obscure, in fun, colorful maps and graphs. I find myself texting my husband and my sister with random facts while they’re each trying to work. This was […]
4 Stars. It’s been quite a while since I read any books in this series because I somehow missed that a fourth one existed! I can’t say that there was a whole lot going on here, plot-wise. There were a few things but they felt and largely turned out to be low-stakes. Mostly I just enjoyed re-visiting Weezie […]