Recently I watched a Netflix series called Maid. In the final credits, the audience is told the the story was “inspired” by a book of the same name by Stephanie Land. It raised a question: what exactly does it mean to be “inspired” by a story? To find out, I re-read the book to compareContinue reading “Inspired By…”
Author Archives: Xandra
The Financial Incentive
There are a lot of plots that involve money. Often it’s simple greed, such as characters who are driven to murder for financial gain. Sometimes it’s desperation, such as a story in which frantic parents need to fund their child’s medical bills. Others involve characters who take a well-paid job without realizing that the extraContinue reading “The Financial Incentive”
Reading Double: Alice Feeney
In the name of diversity, I usually don’t read a particular author twice. There are exceptions. I have read pretty much everything Anne Tyler, Armistead Maupin, and Anne Lamott have written, and occasionally find an author I want to read more of. In the past few years, Joshilyn Jackson, Alex Michaelides, and Alice Feeney haveContinue reading “Reading Double: Alice Feeney”
A Light Snack
When it comes to fiction, there is no story without drama. Inciting incidents start a narrative in motion, and they always involve something sad, dangerous, or complicated. This is true even when the book is on the lighter side: tragic deaths can start a rom com, a comedy can be centered in the consequences ofContinue reading “A Light Snack”
Reading Double: Joshilyn Jackson
I think of books as authors’ children. They resemble each other, usually not identically, and occasionally you might find two that don’t seem at all similar. They all have the essence of their maker in them, though, which is why I rarely read the same author multiple times. There are exceptions – Anne Tyler, AnneContinue reading “Reading Double: Joshilyn Jackson”
When Books Hurt
I once met a woman who had lost two of her children. One had died in a freak accident and the other was killed in a drug deal gone wrong. She said that she endured her grief by a firm belief that everyone has a day to be born and a day to die. ThereContinue reading “When Books Hurt”
Crosses To Bear
When you think of Christian fiction, you might conjure up feel-good stories like Jan Caron’s Midford series or the action-packed Apocalyptic best-selling Left Behind books. There is even a large subgenre of Amish mysteries. As a major religion of the world, Christianity is not just limited to genre pieces. Christians are present in many mainstreamContinue reading “Crosses To Bear”
Meta Me
There are a plethora of books featuring bibliophile protagonists, with or without a charming bookshop. Since everything these days is about relatability, having a likeable reader propelling the plot is not a bad idea. It’s easier to root for someone you identify with, and who better to invest in this plot than a book person?Continue reading “Meta Me”
DNF
There are some readers who have no trouble abandoning a book. If the story isn’t dazzling them, they toss it aside, or drop it down a book chute, or hit permanent delete on their e-reader. Others struggle with the need to push on, to complete a task, to not give up. I am firmly inContinue reading “DNF”
Salt or Sweet?
Books are often divided into two categories: serious and fluff. And readers will often align with either camp, touting the virtues of either. It is essential to be well-informed and empathetic, says one side. And the other: I get enough reality just by getting out of bed every morning. The matter is complicated when theContinue reading “Salt or Sweet?”
Books Smitten 