10. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah The story of two sisters in occupied France, this is a gripping mix of Resistance history, wartime domesticity, and romance. Isabelle, the plucky heroine, joins a secret group that helps captured Allied soldiers escape through the Pyrenees. Her sister Vianne raises a Jewish child as her own after hisContinue reading “The Best Books of 2023”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
The Blahs of 2023
I’m convinced that every author, from the prodigiously talented to the mediocre, works their heart out to finish their stories. For that reason, I give bad reviews with pause. I’m not sure there even are bad books so much as there are bad matches between the writer and reader. AS Byatt wrote, “Think of thisContinue reading “The Blahs of 2023”
Reading Fun Facts: 2023
One of my favorite things about reading is the small tidbits and fun facts you learn along the way. It’s always a sign that a book is worth reading when you happen upon a kernel of information that you haven’t heard before. Here are a few things I learned from books this year: 3. 75%Continue reading “Reading Fun Facts: 2023”
Autumn Chills
As summer turned into fall, I found myself returning again and again to the mystery/suspense genre. PD James has opined that people like mysteries because they create an inviolable world in which justice is inevitably served. I think my own interest may be more pedestrian than that. I enjoy seeing where the author is takingContinue reading “Autumn Chills”
Reading Around The Map: East Asia
One of the undeniable pleasures of reading is the fact that it allows you to cross borders without leaving your couch. Such was my experience in the last month in which I read three books set in different Asian countries. Each of them showed me a part of a country I know little about inContinue reading “Reading Around The Map: East Asia”
Mid Memoirs
2023 will be remembered as a year that spawned a few notable celebrity memoirs. It started with the January release of Prince Harry’s unsparing Spare, in which he revealed that his brother physically assaulted him and that he visited a psychic to connect with the spirit of his late mother. Harry had a freedom thatContinue reading “Mid Memoirs”
Twinning
Although it is my established habit to not read authors twice, there are plenty of exceptions. When I happily lost a weekend to Daisy Jones and the Six a few years ago, I not only found my favorite read of the year but also an author worth revisiting. And in doing so I had thatContinue reading “Twinning”
The Who Two
I love the idea of reading challenges, although I haven’t done too many. I’ve got a roster for 2023 of twelve books suggested by book friends. (Haven’t read one yet, but there’s plenty of time.) I got farther with the alphabet challenge a few years ago. It is just as it sounds: read titles alphabeticallyContinue reading “The Who Two”
The Long and The Short Of It
When it comes to reading, I have a few rules. I’ve written plenty about my “one and done” rule and the exceptions to it. For reasons of practicality I like to diversify and not read too many authors twice. The writer has to be notable for me to read them multiple times. I have brokenContinue reading “The Long and The Short Of It”
A Little (More) Life
“Things get broken, and sometimes they get repaired, and in most cases…life rearranges itself to compensate for your loss, sometimes wonderfully. “ A character says this early in A Little Life, a sprawling (700+ pages), heartbreaking, frustrating, indulgent, and accomplished novel. It is a comment by the adoptive father of the protagonist, Jude, who hasContinue reading “A Little (More) Life”
Books Smitten 