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”
Tag Archives: Fiction
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”
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”
A Little Life, pt. 1
“We don’t get the family we deserve,” a character says early in A Little Life, Hanya Yanagihara’s hefty, tragic novel. He is being self-effacing: he has had a better family than most, but is trying to show empathy to his friend. The comment, though, is a controlling idea of the sad story. Jude, named afterContinue reading “A Little Life, pt. 1”
The Magnificent Seven
The more I write about my one and done reading rule, the more the exceptions come to mind. I’ve already written about the quartet of Anne Tyler, Anne Lamott, Armistead Maupin, and Harlan Coben, all of whom have reached premiere status of ten books. It may soon be a quintet, though, with the addition ofContinue reading “The Magnificent Seven”
Recent TBR
Last week I wrote about three titles that have been in my TBR for a long time. It isn’t always the case that a book escapes my undivided attention for decades. With new books coming out every day (Tuesday used to be the traditional release day; not sure if that is still the case forContinue reading “Recent TBR”
The 90,000 Rule
Many literary agents won’t consider projects shorter than 90,000 words. It’s simple, or so they say: books have to fit comfortably with others on shelves and endcaps, so a minimum word count is necessary to produce a certain heft. Fair enough. With only 20% of books being read in a digital format, there are ergonomicContinue reading “The 90,000 Rule”
Letters To Me
When you hear the word epistolary, you might think of novels told through letters, such as the classic 84 Charing Cross Road or its successful knockoff The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Books written in journal form can also be called epistolary, though. They might be seen as letters to the self, aContinue reading “Letters To Me”
I’m Looking Through You
One of the great enigmas of the suspense genre is how to pull off a huge twist. I have read about a hundred-fifty mystery books and only been able to predict the plot in totality a few times. Is this because the writers are especially gifted or could it have more to do with theContinue reading “I’m Looking Through You”
The Value of Browsing
Online browsing is such a fundamental of life that it is easy to forget its predecessor. If you are fifty are older, chances are you spent your foundational years discovering books by wandering at leisure through book stores and libraries. These things still happen, but they have become more antiquated. Indie bookstores have slowly disappeared,Continue reading “The Value of Browsing”
Books Smitten 