“Most of you have heard, by now, what happened to my brother, or a version of it: the alarming events of that spring and summer, the single, vile accusation, still unproven, that made a ruin of his life.” Jennifer Haigh is an author who deserves more attention than she gets. I can say this with … Continue reading Faith, by Jennifer Haigh
Category: Novels
Zorrie, by Laird Hunt
Last year a friend and I were talking about Olive Kitteridge. “I don’t get it,” she said to me. “The writing is beautiful, but what’s the point? It’s just moments in her life. She doesn’t even really change.” Now, while Olive Kitteridge is one of my favorite books, I can also see my friend’s point. … Continue reading Zorrie, by Laird Hunt
Passing, by Nella Larsen
"And mingled with her disbelief and resentment was another feeling, a question. Why hadn’t she spoken that day? Why, in the face of Bellew’s ignorant hate and aversion, had she concealed her own origin? Why had she allowed him to make his assertions and express his misconceptions undisputed? Why, simply because of Clare Kendry, who … Continue reading Passing, by Nella Larsen
So what happened with my 20 Books of Summer?
Well. That was a bust. I’m talking, obviously, about 20 Books of Summer. I had the best intentions–truly, I did. And I did read 14 books. It’s just that most of them were not on the stack I had intended to read. (Yes. I’m aware today is the first of November.) What happened? Kinda the … Continue reading So what happened with my 20 Books of Summer?
20 Books of Summer: Piranesi
I read Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell over a decade ago, before I kept any regular record on Goodreads. I picked it up for a reading challenge–the prompt was a book longer than one you’d usually read–and also because I had been intrigued by the reviews. Magic and fantasy are not typically my thing, but … Continue reading 20 Books of Summer: Piranesi
Another #10booksofsummer update and other bookish things
We’re right at that part of the #10booksofthesummer challenge where I start to lose momentum. So far I’ve read seven out of the 15 books I chose to give myself a variety of options. Ha, variety. I know the books left in the stack are all probably all range from good to great, but I … Continue reading Another #10booksofsummer update and other bookish things
#10BooksofSummer Check-in
Hello All! I hope your summer is going well. I figure we’re somewhere around the mid-point of #20BooksofSummer (but am too lazy to do any actual counting), so I thought I’d check in and share how things have been going so far. I’m happy to say that I’ve read five books on the list: Oral … Continue reading #10BooksofSummer Check-in
10 Books of Summer Challenge
Well, hello there! Nothing like getting back into the swing of things like joining a challenge. I've been itching to get back to the blog, so when Cathy at 746 Books announced her annual 20 Books of Summer challenge, I decided this might be a prime opportunity. Now, I've failed to complete this challenge before, … Continue reading 10 Books of Summer Challenge
Reader’s Journal: Train Dreams
Train Dreams is one of those books that has seemed to crop up on "Best of" lists at the end of each year for the last few years. I first had the chance to read Denis Johnson in graduate school when I was assigned to read Fiskadoro for a class on the post-modern Twentieth century … Continue reading Reader’s Journal: Train Dreams
Reader’s Journal: November Road
Lou Berney’s The Long and Faraway Gone was an amazing surprise for me in 2017, so when I heard he had a new book coming out this year, I immediately made it a priority. Of course, I make lots of books a “priority”—that’s how I ended up with 266 unread books in my possession. I … Continue reading Reader’s Journal: November Road
The Evening Reader 