I was opening my Book of the Month box just as my dad called yesterday. I told him what I was doing and he (84 years old) immediately said he remembered the first Book of the Month they ever received: Silent Spring by Rachel Carson (1962) He also said he remembered ordering To Kill a…
Tag: book review
ROCK PAPER SCISSORS by Alice Feeney
“Shhhhhhut UP!” That is what I yelled into my empty home. It was just me, alone, reading the twists in this fast-paced thriller. “Wait. What?!”, I continue my one-sided conversation as I rapidly flipped back to the earlier chapters. I still have questions. I’ve never googled, so quickly, to compare plot ending explanations online. 1….
WHEN THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS AREN’T ENOUGH by Taylor Schumann
An excellent, excellent, excellent book. I have been following Taylor Schumann for a little while now on Instagram and Twitter. I was excited when she decided to write a book because I was interested in reading her story in whole rather than the bits and pieces I’ve picked up over time. What I didn’t expect…
THE PERSONAL LIBRARIAN + Book of the Month
I was very honored that Book of the Month posted one of my pictures today on their social media. It was a photo of this fantastic book about J.P. Morgan’s assistant, Belle da Costa Greene, who helped build the J. Pierpont Morgan Library in New York City in the early 1900’s. THE PERSONAL LIBRARIAN is…
SING, UNBURIED, SING
This family drama was true southern prose full of spirits and stories and spells. Sin and family and forgiveness. No one dies quite like a southerner, taking their specific cooking and unique lineage, leaving us our heritage and pockets full of stories to embellish for many generations to come. “…. sorrow is food, swallowed too…
THE INVISIBLE LIFE of ADDIE LARUE by V. E. Schwab
What is it about my weirdo brain that says, ‘Oh…this is a really popular book out there in the world? Then let’s be sure and NOT read it yet.’ What? Why?? Whatever mental defect I have, it happens every time a book skyrockets to popularity. But I’ve heard so many fantastic things about this one,…
INTIMATIONS by Zadie Smith
I didn’t check to see what this book of essays was about before starting to read it. Some respected people recommended it, so I opened the front page with no expectations. I found a collection of essays filled with reflections on the first half of 2020. Unique reflections. Powerful comparisons. But all with room enough…
THE GREEN WITCH by Arin Murphy Hiscock
To be honest, I’ve put off posting about this book wanting to make sure it wasn’t going to be too offensive to anyone – or to myself. I wanted to get far enough into the book to see if it was just too ‘woo-woo’. Thankfully, it is what I hoped it would be – a…
Finding Calm
These are a few books that have meant a lot to me personally during this pandemic season. I find reliance on the liturgy comforting when you don’t feel like praying. Leaning into ancient traditions (even rote memorization) gets you through at times when your heart just isn’t in it. I especially recommend the book, Flee….
MUSICAL CHAIRS by Amy Poeppel
“To drink coffee on my stoop each morning and gin on the roof at night…” – Will, commenting on what he loves about living in New York City MUSICAL CHAIRS was an enjoyably quick and entertaining read and my first Amy Poeppel book. It has been sitting on my shelf for a few months now,…
THE VANISHING HALF by Brit Bennett
I was glad to finally be able to sit down with this Book of the Month feature and all-around popular Bookstagram book, The Vanishing Half. The concept intrigued me. Stella and Desiree are twins and both born light-skinned Black. Both of them wanting to escape the confines of their small town and to live a…
WITH THE FIRE ON HIGH by Elizabeth Acevedo
This is the second book I’ve read from Acevedo and I listened to both of them on audio. I believe she is an author that should not only be read, but be heard as well. Her reading is thick with a Dominican accent and her placement of words melt together like a cherished recipe, passed…
i’m just g. 