As usual, I have been neglecting my site. I’m sorry for that. 2023 was a busy year, but I also procrastinated too much…and too often…yadda yadda yadda. No serious details in this post, but I read or listened to 122 books in 2023, according to my LibraryThing Year in Review. I tried to crunch a
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What did I do in 2022? Mostly listened to audiobooks
The older I get, the more the days and weeks whiz by and I have almost nothing to show for it. I cannot believe I didn’t post again all year after sharing my initial thoughts about the war in Ukraine and the video from Tracy Chapman. (Coming up on the one-year mark from Putin’s invasion
Read on »Writing, or reading? Can I do both, maybe?
Here’s a three-minute overview of my past nine months of writing (or trying to write) fiction — specifically, a romance novel. First, start with the germ of an idea, and “pants” through several chapters. Realize there isn’t enough conflict, change some things, and start over with basically the same characters but different circumstances. Work on
Read on »My review of The Happiest People in the World by Brock Clarke
For the record: I received this book (an actual hardcover book!) for review from Algonquin Books, through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers program. This does not affect the content of my review, but since I truly did love the book, I’m incredibly thankful to have a “real” copy and not just an ARC. I’ve delayed this review
Read on »Book review: Home Leave by Brittani Sonnenberg
(I really love this cover!) I received an advance reader’s copy of Home Leave, the debut novel by Brittani Sonnenberg, through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program. Many thanks to LT and to Grand Central Publishing (Hachette Group) for the opportunity to read and review it. Description from Grand Central’s site: Chris Kriegstein is a
Read on »Women in Translation Month (#WITMonth): The Hunger Angel by Herta Müller
A blogger who goes by Biblibio (and only just posted her real name this last week) created an event called Women in Translation Month, to increase awareness of books in translation written by female authors, and to highlight the fact that there are far more books by men translated into English than books by women.
Read on »Book review: The Appetites of Girls by Pamela Moses
When I saw this book on LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers list this past spring, I knew it would be right up my alley (she said, while having an afternoon snack). So, thank you to LibraryThing, and to Putnam Books (Penguin Group), for the chance to read and review an advanced copy of The Appetites of Girls,
Read on »Book review: The Spark: a Mother’s Story of Nurturing Genius by Kristine Barnett
{I’m adding this note on Feb. 7, 2024. Last month, one of my co-workers was talking about a series she’d watched called The Curious Case of Natalia Grace — I think that’s what it was, or something close to that. I didn’t listen too closely at first, but then the details got more and more
Read on »My review of The Sleepwalkers by Paul Grossman
From the publisher’s website: In the final weeks of the Weimar Republic, as Hitler and his National Socialist party angle to assume control of Germany, beautiful girls are seen sleepwalking through the streets. Then, a young woman of mysterious origin, with her legs bizarrely deformed, is pulled dead from the Havel River. Willi Kraus, a
Read on »Review of Half a Life: a Memoir by Darin Strauss
From the back cover: In the last month of his high school career, just after turning eighteen, Strauss is behind the wheel of his father’s Oldsmobile, driving with friends, having ‘thoughts of mini-golf, another thought of maybe just going to the beach.’ Then, out of the blue: a collision that results in the death of
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