I first heard of this book when my mom mentioned that she’d stayed up all night reading it. This was a couple of years ago, but my mom’s strong reaction to the book made an impression on me. Breaking Night: A Memoir of Forgiveness, Survival, and My Journey From Homeless to Harvard (2010) by Liz Murray is pretty much exactly what it looks like from the title. It is a memoir by the author of her childhood and teen years in the Bronx. I found this book […]
Walk right into a different world
Every Heart a Doorway (2016) by Seanan McGuire was a book I had not heard of and probably wouldn’t have chosen to read if left to myself. I would probably call it a young adult coming-of-age novella with fantasy elements. The reason I finally picked this up was because a friend of mine kept doggedly recommending it to our book club, month after month, until I could hardly say no. Nancy is a brooding teenager, recently brought by her parents to Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward […]
Old-fashioned romance
I’d heard that Venetia (1958) by Georgette Heyer is a classic of the romance genre, as well as reminiscent of Jane Austen. I wasn’t sure it could live up to that kind of hype, but I was willing to give it a try. One thing that made me nervous about this novel is that it was written in the 1950’s–not exactly a banner decade for women. I was afraid the old-fashioned mindset would be reflected in the novel. Fortunately, for the most part, this was not true, […]
A novel that personalizes BLM
I’d heard that The Hate U Give (2017) by Angie Thomas was really good. I’d also heard something about a bestseller controversy that I paid just enough attention to to remind me that I should read this novel. When I finally picked it up, I wasn’t disappointed. Starr Carter is sixteen years old. She is black and lives in a poor, segregated neighborhood that is challenged by drugs and gangs. Her parents don’t want to leave the neighborhood, but they want the best for their kids. So […]
Jane Steele – a superhero of the 1800’s
After seeing Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye on Cannonball and on NPR’s Best Books of 2016, I was intrigued. I’ve read Jane Eyre, and liked it–even though it was as long time ago. But a retelling of Jane Eyre, with Jane as a serial killer? I just couldn’t guess how that would work. But it also got consistently good reviews, which was more than enough for me. I was most curious how Faye would make Jane Steele a sympathetic character as a “cold-blooded killer.” Jane Steele kills her cousin when she […]
Alone in a crowd
I first saw The Lonely City by Olivia Laing on NPR’s Best Books of 2016 List. I picked it up because I was interested in the concept of loneliness, and I wondered what Laing had to say about it. I am an introvert. I enjoy, and often need, time to be alone to recharge. My job is often very people intensive, which can be fun, but also exhausting. So I find that when I’m not working, I enjoy my alone time. But I’ve also felt that lately, I’ve […]
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