My mother got me into reading — specifically, Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey. This turned into a lifetime of love of reading fantasy and science fiction novels. My mother’s favorites, however, were always murder-mysteries and she had a special love in her heart for Agatha Christie. She’s read every book Christie published in multiple languages. She had the entire collection in French! Given all of that, it’s quite surprising that I had never read an Agatha Christie novel until recently and I’m so glad I did! These […]
(Not Actually) Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman
I first heard of Lindy West on Jezebel where I was a regular reader and infrequent commenter. She was always brassy and direct and had a very clear and distinct writing voice. She wrote about difficult and controversial subjects with a deft hand that said f*ck the trolls. Since Lindy left Jezebel I’d occasionally hear about her–an article about her wedding with a picture of her amazing dress, or an episode of This American Life where she confronted one of her worst trolls. I love reading […]
Brownies and Broomsticks – Because Sometimes You Need to Read Fluff.
I usually alternate serious books with fluffy books. This book may just be the epitome of fluff. I was on maternity leave for 6 months and, let me tell you, I did not have the brainpower to watch a TV show let alone read a complicated book. So when Audible recommended a “cozy mystery” for me, I was intrigued. Katie Lightfoot just broke off her engagement and moved from Ohio to Savannah to open a bakery with her aunt and uncle. Just as their bakery […]
Sleeping Giants or I Wish This was The Iron Giant Instead by Sylvain Neuvel
I’m a big fan of epistolary novels, oral histories are particularly juicy and fun. Add in robots and aliens? The description sold me instantly! Sadly, the other problem with oral histories is that I inevitably compare them to Max Brooks’ World War Z. I realize that’s incredibly unfair as World War Z is an exceptionally awesome book, but that’s where my bar is set. Sadly, this book is nowhere near the level of World War Z. Short summary: big metal body parts are showing up […]
The Woman in Cabin 10 or How Unreliable is this Narrator, Really?
I love murder mysteries, especially on audio book—my commute just flies by! I especially enjoy murder mysteries with female narrators. It’s safe to assume I really loved Gone Girl. When The Girl on The Train came out, I was an early cheerleader. I “read” it through Audible and the narration was really outstanding, which I think made me like it more than I would have if I had just read the book normally. This is all to say, I came into this book with high […]
The Doomsday Book
Doomsday Book by Connie Willis This genre-bending story is a medical thriller, near-future time travel, and historical fiction novel all in one. Despite the subject matter, it’s a rather cozy novel; the kind you read while sipping tea on a rainy afternoon. While reading, I kept thinking that it had no right to be as good as it was because the overall story is rather thin: girl travels in time, professor tries to get her home. Well, maybe it’s a bit more complicated than that. […]