I feel like the last week or so has been spent chasing down book club selections (and I even missed the CBR Book Club, which was unfortunate, although the reviews have not exactly been glowing—so maybe it wasn’t a tragedy to have missed out?). This Sunday marks my regular book club meeting—A has chosen George Orwell’s 1984, which seemed terribly fitting, since the United States has a president who is being praised for not pooping on stage (that’s only the barest of exaggerations. I mean, […]
A much-hyped middle-grade book that wasn’t my cuppa, but still worth the read.
My library book club is reading R.J. Palacio’s Wonder for March, which has been on my to-read list for several years now. I like reading young adult and middle-grade fiction, because I get a sense of what kids read and what they like. I’ll be interested to hear how my peers found Wonder, because I just finished it yesterday and am processing a whole bunch of thoughts. Wonder is the story of August (or Auggie) Pullman, a ten-year-old boy with craniofacial anomalies, starting with a […]
A second disappointment from another debut author.
I’m always on the lookout for new talent and newly published books. My friend B had posted a picture of her reading Emily Fridlund’s debute novel History of Wolves, which I found intriguing. I decided to place a library hold and see what I thought of the book. Linda is our story’s protagonist, and she is determined to tell us about her life, albeit in a messy and unorganized fashion. We find out that she was part of a cultish religion, which abandoned her family, […]
An inspiring story, but not what I expected
When I was in grade school, my mom (who had homeschooled me up through the second semester of ninth grade) purchased a set of Christian fiction books called Trailblazers. Written by Dave and Neta Jackson, these books focused on Christian historical heroes and were written from the perspective of a fictional kid or teenager who was in some way in the path of this hero. One of the stories I most remember is Assassins in the Cathedral, which focused on the life of Ugandan Anglican […]
Another blunt and real Fisher memoir
On my road trip, The Chancellor and I were able to enjoy a second Carrie Fisher memoir, Shockaholic. We both enjoyed Wishful Drinking so much that we hoped we could attain a similar listening experience with Shockaholic. And while I was disappointed to see some crossover in family stories, I was not disappointed by the overall product. Fisher delves much more deeply into her mental health problems, her life with her stepdad, and her own father’s brief relationship with Elizabeth Taylor. She discusses Star Wars […]
Carrie Fisher: blunt and real to the very last word.
Carrie Fisher’s death was a huge blow to me in a year already plagued by so much devastation. I grew up watching Star Wars, and Princess Leia was a hero to me. I admired her grit, sarcasm, and determination. She showed me there were many ways to be a strong and successful woman. Fisher herself was no shrinking violet, either. Up till now, I hadn’t read her personal biographies, but I so admired her candor when dealing with body shamers during the press tour for […]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 32
- 33
- 34
- 35
- 36
- …
- 122
- Next Page »