Wanderlustful – Page 25 – Cannonball Read 17

Books, Paris and books about Paris

The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George

April 17, 2020 by Wanderlustful Leave a Comment

I am a sucker for books and Paris, and books about Paris, so I had high expectations for this book. Jean Perdu is the lovelorn owner/operator of the Literary Apothecary, a floating book barge on the Seine from which he prescribes books to heal his customers. Perdu has been avoiding reading the ‘Dear John/Jean’ letter that his last lover, Manon, sent him when she left 20 years ago. When he does finally open Manon’s letter, he discovers that she had been trying to say a […]

Regular school is out but Hogwarts is in

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by Jack Thorne

April 16, 2020 by Wanderlustful 1 Comment

Who knew that in times of darkness all I needed was a little Harry Potter? I sat down on Easter Sunday and burned my way through this in the space of a few hours, feeling happier on the other side. It’s a quick but compelling read, true enough to the Harry Potter format to scratch that nostalgic itch. Firstly, it should be noted that this is a play script, not a novel, and it wasn’t written by J.K. Rowling although it did involve her (it […]

History doesn’t repeat itself but it often rhymes

Blood of Brothers by Stephen Kinzer

April 15, 2020 by Wanderlustful 2 Comments

Although Nicaragua is important to me for family reasons (my brother has lived there for the last 5 years), the more I learn about its history the more I think everyone- particularly Americans- would find it fascinating and should be learning about it. Blood of Brothers is history filtered through memoir, narrated by being Stephen Kinzer, formerly an NYT bureau chief stationed in Nicaragua. Kinzer lived in Nicaragua during its tumultuous and horrific civil war, book ended with the Sandinistas ousting the brutal Somoza dictators […]

She’s no Stephanie Plum

Full Scoop by Janet Evanovitch

April 15, 2020 by Wanderlustful Leave a Comment

Janet Evanovitch is best known for the Stephanie Plum novels, set in New Jersey and featuring her eponymous bail bondswoman heroine. This novel is not one of those. Rather, it is part of Evanovitch’s “Full” series, set in Beaumont, South Carolina, and featuring a recurring cast of ‘zany’ main and supporting characters. Full Scoop is the 4th novel in the series and it is the one I started with- I don’t think I missed much not having started at the beginning. Full Scoop is a […]

Murder, slow and detailed

The Black Tower by P.D. James

April 15, 2020 by Wanderlustful Leave a Comment

P.D. James is an acquired taste in detective fiction- slow moving and meticulously detail oriented. Her Adam Dalgliesh novels are a detour from some of the hard-boiled noir detective fiction that is currently fashionable on TV and film. Adam is not like Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch or Jo Nesbo’s Harry Hole; rather, Dalgliesh he is from the ‘gentleman detective working for Scotland Yard’ mold, slowly sifting through clues without breaking the rules. The Black Tower is the 5th Dalgliesh novel and it is set in […]

Mesmerizing, magical, terrifying

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

April 10, 2020 by Wanderlustful 1 Comment

Although it seems a bit trite to recommend Station Eleven on this site (I know it was the latest book club choice- I’m late to the party!) and in a pandemic generally (I feel like its been on every ‘what to read in a pandemic’ book list), I am aggressively recommending this book to anyone looking for a recommendation (and even occasionally to those who aren’t- its that good). For anyone who has somehow missed the hype, Station Eleven is about a pandemic, the fictional […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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