“We all subscribe to preposterous beliefs; we just don’t know yet which ones they are.” Why do bad things happen to good people? Has there ever been a satisfactory answer to that question? The people of Salem thought they had one–bad things happen to good people because bad people–witches–make them happen. Cow suddenly dies? Lightning strikes your house? Child is stricken with a mysterious illness? Without a solid understanding of veterinary medicine, electricity, or germ theory these may well seem like magical events. Is it […]
The comfort of the familiar
This book is, in many ways, a by-the-numbers murder mystery. The killing begins early in the book and most of the characters in the book are determined to believe one particular person has committed them. However, in the end, a tenacious group of misfits put their heads together to find the real culprit. They risk their lives in the process but eventually everyone gets their comeuppance (uh..spoiler?). What draws me back to these stories is not necessarily a new story but the innovative ways they […]
Mussolini’s Italy
I’ve read a lot of World War II fiction in my time, but the majority of it has focused on Britain, Germany and/or France. This was one of the first historical novels that I read set in Mussolini’s Italy — specifically, in the 1930s when Mussolini was working to drain the Pontine Marshes. The story itself was so-so, but I’m interested in recommendations for others set during this time, if y’all have any? 10 years ago, in a plaza in the beautiful town of Bellina, Isabella Berotti and […]
Go into this great classic knowing as little as possible
This book! So good! I was pointed towards this book by the A Case for Books blog as one of her favorites of last year and I figured I’d give it a go. This novel is tiny, really it’s a short story, but it packs a huge punch. It kept me guessing the whole way through and I can’t stop thinking about it days later. It’s really, really worth seeking out (especially at that great price). I won’t say too much about the plot because […]
Confessions of a Planet Killer
“Pluto was part of their mental landscape, the one they had constructed to organize their thinking about the solar system and their own place within it. Pluto seemed like the edge of existence. Ripping Pluto out of that landscape caused what felt like an inconceivably empty hole.” On August 25, 2006 the International Astronomical Union met in Prague and voted on what a planet was and whether or not Pluto met those qualifications. I was about a week into my freshman year of college where […]
French WW2 Burnout
Our local library saved my marriage. That’s probably overreacting but I will say my husband is thrilled that I will look at the library before buying something and that library books eventually leave the house. That being said, the library has a wait list for some books; and while a long wait may get me to buy something I wanna read NOW sometimes I just wait it out. And sometimes that means, with due dates looming, I read two thematically similar books in too quick […]
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