Carolyn Keene – Cannonball Read 17

Childhood Nostalgia / American Propaganda

The Kachina Doll Mystery by Carolyn Keene

The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder

February 25, 2024 by Pooja Leave a Comment

I devoured both the Nancy Drew and Little House books when I was in elementary school, so it feels a little odd to read them in such close succession now. I still enjoy them, but I’ve rather lost the cuddly feeling since then. It’s more obvious to adult me that the books were written in the expectation of reaching a certain sort of child, and that child did not look like me. The Kachina Doll Mystery – 3 stars When Nancy Drew is summoned to […]

a thousand apologies and what feels like a thousand reviews (through November 2023)

Edinburgh by Alexander Chee

The Committed by Viet Thanh Nguyen

Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld

Kindred by Octavia E Butler

Children of Memory by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Hinumegin er mars by Sólrun Michelsen

Trust by Hernan Diaz

How Westminster Works . . . and Why It Doesn't by Ian Dunt

Happy Place by Emily Henry

Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class by Owen Jones

The Establishment: And How They Get Away with It by Owen Jones

In the Beginning was the Sea by Tomás González

Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene

Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood

The City & the City by China Miéville

A History of Burning by Janika Oza

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert

Africa Is Not a Country: Notes on a Bright Continent by Dipo Faloyin

Passion Simple by Annie Ernaux

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

Forget Me Not by Julie Soto

Hotel of Secrets by Diana Biller

The New Enclosure: The Appropriation of Public Land in Neoliberal Britain by Brett Christophers

The Late Mrs. Willoughby by Claudia Gray

Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon

A Tempest at Sea by Sherry Thomas

Politics On the Edge: A Memoir From Within by Rory Stewart

Rivals by Katherine McGee

Reign by Katherine McGee

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

The Iliad by Homer, Emily Wilson

Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America by Michael Harriot

The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff

10 Things that Never Happened by Alexis Hall

The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer

The Fraud by Zadie Smith

A Dangerous Kind of Lady by Mia Vincy

A Little Life by Hanya Yanighara

Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

Nick and Charlie by Alice Oseman

Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree

The Starting Over Game by girl_with_kaleidoscope_eyes

December 31, 2023 by wicherwill 1 Comment

Edinburg by Alexander Chee CBR15: Sex True fact, when someone British asked me what I was reading I pronounced this “Edin-BERG” and to their credit they didn’t laugh but instead asked, with some horrified sincerity, if that’s how Americans say it. It’s not! At least, not on purpose. It’s just how can the English language claim to have been invented in a country that seems to not have grasped even a shred of understanding of how the various letters in it work? I digress. This is […]

Nancy wins!

Nancy Drew: The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene

September 24, 2023 by KimMiE" 4 Comments

CBR15 BINGO: Hold Steady, because Nancy holds steady until she finds that missing will and saves the day! Note: I read the 1959 edition. A few weeks ago I posted a review of the first Hardy Boys mystery and started a friendly debate about who was better: the Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew. It had been a long time since I’d read any of these mysteries, but I remember, as a youngster, having a slight preference for the novels featuring the more feminine detective (I’m […]

Nancy Drew: Girl Detective, White Whale

The Secret of the Old Clock: Nancy Drew Mystery #1 by Carolyn Keene, Mildred Benson

July 14, 2021 by ElCicco 2 Comments

Cbr13bingo White Whale I somehow managed to make it into my 6th decade having never read a single Nancy Drew book. I have always been somewhat ashamed of this given how great an impact Nancy Drew novels have had on so many women. It’s even more shocking and shameful when I recall that growing up, there were dozens of the Nancy Drew novels in my bedroom closet!! My sister read them all, and I’m pretty sure my mom and aunts had read them when they […]

Not your Grandmother’s Nancy Drew

November 5, 2018 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Nancy Drew Clue Book #8 World Record Mystery is not your grandmothers (or mother’s) Nancy Drew. There have been several covers over the years, some updating the setting and variety of different series. Based on Caroylyn Keene’s concept, this series is a very modern upgrade to our girl sleuth. She has “one of each” friend (the girly-girl and the tomboy), she has video games and each girl has a cell-phone. They are about third or fourth grade (old enough to be on their own, but […]

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.

Help Our Mission