On paper, this book is the complete package for me: time travel, a mysterious epidemic, a spunky female protagonist, academia, Christmas. I should have loved it. But it was a little… um…. super duper incredibly boring. I’m really looking forward to the Book Club conversation about this, because it would be nice to put my finger on why I didn’t just totally love it. There’s plenty of action, but it’s very repetitive, and never feels like it’s going anywhere. No build, just introduction of characters, […]
A Southern Gothic Treasure
Over the Plain Houses, Julia Franks’ debut novel, is a beautifully written tragedy about a dying love, the struggle between faith and doubt, and encroaching modernity. I believe it can be classified as “Southern Gothic.” Set in rural North Carolina 1939, the story includes many characteristics linked to that genre: decay, violence, the force and romance of nature, a thin line drawn between villains and victims, and even a hint of the supernatural. It is truly a haunting novel. This is the story of Irenie […]
That’ll do.
I got this as one of the Kindle Deals of the Day or something like that. Cheap, portable, and dark and twisty–a perfect vacation read. I read Kubica’s The Good Girl and can’t remember a darn.thing.about.it, but I know I liked it. I don’t even care how stupid that sounds…sometimes you just want a page-turner for the pool chair. I started Pretty Baby with the same expectations and it didn’t disappoint. Heidi, a perpetual helper, sees a homeless girl with an infant on the L platform and, […]
Dysfunction Junction
My book club’s current choice is The Nest, an engrossing read about the very dysfunctional Plumb family. I read that the author expanded this to a novel after starting in her MFA course with a short story about 4 siblings having a drink at 4 different bars in NYC before joining for a family meeting. Leo, the selfish and manipulative brother of Beatrice, Melody, and Jack has found himself financially and personally ruined after an accident involving a young waitress. In order to keep the […]
In Conclusion, Greg van Eekhout is one to watch
Dragon Coast satisfyingly concludes the Daniel Blackland trilogy by Greg van Eekhout. Reviews for the first two books in the series are here for book 1 and here for book 2. This entire trilogy was a joy from start to finish and as a result I look forward to what Greg has to write in the future. With each book he added depth to his magic systems, detail to the world and gave his characters room to grow. While I certainly hope Daniel get’s a much deserved rest […]
I have just read Mark Twain for the first time.
I am ashamed to admit that until this past week, I had never read any Mark Twain. How does a person enter their 6th decade of life, born and raised in the United States, and not have read Tom Sawyer or Huckleberry Finn? I have no explanations or excuses, but I thank Badkittyuno, who drew my name in the holiday book exchange, for guarding my shameful confession and sending both books to me. In some respects the two classic novels are like a lot of […]
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