March is a Pulitzer Prize winning story about CPT March, the father of the March family in Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. It covers the year he spent in the Union Army during the Civil War, so it’s dark and heavy, but it’s also imaginative and well-researched and doesn’t shy away from tough topics and grim historical realities. Continue reading
Category Archives: Fiction
Book Review: The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
Can you escape your past? That’s one of the major questions explored in The Dutch House. And for the two main characters, Maeve and Danny, the answer is “not really.” Continue reading
Book Review: In Five Years by Rebecca Serle
In Five Years is a novel about friendship, love, and grief. Lots of grief. Continue reading
Book Review: Signs Preceding the End of the World by Yuri Herrera
Signs Preceding the End of the World is an acclaimed novella by Mexican author Yuri Herrera that tells the tale of a Mexican girl that must sneak across the border to deliver a message to her brother in the US. I thought the book was okay but I am not completely sure what the ending meant. Continue reading
Book Review: The Wives by Tarryn Fisher
The Wives has an interesting premise and plenty of page-turning suspense, but overall it was a bit of a confusing hot mess. The narrator was so unreliable that I’m still not sure which scenes actually happened. Continue reading
Book Review: A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley
A Thousand Acres is a Pulitzer winning re-imagination of King Lear, set on an Iowa farm during the 1970s. It’s a beautifully written tale of one family’s quick and complete implosion. I mostly really liked it but towards the end I disliked the characters so much, including the narrator, that I was ready for it to be over. Continue reading
Book Review: Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks
Caleb’s Crossing is set in colonial New England, mostly during the 1660s, and tells the story of an English puritan girl, Bethia, whose friendship with Native American Caleb has unusual consequences – Caleb becomes the first Native American to graduate from Harvard. Continue reading
5 Book Series to Binge Read
Whether you’re on vacation, self-isolating, or just not feeling very social, it’s good to have a list of engrossing book series to binge read. If you’re you’re like me, sometimes the books on your “to be read” list just don’t appeal to whatever you’re in the mood for. A good, go-to book series can be just the thing to cure this ailment – the characters are like old friends and you trust the author to deliver a good story. Continue reading
Book Review: Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie
Death on the Nile is a Hercule Poirot mystery. The little Belgian sleuth with the big brain and dramatic mustache can’t catch a break – he’s supposed to be retired and on holiday, but murder seems to follow him around. This time, the murder takes place on a Nile riverboat and the victim is a young, wealthy, beautiful newlywed named Linnet Doyle.
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Book Review: To the Hilt by Dick Francis
Strong characters, a bit of intrigue and, of course, a horse make Dick Francis’s To the Hilt a good read. Continue reading