Maybe it's because I live in a warm climate, but I really do enjoy reading books set in cold weather during winter. I don't actually want to be in snow, but it's fun to read about it while staying nice and warm! The City Baker's Guide to Country Living by Louise Miller is perfect for … Continue reading More Winter-y, Christmas Reads
After doing a major clear-out of my books, I should have refrained from re-stuffing my shelves, but what can I say? I have a book-buying problem that I excuse by saying I am supporting indie bookstores. This part of my pre-Christmas haul includes A Moonless, Starless Sky: Ordinary Women and Men Fighting Extremism in Africa, … Continue reading Merry-Christmas-to-Me Book Haul #1
One of my top books of the year: The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry. Something I struggle with in reading modern nonfiction is finding books that are substantive and complex but not unrelentingly grim or horrific. This book isn't sweetness and light, but the tribulations the characters encounter don't render them forever miserable. What I … Continue reading The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry
In the absence of any truly good romantic comedy movies coming out this year, I turned to a couple of Christmassy rom-com books that have gotten good reviews. The first one, The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Jenny Bayliss, was everything I wanted--set in a charming, snowy English village, two nice people at the center … Continue reading Christmas Cheer
I love books about Rich People Behaving Badly, so I thought Tiny Imperfections by Alli Frank and Asha Youmans would be a good choice for a fun read because it's about an admissions officer at a fancy private school. Unfortunately, I couldn't get into it at all. I read a couple of chapters, but there … Continue reading A couple of disappointments
I bought Beach Read by Emily Henry because I saw it recommended on tons of blogs and lists, and because I thought it was kind of hilarious and bold to name a beach read "Beach Read." Based on the cover, the title, and a brief description--two rival writers find themselves living in neighboring vacation cabins--I … Continue reading Not a Beach Read: Beach Read by Emily Henry
Julia Spencer-Fleming started the Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne mystery series in 2002, and the eighth book came out in 2013. I read them all, and eagerly awaited the next one...which came out seven years later in 2020! Hid From Our Eyes was worth the wait. The last installment, Through the Evil Days, was not my … Continue reading The Seven-Year Itch…for the Next Julia Spencer-Fleming Book
I mean that in the best way. I went on an unplanned reading hiatus of about two months while devoting my free time to election work, and I just needed something funny and light to get back into reading. The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams hit the spot. The concept is this: a … Continue reading I’m Back! And with a very silly book.
Bookish things I'm loving on the internet this week: Glad I'm not the only one annoyed by Hillbilly Elegy. I will definitely be reading Omid Scobie's new book. I'm Jessica Fletcher. Which detective are you? So true.
The Yellow House by Sarah Broom is labeled as a memoir, but that label doesn't really capture what the book is. Broom tells the story of her family, starting with her grandmother Amelia and then turning to her mother, Ivory Mae. If there is a central character in the book, it's Ivory Mae. She is … Continue reading Book Review: The Yellow House
