I’ve been busier than usual lately, which is why you’re not seeing as many reviews. One reason is that I’ve been volunteering at my local library. I’m very fortunate to have a beautiful library, just blocks from my neighborhood. Every year, pre-COVID, they would hold a big fundraiser book sale from donated books. For the…
It’s May, and I’m enjoying the spring, though I’ve been impatient with the cold weather and I’m anxious to begin planting my garden. April was a mostly-good month, with a visit from my sister-in-law and niece and nephew. The Women’s Prize shortlist was announced, but the only book on it I’ve read is Ruth Ozeki’s…
Recently I discovered I no longer fit with the book club I’ve been in for 2-3 years. I love the theme of the book club, which is reading books by women around the world, and I’ve loved many of the books. But over the last six months, I’ve felt really out of sync with the rest of…
This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl) is about authors I haven’t read yet but want to. In fiction, here are some of the authors on my TBR list: Amor Towles: Rules of Civility, A Gentleman in Moscow, The Lincoln Highway – I keep hearing great things about these books.…
Hello readers! March was a blustery month, with snow and storms and plant-killing temperatures (I know better than to plant this early, I got impatient). But spring is nearly here, and the trees are blossoming everywhere I look. This winter felt very long, but I’m already excited just to be able to sit outside on…
I don’t do a lot of “book tag” posts, but the book club in my office sent around this survey to identify future books, and I’m shamelessly lifting it. There’s no cute theme here; just good questions that got me thinking. It’s an interesting approach for a book club, because I don’t know how they’ll sift…
The Women’s Prize is my favorite literary award. I’ve discovered so many wonderful authors just by reading from their longlist each year, and I always enjoy following the award through the year to see which favorites make the shortlist and receive the final prize. The longlist was announced March 8, the shortlist of 6 books…
Reading The Suite Spot reminded me how much I like stories about small towns. I’ve never lived in one myself, and I’ve always imagined I’d find them claustrophobic (I prefer anonymity and being left to myself). But for whatever reason, I love stories about people who move to very small towns and find a community there.…
I read a LOT in February, considering it’s a short month, although three of these books were novella length and many were comfort reads. I’m not a cold-weather person and February left me feeling drained (it feels like the longest month). I’m very much looking forward to spring AND getting out into the world more.…
Welcome to the first wrap-up of 2022! It’s been a pretty good month, though I’m getting tired of the cold and I know a lot of people who dealt with Covid this month. Hope you’re hanging in there. First, I want to introduce you to Max and Jasper, two 7-8 month old tabbies (friends, not littermates)…
For the holidays this year, I had a lot of fun choosing book gifts for various family members (and supporting indie bookstores in the process). So I thought it might be fun for The Book Stop to offer personalized book recommendations. I know most of us already have too many books we want to read,…
Every year I think I’m going to focus on the series I’m in the middle of, rather than starting up new ones. And every year that doesn’t happen. In 2021 I did make a strong effort to continue series. Some favorites were the Lady Astronaut series by Mary Robinette Kowal, the League of Extraordinary Women series…
The Book Stop 