Category: Contemporary Fiction
My Favorite Reads of 2020
This week, we’re sharing our favorite books of 2020 for Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl). I found it hard this year to identify ten favorite books, maybe because I read more than usual or because I read a wider range… Continue Reading “My Favorite Reads of 2020”
Review: Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk
I read this for my book club and really enjoyed it. This is the kind of book you put down and then you find yourself thinking about long afterwards. This author won the Nobel Prize in 2018, and I can see why. It’s kind of a strange… Continue Reading “Review: Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk”
Review: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab
I loved this book. I already thought Schwab was great, but this book combines so many things I love – history, travel, France – and it’s really character/relationship driven. The story is complicated, and there were lots of times I found myself trying to… Continue Reading “Review: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab”
November Wrap-Up and Mini-Reviews
I spent a lot of time this month participating in Nonfiction November, so I thought instead of the usual monthly wrap-up I’d post some mini-reviews instead. These three books address issues related to science, religion, and the intersection of the two. I recommend all three. … Continue Reading “November Wrap-Up and Mini-Reviews”
Review: Too Much Lip by Melissa Lucashenko
I love reading about Australia, ever since I traveled there in 2013. I was struck by the similarities in the history of Australia and the United States, though I felt Australia was much more open about its troubling treatment of Aboriginal populations. Too Much… Continue Reading “Review: Too Much Lip by Melissa Lucashenko”
Review: All Adults Here by Emma Straub
I really got into this book about three generations of a family in small-town Connecticut, though I felt let down by the ending, for reasons I’ll try to explain without saying too much. The novel begins with Astrid, a widow, who sees a friend… Continue Reading “Review: All Adults Here by Emma Straub”
Review: The End of the Day by Bill Clegg
I loved Clegg’s first novel, Did You Ever Have a Family, so I was happy to receive an advance review copy of his second novel, The End of the Day. Unfortunately, this book fell flat for me. This novel is a story about three… Continue Reading “Review: The End of the Day by Bill Clegg”
Review: Fleishman is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
I had mixed feelings about this book, which was on this year’s Women’s Prize longlist. I’m interested in stories about struggling relationships, so the idea of this book that tells the story of a divorcing couple from both perspectives was an interesting one. But… Continue Reading “Review: Fleishman is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner”
Review: Writers and Lovers by Lily King
I didn’t expect to like this book. In fact, I started it as an audiobook and found it meandering and a little pretentious. I don’t love the idea of a novel about writers, especially when our narrator, Casey, describes how all of her once-writer… Continue Reading “Review: Writers and Lovers by Lily King”
My Year of Reading Romance
Romance novels are my comfort reads. Typically, I don’t read many of them. While fun to read, they rarely stick with me. A lot of romances follow predictable patterns and rarely surprise – although I could argue that’s exactly why they are comforting. But… Continue Reading “My Year of Reading Romance”
Review: Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips
This is a debut novel that’s received quite a bit of praise, but it was not quite as good as I hoped it would be. Author Phillips is an American who decided to write about a very remote area in Siberia called Kamchatka. Phillips… Continue Reading “Review: Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips”
Review: Saint X by Alexis Schaitken
I had mixed feelings about this book, but I found the story and its characters really compelling. Saint X is a fictional island in the Caribbean, a place where affluent white families go to soak up the sun and drink all day long. The… Continue Reading “Review: Saint X by Alexis Schaitken”
