As we hit the year’s halfway point, I looked at my progress on blog resolutions and challenges. Last year I was really overwhelmed, and this year, with no grad school, I’ve been able to put the blog first. That makes me happy. But have I accomplished what I hoped? As a blogger, I tend to … Continue reading
A Raisin in the Sun is a play by Lorraine Hansberry that debuted on Broadway in 1959. The New York Drama Critics’ Circle named it the best play of 1959. I read this powerful work for the Classics Book a Month challenge. It’s the story of the Younger family, an African-American family living in … Continue reading
I read this book for the Read Around the World challenge, where a specific country is selected for each month. May’s selection was Colombia. Vasquez is a noted author in Colombia, having won numerous awards, primarily for this novel and for The Informants. He studied law in Bogotá, Colombia and studied literature in Paris at … Continue reading
746 Books is once again hosting Twenty Books of Summer, which is a good way to think about and organize my summer reading. I hope I’ll be able to cover more than 20 books by September 3, but it’s always hard to stick to a list when you hear about new and exciting books. My … Continue reading
This was a really interesting novel about a real-life serial killer in Scotland in the 1950’s. I say interesting because it wasn’t quite like anything else I’ve read. It’s not a mystery or a thriller, or a true crime novel. It’s a little closer to Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, although I hesitate to compare … Continue reading
Both of these books were on this year’s Bailey’s Prize for Women longlist, although neither made it to the shortlist (in addition to Hag-Seed). The winner of the Bailey’s Prize will be announced June 7. Though quite different, these two books had several things in common. Both are historical fiction, both have a main character who … Continue reading
Like many of you, to say I was surprised by the results of the November election is a profound understatement. What kept echoing through my mind the next day was this: why did so many people vote for a man whose policies will not benefit them? I thought women wouldn’t vote for Trump because of … Continue reading
Part of my Reading All Around the World Challenge, this is a book written by a chef in the U.S. who was born in Iran. Café Leila tells the story of an Iranian family that experiences terrifying changes in the country after the revolution and establishment of the Islamic Republic in the early 1980’s. The … Continue reading
Kostova’s new novel is reminiscent of The Historian, in that it’s a big, sweeping tale that will take the reader all over modern-day Eastern Europe. It’s quite different, however, in that there are no vampires. But there’s still horror. The weakest part of this book is the beginning, because the story seems implausible at first, … Continue reading
Trevor Noah’s memoir of his childhood in South Africa is compelling reading for anyone who wants to know more about South Africa and apartheid. At times humorous, and at times devastating, Noah brings his unique voice to this story. He writes like he speaks, and many times in this book it felt like I was … Continue reading
1984 has to be one of the most disturbing books I’ve read, between the creepy parallels with our current political situation, and the torture and brainwashing. Animal Farm has always been one of my favorite books, for its basic but powerful allegory about political corruption. 1984 takes this idea to a very different level. Written in … Continue reading
I read Little Women for Roof Beam Reader’s Classics Book A Month club. Adam has posted some great discussion questions, which I’ll respond to in this (rather long-winded) review. If you haven’t read Little Women, this review has spoilers in it. Lots of them. I must have read a seriously abridged version as a child; … Continue reading
