Review: What We Were Promised by Lucy Tan
I really enjoyed Lucy Tan’s debut novel about a family living in modern-day Shanghai. Wei, Lina and their teenage daughter Karen are a wealthy family living in…
Review: Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado
It’s tempting to compare this book to What it Means When A Man Falls from the Sky by Lesley Nneka Arimah. Both are debut short story…
Review: What it Means When a Man Falls From the Sky by Lesley Nneka Arimah
I loved this book of short stories. Arimah has a really vivid way of telling a story, and her stories covered a wide range of issues…
Science Fiction and Fantasy Mini-Reviews: All Systems Red, Ms. Marvel, and Labyrinth Lost
Instead of reading the series I’m already into, I started three more series last month. All worth checking out, but at the top of my list…
Review: Love, Loss, and What We Ate by Padma Lakshmi
I expected a book about Padma Lakshmi to be fascinating, and it was. She’s interesting to me for a few reasons. She hosts one of my…
Review of Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
I’ve been putting off writing a review of Just Mercy, because it felt so important I didn’t think I’d do it justice. There are very few…
Review of Heads of the Colored People by Nafissa Thompson-Spires
I enjoyed this book more than I expected to, mainly because the stories are a surprising combination of everyday life, tragedy, and humor. The stories focus…
Review of The Vain Conversation by Anthony Grooms
This was a very intense read, and a thoughtful one. Grooms takes us into the minds of three characters who are involved in a mass lynching…
Review of Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
I read Pachinko for a book club and also for my Reading All Around the World challenge. This book was also listed frequently as one of…
Review of The Merry Spinster by Mallory Ortberg
This book is an often-disturbing look at some classic children’s tales. If you’ve read much children’s literature, you know many of these stories are pretty creepy…
Review of Girls Burn Brighter by Shobha Rao
This was a really intense book, at times devastating, but I’m glad I read it. Just know that it isn’t an easy read. It’s the story…
Review of Happiness by Aminatta Forna
I knew nothing about this author or novel but, true to its title, it was a happy surprise. This is a thoughtful and thought-provoking story of two…
