Zero O’Clock by C.J. Farley In the first line of CJ Farley’s latest novel, Zero O’Clock, Geth Montego says she “would give anything to make old people remember what it’s like to be a teenager.” To that, I say “mission accomplished.” Not only did she take me back to that vulnerable time, Geth illuminated the […]
The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel The Glass Hotel is the type of book that surprises you with where it ends up. The characters are terrific and the weaving of their experiences is deft. The main character, Vincent, is a whip-smart, beautiful, wounded soul. I especially enjoyed reading about her time living in […]
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell Where to start? The premise, the language, the way the structure weaves around events and characters. We have all grown up with Shakespeare, but to dive into this historical speculation is a treat nobody should miss. Titled “Hamnet,” after Shakespeare’s 11 year old son who died from the plague (the letter […]
This essay was originally published on Medium.com. My husband and I are on a road trip this winter. With freedom heralded in by an empty nest and working from home, we loaded the car on New Year’s Day and began driving west. We’re keeping to ourselves, preparing and eating our meals in hotel rooms, and […]
The Listening Path: The Creative Art of Attention (An Artist’s Way Book) by Julia Cameron This is a manual for paying attention. A companion book to the Artist’s Way, which I really love, The Listening Path describes a six-week program that takes you to higher and higher levels of awareness. From listening to the world […]
Mt. Moriah’s Wake by Melissa Norton Carro Melissa Carro has written a stunning debut about trauma and loss and persevering love. She has created a compelling protagonist in JoAnna Wilson, haunted by ghosts of her past, terribly flawed, yet ever so sympathetic. The story of Mt Moriah’s Wake unfolds masterfully, alternating timelines in a way […]
How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps her House by Cherie Jones This review was originally published by the New York Journal of Books. How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps her House is the type of novel you finish and then return to Chapter One to begin again. Because it is that good, but also because it is filled […]
Burnt Sugar by Avni Doshi This review originally appeared in the New York Journal of Books. Burnt Sugar is an incredible novel with messages and characters that remain with its reader far beyond the final line. In this sometimes humorous, sometimes dark, always ephemeral piece of literature, Avni Doshi unspools an original take on the theme […]
Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam Maybe not the best audiobook choice for the day after a coup-attempt and the height of a global pandemic, but Leave the World Behind’s end-of-the-world omniscient narrator thoughtfully contemplates what matters, who we are, and, even as we are ignorant to the end of the world approaching, how […]
The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz by Erik Larson The seventeen hour Splendid and the Vile audio book was the perfect companion on a cross country drive. Churchill’s bravery, determination, and leadership rang through as did the efforts of his wife, Clementine, to not only support […]
