Entries by jbadmin

Tinkers by Paul Harding

Tinkers by Paul Harding A beautiful exploration of paternal love. The writing and language is so moving as is the ethereal dreamlike quality of what it must feel like as a life comes to its end. This book is beautiful in its imagery, in its description of the mechanical workings of timepieces, in the exploration […]

Biased by Jennifer L Eberhardt

Biased by Jennifer L Eberhardt This was a profound book that hit me in the gut. I listened to the audiobook and found myself rewinding several times. Jennifer Eberhardt leads the reader (or listener) through the neurological reasons many people have that “first reaction” before laying out the problematic consequences of the brain’s wiring. So […]

Call Me by Your Name by André Aciman

Call Me by Your Name by André Aciman Even though the opening lines disclose a love affair is on the horizon, Aciman’s slow build to its consummation is both suspenseful and titillating in the best sense of the words. The first person interior monologue of the protagonist renders true yet illuminating. When a book allows […]

Untamed by Glennon Doyle

Untamed by Glennon Doyle This book is a series of short, first-person essays documenting Doyle’s transformation from being “caged” to untamed. Her articulation of society’s cages was clear and simple and in sometimes obvious, but nonetheless, revelatory. Possibly a case of this memoir finding me at the right time, but it struck a very poignant […]

All Adults Here by Emma Straub

All Adults Here by Emma Straub I really enjoyed this book. Astrid, one of the main characters was nostalgically reminiscent of Olive Kitteridge. I also really enjoyed the dynamic portrayed between her three adult children – their squabbles and loyalties. I am an only child and have three adult children sheltering in place with me […]

The Antidote For Everything by Kimmery Martin

Kimmery Martin has done it again in “The Antidote For Everything.” Her use of language and turns of phrase were plenty to keep me reading, but then there were the characters she developed in Georgia and Jonah. Their friendship is the type we all strive for. As a doctor, Martin knows about what she writes […]

The Darlings by Cristina Alger

The Darlings by Cristina Alger I enjoyed the audio version of this book very much. I was drawn to its portrait of a privileged family with its descriptions of the Manhattan elite and all their trappings. I am a fan of family drama and any book that is set in an environment of which the […]

The Life-Changing Art of Letting Go: A Midlife Reckoning with my Stuff

This essay was originally published on Zibby Owens’ We Found Time. I once took a class in the art of memoir where the assignment was to write about an object and its meaning. I bristled at the prompt. Objects are only objects, I told myself, and imbuing them with meaning was materialistic and shallow. It […]

Small Fry: A Memoir by Lisa Brennan-Jobs

Small Fry by Lisa Brennan-Jobs Loved this memoir. If you’ve read Steve Jobs’ biography… it adds the perspective of a girl with such incredible emotional intelligence. Lisa Brennan-Jobs has the ability to honestly reflect on her adolescent and young adult self without being bitter or vindictive. If you haven’t read the man’s biography, it is […]

Severance by Ling Ma

Severance by Ling Ma Not sure it was a good idea to read Severance while on lockdown during the COVID-19 Pandemic, but boy did it make it prescient and a bit surreal. I would wake up in the morning, having read before falling asleep, not sure which apocalyptic situation I was dealing with. I loved […]