On my TBR is The Deep. No author, but it’s in with the 2019 stuff, so I wasn’t worried about finding it. Unfortunately (or fortunately), there were actually two books titled The Deep published in 2019 and both look like something I’d put on my TBR list. Since I couldn’t remember which one I meantContinue reading “Rolling in ‘The Deep’”
Tag Archives: Fiction
The Sea Witch Enchants in ‘Circe’
It’s been a long time since I raced to get back to a book not to find out what happens next but instead to return to the world found only within its pages. I remember feeling that way about the Chronicles of Narnia series as a kid, for example, or Alice in Wonderland. But IContinue reading “The Sea Witch Enchants in ‘Circe’”
Silence is Deafening in ‘Girls’
Pat Barker’s The Silence of the Girls is another one that I knew going in I was going to love but didn’t quite anticipate how hard I would fall for it. Was it the language so rich I wanted to plunge my hands in it? Was it the sadness and hope and defeat and angerContinue reading “Silence is Deafening in ‘Girls’”
Fantastic and Realistic Blend Well in ‘What It Means’
A few years ago, I was mesmerized by a story from LeVar Burton Reads, “What It Means When a Man Falls From the Sky” by Lesley Nneka Arimah. It wasn’t just LeVar Burton’s performance, though that’s enough to make any writing magical (if you’re a writer in a rut, try imagining him narrating your proseContinue reading “Fantastic and Realistic Blend Well in ‘What It Means’”
An Enigmatic Mystery Drives ‘Silent Patient’
I’ve been reading a lot of tough stories lately: Lotus, Pachinko, Where the Crawdads Sing. Lots of women struggling against systemic sexism (and/or racism, classism, the works), lots of injustice. So when my digital library hold on The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides came up, I wasn’t sure at all I was ready for aContinue reading “An Enigmatic Mystery Drives ‘Silent Patient’”
‘Crawdads’ is as Lovely as its Marshland
For the last year or two, it seems like I’ve been seeing Where The Crawdads Sing EVERYWHERE. On all the best-of and bestseller lists. In the “popular” section of libraries (ah, remember libraries?) and in every airport gift shop (and airports!). Reading the short blurb about it, about a girl growing up on her ownContinue reading “‘Crawdads’ is as Lovely as its Marshland”
Wilderness, Human Nature Bring Danger in ‘Alone’
In the Alaskan wilderness, you can make one mistake, warn the residents of the fictional Alaskan town Kaneq. It’s the second mistake that will kill you. But that threat of the natural world is secondary to the danger the main characters face indoors in Kristin Hannah’s novel The Great Alone. And both sets of danger,Continue reading “Wilderness, Human Nature Bring Danger in ‘Alone’”
All’s Fair in Love and ‘War’
I’m not usually one for romances (feelings are just so…touchy-feely) but I am one for science fiction and games of cat and mouse. This is How You Lose the Time War has both—and manages to write about time travel in a way that didn’t create massive plot holes or leave the reader hopelessly confused. HereContinue reading “All’s Fair in Love and ‘War’”
Don’t Look Away from ‘Nothing to See Here’
Okay, so. There are these kids, and when they get upset, they light on fire. Like, literal fire. And a woefully inadequate stand-in for Mary Poppins has to figure out how to control it. Also, it’s really funny and kind of touching. That’s it. That’s the book. I was pretty sure when I started Nothing toContinue reading “Don’t Look Away from ‘Nothing to See Here’”
Character, not Plot, Drives ‘Pachinko’
This one’s been on the list for a while, but I finally got to the tragic darling that I got on the digital library hold list for, like, seven months ago. (At a certain point, I probably should have just bought it, but I’ve been busy living in a global pandemic and all.) As itContinue reading “Character, not Plot, Drives ‘Pachinko’”
Ring Reads 