LITERARY WONDERLANDS [Book Thoughts]
November 29, 2016 book reviews, reading

LITERARY WONDERLANDS [Book Thoughts]

I received this book for review consideration from the publisher, via Shelf Awareness for Readers. All opinions are my own.Literary Wonderlands Published by Hachette Books on November 1st 2016 ISBN: 9780316316385 Genres: Fiction, Literary Criticism, General, Books & Reading Format: ARC Pages: 320 Source: publisher, via Shelf Awareness for Readers A glorious collection that delves deep into the inception, influences, and literary and historical underpinnings of nearly 100 of our most beloved fictional realms. Literary […]

Thankful for a Long Weekend [Show and Tell Sunday]
November 27, 2016 'riting, Show-and-Tell

Thankful for a Long Weekend [Show and Tell Sunday]

My agency doesn’t give a holiday for the day after Thanksgiving, but everyone in my department took Friday off. I’m thankful for a long weekend and wishing it could be even longer! Paul and I had Thanksgiving Day to ourselves. The kitchen stayed quiet and we went to one of our favorite restaurants for dinner. I had the Thanksgiving Day special and my husband–no fan of turkey–ate filet mignon. We both got just what we […]

THE GIRL FROM VENICE by Martin Cruz Smith [Book Thoughts]
November 23, 2016 book reviews, reading

THE GIRL FROM VENICE by Martin Cruz Smith [Book Thoughts]

I received this book for review consideration from the publisher, via Shelf Awareness for Readers. All opinions are my own.The Girl from Venice Written by Martin Cruz Smith Published by Simon & Schuster on October 18th 2016 ISBN: 9781439140239 Genres: Fiction, Historical, Thrillers Format: ARC Pages: 320 Source: publisher, via Shelf Awareness for Readers The highly anticipated new standalone novel from Martin Cruz Smith, whom The Washington Post has declared “that uncommon phenomenon: a popular […]

CRUEL BEAUTIFUL WORLD by Caroline Leavitt [Book Thoughts]
November 21, 2016 book reviews, reading

CRUEL BEAUTIFUL WORLD by Caroline Leavitt [Book Thoughts]

Cruel Beautiful World Written by Caroline Leavitt Published by Algonquin Books on October 4th 2016 ISBN: 9781616203634 Genres: Fiction, Literary Format: ARC Pages: 352 Source: publisher Sixteen-year-old Lucy Gold is about ;to run away with a much older man to live off the grid in rural Pennsylvania, a rash act that will have vicious repercussions for both her and her older sister, Charlotte. As Lucy’s default parent for most of their lives, Charlotte has seen […]

BEHOLD THE DREAMERS by Imbolo Mbue [Audiobook Thoughts]
November 17, 2016 book reviews, reading

BEHOLD THE DREAMERS by Imbolo Mbue [Audiobook Thoughts]

Behold the Dreamers Written by Imbolo Mbue Audiobook read by Prentice Onayemi Published by Random House Publishing Group on August 23rd 2016 ISBN: 9780812998498 Genres: Fiction, Literary Format: audiobook Pages: 416 Source: public library via Overdrive A compulsively readable debut novel about marriage, immigration, class, race, and the trapdoors in the American Dream—the unforgettable story of a young Cameroonian couple making a new life in New York just as the Great Recession upends the economy […]

The Last Post-Election Reading List (probably)
November 14, 2016 randomness

The Last Post-Election Reading List (probably)

This will probably be the last post-election reading list I share here. Perhaps the blog’s been a little too political for some readers recently. I got an email from Feedblitz over the weekend saying someone had unsubscribed for reason “02: Offensive, strongly disagree or disapprove.” I was surprisingly undisturbed by that. This is the space where I distill my thoughts on what I read and where all opinions are my own. I understand that you may […]

The Biggest Disappointment of This Election
November 11, 2016 'riting

The Biggest Disappointment of This Election

If I said that the biggest disappointment of the 2016 Presidential election was NOT the outcome, I don’t think you’d think I meant it. So yes, let’s stipulate that for those of us who are disappointed by the outcome, that’s the biggie. The disappointment is compounded by the fact that Hillary Clinton may have received close to 200,000 400,000* more votes than Donald Trump. (Or maybe more than 1.000.000*.) But they didn’t come from the right […]

Two Days After: Further Reading, More Links
November 10, 2016 randomness

Two Days After: Further Reading, More Links

Yesterday, I started the process of processing. I included some links at the end of that post. I’m recycling that list here, following some other pieces I found after that went up. Two Days After: The Reactions Keep Coming On “Woke” White People Advertising their Shock that Racism just won a Presidency – Medium Rage Against the Minivan: How to talk to your kids about Trump winning the election The Self-Sabotage of the West | […]

The Day After: Do We Have a Clue What Happens Now?
November 9, 2016 'riting

The Day After: Do We Have a Clue What Happens Now?

The Day After Election Day 2016: A Brain Dump “What comes next? “Do you know how hard it is to lead? “Do you have a clue what happens now?” The next leader of our country will be someone who has never served in public office before. He has also not yet publicly shown any real grasp of, or even interest in, how public service in American government actually works. NONE OF US has a clue […]

HIDDEN FIGURES by Margot Lee Shetterly [Audiobook Thoughts}
November 8, 2016 book reviews, reading

HIDDEN FIGURES by Margot Lee Shetterly [Audiobook Thoughts}

Hidden Figures Written by Margot Lee Shetterly Audiobook read by Robin Miles Published by William Morrow, HarperCollins on September 6th 2016 ISBN: 9780062363596 Genres: Nonfiction, History, African American Studies, Space Science Format: audiobook Pages: 368 Source: public library via Overdrive The phenomenal true story of the black female mathematicians at NASA whose calculations helped fuel some of America’s greatest achievements in space. Soon to be a major motion picture starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, […]

Where Did October Go? Updates and Whatnot
November 3, 2016 'riting, Show-and-Tell

Where Did October Go? Updates and Whatnot

Where did October go? Since I didn’t spend much of it around here, I come today to answer that question. I usually post this kind of thing as “Show and Tell Sunday.” The “preparing blog posts on the weekend” thing hasn’t worked out so well recently, though. Welcome to “Show and Tell Thursday”! There were entire weeks where I got up each day, fully intending to go straight into writing on the book, and instead ended […]

This is How I Vote, 2016
November 1, 2016 'riting

This is How I Vote, 2016

How I Vote If you follow me on social media, you’ve probably noticed that I’ve been sharing a lot of political stuff for the last few months. (And if you haven’t blocked me for doing so, thank you!) Today’s post responds to a query from one of my sharing groups: “What’s your voting plan?  Do you grab Starbucks beforehand?  Take a selfie outside?  Go before work, bring the kids, or get in line towards the […]