Bookends: March 2020
My spouse likes to tell the story of the day he, our toddler, and I were driving home from an errand and we saw a van hit a pedestrian. My … Continue reading Bookends: March 2020
Tag: book review
Bookends: December 2019 – February 2020
These past few months saw a lot of books, both fiction and nonfiction, about violence (war, murder, sexual assault), suicide, mental illness, and adoption. I tend to gravitate towards darker … Continue reading Bookends: December 2019 – February 2020
Sorry to Disrupt the Peace by Patty Yumi Cottrell
Helen Moran is in her shared studio apartment in Manhattan accepting delivery of her roommate’s new IKEA sofa when she gets the call telling her that her brother is dead. … Continue reading Sorry to Disrupt the Peace by Patty Yumi Cottrell
The Art of War by Sun-Tzu
The Art of War is the first of the titles on my Cavalcade of Classics, Round 2 list that I’ve finished this year. Making progress! Filled with guidance about war … Continue reading The Art of War by Sun-Tzu
Playtime is Over: The Odyssey, Emily Wilson translation
My children are studying ancient history this year, and as part of that—and as part of my Cavalcade of Classics—we read The Odyssey aloud together. Emily Wilson’s translation of Homer’s … Continue reading Playtime is Over: The Odyssey, Emily Wilson translation
Bookends: November 2019
Our November was filled with mad science, unexpected reunions with family, and more rain than we usually see around these parts. With all of that going on, December snuck up … Continue reading Bookends: November 2019
Bookends: October 2019
Ah, October! Santa Ana winds, a three-day jaunt to the desert (the “real” desert, not the coastal Southern California desert), taking my kids to the thrift store to buy costume … Continue reading Bookends: October 2019
Bookends: September 2019
This month’s book totals are a little inflated due to the picture books and early readers I read for the Birth and Beyond Reading Challenge (#BBRC) on Litsy. Still, even … Continue reading Bookends: September 2019
Hazards of Time Travel by Joyce Carol Oates
Plot summary, gleaned from the book jacket flap: “A recklessly idealistic girl dares to test the perimeters of her tightly controlled (future) world and is punished by being sent back … Continue reading Hazards of Time Travel by Joyce Carol Oates
History of Wolves by Emily Fridlund
Usually, I like reading books quickly. I like immersing myself in the world, a quick dive to the bottom of the pool and then back up again for a deep … Continue reading History of Wolves by Emily Fridlund
The Third Hotel by Laura van den Berg
There’s an episode of the podcast “Hidden Brain” about counterfactuals. Counterfactuals are basically a reimagining of past events, an answer to “what if?” and all of the events that cascade … Continue reading The Third Hotel by Laura van den Berg
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
Reading this novel, I asked myself, why would the Nazis ban this book? Because at first, it’s just a story of young men going to war narrated by Paul Bäumer. … Continue reading All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
