Thirty Names of Night is a heartfelt tale of two women. One is a modern NYC first-generation Syrian-American painter of birds, who feels her assigned gender is incorrect. The other, Laila, is telling the story of her life through her journal. Her story begins a century earlier in Syria. ItContinue Reading
I love the premise of Novel Advice. “I’ll be the agony aunt for the unreal. You can call me Aunt Antigone.” The book writes Dear Abby letters from the characters of most classic fiction and a few modern books too. Then the book’s author answers them. For example, Aunt AntigoneContinue Reading
Ivy is a first generation Chinese immigrant who has totally internalized the American Dream of being in the top 1% regardless of the cost. It fact, Ivy is trying to be what she thinks rich, white Gideon wants in a wife by becoming White Ivy. The pacing is more atContinue Reading
There is a reason no one has found the mythical philosopher’s stone, a stone that can change any metal into gold. Anyone creating it goes mad. Just ask Thea, whose own mother smashed the stone and then tried to kill Thea after, almost, creating it. It truly is A GoldenContinue Reading
The exquisite Call Me Ismael Phone Book is in the style of a retro phone book, if you remember those. I haven’t seen one in at least two decades. Short history lesson (feel free to skip this paragraph) They used to drop large paperback phone books off for free atContinue Reading
Ready for a clever, totally politically incorrect, story of a whole hidden nationality within the United States? That’s right, the Can-Am people are not from Canada. They are Cannibal-Americans from the Old Country. Which Old Country? They don’t remember. They do remember their rituals. Especially about having Mother for Dinner,Continue Reading
This is what happens when A Libertarian Walks into a Bear. Grafton, New Hampshire, has always been famous for its bears. The bears snatch food, chickens, cats, and even children occasionally from the townsfolk. When a group of Libertarians decide to make a model town with minimal government right thereContinue Reading
In With or Without You, Stella and Simon have been together twenty years. Now forty-two, nurse Stella wants to buy their apartment, get married, and have a baby. Simon is still chasing his rock band dream even though his sole hit is called Dad Rock now. They both love eachContinue Reading
Have you ever wondered if your thoughts are “normal”? Well now you have someone to compare yourself to without worrying about your spouse calling the police! The author of Raised in Captivity appears to have captured 34 of his random thoughts and published them in a book. Could there beContinue Reading
Make Russia Great Again is a fictional memoir from one in a long line of Secretaries of State in the Trump administration, Herb. Herb is the perfect fly on the wall describing all the crazy antics that probably are real future headlines on the scroll bar at CNN. I lovedContinue Reading
My Review of ROAD SEVEN by Keith Rosson “It was a help wanted ad from a monster hunter.” Who doesn’t sometimes dream of dropping their real life on its head and scooting off to parts unknown? Brian, the perpetual and soon-to-be ex-Ph.D. candidate who lives with vicious headaches and writer’sContinue Reading
All of Us combines the complex plot of Split and Sybil with a standard thriller. Did one of Carolyn’s personalities kill her sexual predator father? Or is her therapist manipulating her memories to get her to confess even though she is innocent? If so, why? Carolyn was sexually abused asContinue Reading
In this troubled time of curbside pickup, the Buzz Books 2020: Fall and Winter is an invaluable resource for finding new books and authors to read. When looking for a new book to read in a bookstore or library, everyone reads the blurb on the back or the front flap.Continue Reading
Anything, like Shakespeare for Squirrels, that makes me laugh out loud this much in these troubling times deserves 5 stars! Oh, dang, I’ve spoiled the ending! Meet Pocket of Dog Snogging upon Ouze, all-licensed fool to kings etc. He and the large ninny Drool are set adrift by pirates withContinue Reading
When a new Mary Kay Andrews’ book comes out, everyone knows that summer is just around the corner. This year the book’s title, Hello, Summer, says it all. Conley wiped the dirt from her small Florida hometown off her shoes and eventually became a Pulitzer-prize nominated investigative journalist. She’s aboutContinue Reading
In Oona Out of Order, Oona lives “her life like an M.C. Escher drawing, years like staircases turning in on themselves to form a tangible but implausible whole.” Beginning on her nineteenth birthday New Year’s Day in 1982, Oona jumps forward or backwards on her own life’s timeline. For exampleContinue Reading