Crossroads is both the title of Jonathan Franzen’s novel and the name of a touchy-feely church youth group around which much of the plot circles. …
Continue ReadingBook Review – The City of Mist, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
The City of Mist is a collection of short stories by internationally best-selling author Carlos Ruiz Zafon that share in common a connection to Barcelona. …
Continue ReadingBook Review – A Swim in the Pond in the Rain
A Swim in the Pond in the Rain by George Saunders is a must-read for any short story writer. It’s based upon a class Saunders …
Continue ReadingBook Review – Hell of a Book, by Jason Mott
Hell of a Book is the latest novel by Jason Mott. The protagonist is a best-selling African-American author on tour promoting a book he can’t …
Continue ReadingBook Review – Call Us What We Carry, by Amanda Gorman
Call Us What We Carry is both the title and a repeating theme in this collection of poems by Amanda Gorman. Gorman gained mainstream notoriety …
Continue ReadingBook Review – The Lincoln Highway, by Amor Towles
The Lincoln Highway is the latest novel by Amor Towles. Set in 1954, it’s the story of Emmett, who has just been released from a …
Continue ReadingBook Review – Secrets of Happiness, by Joan Silber
Secrets of Happiness by award-winning writer Joan Silber is denominated a novel but, in effect, consists of seven short stories (six of which previously appeared …
Continue ReadingBook Review – Little Eyes, by Samanta Schweblin
A speculative premise in Little Eyes (translated from the Spanish by Megan McDowell) by the award-winning Samanta Schweblin is that personal robot pets called kentukis …
Continue ReadingBook Review – The 1619 Project
The 1619 Project, edited by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones and others, is a collection of essays (with citations to supporting historical research and documentation) …
Continue ReadingBook Review – We Begin at the End, by Chris Whitaker
We Begin at the End, by Chris Whitaker, takes place primarily in a Cape Haven, a small California town, and alternates between two protagonists, Duchess, …
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