By this point in January, the shine is off the new year. Resolutions are falling by the wayside. The snow is grimy, the sky is glum, and everything is salt-encrusted. The puppy has, perhaps, chewed a hole in the elbow of your favorite sweater or the toe of your favorite socks (or both). If you,…
When I think of Time Wars, I immediately think of Doctor Who - the only survivor of the war between Gallifrey and the Daleks, not to mention a long-running and beloved BBC series. But Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone’s THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE THE TIME WAR has an entirely different take on what a…
Truth time: I was really, really nervous about picking up Kate Quinn’s newest novel, The Huntress. Her 2017 release, The Alice Network, is was an utter delight -- and when I love one title from an author, I worry that the next one will be a disappointment, or that the first novel was a fluke.…
This was a summer of mostly meh books – I read a lot, but can’t remember most of the titles, or the plots, or the characters. They weren’t bad, exactly. Just…meh. Indistinguishable. More of the same, when what I wanted was something that stood out, something that gave me a fresh perspective or an unusual…
When the world is hectic and I am feeling particularly weary in my soul, I turn to cookbooks -- particularly the kind that blend essays with their recipes, like Laurie Colwin’s Home Cooking or Tamar Adler’s An Everlasting Feast. I find them comforting -- not too taxing, but thoughtful, with food that is inspiring without…
Here is a thing the world cannot get enough of: British Historical Mysteries. Like my children’s appetite for dessert, readers are insatiable when it comes to murder served with a spot of tea and possibly a biscuit. (Lest you think I am being judgy, you should know that I am a fan of both sweets…
If you haven’t already heard, Elizabeth McCracken’s Bowlaway is one of the Buzzy Books Of Spring, for obvious reasons: it’s been seventeen years since her last novel, and the premise of this new book – a family saga about a bowling alley – is a perfect fit for McCracken's offbeat but heartfelt type of storytelling.…
Though it pains me to admit it, I am not a fan of audiobooks: they take so much longer to get through than a print edition, they distract me from my driving, or I’m too distracted by other things (like driving, or my children, or cooking dinner) to pay attention to the story. But everyone…
It’s no secret that I’m a fan of literary retellings – classic stories reimagined. Sherlock Holmes is a particular favorite, though I won’t turn my nose up at Shakespeare or Jane Austen, either. That being said, the one genre I’m loath to explore is literary continuations. You know the kind: a (usually bestselling) author is…
According to my various social media feeds, Iceland does the holiday season right: it’s a national tradition to give people books on Christmas Eve, and then spend the rest of the night reading. Can you imagine anything more blissful? Especially if you are reading the books while wearing flannel jammies and drinking a large cup…
