Moriarty, Liane. Big Little Lies Berkley, 2014 ISBN 978–0–399–58720–7 I hadn’t read any of Liane Moriarty’s books, although I kept seeing them recommended. I picked up this one when I heard that HBO was making it into a series. Set in a suburban seaside town in Australia, the novel delves into the lives and interactions […]
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At a book group gathering a few months back a man opened the discussion with the comment, “I didn’t like this book because I just couldn’t like any of the characters.” I don’t even remember what that month’s book was because my mind took off with that comment. That was certainly not the first time
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Asher, Jay. Thirteen Reasons Why Penguin Random House, 2007 978–1–59514–188–0 Originally published in 2007, this book recently received renewed interest when streaming service Netflix made it into a series. In fact, that’s why I bought and read it. The story comprises 13 cassette recordings left by teenager Hannah Baker for the people who contributed to
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Father’s Day is upon us. The greatest novel about fathers that I’ve ever read is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Here are five more. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver In 1959 evangelical Baptist preacher Nathan Price takes his wife and four daughters to the Belgian Congo to deliver God’s message. They take
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Nunn, Kem. Chance Scribner, 2014 ISBN 978–1–5011–6467–5 San Francisco hosts this novel, but not the charming city by the bay. This is the San Francisco of fog, mist, and nighttime crime, where thoughts and desires scuttle off down the darkest paths and then emerge from the depths to bite us. This is where we meet
What are the novels that you remember most fondly, even long after you’ve read them? Here are five that have stuck with me over the years. 1. Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos Margaret Hughes, age 75, has just learned that she has a brain tumor. Margaret lives alone in a huge mansion in the
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My husband and I are getting ready to leave on a one-month vacation. I’ve already decided what clothes and accessories to pack, but I’m stressing out about what reading to bring along. I’m talking about those big, frothy stories that you can dive into on a long plane trip or while sunning on a ship’s
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Tips for Writers and Readers Last night I dreamed I went to Manderley again. —Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier Read that sentence, one of the most famous first sentences in literature, aloud. Notice its cadence. The rhythm lulls you toward sleepiness—appropriate for a dream. And the rest of the book hinges on that final word,
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The idea of time travel has fascinated artists, scientists, and historians for centuries. Authors have used the possibility of traveling through time to explore some of the big questions of human existence. Here are five examples. Time and Again by Jack Finney When a secret government organization recruits advertising artist Si Morley for its time
Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney Rooney, Kathleen. Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk St. Martin’s Press, 2017 ISBN 978–1–250–11332–0 I am old and all I have left is time. I don’t mean time to live; I mean free time. Time to fill. Time to kill until time kills me. I walk and
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