book review

“Zelda: A Biography” by Nancy Milford

Milford, Nancy. Zelda: A BiographyNew York: Harper & Row, 1970Paperback, 426 pagesISBN 0-060-91069-0 They were among the most beautiful people of the Jazz Age: the dashing young writer F. Scott Fitzgerald and his striking young bride Zelda. Fitzgerald christened the era the Jazz Age, and he made his wife its first Flapper. Zelda Sayre was

“Zelda: A Biography” by Nancy Milford Read More »

book review

“Eat, Pray, Love” by Elizabeth Gilbert

Gilbert, Elizabeth. Eat, Pray, LoveNew York: Viking, 2006ISBN 978-07394-7418-1 Penguin Audiobooks, narrated by Elizabeth Gilbert Recommended After a very messy divorce, writer Elizabeth Gilbert found herself in a deep depression. With her publisher’s advance for the book she would write in her bank account, she set off on a year’s trip around the world in search

“Eat, Pray, Love” by Elizabeth Gilbert Read More »

Ann Hood: Introductory Notes

Ann Hood was born in West Warwick, RI. After receiving her B.A. in English from the University of Rhode Island, she became a flight attendant for TWA. She has lived in Boston, St. Louis, and New York City, where she attended graduate school in literature at New York University. In April 2002 Hood’s two-year-old daughter,

Ann Hood: Introductory Notes Read More »

“Broken for You” by Stephanie Kallos

Kallos, Stephanie. Broken for You   New York: Grove Press, 2004   ISBN 0-8021-1779-1    Blackstone Audiobooks   Narrated by Anna Fields Recommended Margaret Hughes, age 75, has just learned that she has a brain tumor. Margaret lives alone in a vast mansion in the most upscale part of Seattle. Her only companions are the

“Broken for You” by Stephanie Kallos Read More »

book review

“The Year of Magical Thinking” by Joan Didion

Didion, Joan. The Year of Magical ThinkingNew York: Knopf, 2005ISBN 1-4000-4314-X HighBridge Audio, narrated by Barbara Caruso Highly Recommended On the evening of December 30, 2003, Joan Didion’s husband of 40 years, John Gregory Dunne, sat down to dinner in their apartment in New York City. Didion and Dunne had just come home from visiting their

“The Year of Magical Thinking” by Joan Didion Read More »

book review

“Truth and Beauty” by Ann Patchett

Patchett, Ann. Truth and Beauty: A FriendshipNew York: HarperCollins, 2004ISBN 0-06-057214-0 Harper Audio, narrated by Ann Patchett Ann Patchett and Lucy Grealy both attended college at Sarah Lawrence at the same time, although they were not friends there. Ann tells us that at Sarah Lawrence everyone–students and faculty–knew Lucy as a tremendously talented poet. Everyone also knew

“Truth and Beauty” by Ann Patchett Read More »

book review

“Forgive for Good” by Fred Luskin

Luskin, Fred. Forgive for GoodSan Francisco: HarperCollins, 2002Trade paperback, 240 pagesISBN 0-06-251721-X Highly Recommended This book changed my life. Extensive research has shown that forgiveness is good for us, both physically and emotionally. We can understand this intellectually. But, as most of us also know, it’s much harder to find forgiveness in our hearts. I

“Forgive for Good” by Fred Luskin Read More »

“An Arsonist’s Guide to Writers’ Homes in New England” by Brock Clarke

Clarke, Brock. An Arsonist’s Guide to Writers’ Homes in New England: A Novel Chapel Hill: Algonquin, 2007  ISBN 978-1-56512-551-3  Random House Audio, narrated by Daniel Passer This quirky novel is about stories–the stories we tell about our lives and about ourselves, and the stories we tell to others and to ourselves. The story’s narrator is

“An Arsonist’s Guide to Writers’ Homes in New England” by Brock Clarke Read More »

“The Pillars of the Earth” by Ken Follett

Follett, Ken. The Pillars of the Earth   New York: Morrow, 1989  Penguin Audiobooks, narrated by John Lee Highly recommended “It’s a truism of the book business that the best advertising is the kind you can’t buy: the personal recommendation of one reader to another,” says Ken Follett in the preface to the recently rereleased

“The Pillars of the Earth” by Ken Follett Read More »

Scroll to Top