Mary likes fiction. Mary will never have time in her life to read all the fiction she would like to read.
Quality vs quantity in a book that ponders a multitude of topics in a precise manner. Offill is a writer we are fortunate to experience. 200 pages, 6 short chapters = ideal for one weekend read.
Reading this made me want to grab a camera and a journal and go on a journey. Patti Smith pays attention to the little and big things.
This book is about humanity - how we live, how we die, and most importantly when we suffer, how we survive.
I quoted this book nonstop! It made me laugh and was so well-written. I wanted more!
In the '60's four young siblings visit a psychic who tells each of them the day they will die. Would you live your life differently if you knew the date of your death? Would you want to know? Free will or fate? These and other questions are surrounded by beautiful writing that keeps you turning the pages to find the answers.
This book might break your heart as it beautifully tells a story of AIDS in the 1980's in Chicago but it will also make you reflective on close relationships and what it means to be a family. Throw in art and Paris to balance it all out.
The fog in this San Francisco area based story draws a perfect parallel to the question of how well we know the other members of our family. Brown draws you in as you slowly discover the truth regarding the disappearance of the wife/mom in her creative fictional tale.
Bit is born to idealist parents as they become founding members of a commune in the 70's. His observations throughout his life are gorgeous.
A must read for lovers of music, road trips, or just anyone who has obsessed over relationships! I should have read this ten years ago!
Alternating in time 150 years apart, the main characters inhabit a once utopian village in New Jersey. Kingsolver employs her usual stellar science expertise in this tale of academia and friendship.
Goldberg masterfully uses words to provide snapshots of a photographer's life in this compelling novel.
The settings of this story - taking place in Nice and London - will provide as much escape as the many surprises within the fast-paced plot.
This is such a profound novel written in alternating various voices which are connected via a shared event. So moving and redemptive.
Graham and Annie are that fun couple everyone enjoys who host dinner parties in their charming home. He is the owner of a bookstore in Cambridge and she is a photographer. Watch Annie find her way back after loss.
Fellow bookseller Straub, of Books Are Magic, works her own magic writing a pitch-perfect family novel. Her characters are engaging in all their ways and interactions.
This well-written suspense novel uses multiple narrators to keep the story of deceit in the Lake Tahoe setting moving at a page-turning quick pace. Just the distraction I needed!
I had Stockholm Syndrome upon reading this book. Being held hostage with these characters was the perfect escape. Laugh, cry, laugh, cry...
Jenny is an enduring character. As she navigates what it means to be a grown-up she juggles relationships, a job as a writer, and her online image. A mix of Bridget Jones & Fleabag.
Casey has had a few setbacks including the devastating recent loss of her mother. Her writing life, while living in a tiny rental in Cambridge MA, while also supporting herself as a waitress, is compromised, but you will cheer her on!
Sometimes you need a happy ending ~ this was a trip to Baltimore in the 1970's with music throughout. A coming-of-age story that was simply enjoyable.
Taddeo has followed up her nonfiction Three Women with one very complex woman in this powerful novel that is compulsively readable but intense with a LA setting that adds to the feeling of heat & oppression. Many sentences are made for sharing ~ so much truth in so few words.
This book combines the love of language, origins of words, the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary, history, and women's place in it for a story to savor.
This is the story of two families of actors and their friendships over the years in NY & LA. It explores loyalties, growth, and change while giving the feeling of watching a play unfold.
Spend a year with this charming character, Nina Dean, as she navigates her 32nd year with humor and perseverance. I enjoyed this book so much!
This is about awareness and one woman's story of fleeing a portion of her life that isn't fulfilling her quest to embrace the ideals that she is passionate about in her 53-year-old coming-of-age story. It's about mothers & daughters and waking up.
The story of a story that will keep you guessing. Enjoy Seattle's "cameo" appearance in this novel novel that explores the world of writing & writers.
Told in alternating voices by the members of a close Irish family, this is a story of love, loyalties, & secrets. Set in New York and the family-run tavern.
What I liked about this book:
- The mystery writers' world in which it takes place.
- The English seaside & Scotland settings.
- The clever plotting & characters.
- The literary humor.
Ash Davidson has written an authentic story of the Northwest. When a community in the Redwoods struggles in the '70s to make a living as loggers while being challenged by conservationists, they will confront the local water pollution's effects on their families. A profound story that will stay with you long after the last page.
As always, I so enjoyed spending hours immersed in Rooney's beautiful world of richly described rooms, detailed gestures, and intimate conversations.
This is an enticing story told from multiple perspectives back and forth when a stranger comes to town & a year later when someone goes missing in a large tennis-playing family.
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Contained within this small jewel of a book are the daily journal entries written over the course of a summer in NYC. Isa & her friend Gala, both 21, are living close to the edge while they navigate their way both as friends & individuals. The chapter describing Isa's grief over losing her mother stays with me.
This L.A. family weathers all types of changes and drama through supporting one another. An enjoyable and readable story!
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Strout's talent has always been her ability to convey multitudes in a simple paragraph. Lucy Barton starts here & continues in "Oh William!"
This novel, a continuation of "My Name Is Lucy Barton," is about where we come from and how we leave it behind. And, it's about how some relationships stay with us always. Simply beautiful!
