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.
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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.
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!
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!
In Amor Towles' novel about youth & forward motion, which contrasts to his Gentleman in Moscow, 8-year-old Billy is the hero of a story about stories that take you to the heart of 1954 Americana traveling to New York. The stories found within are a wonderful part of the journey.
I loved this introduction (or re-introduction) to the early 1970's which places the reader in the middle of all the changes the decade brought. Franzen's novel (the first in a trilogy) also introduces a family of a minister while they each explore their faith and personal beliefs.
Bookseller Tookie is a character you will root for while you spend a year (November 2019 - November 2020) with her and her bookseller friends & family. A special bonus: the author uses her own independent bookshop in Minneapolis as the setting which provides an authentic feeling.
Brutally honest auto-fiction. Many WOW moments. Powerfully poetic!
![Violeta [English Edition]: A Novel Cover Image](https://images.booksense.com/images/books/206/496/FC9780593496206.JPG)
Violeta is a powerful woman whose strength seems to mirror Allende's. In her trademark narrative in the form of a letter to a loved one, Allende covers 100 years of history (1920-2020). I learned so much!
Relationships are the heart of this collection of short stories. Lily King's honest voice makes you feel you know these characters immediately. She does it with such finesse. I will read anything she writes!
This little book (weighing just under 1 lb.) blew me away. Joan's observations as an ICU doctor & introvert are honest & humorous. Joan is more than okay!
There are so many jewels within this book that I want to place it gently in the hands of every bibliophile I meet. Do you love books? Claire-Louise Bennett so obviously does and this is her gift to the reader.
Cole's debut novel captures Kentucky so well and with descriptive writing that played well with the two main characters' occupations as writers. Many memorable moments and an authentic sense of place and one's place within a family.
Can you win the Pulitzer twice? In this perfect companion novel to A Visit from the Goon Squad, Egan is certainly worthy! She's done it again with a clever & compelling character-driven commentary of our world. I loved this book!
Rarely do I love a book so much that I read it twice. This is that book! Egan's book about multiple characters and their connections to the music industry is worthy of all the praise. Ideal to read in concert with her recently released The Candy House.;
This is a story that focuses on identity. Evelyn is a character who spends her time immersed in the philosophy of what we define as happiness. Evelyn is so enduring & honest, I enjoyed looking at the world from her point of view.
I make it a point to read everything Janelle Brown writes. This fast-paced story of twin sisters and their connections was filled with plot twists. It is told in two parts from each sisters P.O.V.
