I have done a post like this before because I know that some of you like specific authors. I’m not at all sure how wonderful the following books are, but you can find out!! Allegra Goodman, This Is Not About Us (Isola) The book follows three generations of women in the Rubinstein family and their long-standing feud. The Boston Globe calls it “one fo the
I featured author David Schaeffer’s Letters from Sweden a few years ago. His new book Initiation at the Scum Pond is a story based on an actual event. This book is different from the other books Schaeffer has written in that it is a novel. Although I am not a literary critic by any means, I will have to say that this book demands one’s
The Jilted Countess by Loretta Ellsworth is the story of an American GI named Joe and an aristocratic ballet dancer named Roza. They meet druing World War II and have a love affair. Joe promises he will marry Roza if she comes to Minnesota after the war. After saving up for two years, Roza arrives in the U.S. only to find that Joe is now
It is hard to believe in 2026 that women who wanted to write often had to use pen names. They knew that people would not take a book written by a woman seriously. Many men would certainly not have read a book written by a woman. Of course, after the books became successful, the truth became known and the reset is history. See if you
It is always interesting and informative to read a book set in another country. I have come across several books lately set in distant lands, and I thought the following four might appeal to you. I haven’t read any of them, but I will try to give enough information on each so you can decide for yourself. The Butterfly Thief by Walter Marsh is a
Did you happen to read Wild Swans when it came out in 1991? The book was chosen by my Atlanta Book Club, and I initially balked at reading such a long one. After all, I worked and went to school and ran a household and had a husband and two children and two dogs–whew!! Lots more energy in those days. Well, I read the book,
The Power and the Glory–Jonathan Wilson Even if you are not a soccer fan, you have surely been seeing articles surrounding the World Cup coming up this summer and how expensive the tickets are. I certainly cannot comment on that specific topic exept to say that I would not go to it unless I had a grandson playing in a game!! But the book featured
First of all, literary fiction is a genre used by publishers and book stores to classify books. I have heard people say, “oh, this is just a ‘beach read’” or “this book is so depressing.” Well, in a way, one could say that literary fiction IS very serious—deep ideas, complicated characters, and themes that explore the human condition. And, no. The story doesn’t always have
February 9: How to Read a Book (Monica Wood) Three characters whose lives are intertwined run into each other in a bookstore. From there, they are all transformed. March 9: This is Happiness (Niall Williams) Set in an Irish village in the 1950’s, a young man has dropped out of seminary and gone to live with his grandparents. April 13: All the Colors of the
Try reading some of Tim Sullivan’s books. Sullivan is also a screenwriter and director. He is perhaps best known, however, for his series of books about a detective named George Cross. Sullivan says he wanted to create a character who was good at his job mainly because of his neurodivergence. Even though George Cross is sometimes awkward, he is able to tackle a case from
