Rebecca Peace of beckyonbooks sent me a link to review Ann Patchett’s response to David Brooks’ column, which I pointed out in my last blog post. If you don’t want to click and read the entire short spot here, just know that she completely disagrees with Brooks and sites book after book that she thinks is important, edgy and certainly important and timely literature. In
I must say that I really like David Brooks. I watch him faithfully on the PBS Newshour. Today, I read his column in the New York Times and wanted to share it with my blog readers. Click on the below site: www.nytimes.com › literature-books-novelists What exactly is he saying? Does he always think things were better in the ‘good ole days’? Focusing in on Brooks’ disappointment
The last two books I have read involved missing persons. All The Colors of the Dark involves many missing people, including, for a time, the main character. Heartwood only has one missing person. The thing about both of these books is that I could not put them down. I had to read and read until I found out about the missing person. Don’t worry, I
I know, of course, that the Mississippi River is generally referred to as “old man river.” Even if it isn’t the longest river in North America, it is huge! I am partial, however, to the Tennessee River because I grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee where ‘the river’ refers to the Tennessee. In fact, I was just there seeing friends and relatives and can attest to
The first book featured here is entitled HappyLand, by Dolen Perkins-Valdez. The genre of historical fiction is an ideal way to tell a story about an actual historical place or event with the added interest of some ‘made up’ elements. Happyland is set in a real place in North Carolina that was settled by freed slaves after the Civil War. We have the dual stories
Setting: The Appalachian Trail in Maine The Book: Heartwood, by Amity Gaige The author says that her story is patterned after a real person who went missing on the trail in the summer of 2013. Our fictional character is Valerie, a nurse who sets out to unwind from months of caring for patients with Covid. Her disappearance is the main feature of the book, but
The Art Spy by Michelle Young I cannot say enough about this book by Michelle Young about Rose Valland. I have tried to link an interview with Young, but my computer will not cooperate. If you have a chance, pull up one of her interviews and listen to Young talk about her book. She has done a tremendous amount of research on Valland, a French
No, “Twist and Tilt” is not a new song nor is it a new dance. The two words are titles of new, critcally acclaimed books that are worth considering, even if they aren’t the type of book you typically read. Twist, by Irish author Colum McCann, is an adventure book and a thriller. It is set mostly at sea where journalist Anthony Fennell is searching
In this ambitious post, I will write about four different books all set during World War II. Why aren’t authors and readers tired of World War II? If you have any ideas, please share them with me. I know that people my age grew up with stories about the war and the bravery of those who lived through it. One reason we are seeing more
Remember the book The Maid? In that book, Nita Prose introduces us to Molly Gray, a young woman who loves to clean but doesn’t have typical social skills. The term ‘neurodivergent’ seems to cover an array of symptoms that she has. In other words, Molly’s brain simply works differently from that of the majority of folks. So how does one deal with a person like
