Brief thoughts on all the books I read this month! Continue reading
Author Archives: Rachel
Letter to a Stranger: Essays to the Ones Who Haunt Us Edited by Colleen Kinder
I joined a virtual book tour for Letter to a Stranger because the concept was so fun! I spent a lot of time pre-pandemic eavesdropping and wondering about the people I encountered in my every day life so a book of essays about the strangers that drift in and out of all our lives. This … Continue reading
food / food writing / memoir / nonfiction / review
Bon Appétempt: A Coming of Age Story (with recipes!) by Amelia Morris
Bon Appétempt: A Coming of Age Story (with recipes!) by Amelia Morris is one of those memoirs written by a person who doesn’t seem to understand what she is telling us about herself. Some warnings—She has massive unreflected on privilege and an eating disorder she passes off as “dieting”. She got the book deal off … Continue reading
The Verifiers by Jane Pek
There is a lot to love about The Verifiers by Jane Pek. The interesting main character, a timely mystery about the ethics of online dating and data collection, a mysterious research group/detective agency, sibling and parent issues, urban bike riding, a realistic NYC backdrop. So much material and depth there. What dropped it down to three … Continue reading
memoir / nonfiction / review
Gentrifier: A Memoir by Anne Elizabeth Moore
I am a lifelong resident of Baltimore, a city that has a fair amount in common with Detroit so I was interested in reading Gentrifier: A Memoir by Anne Elizabeth Moore I was really disappointed. She presents most of the stories as sort of vignettes without a lot of depth or discussion. This happened, this happened, … Continue reading
What I Read in February
Brief thoughts on all the books I read this month! Continue reading
memoir / nonfiction / review
Admissions: A Memoir of Surviving Boarding School by Kendra James
The first section of Admissions was great but faltered about two-thirds in. I wish she had talked about school and then had an afterward where she talked about current issues and how she got into recruiting. That was sort of sprinkled in and at times I didn’t think it made sense to juxtapose it with … Continue reading
All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M. Morris
I liked All Her Little Secrets well enough. I liked the characters. I thought the storyline was clever and the mystery wasn’t too mysterious but it was fairly well-paced even with the flashbacks. A few things bothered me. I was puzzled why the single section from Sam’s point of view was basically a spoiler for … Continue reading
What I Read in January
Brief thoughts on all the books I read this month! Continue reading
essays / food writing / history / nonfiction / review
Taste Makers: Seven Immigrant Women Who Revolutionized Food in America by Mayukh Sen
Taste Makers: Seven Immigrant Women Who Revolutionized Food in America by Mayukh Sen was a true disappointment. The idea is great and I like the women they chose to focus on but the writing is poor and convoluted. It reminded me a lot of the work I’ve read by high school students. Lots of sources, mostly … Continue reading
Rachel Reads Books 