A Very Nice Box by Eve Gleichman and Laura Blackett was a very solid four stars until the twist. I saw this described as satire but to me, it was a slightly heightened alt world. I loved the little world, the faux Ikea/start-up culture and setting, and the idea of the perfect box. So much … Continue reading
I really don’t know how I came across this book. It was on my reserves from library so at some point I must have suggested they purchase it. I vaguely remember reading an earlier book of hers and enjoying it well enough. Sometimes the lag between reading about a book and it actually coming out … Continue reading
I have read all Caroline Leavitt’s books since I was in high school in the late ’90s so I was excited to read this one. I follow her on Twitter so I knew it was a loose fictionalization of the author’s own coma experience so that intrigued me. She said that she had been in … Continue reading
The Hopefuls is another book I got out from the library because it was available instantly for download for the Kindle. I remember hearing about her other book, Girls in White Dresses, when it came out but I honestly am not sure if I read it. I thought I had but then the description doesn’t … Continue reading
This book was an unexpected delight. I didn’t remember what it was about at all or what it was about but it was on my Amazon wishlist (I’ve since made a dedicated book wish list, why did that take so long?) so I requested it and it was finally available to download to my Kindle. … Continue reading
I’ve read a few books the last couple of days but Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa was my favorite. Translated from Japanese, it is the story of a reluctant dorayaki (a type of pancake filled with sweet bean paste) chef who against his initial impulse hires a woman in her mid-70s to help out at the dorayaki … Continue reading
I’ve read that The Best Kind of People has been optioned by Sarah Polley as a movie and reading it, I can totally see why that would happen. It almost reads like a script as-is (Zoe Whittall does write for television so that makes sense)–a valued member of the community and high school teacher who … Continue reading
A Spool of Blue Thread was not my favorite Anne Tyler. I always liked Ladder of Years best, personally, although now I see the protagonist who seemed like a real, old, established adult to me when I first read it was only supposed to be 40. Oy. Living in Baltimore, I do like to read books that … Continue reading
I have read all of Nick Hornby’s books even the music essay ones and somehow it took me until now to read Funny Girl. I guess my library hiatus had more casualties than I thought. I enjoyed the beginning of the book. Barbara from Blackpool goes from being Miss Blackpool for an hour to … Continue reading
I’m not really sure how I feel about The Expatriates. I recently read The Copenhagen Affair which was also about expats (although the main character in that was an Indian-American woman living in Copenhagen and in The Expatriates the main characters are two white women and a Korean-American woman all living in Hong Kong) and I can’t … Continue reading
Rachel Reads Books 