I had mixed feelings about Agorafabulous!. On one hand, it was fascinating to read about agoraphobia, on the other I felt like she was trying too hard to be funny at times and occasionally was slightly offensive. For example, she’d refer to people’s race, sexuality or ethnicity all the time even when it didn’t matter. It … Continue reading
Accidents Happen: A Novel by Louise Millar
I requested two Louise Millar books from the library and they came in on the same day so I ended up reading them back to back. I enjoyed The Hidden Girl so I was looking forward to Accidents Happen. I was disappointed. It is basically the story of a woman who is super anxious because of … Continue reading
The Hidden Girl: A Novel by Louise Millar
The Hidden Girl was a creepy mystery. A quirky and slightly mismatched couple moves from London to a big house in rural England for a fresh start. They’d like to adopt and eventually set up a music studio in an outbuilding for the husband. When they arrive the house needs much more work than they … Continue reading
Trying to Float: A Memoir by Nicolaia Rips
Surprisingly written by a girl who GRADUATED HIGH SCHOOL in 2016! It is a memoir about growing up in the Chelsea Hotel. For some reason, it was on my wishlist so I requested from my library. I have no idea when I heard of it and knew pretty much nothing about it. At first, I … Continue reading
The Maximum Security Book Club: Reading Literature in a Men’s Prison by Mikita Brottman
I enjoyed this book quite a bit. Mikita Brottman lives in Baltimore too and the book club she starts is right in Jessup south of the city. I always like a local connection. Each chapter focuses on a different novel or play she has the prisoners read and their reactions to it. There is also a … Continue reading
The Perfect Girl by Gilly Macmillan
I did not love this book, at all. It wasn’t horrible; I’ve certainly read worse but it was too long, repetitive and boring. I kept reading because I was mildly interested in what happened to the mother and it was very quick reading but perhaps I should have given up. The book was very long … Continue reading
Hourglass: Time, Memory, Marriage by Dani Shapiro
I’ve read all of Dani Shapiro’s memoirs (she has several) and so, of course, I read her latest one, Hourglass, where she reflects on her 18-year long marriage to her husband a former war reporter turned screenwriter. It is always a little weird to read so many memoirs about one person. You feel like you … Continue reading
I Blame Dennis Hopper: And Other Stories from a Life Lived In and Out of the Movies by Illeana Douglas
I’ve been a big fan of Illeana Douglas’ work for a long time so I was excited when this finally came in for me at the library. I Blame Dennis Hopper is certainly an intriguing title so luckily she starts off with a chapter with an explanation of why, exactly, she blames Dennis Hopper.* She has good … Continue reading
The Satanic Mechanic: A Tannie Maria Mystery by Sally Andrew
The Tannie Maria mysteries are one of my all-time favorite mystery series. That’s really saying something because I have read literally thousands of mysteries over the years. The Satanic Mechanic was a lot of fun and a little less gruesome than the first book in the series which involved some unfortunate wildlife poaching scenes. The … Continue reading
A Mother’s Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy by Sue Klebold
Sue Klebold’s book was the story of an ordinary woman who raised one of the shooters in the Columbine school shooting. Her son, Dylan, and his friend killed twelve students, a teacher and wounded twenty-four others. I remember the shooting quite vividly, I was just a couple years older than the shooters and had rather recently … Continue reading