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
Computer problems plagued me again this week. We’ve had awful internet issues since we moved in this house in 2005 and since we live in Baltimore City we have little choice as to service providers. We finally bought a new desktop for me to work on (our old one was so noisy and … Continue reading
I think I am getting old because I spent the whole book thinking “where are your parents?”. I’ve read a couple Megan Abbott books and they are generally pretty good. YA but long, well written and a little dark. Dare Me is the story of two best friends, their cheerleading squad and the new, troubled … Continue reading
After reading an exhaustive history of Southern food and some pretty serious memoirs about mental illness I thought I’d go for something lighter. Oddly, The Perfect Neighbors took longer to read than all of those previous books. I have no idea why! The writing was pretty simple and the plot wasn’t terribly complex. I didn’t love the … Continue reading
I don’t read a lot of YA books but I do love a teen drama and was a history major so Salem Mean Girls was right up my alley. Basically, a remake of the movie Mean Girls (with a dash of Heathers and Pretty Little Liars thrown in) it reimagines the story of Cady (in … Continue reading
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 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
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
Rachel Reads Books 