Author Archives: Teresa

The Overstory

Posted on November 12, 2018

This book by Richard Powers took me by surprise. He’s an author I’ve been meaning to read for years, and although I wasn’t sure The Overstory was really the kind of book I’d like, I saw enough praise for it that … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction | 7 Comments

Ballad

Posted on November 7, 2018

The second of Maggie Stiefvater’s faerie books focuses on my favorite character from Lament, James. In Lament, James was the best friend of Deirdre, the harp player who finds that faeries are drawn to her. In the sequel, James and Dee have started their … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's / YA Lit, Fiction | Leave a comment

One Person, No Vote

Posted on November 2, 2018

Carol Anderson’s previous book, White Rage, is one of the most important books I’ve read in recent years. It lays out clearly and methodically how white people have pushed back against every advance black Americans have made since the Civil War. … Continue reading →

Posted in Nonfiction | 9 Comments

The Caravaners

Posted on October 30, 2018

Baron Otto Von Ottridge, the narrator of this 1909 novel by Elizabeth von Arnim, sees himself as a source of great wisdom and humor, the most interesting person at any gathering. And so, he assumes that he will have no … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics, Fiction | 8 Comments

In the Woods

Posted on October 27, 2018

I’ve been slow to read Tana French’s Dublin Murder Squad books, not because I didn’t think I’d enjoy them but because I really didn’t want a new series to read. But since I’ve finished the Patrick O’Brian books, that’s less … Continue reading →

Posted in Contemporary, Fiction, Mysteries/Crime | 15 Comments

Lament

Posted on October 20, 2018

Deirdre Monaghan is sick with nerves before a harp competition when she meets Luke Dillon. He calms her down, accompanies her on the flute in an impromptu warm-up, and then pushes her toward the best performance of her life. She … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's / YA Lit, Fiction, Speculative Fiction | Leave a comment

To Fear a Painted Devil

Posted on October 15, 2018

This 1965 Ruth Rendell novel is more of a whodunit than I’m used to from her. It’s set in a neighborhood called Linchester, built on the site of what was once a large manor house and park. The families that … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Mysteries/Crime | 2 Comments

Stoner

Posted on October 13, 2018

A few years ago, Stoner, a 1965 novel by John Williams, took the book world by storm. Just about everyone was reading and adoring it. I’ve finally read it, and, while I don’t exactly adore it, I found plenty in it to … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction | 6 Comments

21: The Final Unfinished Voyage of Jack Aubrey

Posted on October 9, 2018

I noted in my review of Blue at the Mizzen that the book felt like a transition to a new era, rather than the conclusion it ended up being when Patrick O’Brian died. At his death, he’d written almost three chapters … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Historical Fiction | 2 Comments

A Human Being Died That Night: A South African Woman Confronts the Legacy of Apartheid

Posted on October 7, 2018

Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela is a psychologist who served on South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Part of her work, which involved trying to understand acts of evil committed during apartheid, led her to interview Eugene de Kock, one of the government’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Nonfiction | 2 Comments