Category Archives: Contemporary

October 2020 in Review

Posted on October 31, 2020 by

I can’t quite believe we’re here at the end of October, just a few days away from the election we’ve been anticipating since November 9, 2016, and with no end to this pandemic in sight. I am cautiously optimistic about … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics, Contemporary, Fiction, Graphic Novels / Comics | 3 Comments

September Reading in Review

Posted on October 3, 2020 by

Do you ever feel guilty for not loving a book? I sometimes do, especially when I have several middling reading experiences in a row with books that don’t have obvious problems because that’s when I have good reason to suspect … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics, Contemporary, Fiction, Speculative Fiction | 10 Comments

February Reading in Review

Posted on March 1, 2020 by

I hadn’t intended to read all of the 2020 Tournament of Books contenders, but once I’d read most of them, I couldn’t help myself and ended up finishing the list. Alas the TOB brackets have my favorites (Girl Woman Other, … Continue reading →

Posted in Contemporary, Fiction, Mysteries/Crime | 16 Comments

Nothing to See Here

Posted on February 8, 2020 by

A month ago, I was pretty discouraged with this year’s Tournament of Books line up. Everything I read from the shortlist was just … fine. Sometimes pretty good. Sometimes worth discussing. But nothing was knocking my socks off. Well, now, … Continue reading →

Posted in Contemporary, Fiction | 12 Comments

Your House Will Pay

Posted on February 1, 2020 by

Steph Cha’s Your House Will Pay takes a nuanced look at the difficulties of living in a world filled with intergenerational racist violence. It tells this story through the lives of two characters who come at the problem from opposite … Continue reading →

Posted in Contemporary, Fiction | 8 Comments

Fleishman is in Trouble

Posted on December 31, 2019 by

For a long time, Toby Fleishman and his wife Rachel weren’t happy together, and the decision to divorce felt like a relief. But then, in the midst of the separation period, Rachel takes off for a yoga retreat, a day … Continue reading →

Posted in Contemporary, Fiction | 2 Comments

What I Read This Summer: June Readings

Posted on November 28, 2019 by

Instead of attempting to review all the books I read while on my unplanned break, or leaving them entirely unrecorded, I’m going to do a series of posts with mini-reviews of what I read when I wasn’t blogging. If anyone … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics, Contemporary, Fiction, Mysteries/Crime | 6 Comments

Normal People

Posted on November 9, 2019 by

Now I’m going to see if I can keep up my blogging momentum by writing about a book I enjoyed well enough but don’t think I have much to say about it. Sally Rooney’s Normal People seems to be something of … Continue reading →

Posted in Contemporary, Fiction | 6 Comments

Learning to Swim

Posted on May 26, 2019 by

Abigail Onions was something of a misfit at school. She had trouble with a bully and didn’t have a lot of friends. For years, her only friend was not someone she especially liked, just someone willing to spend time with … Continue reading →

Posted in Contemporary, Fiction | 2 Comments

Freshwater

Posted on May 21, 2019 by

When Ada was born, she did not come into the world alone. She was accompanied by a group of spirit/gods, or ogbanje. These spirits were largely silent, but they had an influence that grew over time. In Akwaeke Emezi’s novel, … Continue reading →

Posted in Contemporary, Fiction | 2 Comments