Toni Rocchetti — Developmental Editor on Toni Rocchetti — Copy Editor & Developmental Editor

Welcome to The Reading Room

Fri, 15 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Hi, hello, welcome 👋

If you’ve found your way here — I’m so glad you did. I’m Toni. I’m a developmental editor, a bookseller, a mom, and a person who has genuinely never met a TBR pile she didn’t immediately make too ambitious 😆

For years, most of my writing about books has lived on Instagram — in captions and comments and DM threads with the incredible community over at @readwithtoni. Those conversations are honestly some of the best parts of my week. But I’ve been wanting a quieter space. Somewhere I can think out loud a little longer about the things I care about most: how stories work, why certain books stay with us long after we’ve finished them, and what it’s actually like to spend your days inside other people’s manuscripts.

54 Miles

Tue, 12 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A new favorite by Pitts?

Together, a group of readers and I have read (some were a reread for a few of us) though Leonard Pitts Jr.’s backlist and let me tell you, it was amazing. Reading them in order of publication we really got a chance to see him hone his craft. From the beginning though, we could see his strength, his ability to write well-developed characters.

54 Miles was new to me (I had been saving it to read with the group), it followed some characters from his previous book The Last Thing You Surrender and I loved it even more than Surrender. It even rivals my absolute favorite by him, Freeman so I guess I’ll just say the two are tied for that spot.

The Last Thing You Surrender

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

“Make sure your decency, your humanity, is the last thing you give up.”

Summary - Set during World War II, that explores themes of race, war, and morality through the interconnected stories of three characters from Jim Crow Alabama: a white Marine, a Black woman working in a shipyard, and a Black man who joins the segregated 761st Tank Battalion. The novel follows their individual struggles with prejudice on the home front and the battlefield, examining how the war forces them to confront their beliefs about race and what it means to be an American.

Lightbreakers

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

No good life is free from unease, because unease is the start of exploration.

Summary - A speculative fiction novel about a quantum physicist, Noah, who joins a secret time-travel project in a desert lab to revisit his deceased daughter, while his artist wife, Maya, gets drawn into the lab’s mysteries and her own past. The book explores themes of love, grief, memory, and the nature of time, blending science fiction with a deeply human story about loss and connection. It’s praised for its emotional depth, complex characters, and genre-bending narrative.

Love Forms

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

It depends on the lens… Summary - Love Forms is about a Trinidadian woman, Dawn, who, at 58, embarks on a journey to find the daughter she gave up for adoption at 16 in Venezuela, exploring themes of maternal love, loss, and identity across Trinidad, Venezuela, and London. The book, longlisted for the Booker Prize, follows Dawn’s life after the adoptionmarriage, children, divorceas she grapples with her past and the possibility of reconnecting with her lost child.

Caller Unknown

Sat, 07 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This book terrified me…

An eighteen-year-old daughter kidnapped from under the same roof as a mother? Number one fear right there.

Summary - A high-stakes thriller where Simone, on a Texas vacation with her daughter Lucy, wakes to find her kidnapped and a burner phone left behind. The kidnapper demands she follow strict, illegal instructions rather than pay money, forcing her into a desperate, morally grey, and fast-paced, action-packed race across the desert to save her child.

The Deeper the Water the Uglier the Fish

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

For fans of Betty…

Summary - A dark, coming-of-age story told from the perspectives of two young sisters, Edie and Mae, who navigate a ctional home life with their unstable mother, Marianne. The book explores themes of family trauma, mental illness, and the intense bond between the sisters as they cope with their mother’s severe depression and their father’s absence.

I made it to around the 30% point thinking “dark” wasn’t very dark but then, it got DARK. If you enjoyed Betty by Tiffany McDaniel’s and/or darker books, I highly recommend this one HOWEVER 1. check trigger warnings and 2. go with the physical format. I did audio and there are a lot of different voices, which was a good way to gain objective perspective, but not great when you missed the viewpoint at the start of a chapter.

2026 Read to Learn Book List

Mon, 17 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The entire list of 2026 Read to Learn books!

Books transport us, books open our eyes, and books teach us new things. I equally love fiction and nonfiction. Should books be an escape, absolutely, but I also feel very strongly that if we aren’t also learning new concepts, new perspectives, new information then how can we grow as people.

Each year I compile books that I think hit on relevant, important issues that the world is dealing with, but also some books that teach us about pieces of history that we may have been misinformed about. I have previously shared the titles in quarterly posts but I wanted to be able to pin one post to the top so that others who don’t know about the group can easily find out the info!

Leonard Pitts Jr. Winter Reading Project

Sun, 16 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Who’s looking for a winter project??

Leonard Pitts Jr. is one of the most underrated authors of our time.

I first read Freeman way back in 2015, pre-bookstagram. Freeman was a masterpiece, I knew I had stumbled upon someone special. Fast forward to 2020 when I read a second book by him, The Last Thing You Surrender which may have impacted me even more?!

AND I RARELY (if ever) SEE ANY OF HIS BOOKS HERE.

Care work

Tue, 28 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

“A Disability Justice framework understands that all bodies are unique and essential, that all bodies have strengths and needs that must be met.”

Summary - A collection of essays about disability justice, a movement that centers the experiences of sick, disabled, queer, and trans people of color. The book is a “toolkit” for building resilient and sustainable communities by promoting concepts like “care webs,” where communities collectively provide support and resources to one another, and “collective access,” where access is seen as a shared responsibility rather than a chore. It addresses difficult topics like suicide, trauma, and emotional labor while ultimately offering a hopeful vision for a future where no one is left behind.

The Emotional Craft of Fiction

Sun, 26 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

“Fiction can do things that no other art form can. If engages imagination on a deeper level, stirs minds and hearts, and brings about change in a way that few other art forms can manage.”

Summary - The emotional craft of fiction is about intentionally using story elements like character, plot, and setting to create a powerful emotional experience for the reader. It goes beyond simply showing or telling emotions by exploring how to connect the character’s inner journey with the outer events, build compelling characters with hidden depths, and use specific writing modes to evoke specific feelings.

The Fort Bragg Cartel

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

HOLE LEE SH*T.

This book may have been the most surprising, grossest (and I don’t just mean the gore but there was plenty of that), and scariest books I’ve ever read.

Summary - Fort Bragg Cartel investigates allegations of a network involving U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers in drug trafficking, violence, and cover-ups at Fort Bragg. The investigation was reportedly sparked by the 2020 murders of two special operations soldiers allegedly involved in drug dealing and trafficking, highlighting broader issues of unexplained deaths and misconduct at the base.

Loved one

Fri, 12 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

“Loving someone means accepting that different versions of them existsome we know intimately, others we may never fully understand.”

Summary - The story follows Julia, a jewelry designer, as she grieves the sudden death of her first love and best friend, Gabe, a musician. Her journey to understand their complicated relationship and recover his belongings leads her to his ex-girlfriend, Elizabeth, and explores themes of ambiguous loss, memory, and the complexities of love.

Save the Cat

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

My Developmental editing journey continues…

Yes, this book is about writing but what is a developmental editors job? To help authors with their manuscripts. So it is helpful to understand the craft in ways I haven’t previously learned.

Summary - Jessica Bro Save the Cat! Writes a Novel is a story-structuring guide that adapts the popular 15-beat “Blake Snyder Beat Sheet” for novelists. The book provides a practical, step-by-step blueprint for plotting a compelling story with a strong character arc, addressing common novel-writing challenges like pacing and structuring multi-book series.

Not quite dead yet

Mon, 08 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This thriller was a page turner!

In the mood for a page turner, this should be bumped up your list!

Summary - 27-year-old Jet Mason is attacked on Halloween night, resulting in a brain injury that will cause a fatal aneurysm within a week. Rather than undergo risky surgery with a slim chance of survival, Jet decides to live out her final days by solving her own murder. With her childhood friend Billy’s help, she uncovers a web of family and town secrets, revealing an abundance of motives and suspects as she races against time to unmask her killer.

Leonard Pitts Jr. Backlist Project

Mon, 01 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Who’s looking for a winter project??

Leonard Pitts Jr. is one of the most underrated authors of our time.

AND I RARELY (if ever) SEE ANY OF HIS BOOKS HERE.

Library of Unruly Things

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

“But that there was such a building, and that it was a library, a temple of learning and dreams, was something Gwen wouldn’t have dared imagine, let alone hope for”.

We loved this book.

Summary - The Library of Unruly Treasures follows 11-year-old Gwen, who, after being sent to stay with her Great Uncle Matthew, discovers tiny winged creatures called Lahdukan in the library that shares her last name. Gwen, a seemingly unremarkable girl, must embrace her destiny as a Qalba (caretaker) to help the Lahdukan find a new home when their library is slated for renovation. With the support of her uncle, a lively dog named Pumpkin, and a local child, Gwen overcomes her feelings of being unwanted to embark on a courageous journey that reveals her true worth.

English teacher

Tue, 29 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

“Was it possible in any relationship to not disappoint, to do anything more than only briefly rekindle the initial fatal illusion?”

Summary - Fifteen years ago Vida Avery arrived alone and pregnant at elite Fayer Academy. She has since become a fixture and one of the best teachers Fayer has ever had. By living on campus, on an island off the New England coast, Vida has cocooned herself and her son, Peter, from the outside world and from an inside secret. For years she has lived largely through the books she teaches, but when she accepts the impulsive marriage proposal of ardent widower Tom Belou, the prescribed life Vida has constructed is swiftly dismantled.

Poppy Fields

Tue, 22 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

“There is only one reason anyone would sleep at the Poppy Fields. Love. Love makes people do wild things, things they can’t understand, things they might have sworn they would never, ever do.”

Summary - A speculative novel about grief and healing, centered around a controversial treatment center in the California desert where people can sleep through their pain. Four strangers with unique pasts embark on a journey to this facility, hoping to heal from heartache. Their individual secrets and motivations threaten to derail their trip, as they search for Ellis, the enigmatic founder of the Poppy Fields.

Vanderbeekers

Tue, 22 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

“Nothing was certain in this world, Laney thought as she gazed at the magical snow and the crowds of people who had come to be a part of this day. Laney breathed it all in and gathered it into special place in her memory. Each day, each moment, felt so much more precious, especially after the past few months. It was all the more important to know that on the journey before her, she could always count on the people she loved and the place she called home. A home that was, and always would be, the brownstone on 141st street.

Maine Characters

Sat, 12 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Parent trap for adults?!

Summary - The story of two half-sisters, Vivian Levy and Lucy Webster, who meet for the first time after their father’s death. Vivian, a New York City sommelier, and Lucy, a small-town Maine teacher, are brought together at their father’s lake house to scatter his ashes and confront a web of family secrets.

The novel explores themes of grief, family, and forgiveness as the sisters navigate their newfound relationship and the complexities of their father’s past.

These Summer Storms

Tue, 24 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Why I read this book:

Sarah MacLean spoke at the NEIBA book conference I attended and she was a delight
It takes place at the Rhode Island shore, which is where we vacation each summer

It also has a plotline that I don’t usually love but I was willing to give it a go because not too many summer books take place in RI.

Summary - The story revolves around Alice Storm, who returns to her family’s private island off the coast of Rhode Island after her father’s death, only to find herself entangled in an inheritance game. The novel is described as a blend of family drama, mystery, and sizzling romance.

Heartwood

Tue, 17 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Every human being imagines, but few disclose. Children are quick to share their strangest thoughts and inventions. They cease to do so only after the shaming or baffled reactions of adults, portraits of which the child hangs on her inner walls, until at last, she closes the gallery.

Summary - Heartwood tells the story of a nurse, Valerie Gillis, who goes missing while hiking the Appalachian Trail in Maine. The novel intertwines the narratives of Valerie, who writes letters to her mother during her ordeal; Beverly, a game warden leading the search; and Lena Kucharski, a 76-year-old birdwatcher who becomes an armchair detective. As the search intensifies, the characters’ complex relationships with mothers and motherhood are explored, revealing a suspenseful mystery with themes of survival, loss, and self-discovery.

Dinner for Vampires

Thu, 29 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

“I found out that when the numbness lasts for long enough it bears a striking resemblance to peace.”

Summary - Dinner for Vampires is a powerful and personal account of one womans journey through the darkness of cult involvement and her journey to recovery. Bethany Joy Lenz has crafted a memoir that is both a warning and a beacon of hope, offering readers a rare glimpse into the inner workings of a cult while also providing a roadmap for healing and self-discovery. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the complexities of spiritual manipulation and the resilience of the human spirit.

Death of the author

Sun, 27 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

A genre-blending gem…

“Stories were the greatest currency to us, greater than power, greater than control. Stories were our food, nourishment, enrichment. To consume a story was to add to our code, deepen our minds. We felt it the moment we took it in. We were changed. It was like falling. It was how we evolved.”

Summary - In this exhilarating tale by New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Nnedi Okorafor, a disabled Nigerian American woman pens a wildly successful Sci-Fi novel, but as her fame rises, she loses control of the narrativea surprisingly cutting, yet heartfelt drama about art and love, identity and connection, and, ultimately, what makes us human. This is a story unlike anything youve read before.

Good Dirt

Thu, 24 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

“Words have power. So does the absence of words. Sometimes, when people choose not to speak, their silence can block out the sun.”

I think I may have loved this one more than Black Cake

Summary - Good Dirt is an engrossing epic that explores how intergenerational trauma shapes and complicates family legacies and bonds.

I had read a lot of reviews that mentioned the jumping around being a negative thing but don’t let that mislead you into not reading this gem. There is jumping BUT each jump follows one family through history so there is purpose and it all falls together beautifully in the end.

Antidote

Wed, 09 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

“It’s rarely the truth itself that people can’t accept. It’s now they feel about it.”

A modern day Grapes of Wrath, but better or unique?

Summary - A Dust Bowl-era novel set in the fictional town of Uz, Nebraska, that explores themes of memory, community, and the consequences of forgetting history, with a cast of characters including a “Prairie Witch,” a wheat farmer, and a photographer whose camera reveals glimpses through time.

Road to Tender Hearts

Tue, 08 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Where do I even start…

Summary - A darkly comic and warm-hearted novel about an old man on a cross-country mission to reunite with his high school crushbringing together his adult daughter, two orphaned kids, and a cat who can predict death.

The first few chapters are dark, like really dark and had I not read Harnett’s other books I may have just DNFd right then. But, because I had, I figured I’d attempt to get past the crazy setup, I also usually enjoy the road trip aspect in books so I was hopeful.

Dead Against Her

Mon, 24 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

What an unexpected wild ride!

The first 20 or so percent I was unsure…a lot of the plot was getting bogged down with excessive details, so much so I had considered DNFing.

Summary - When Christa joins a tour group heading deep into the snowy expanse of the Rocky Mountains, shes hopeful this will be her chance to put the ghosts of her past to rest. But when a bitterly cold snowstorm sweeps the region, the small group is forced to take shelter in an abandoned hunting cabin. Despite the uncomfortably claustrophobic quarters and rapidly dropping temperature, Christa believes theyll be safe as they wait out the storm…

The Heart of Winter

Sat, 25 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I adored this book // Thank you @prh for an advanced listening copy.

Summary - The extraordinary new novel by Jonathan Evison, about a married couple in their golden years, from when they met across big ups, deep downs, and survive-it-all, opposites-attract love.

I love stories that showcase a marriage through the years and in this case, seventy.

I don’t know exactly why I love these types of books so much – probably because I didn’t grow up seeing what long and healthy marriages look like, none of my grandparents stayed married and both of my parents have been married multiple times.

Being Caribou

Thu, 19 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Surprise December FIVE STAR book…

Summary - What began as a wildlife research project became much more as the author and his wife learn to hear the earth, pay attention to their dreams and slowly change, beyond their expectations, into being caribou. Both gripping adventure and stark portrayal of an Arctic cosystem threatened by oil development.

Karsten Heuer, a wildlife biologist and his newlywed wife and filmmaker, Leanne Allison embarked on a five month journey to track and follow the caribou. Why? To try to save them from the greed of lobbyists trying to begin oil production on land meant for conservation. What they experienced truly changed who they were and let me tell you, I never would have thought a book about caribou would ever move me the way this one did.

Book of Longings

Wed, 20 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Does this photo seem strange…

It is from June 2020, when I first attempted to read Book of Longings. Flash forward to the day after the election and it didn’t take for a second time. One week later it finally stuck and I finished it!

Summary - A not-so-religious reimagining of Jesus’ life that beautifully tackles the question: What if he had a feminist wife?

Sounds pretty great, right??

Buuuut I ended up not loving it. The plot sounded so strong but to me, using Jesus as a character was more of a ploy to shock potential readers into reading it. Jesus wasn’t in much of the book and I never connected to the main character, Ana Maybe it was still a timing thing or maybe this just wasn’t a book for me.

Cleopatra Frankenstein

Tue, 19 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Another LitFic win…

“But the people who did get that love, they grew up to be different from us. More secure. Maybe theyre not as shiny or successful as you and I feel we have to be. But its not because theyre not interesting. They just dont feel they have to do the tap dance, you know? They dont have to prove themselves all the time to be loved. Because they always were.”

In An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States

Sun, 13 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day…

For many Indigenous peoples, Columbus Day is a controversial holiday. This is because Columbus is viewed not as a discoverer, but rather as a colonizer. His arrival led to the forceful taking of land and set the stage for widespread death and loss of Indigenous ways of life.

In 1990, South Dakota currently the state with the third-largest population of Native Americans in the U.S. became the first state to officially recognize Native Americans Day, commonly referred to as Indigenous Peoples Day in other parts of the country.

2025 Read to Learn Book List

Sat, 21 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Here are the 2025 Read to Learn books!

After months and months of research, narrowing down, choosing, searching for the best deals these are the books I’ve chosen:

January - The Anxious Generation examines the rising levels of anxiety and depression among young people.

February - Everyone Who is Gone is Here is an epic, heartbreaking, and deeply reported history of the disastrous humanitarian crisis at the southern border.

March - Water Always Wins is a compelling exploration into the fundamental force shaping our planet and our lives: water.

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox

Mon, 16 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

It is a terrible thing to want something you cannot have. It takes you over. I couldn’t think straight because of it. There was no one else, I realized, whom I could possibly tell.

Summary - OFarrell takes us back in history to a dark time when husbands, fathers and even brothers could commit women to asylumsoften for absurd reasons.

A haunting story full of family secrets.

O’Farrell is wonderful. I haven’t loved every single book I’ve read by her but that doesn’t take away from what a talented writer she is. Her structures can sometimes be too confusing, in my opinion, but when they work, they are masterful. Because of her complicated structure/timelines I think O’Farrell should always be read, rather than listened to – especially in instances like Vanishing Act where there are no chapter breaks and storylines switch at random times.

Perris

Wed, 04 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

UNDERRATED GEM ALERT

Summary - Gritty, yet beautifully written, this literary novel takes on such tough topics as addiction, mental health, and physical and sexual abuse with grace and dignity, portraying Tessa as a compassionate and resilient survivor. Despite the violence and trage there is also a lot of love and hope in this.

It had been a while since fiction blew me away like this - this book was so powerful and well written. There are dark parts (mostly in the beginning) but it is also a beautiful book with some unexpected relationships and moments that make this a book you don’t want to miss.

Annie Bot

Mon, 05 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

A sizzle to a fizzle…

Annie Bot started off so strong and so propulsive but around the thirty percent mark it turned into a completely different book.

Summary - Doug an uptight, withholding, misogynistic, vindictive neat-freak has recently split with his ex, Gwen (a successful, ambitious Black woman). This setback has pushed him to purchase Annie, a ‘Cuddle Bunny’ he paid handsomely for to customize to his exact specifications.

You will be infuriated with Doug in every which way, there is no doubt about that. Greer did a great job at setting this AI world up and executed rather well. The plot and pacing was a little off and went to place I wasn’t expecting and didn’t particularly like but I still recommend this book because AI is coming and it is terrifying.

We All Want Impossible Things

Tue, 09 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

It took me a bit…

Life is messy. I certainly dont expect tidiness from yours or anybo elses.

Summary - We All Want Impossible Things revolves around the lives of two female best friends. Ash is a recently divorced, single mother and the narrator of the novel who cares for her best friend, Edi, a woman of ovarian cancer and currently living in a hospice care center.

For the first 20 or so percent I was pretty unsure about this one, everyone and I mean everyone loved it so I was super confused. I realized that my distaste was coming from the not-sick main character, Ash’s poor life choices and selfish behavior. Once I got around halfway I took my opinions of her out and was then able to see that she was grieving her absolute best friend, people grieve in different ways and Ash was looking for an outlet, a reprieve from the unhappiness.

Summer Romance

Sun, 09 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

“When Im quiet I can hear my heart yearning for impossible things. I want a perfectly pared-down home, and I want to hang on to every scrap of the past. I want a break from my kids without missing a single minute of their lives. I long for a partnership, and I long for freedom. I long to be enmeshed with someone without losing myself. I want all of it.”

Sociopath

Wed, 22 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

“I dont care what other people think. Im not interested in morals. Im not interested, period. Rules do not factor into my decision-making. Im capable of almost anything.”

Summary - Sociopath: A Memoir is at once a jaw-dropping tale of a life lived on the edge of the law, and a moving account of one woman’s battle to gain a deeper understanding of people who, like her, are sociopaths.

The first hmm maybe half I was all in, I loved learning about how non-existent the term sociopath is/was when Patric Gagne was researching and attempting to learn more about sociopathy and psychopathy. Learning about Gagne’s upbringing and childhood was also fascinating.

Oye

Mon, 13 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

“Pay attention. This is how people end up with pain and illnesses. They go through difficult things, and then they dont find a place to put those feelings. So their bodies take it all for them.”

Summary - Structured as a series of one-sided phone calls from our spunky, sarcastic narrator, Luciana, to her older sister, Mari. As the baby of her large Colombian American family, Luciana is usually relegated to the sidelines. But now she finds herself as the only voice of reason in the face of an unexpected crisis: A hurricane is heading straight for Miami, and her eccentric grandmother, Abue, is refusing to evacuate. Abue is so one-of-a-kind shes basically in her own universe, and while she often drives Luciana nuts, theyre the only ones who truly understand each other. So when Abue, normally glamorous and full of life, receives a shocking medical diagnosis during the storm, Lucianas world is upended.

Ordinary Human Failings

Sat, 13 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Really, who would care about a family like theirs? Theirs were ordinary human failings, tragedies too routine to be of note.

Summary - Set mostly in the early 1990s, it tells the story of the Greens, a family of Irish immigrants who have moved to London in the hope of escaping the social stigma of daughter Carmels teenage pregnancy and her brother Ritchies escalating alcoholism. Judged reclusive and odd by their new neighbors, the Greens are easy scapegoats when trage visits their estate.

The Bastard of Istanbul

Fri, 29 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

I’m a part of the Elif Fan Club!

“The past lives within the present, and our ancestors breathe through our children.”

Summary - The story is centered around the characters of Asya Kazanc and Armanoush Tchakhmakhchian. It is set in Tucson, Arizona; San Francisco, California; and Istanbul, Turkey. The novel deals with their families and how they are connected through the events of the 1915 Armenian genocide.

Most summaries make this book seem more complicated than it actually is. You follow Asya. You follow Armanoush. Then you wait and see how their stories connect. It was beautiful. I absolutely love Shafak’s writing. What I wasn’t expecting was that ending, wowzers, it was GOOOOOD.

Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books

Sun, 10 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

“How can you come to know what’s right when all the information you’re ever given is wrong?”

This quote is actually from the author’s note but I find that it sums up the book so well. The fact that I typically only read that overview first paragraph of summaries (because full summaries give away too much) made this one quite the surprise for me. I thought it was going to be light-hearted and an easy read – boy was I wrong.

This much country

Sat, 24 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

“One day all of this pain will transform from a stumbling block into the foundation for a new life. This winter will make way for a sunny day in May during which the spring cleaning of my soul and mind will take place. Then those new dustless shelves will be so welcoming to the bigger and better love coming to occupy my heart.”

Who knew I could love a book about dog sledding so much. Well it isn’t all about dog sledding but it is what makes the second half so intense.

This Could Be Us

Wed, 07 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

“Ill never take solace in a fake fine again.”

This Could Be Us is book 2 in the amazing Skyland series by Kenne Ryan.

Summary - From the ashes of a life burned to the ground, something bold and new can rise. But then an unlikely man enters the picturethe forbidden one, the one Soledad shouldn’t want but can’t seem to resist. She’s lost it all before and refuses to repeat her mistakes.

Roman Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri

Tue, 06 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

“What does a word mean? And a life? In the end, it seems to me, the same thing. Just as a word can have many dimensions, many nuances, great complexity, so, too, can a person, a life. Language is the mirror, the principal metaphor. Because ultimately the meaning of a word, like that of a person, is boundless, ineffable.”

This quote isn’t from Roman Stories but just something that Jhumpa Lahiri has said and to me, this is the reason that her voice resonates so well with me.

Family family

Tue, 23 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

“The one thing she knows for sure is what makes a family isn’t blood. And it isn’t love. No matter how they’re formed, the truth about family is this: it’s complicated.”

If I liked the beginning and I loved the ending but thought the middle rambled and needed focus where does that leave this review? Three stars?

I appreciated the discussions around family and adoption, basically the entire ending but how the story got there was almost a DNF for me. And ultimately, the main character felt very inauthentic which is interesting because I think her “uniqueness” was an attempt to make her seem authentic

Blood brothers

Tue, 09 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

A story of people, not politics…

Summary - Blood Brothers illustrates Elias Chacour’s own incredible life in Palestine as a refugee. The book describes the hardships Elias and his family had to go through. The story opens in the 1940s in the village of Biram, where Chacour spent his early childhood.

I had attempted to read The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine last month but its level of nonfiction was just too dense for me to absorb anything. Blood Brothers read like a memoir but with history mixed in, which allowed me to absorb the history in a much more accessible way. Chacour looks at the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with a Christian lens and his journey was one that taught me a lot.

Kala

Wed, 13 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

“It takes strength to be open to life, to the possibility things will change for the better.”

Summary - Katherine ‘Kala’ Lanann was 15 years years old when she disappeared in November 2003, leaving her friends Joe, Aoife, Helen, Mush, and Aiden and the whole town of Kinlough in shock. The once tight-knit group of friends eventually go their own ways, their friendship fractured in the aftermath of Kala’s disappearance.

Begin Again

Mon, 11 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.

James Baldwin was a man beyond his time.

Summary - Begin Again (2020) looks back at the incomparable work of the writer James Baldwin, who spent decades dissecting America’s fundamental racism problem. His ideas may provide insights for us today, so Begin Again seeks to answer the question: What advice would Baldwin have on issues like Trumpism or Black Lives Matter?

How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair

Mon, 20 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

“The sea was the first home I knew. Out here I spent my early childhood in a wild state of happiness, stretched out under the almond trees fed by brine, relishing every fish eye like precious can my toes dipped in the sea’s milky lapping.”

I absolutely loved this book. Safiya Sinclair is a poet and that is completely evident from the beautiful prose that lyrically tells her story. She evoked so much emotion in me – I laughed, I learned, and I cried. Memoirs can be so magical and this one was no exception – I felt completely mesmerized by Sinclair’s storytelling.

Son of Hamas

Sun, 19 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

“For the first time, I began to question the things I had always believed in.”

Summary - Since he was a small boy, Mosab Hassan Yousef has had an inside view of the deadly terrorist group Hamas. The oldest son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, a founding member of Hamas and its most popular leader, young Mosab assisted his father for years in his political activities while being groomed to assume his legacy, politics, status . . . and power. But everything changed when Mosab turned away from terror and violence, and embraced instead the teachings of another famous Middle East leader. In Son of Hamas, Mosab reveals new information about the worlds most dangerous terrorist organization and unveils the truth about his own role, his agonizing separation from family and homeland, the dangerous decision to make his newfound faith public, and his belief that the Christian mandate to love your enemies is the only way to peace in the Middle East.

December Choices

Fri, 10 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

December Choices

A History of a Burning Ozas narrative traverses almost a century of time, four generations of family, five continents and multiple languages, with the story moving between the perspectives of 10 characters (largely told in the third-person voice with a few detours into the first person during the last quarter of the novel). The result is a haunting, symphonic tale that speaks to the nuanced complexities of class and trauma for this particular family.

The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein

Wed, 08 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

We have created a caste system in this country, with African Americans kept exploited and geographically separate by racially explicit government policies. Although most of these policies are now off the books, they have never been remedied and their effects endure.

This book is IMPORTANT. It is books like this that inspire me to get educated and VOTE (photo is right after I voted yesterday).

Summary - Rothstein calls upon his readers and American society at large to look at our countrys history of racist practices head-on. With detailed specific examples and carefully tracked source material, Rothstein explores the forgotten depths of multifaceted, often government-led, segregation that laid the foundation for many of the race-based inequities we are grappling with today.

Idea of You

Mon, 11 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Do not judge this book by its cover.

Its art. And it makes people happy. And thats a very good thing. We have this problem in our culture. We take art that appeals to womenfilm, books, musicand we undervalue it. We assume it cant be high art. Especially if its not dark and tortured and wailing. And it follows that much of that art is created by other women, and so we undervalue them as well. We wrap it up in a pretty pink package and resist calling it art.

Fresh Water

Sat, 26 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

“You must learn to be generous with your absence to those who havent understood the importance of your presence.”

Summary - This tale evolves around a small graveyard in a small French town, Bourgogne. We meet an array of interesting, nuanced characters, including our main protagonist, Violette. The story of Violettes life is slowly revealed to us through her own words or through the interconnectedness with the lives of other people: Violettes difficult childhood, being born with nothing, her tragic marriage to Philippe, her daughter, her life working as a bartender, then as a level crossing keeper and finally her life as a cemetery caretaker.

Wellness

Sat, 26 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

How do I even begin to describe this book…

First off, I ABSOLUTELY LOVED this book. Thank you @negall for the ebook and thank you @prh for the audio – both were absolutely amazing but I ultimately ended up attached to the audio because the narrator did such a fantastic job.

Summary - When Jack and Elizabeth meet as college students in the ’90s, the two quickly join forces and hold on tight, each eager to claim a place in Chicagos thriving underground art scene with an appreciative kindred spirit. Fast-forward twenty years to married life, and alongside the challenges of parenting, they encounter numerous quandaries.

Front Desk by Kelly Yang

Mon, 07 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

WINNER, WINNER…

Immigrants, she said. Our lives are never fair. My dad nodded. We have to try, he said. We have to try and accept our fate. My parents were always going on about fate. Sometimes I wondered if this fate thing was just something adults made up to make themselves feel better, like the tooth fairy.

Summary - Mia Tang, the story’s protagonist, is a 5th grader when she begins working with her parents at the Calivista Motel just five miles from Disneyland. Front Desk details the family’s first year managing the hotel including little daily occurrences, diversity issues and the building of community at the motel.

Wandering Souls

Mon, 07 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

“In the years to come, Thi Anh would let the harrowing memories of the boat and the camp trickle out of her until they were nothing but a whisper. But she would hold on to that last evening with all her might, from the smell of the steaming rice in the kitchen to the touch of her mothers skin as she embraced her for the last time.”

Summary - “Wandering Souls examines the human cost of large-scale trage through the story of 16-year-old Anh, her 13-year-old brother Minh and their 10-year-old brother Thanh, who are separated from their parents and four younger siblings when the family attempts to make the perilous journey to Hong Kong on two separate boats.”

You Could Make This Place Beautiful

Wed, 26 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Likewise, parents are not wise oraclestheyre just people trying to shepherd other people through the world. We may know the right path to take, but knowing the way and consistently walking it are two different things. Everything we learn, we learn from someone who is imperfect.

Summary - Smiths memoir about marriage, divorce, and parenting is a beautiful example of how metaphor and imagery can capture the essence of experiences that are difficult to explain, and it will lead readers to think more deeply about the relationships in their own lives.

Goodbye, Earl

Sat, 22 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This book was not what I thought it was going to be…

Based on the title and the cover, I thought this book was going to be full of shenanigans, a Finlay Donovan type of a book. It wasn’t, at least not until around 50 PERCENT.

Summary - Four women take fate into their own hands in this big-hearted story of friendship, resilience and revenge on monstrous men. Taking inspiration from the infamous, empowering song, GOODBYE EARL follows four best friends through two unforgettable summers, 15 years apart.

Magic Misfits

Fri, 07 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Ok, Mr. Neil Patrick Harris

This was our third summer family read-aloud and it has been my favorite so far My son says he can’t pick a favorite because he’s loved them all - so I’m considering that a win.

Summary - After a fateful encounter with the local purveyor of illusion, Dante Vernon, Carter teams up with five other like-minded illusionists. Together, using both teamwork and magic, they’ll set out to save the town of Mineral Wells from Bosso’s villainous clutches.

The Celebrants by Steven Rowley

Wed, 26 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This is a toughie…

Summary - A deeply honest tribute to the growing pains of selfhood and the people who keep us going, coupled with Steven Rowleys signature humor and heart, The Celebrants is a moving tale about the false invincibility of youth and the beautiful ways in which friendship helps us celebrate our lives, even amid the deepest challenges of living.

Five friends, for a reason that I won’t spoil, decide to have living funerals, or celebrations of life while they are still living so nothing is left unsaid about how their friends feel about them. They call it a pact and each person can use the pact at anytime in their life and the others have to come together.

Mistakes Were Made

Mon, 27 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Sometimes we have to do things that make us uncomfortable for people we love.

Summary - When Cassie Klein goes to an off-campus bar to escape her schools Family Weekend, she isnt looking for a hookupit just happens. Buying a drink for a stranger turns into what should be an uncomplicated, amazing one-night stand. But then the next morning rolls around and her friend drags her along to meet her momthe hot, older woman Cassie slept with.

Book Notes

Thu, 16 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

“Each of us narrates our life as it suits us.”

These are words spoken by Lila to her Brilliant Friend, Elena. These two girls turned women have built a friendship that is both touching and toxic. In the third book we pick up right where we left off in book 2 and it is just as much of a roller coaster as the first two. I won’t offer a summary since it’ll give away what has happened in the previous book but let me just tell you that this series has been both enthralling and memorizing.

Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver

Thu, 16 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

I never learn anything from listening to myself.

Are there wiser words?

Summary - Flight Behavior addresses global warming and the failings of public education through the story of a Tennessee woman whose thus-far disappointing life changes when 15 million monarch butterflies alight in the woods near her home.

While this book follows Dellarobia, my favorite character was the African-American entomologist, Ovid Byron. His take on climate change and what is (and isn’t) being done about this global issue were my favorite parts of the book. Kingsolver does what she does best – she weaves a fictional story with a real-world problem, much like she did in Demon Copperhead.

I Was Told to Come Alone

Mon, 27 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

If I’ve learned anything, it’s this: a mother’s screams over the bo of her murdered child sound the same, no matter if she is black, brown, or white; Muslim, Jewish, or Christian; Shia or Sunni. We will all be buried in the same ground.

Summary - In this compelling and evocative memoir, we accompany Mekhennet as she journeys behind the lines of jihad, starting in the German neighborhoods where the 9/11 plotters were radicalized and the Iraqi neighborhoods where Sunnis and Shia turned against one another, and culminating on the Turkish/Syrian border region where ISIS is a daily presence.

The Swans of Fifth Avenue

Wed, 01 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

““Totally,” I say. “I totally get that.”

What I totally get is that my father loves James best and James loves my father best and Isabel loved Yuto and Ben best and everyone I know has someone they love best. I’m no one’s best.”

Super Brief Summary A luminous chronicle of betrayal, sacrifice and creative ambition, framed by New Yorks Aids crisis in the 1980s and some seriously complex family cs.

Crossroads

Fri, 20 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000

I failed…

Crossroads has been on my list for forever so when I decided to jump on the 12 Recommended challenge and @ka recommend it, I was pumped.

Summary - Crossroads follows Russ and Marion Hildebrandt, whose marriage is close to collapse, and their four children, Clem, Becky, Perry, and Judson. Each chapter is told from the perspective of one of the Hildebrandts, and most are set in the fictional New Prospect Township of suburban Chicago.

A fine balance

Mon, 22 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

…you have to use your failures as stepping stones to success. You have to maintain a fine balance between hope and despair. In the end its all a question of balance.

Summary - The time is 1975. The place is an unnamed city by the sea. The government has just declared a State of Emergency, in whose upheavals four strangers–a spirited widow, a young student uprooted from his i hill station, and two tailors who have fled the caste violence of their native village–will be thrust together, forced to share one cramped apartment and an uncertain future.

Reality is broken

Tue, 12 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Starting another #hubb

These bud reads with my husband have been really fun! Here’s what we’ve done so far:

11/22/63 - both really enjoyed Matterhorn - both pretty meh but John enjoyed it more Rea Player One - both loved, fun experience too The Storyteller - both enjoyed, husband is a huge fan so he enjoyed it a little more

Now we’ve started Recursion and it is super promising. Often what is lacking in scifi is a female perspective/voice and Recursion alternates between a male cop and a female scientist so that is a plus!

The Strangers

Sun, 10 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

“Margaret used to think this was normal, that all families were made up of so many sad stories. But as she got older, it seemed only Indians, Mtis, who had sorrow built into their bones, who exchanged despair as ordinarily as recipes, who had devastation after devastation after dismissal after denial woven into their skin. As if sad stories were the only heirloom they had to pass on.”

Summary - Cedar has nearly forgotten what her family looks like. Phoenix has nearly forgotten how freedom feels. And Elsie has nearly given up hope. Nearly. These are the Strangers, each haunted in her own way. The Strangers is a searing exploration of race, class, inherited trauma, and matrilineal bonds thatdespite everythingrefuse to be broken.

The Family Tree

Tue, 28 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

So many anticipated books this month…

The way I choose books for the #read groups is by vote! I pick out three or four books and have the current group choose the next month’s book. Sometimes it’s a landslide and sometimes it’s neck and neck (voting day is one of my favorite days of the month ). I often put books back on the vote that were close seconds. The Family Tree was a book that kept coming in second, so close each time. I had a feeling it would make a great book to discuss. The desire to read it won so I finally read this much anticipated book!

All My rage

Wed, 11 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000

“Ill survive this. Ill live. But theres a hole in me, never to be filled. Maybe thats why people die of old age. Maybe we could live forever if we didnt love so completely. But we do. And by the time old age comes, were filled with holes, so many that its too hard to breathe. So many that our insides arent even ours anymore. Were just one big empty space, waiting to be filled by the darkness. Waiting to be free.”

McFadden

Tue, 26 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Wrapping up our McFadden project…

Glorious was the last on our McFadden list. We fell in love with her writing when we read Sugar last year, so much so that we unanimously decided to read through her backlist.

Summary - Glorious is set against the backdrops of the Jim Crow South, the Harlem Renaissance, and the civil rights era. Blending the truth of American history with the fruits of Bernice L. McFaddens rich imagination, this is the story of Easter Venetta Bartlett, a fictional Harlem Renaissance writer whose tumultuous path to success, ruin, and revival offers a candid portrait of the American experience in all its beauty and cruelty.

Good rich people

Sun, 24 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000

What a hilarious bud read…

I don’t know if I would have picked up this book on my own but when Juani told Sandra and I that it was her pick for her birthday month bud read we knew it would be a fun one

Summary - Lyla has always believed that life is a game she is destined to win, but her husband, Graham, takes the game to dangerous levels. The wealthy couple invites self-made success stories to live in their guesthouse and then conspires to ruin their lives.

Part of Your World

Sun, 27 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Three-star-meh-book streak broken!

I was saving Abby Jimenez’s new book Part of Your World for the perfect moment and after my millionth 3-star book I knew it was time…and it worked, I loved it!

Summary - After a wild bet, gourmet grilled-cheese sandwich, and cuddle with a baby goat, Alexis Montgomery has had her world turned upside down. The cause: Daniel Grant, a ridiculously hot carpenter who’s ten years younger than her and as casual as they comethe complete opposite of sophisticated city-girl Alexis.

Peach Blossom Spring

Sun, 27 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Peach Blossom Spring

“Within every misfortune there is a blessing and within every blessing, the seeds of misfortune, and so it goes, until the end of time.”

Summary - A beautifully novel about war, migration, and the power of telling our stories, Peach Blossom Spring follows three generations of a Chinese family on their search for a place to call home.

Beautiful doesn’t begin to describe this book. First you follow Meilin and she and her son Renshu are forced to flee their home due to war. Then you follow Renshu on his journey to and in America. Then you follow Lily, Renshu’s daughter try to navigate in a world that she isn’t sure where fits. The timeline moves quickly but it is done in a way that flows seamlessly. Having a book span as many years as this allows the reader to see the big picture of how families take root, how they acclimate, and what they hold on to. This is truly a special book, I highly recommend it.

Radical Acceptance

Sun, 20 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Perhaps the biggest trage of our lives is that freedom is possible, yet we can pass our years trapped in the same old patterns…We may want to love other people without holding back, to feel authentic, to breathe in the beauty around us, to dance and sing. Yet each day we listen to inner voices that keep our life small.

Summary - Radical acceptance is a way of coping with lifes difficulties. It involves accepting your flaws and the things that you cannot change, without being judgmental about them. Western society is constantly criticizing itself and questioning its self-worth. Radical acceptance offers an antidote to this problem by helping people accept difficult emotions without judging themselves.

People Like Her

Fri, 18 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

“What else do I not know about my wife”

Summary - I have held you every night for ten years and I didnt even know your name. We have a child together. A dog, a house. Who are you? Emma loves her husband Leo and their young daughter Ruby: shed do anything for them. But almost everything she’s told them about herself is a lie…

With a premise like that I thought I’d be sucked right in, but I wasn’t. It is described as a thriller on the front cover but I really don’t think this was a thriller, at least not the thriller you’re expecting. The first half is a slow build to figure out what secrets Emma has been keeping, I wish this had more character building, but it was all plot and not a very strong one if I’m being honest.

What the Fireflies Knew

Wed, 09 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Bonded by books…

When someone shares the amount of love you have for a particular book something special forms, a bookworm bond so to speak. Sandra and I bonded years ago over love for The Secret Life of Bees so when this book was marketed for fans of it we immediately knew we needed to read What the Fireflies Knew.

Summary - A dazzling and moving novel about family, identity, and race, What the Fireflies Knew poignantly reveals that heartbreaking but necessary component of growing upthe realization that loved ones can be flawed and that the perfect family we all dream of looks different up close.

Grant Park by Leonard Pitts Jr.

Sat, 19 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0000

February #read bud read…

Leonard Pitts, Jr is an underrated author. Two of his other books, Freeman and The Last Thing You Surrender are all-time favorite reads of mine. His writing is among some of the best and I hope his books find a place on your TBR.

Summary - Grant Park is a page-turning and provocative look at black and white relations in contemporary America, blending the absurd and the poignant in a powerfully well-crafted narrative that showcases Pitts’s gift for telling emotionally wrenching stories.

Author Appreciation Post

Sat, 29 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Author Appreciation Post…

March 2019 - one of my early bud reads was Hum If You Don’t Know the Words and still semi new-ish to bookstagram. Bianca came to our final chat and answered questions and discussed Hum with us. Couldn’t believe this space existed where we just chat with authors!

May 2019 - received an ARC of If You Want to Make God Laugh and read with some of the people from the Hum group. Second time I was blown away by Bianca’s writing.

It's that time of year

Wed, 08 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000

It’s that time of year…

Over the years I have read a self-help book here and there but I recently found that this was not effective for me. I needed to read with intention so last year I researched and selected books that had a common theme (I choose a word for the year), all chosen to help me reach a goal.

This year my word/goal was “overcome.” I chose books to help me better understand the “why” of my past. I’ll share this post in my stories.

Book Notes

Sat, 27 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

2022 #read Announcement…

I’ll be continuing my Read to Learn series in 2022. Here’s the schedule with short summaries of each book:

January - The New Jim Crow The New Jim Crow is a stunning account of the rebirth of a caste-like system in the United States, one that has resulted in millions of African Americans locked behind bars and then relegated to a permanent second-class statusdenied the very rights supposedly won in the Civil Rights Movement.

Picture this

Fri, 26 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Picture this…

It’s night time. Everyone in my house is asleep. It’s completely quiet. I reading Camilla’s Roses and got to a part that made me gasp so loud I thought I woke everyone up! Fortunately I didn’t so I kept reading because I couldn’t stop there! I read this book in one sitting, something I rarely do.

Bernice L. McFadden can write, y’all. If you’ve been following me for a bit you know that a small group of us have been reading through her backlist and not a single book so far has disappointed. Even in a short novel I connected to her characters and they ripped my heart out.

Voices in Summer by Rosamunde Pilcher

Thu, 12 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Pilcher perfect…

Summary - Newly married but convalescing after an operation, Laura Haverstock is forced to stay behind when her husband, Alec, departs on his annual sojourn to Scotland. So it is to Tremenheere–his family’s cottage on the Cornish coast–where she goes to rest. Secrets brought to light about Alec’s daughter, about jealous rivalries spawning malicious rumors and about Tremenheere’s power dispel her fears and bring her to understand the source of true love.

Praise Song for the Butterflies

Mon, 02 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0000

After two DNFs, Bernice saved me!

My first two August books weren’t working for me so a little early for our chat next week, I decided to pick this trusted author

Summary - Abeo Kata lives a comfortable, happy life in West Africa as the privileged nine-year-old daughter of a government employee and stay-at-home mother. But when the Katas i lifestyle takes a turn for the worse, Abeos father, following his mothers advice, places her in a religious shrine, hoping that the sacrifice of his daughter will serve as religious atonement for the crimes of his ancestors. Unspeakable acts befall Abeo for the fifteen years she is enslaved within the shrine. When she is finally rescued, broken and battered, she must struggle to overcome her past, endure the revelation of family secrets, and learn to trust and love again.

If Oprah says to read a book

Thu, 15 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0000

If Oprah says to read a book…

Many of Oprah’s picks have been some of my favorites over the years, here’s a few:

Cane River The Poisonwood Bible Hidden Valley Road Caste Becoming

So when The Sweetness of Water popped up I looked it up and immediately put it on hold! It’s also on Obama’s summer reading list!

Here’s a brief summary: With candor and sympathy, debut novelist Nathan Harris creates an unforgettable cast of characters, depicting Georgia in the violent crucible of Reconstruction. Equal parts beauty and terror, as gripping as it is moving, The Sweetness of Water is an epic whose grandeur locates humanity and love amid the most harrowing circumstances.

Libby for the win

Sun, 11 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Libby for the win…

I was having some serious fomo on this one but fortunately the audio became available super quickly

Summary: It is a perfect July morning, and Elle, a fifty-year-old happily married mother of three, awakens at “The Paper Palace”–the family summer place which she has visited every summer of her life. But this morning is different: last night Elle and her oldest friend Jonas crept out the back door into the darkness and had sex with each other for the first time, all while their spouses chatted away inside. Now, over the next twenty-four hours, Elle will have to decide between the life she has made with her genuinely beloved husband, Peter, and the life she always imagined she would have had with her childhood love, Jonas, if a tragic event hadn’t forever changed the course of their lives. As Heller colors in the experiences that have led Elle to this day, we arrive at her ultimate decision with all its complexity. Tender yet devastating, The Paper Palace considers the tensions between desire and dignity, the legacies of abuse, and the crimes and misdemeanors of families.

The Book of Harlan

Mon, 14 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Starting my third McFadden book…

Sugar was a book in my readtolearn series and it sparked something in a group of us. Once we finished we knew we needed to read the follow up book, The Bitter Earth. Well, spoiler alert, we loved that one as well so we decided to just continue reading her amazing backlist. Next up is The Book of Harlan.

Summary - During World War II, two African American musicians are captured by the Nazis in Paris and imprisoned at the Buchenwald concentration camp.

Book Review

Tue, 13 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Baby, everybo got their own reasons for doing things they do in life.

Brief summary: The novel opens when a young prostitute comes to Bigelow, Arkansas, to start over, far from her haunting past. Sugar moves next door to Pearl, who is still grieving for the daughter who was murdered fifteen years before. Over sweet-potato pie, an unlikely friendship begins, transforming both women’s lives–and the life of an entire town.

The Arsonists' City by Hala Alyan

Mon, 08 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Happy Pub Day to The Arsonists’ City…

“A house divided cannot stand.”

This is first and foremost a generational famaily saga BUT with Hala Alyan writing it it becomes something more…something unique and special. Alyan knows how to write characters that resonate and leap off the page. What amazes me about her writing (she also did this in Salt Houses) is she allows her characters to drive the plot with insight on geographical and political issues in a way that anyone can understand.

The Shell Seekers

Tue, 02 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0000

A 997 page book not long enough…

The size of this book was daunting as hell at first. Once I got to the last 100 pages I was dreading its ending.

A summary that doesn’t even begin to describe it but you shouldn’t read a longer one: Against the backdrop of an elegant Cornwall mansion before World War II and a vast continent-spanning canvas during the turbulent war years, this envolving story tells of an extraordinary young woman’s coming of age, coming to grips with love and sadness, and in every sense of the term, coming home…

Book Review

Thu, 21 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Brief summary: Shuggie Bain is an incredibly powerful and challenging debut novel of love, loss, and perseverance that brings light to struggle and inspires a hope for something more. As a fictional account of Stuarts own childhood in 80s Glasgow, it brings an emotional and fearsome reality to life and it will break your heart over and over.

This book felt like a mix between Angela’s Ashes meets A Little Life. Yes, those are two pretty sorrowful books and Shuggie is equally as sorrowful. I highly recommend reading with a group, it was so nice to be able to discuss the many feelings that this book makes you feel (mainly anger and sadness) with the #read group. I had to read in shorter bursts to counterbalance the sadness. I threw it down, I shed tears on its pages, and I stared at the cover (when I was listening to the audio). It is truly a remarkable story. Shuggie is one of those characters we hold in our hearts long after setting the book down.

Book Review

Tue, 05 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Summary: Vanessa Price is a 28-year-old YouTube star who travels the world using her platform to raise money and awareness for ALS. With a 50% chance that she has inherited the disease, shes determined to live her best life now because she may not make it to age 30. But her adventures are cut short when her half-sister drops off Vanessas infant niece, Grace, at her door and never comes back, catapulting Vanessa into the role of mother figure overnight. Vanessas neighbor, the sexy and successful lawyer Adrian Copeland, is a workaholic with little time for a personal lifeuntil an earsplitting four a.m. meltdown from Grace brings him to Vanessas door with an offer of help. Vanessa and Adrians meet-cute develops into a steadfast friendship and eventually a slow-burn romance.

Book Review

Tue, 28 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000

…that land’s my home. That land’s my deepest wish, my wildest dream, the only prayer and the only temple I’m ever gonna need.

This sums up Frank Starlight perfectly.

Frank Starlight has long settled into a quiet life working his remote farm, but his contemplative existence comes to an abrupt end with the arrival of Emmy, who has committed a desperate act so she and her child can escape a harrowing life of violence.

Book Review

Sun, 29 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000

We’re all born with the greatest treasures we’ll ever have in life. One of those treasures is your mind, another is your heart.

Mornings in Jenin follows four generations of the Abulheja family through upheaval and violence in their homeland. The family has deep roots in Ein Hod, a tranquil village of olive farmers. When Israel declares statehood in 1948, the peace of Ein Hod is shattered forever: The entire community is forced to move to a refugee camp in Jenin.

Book Review

Fri, 30 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

“Go now or you’ll never go.”

Evvie Drake Starts Over begins with her leaving her husband (not a spoiler, it’s in the summary). We don’t know why, in fact we don’t know much about that marriage for a little while. She’s an extremely likable character who describes feeling stuck in a relationship like being in a boat on a large bo of water and rowing and rowing and not getting anywhere but being too far to turn around so you keep trekking along hoping to find the other side. Instead of finding the other side though, she gets a phone call saying her husband was in a car accident (also not a spoiler) and has died – on the same day she was leaving him!

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