REVIEW A Box Full of Darkness by Simone St. James

 

I love me a good St. James novel especially when it's particularly close to Halloween because her books seem to combine just the right amount of dark and supernatural and mystery so I was very excited when I learned that she had a new book coming out. This novel is set in Fell, NY (the same town that The Sundown Motel was set in). Fairly early on in the book, you find out that three siblings - Dodie, Vail and Violet Esmie, have a brother named Ben that disappeared one day while they were playing hide and go seek and has not been found.  These acts happened 18 years earlier. The siblings have decided that it is finally time to return to the family home in Fell (which has remained empty since their parents' death) to find out what happened to Ben and why Violet is only called "Sister." Each of the siblings seems to have a special, natural power - Violet can see ghosts, Vail sees lights and Dodie is haunted by water that continuously drowns her. 

I genuinely enjoyed this book - it had the right amount of spookiness and terror and the pacing was very good.  The book is slow burn Gothic, which is exactly what I was looking for. However, there was simply too much going on such that St. James couldn't seem to tie it all up neatly for us. Don't get me wrong, it's really good, until the end, which was disappointing. The character that I enjoyed the most was Vail, followed closely by Violet. I could deal a little less with Dodie, who seemed like a stereotype on legs. This is definitely a good, solid read by this author, although perhaps not her best.  I look forward to her future novels.  

Links I love

 

I have had my surgery and am waiting for results. I was worried about the anesthesia but that turned out to be ok.  I'm trying to take it easy and give my body some grace while I recover. I'm still feeling pretty sore and I had a headache and sore throat for a few days (I was intubated). 

1. Grace Walker's debut book wins a major award,
2. Why you wake up earlier the older that you get. 
3. What a breast lump feels like.
4. Why witches are depicted with pointy hats. 
5. Pope Leo is getting lung surgery this week. He apparently has lung cancer.
6. Two Americans won the Nobel Prize in Economics. 
7. Here's what to do if you're unsure about your measles vaccine status.
8. Classic Mexican novels.
9. Campus mysteries that look intriguing. 
10. RJ Mitte, who played Walter Jr. in Breaking Bad, has passed away.
11. Have you ever run political attack ads - in the wrong state?
12. Books that combine true crime and a Gothic feel.
13. What does it mean to be well read?
14. The Nikon comedy animal awards are up.
15. If you use Libby, here are some tips from a librarian.
16. This just put me into overload.
17. If you're like me, you hate the longer nights and early darkness. Here are some ideas for improving your mood.
18. Best horror books of the century.
19. The biggest stars of the 70's and where they are now.
20. Sally Roony can no longer sell her books in the UK.
21. Maybe I will try to make this.
22. 20 celebrities that you didn't know were twins.
23. The scariest movie in the year that you were born.
24. Halloween traditions that don't exist anymore.
25. I love locally roasted coffee. They are online here.
26. Make a sick day kit for flu and cold days.
27. Five works of folk horror that aren't for the weak hearted.
28. Some essential books for understanding North Korea's cult of personality.
29. 9 words from the sixties that we still use today.
30. 25 songs that were written for only the movies.
31. How TikTok is changing the English language. 
32. Baby Cheetahs - on Livestream!!
33. 7 extraordinary indigenous sites from the US
34. Freddie Mercury would have been 80 this year and so his costumes are taking center stage at an exhibit.
35. Books to read before they hit the screen.
36. Ultimate fall 2026 reading list.
37. WHat do ghosts, witches and vampires smell like?
38. There are new treatment rules for menopause treatment.
39. There is a new movie - on Elizabeth Holmes?!
40. Barnes and Noble picks for the best books of 2026.
41. Trying to move past the stereotyping of the American South.
42. Five essential books to understand the Venetian ghetto and Jewish history.
43. Thoughts while re watching When Harry Met Sally.
44. 7 regency era etiquette rules that would drive people mad today.
45. 
    

I'm currently reading The Last Girl and listening to Greenlights.

REVIEW Taipei Story by RF Kuang

 

This novel follows Lily Chen, a college student at Yale, who travels to Taiwan to study in an immersive, intensive language program in Taipei with other college students. The trip seems doomed to failure right from the start - Lily and her roommate have misjudged their living arrangements (the plumbing is unreliable, it is very small and cramped in the apartment, they don't like each other much), the program is way more rigorous than she thought it would be and she seems to be constantly burnt out from not being able to communicate in Chinese with the people that live in Taiwan. That doesn't stop her from really yearning and hoping that she will fit in someday due to her Chinese heritage. The novel is set in the city of Taiwan with its smells, food, cultural experiences and people. 

I generally really enjoyed this novel and finished it fairly quickly.  This wasn't a typical Kuang book (she also wrote Babel and Katabasis) and I thought that it was not only brave that she was exploring different genres but also that she generally did a good job. She was exploring themes related to coming of age, culture shock, shame at failing your heritage and being too American. The book seems to be almost completely introspective. Lily is experiencing things and we are witnessing her inner monologue as she experiences them.  I really enjoy learning about people and so I enjoyed this - even though Lily wasn't always likeable (I don't think she was meant to me). Having said that, I was disappointed by the ending, which felt more like the middle of a chapter than an actual ending - although I very much related to the feeling of goodbyes with people that you have been immersed with for a while.

I generally thought that this was a very good first effort.  

REVIEW: Black Dahlia by William Mann

 

I'm obsessed with True Crime, if you couldn't tell.  This was and is the OG true crime mystery and still hasn't been solved. It has been, in my opinion, a long time coming as it is very victim centered and works to debunk the victim blaming that has occurred for decades. 

For those of you that don't know, Elizabeth Short has been identified as the Black Dahlia - a woman that was found bloodless and bisected at her torso (and obviously dead) in a grassy lot on a very cold January morning in 1957 in Los Angeles. In writing this book, Professor Mann has relied upon documents that he got through FOIA requests which included but are not limited to autopsy reports, grand jury transcripts and police reports.  In writing this book, the author hopes to humanize Elizabeth, although he cannot give us any further ideas as to who may have committed this horrible act. Ms. Short's means were particularly limited - she was one of four girls that was being raised by a single mother in Medford, MA after her cruel father left the family.  In the wake of World War II, she was one of many young girls that migrated to LA hoping to break into Hollywood. She often left behind debts in rooming houses and relied upon men to buy her lunch at the lunch counters. Her teeth were terrible, and she often fixed them with melted wax poured into her mouth. 

What I really loved about this book was how it captured the LA of the turn of the century and really attempted to humanize the victim.  His book focuses less on who the killer was and actually focuses on SHort's last months in an effort to assist in figuring out who she was. It also was an encyclopedia of mess-ups on the part of the LAPD, including officers that go rogue and failures to account for certain suspect's and their alibis.  

I very much enjoyed this intriguing and well researched book, and appreciated the perspective that it provided.  Definitely a much needed take on an approximately 80 year old case. 

Links I love

 

It finally started to get cold this weekend. We had our first frost advisory and I had to turn the heat on. I was hoping to get to November before doing it but here we are.  I got tagged for my surgery which is on Thursday.  Things are starting to feel really real now. I am scared mostly that I won't wake from surgery, at least in the immediate future, and long term, that it has actually spread to multiple body parts.  

• No one expected Leo to be Pope, except those who knew him as Bob.
• Just short of it's 200th  birthday, a natural history museum shuts down.
• Some of these look good.
• Five funny science fiction books.
• According to some editors, these are the best movies to watch during spooky season.
• Some "dad jokes" that will leave you in stitches.
• The Nobel Prize in Medicine goes to three scientists who were researching brain activity.
• Nine novels about people that are the poorest people in the room.
• Michael Douglas in the limelight.
• 11 contemporary books perfect for autumn reading.
• 7 smells that defined fall in the 1980'a.
• Locations from horror books that you can actually visit.
• Here is the National Book Award shortlist for poetry and the shortlist for fiction. The list for translated literature is also out.
• Oprah has selected her latest book club read.
• Epistolary thrillers that let the evidence do the talking.
• On the life and death cycles in Sylvia Plath's work
• The best new historical fiction coming out this month.
• Best epics for for those that like fantasy books.
• 18 books about librarians.
• Why does the Headless Horseman carry a pumpkin?
• Decline in reading is the main threat tMusto the EU book trade.
• The Kirkus book awards for 2026 have been announced.
• Thrillers most famous lawyers.
•  Must read historical mysteries of the fall.
• The biggest scary movies for each year in the 80's.

I am currently reading A Box Full of Dreams by Simone St, James - it's her most recent and has the perfect creepy vibes for right now.  I'm listening to This is Me: A Reckoning by Hayden Pannetiere and is narrated by her, which is very odd given her recent, tragic death.

REVIEW The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

 

I read this book in high school and loved it and that feeling still remains after this reading. I picked this book up because my daughter is reading this and wanted to be able to talk about it in a more in depth way.  The narrator of this book is Nick Carraway, Gatsby's neighbor, although he is definitely from a different socioeconomic class than Gatsby is. At the beginning of the novel, Nick has only heard of Gatsby and his parties. Everyone seems to have been to one. One night Nick gets invited to a party and it absolutely changes his life. We learn about a man whose reputation really outshines his substance. He is rumored to have studied at Oxford, been a war hero and has so, so many outlandish stories.  But when we get down to it, we learn that Gatsby is tragically flawed and that is his undoing.

Although some might find the plot slow, I didn't feel that way at all.  The prose and tension building is beautifully written. It really makes you sit back and really re-assess your priorities in life (much much less than a cancer diagnosis is but there we are). Its deconstruction of the American Dream is absolutely brilliant.  This novel, though short, definitely deserves its status as the great American novel. 

I am selling my copy - you can find it here. 

REVIEW The Thoroughbreds by Elin Hilderbrand

 

This is the sequel to the Academy which came out last year I believe.  The characters from last year are now Seniors, worried about SAT's, college applications and graduation. Additionally, the teens we met last year are also going through some interesting experiences.  The Golden couple - Charlie and East - are fighting a lot. The star QB - Dubs - and his go to wide receiver/best friend are seemingly estranged. ANd there's a new day student - Pippa Sacks - is really upsetting the social landscape at the boarding school. And the Dean is also dealing with financial issues.Over the summer, the school somehow lost like 7 million out of its operating budget. 

This book was exactly what I needed to read after reading about white supremacy in the last book that I reviewed. This is fast, frothy and light, but also kept my interest. Who doesn't like a boarding school novel? Especially in the fall? I enjoyed how the book took apart the college application process as well as the life at a boarding school.  There never really was a moment where I thought that the book should move more quickly, the pacing was pretty good. What I didn't not particularly like is that everything seemed to resolve too neatly.  They were sometimes abrupt. However, that being said, it's still a very compelling read and I would recommend it. 

If you like Elin Hilderbrand, I'm selling an autographed copy. If you are a Pangobooks member, you can also make me an offer.  

REVIEW: American Reich by Erich Lichtbau

 

A co-worker told me about this book first, which put it on my radar and then I read about it on NPR and thought that it was a sign that I needed to read it so I got it from my library. This book looks at the simmering growth of white supremacy in Orange County, CA through the lens of the 2018 murder of Blaze Bernstein, a gay Jewish man, by Sam Woodward, a high school classmate Neo-Nazi. It also incorporates other cases (more superficially) and the history of white supremacy in the United States.  Sam Woodward was part of a shadowy Neo-Nazi group called the Atomwaffen Division and he lured Bernstein out, then stabbed him 28 times before hiding his body in a local park. Woodward was ultimately convicted of the homicide in 2024 and is currently serving a life sentence for the crime.

This book was as fascinating and essential as it was shocking and disheartening to me. It details the surge of Neo-Nazism in the last decade and clearly links that surge to the presidencies of Donald Trump, whose statements have seemingly provided permission for these groups to operate openly, as opposed to in the shadows that were previously in. This book not only details the history but also discusses the number of murders linked to these groups that never actually reach the national news media. It was truly shocking. This book was truly engrossing, well written and necessary. Lichtbau has clearly done his research and has made that research accessible to all in this book. It is a valuable expose of the far right that everyone should read regardless of your political persuasion. Run out and get this one ASAP.

Links that I loveree

 

These past few weeks have begun to feel like autumn.  I love this weather!  Autumn is my favorite time of year. I now switch between hot and iced coffee depending on my mood - in late spring and summer I prefer just iced coffee.

On the cancer front, I have a lumpectomy scheduled for October 15 and I have had genetic testing, which has revealed that I do NOT have any of the genes, or gene misfirings, that cause breast, uterine, ovarian or cervical cancer.  This is very reassuring.  

On the reading front, I have met my Goodreads goal of reading 75 books this year!  Everything else is now icing on the cake!  

• 10 classic novels that are the perfect fall read. 
• Kyle Maclachlan reflects on working with David Lynch.
• Cardio v. strength training for heart health.
• Are these stressors speeding up your aging process?
• Four books that complicate motherhood.
• 8 quiet books to read to block out the noisy world. 
• The real story behind the "witches" of England. On a related note, why English law used hanging to punish witches while Scottish laws used burning.
• Exercise after cancer.t 
• Obama's new podcast is the best kind of book club.
• What is healing fiction?
• October 2026 BOTM selections.
• Kit Harrington's favorite books.
• 6 mysteries set in the early historical period.
• The ten states with the worst weather.
• Top song from every year of the 70's.
• This book is on my nightstand!
• Parental rage is real, but NPR can help with some ideas to control it.
• People think of everything.
• America's best student podcasts
• First novel prize shortlist has been announced.
• 5 horror novels set in Georgia written by Georgian authors. And five horror novels set in country grand mansions. Tis the season.
• The best James Baldwin books.
• 92 cozy fall reads.
• Naps and longevity - is there a link?'
• The True story behind the Widower (which is on Netflix),
• 14 movies to look out for in the fall
• Four books for you to read if you enjoyed Practical Magic.
• Books that the author wishes that she had as an undocumented child.
• Libraries in Kentucky are seeing more books checked out with the cell phone bans.
• Secret lives of men who read romance novels.
• A 1700 year old Egyptian tomb has been discovered. This has always been really fascinating to me.
• 20 best books to read in October, according to Kirkus. And 20 books to read for book lovers, again according to Kirkus.
• Books to read if you haven't read any books as a fully formed adult.
• The finalists for the 2026 Circador prize. 
• This little guy was found on Cape Cod.
• Some books to look forward to this fall from NPR.
• 9 suspense books with unforgettable settings. 
• Books recommended by Ms Magazine.

I am currently reading Black Dahlia and listening to Greenlights.

REVIEW: Sisters of the Midnight Sun by Rebecca Wright Stevens

 

Not going to lie, I have an obsession with True Crime. This is the story of the 1993 murder of 2 sisters in the Northernmost point of Alaska. Their bodies were discovered in one of the sisters' homes. The bodies appeared to have been moved and a sexual assault seemed to have occurred. Ms. Stevens, one of the local Public Defenders, was assigned to represent one of the main suspects in the case. Her legal journey with him forms a bulk of the basis of the memoir, although she recounts her life living in Alaska as well (which is also absolutely fascinating).  As such, it is a penetrating, memorable and amazing memoir of her time in the Arctic Circle. 

What I found most fascinating was the tension between the American justice system, which ensures rights to a defendant such as a jury trial, rights of confrontation and due process and rights to privacy whereas the Iñupiaq method is infinitely older and requires that the community be involved in determining the fate of the Accused. If the community determines that the Accused is guilty, then retribution could be swift and fatal. It could also include banishment to the tundra which is also fatal. 

This is a tremendously skilled and intriguing narrative.  Stevens does a wonderful job in weaving her own narrative of her time in Alaska with her job as a Public Defender there. I loved how she described her feelings towards representing her client as well as the location. I also enjoyed learning about the tension that existed between the two cultures and gained a deeper appreciation of indigenous culture as well as the struggles that pervade it.  This was a fascinating, well paced and important book. Highly recommend.

REVIEW: A Hymn for Life by Gisele Pelicot

 

I heard about this amazing woman and her memoir on a podcast that I listen to regularly. Some of the research that was done was taken from this book. This book is part memoir and part social commentary - it incorporates flashbacks to her time in the infamous "Pelicot" trial, which was horrifying, by all accounts. It also incorporates commentary on her interpersonal relationships with all of the people in her life - from her husband, to her children and her friends. 

For nearly a decade Ms. Pelicot was regularly drugged by her husband such that she would become unconscious.  While she was unconscious, her husband would assault her and then have at least 72 other men come over to sexually assault her while she was passed out. His crimes were only uncovered after he was arrested for "upskirting" women at the local shops and his computer revealed evidence of the crimes committed against Gisele. This memoir also chronicles her journey to healing, dealing with the trauma and, ultimately, holding him and the other offenders be held accountable. A big part of this was her decision to waive her right to privacy at the trial - in France, sexual assault victims have the right to a closed trial so that their privacy is protected but Ms. Pelicot decided to waive that.

I was so happy that I first heard about this story, in depth, through her memoir and in her own words. It was refreshingly candid and open and vulnerable.  I highly respected her candidness and strength in coming forward. It was a remarkably well written and fast paced memoir that drew me in.  I literally sped through it. The reduction in the complexity of her writing makes the book accessible and aids the narrative. I felt like I was having coffee with her as she was describing what happened to her.  

This is a must read as it brings a tragically common form of sexual assault to the forefront. 

REVIEW: Self-Hep for Serial Killers by Asia MacKay

 This is actually the second book in the series, which began with A Serial Killer's Guide to Marriage, although I somehow didn't know this at the time that I selected the book from the library.  The first book introduced readers to the marriage of Hazel and Fox, and this book continues with their story. It is split into five parts: Mindfulness, Self-Sacrifice, Boundaries, Resilience, and Positivity, all of which are meant to be ironic.  Each section opens with a quote by a famous mommy blogger that is intended to be inspirational - she's an influencer after all - and the second quote is from Hazel, which demonstrates the starkness of parenting. 

Foxand Hazel really are in no position to give parenting advice as they bring their four month old to dispose of a body. We learn quickly that Fox is experiencing performance anxiety because he recently botched a kill and is seeing a therapist. Hazel also doesn't feel like she fits in with the other moms at her school so she is going through something very similar emotionally. In the course of their killing and living their lives, they have somehow managed to draw the attention of a dangerous and lethal group to their doorstep so the couple needs to get their poop in a group and FAST as it's not just about surviving in suburbia but it's about fighting for their lives.

What I loved about this book is that it is a tongue in cheek, very witty and satirical look at serial killer teams. I found myself laughing out loud multiple times in this novel, much to the chagrin of my teenage daughter (as I would read in public and would embarrass her). It was a quick, easy and intriguing read, that kept my attention and was a really nice break from the serious stuff I had been reading (about a mass killing!). This novel is definitely worth the read.

Links that I love=

 

I apologize for missing last week.  Things have been quite hectic around here.  I'm trying to be better while also preparing for my upcoming treatment.

If you would like to do something for me, I have an Amazon wishlist.

• Examples of memoirs.
• Some good gothic mystery novels.
• It's fat bear week apparently.
• Why so many cities have Spanish names.
• The witch cake that Salem residents use to detect witchcraft
• There's a new book about Princess Diana penned by her brother.
• Some apple recipes for the fall.
• The Booker Prize shortlist this year is writing at its best.
• An emergency dig is going on in Alaska to save artifacts before next storm.
• 5 weird crime novels set in the Australian suburbs.
• The letter that Hemingway wrote to F Scott Fitzgerald about self doubt.
• A new Romeo and Juliet adaptation is coming out. I loved the Claire Danes/Leo DiCaprio one, which still holds up BTW.
• George Lucas new museum opens.
• This is interesting.
• Ethan Hawke's favorite books.
• Books where the main character may be a psychopath.
• Which big fall book should you read?
• 6 real places that inspired F Scott Fitzgerald.
• Acting is doing according to Willem Defoe.
• Are work and brain health connected?
• There's an adaptation of Atmosphere in the works.
• The best true crime of September, 2026.
• Encyclopedia Brown and the ethics of amateur sleuthing.
• Seven books that reimagine how trauma is told.
• Booksellers are sounding the alarm.
• Every Great Gatsby adaptation mixed.
• Most popular Halloween candy in each state.
• Facts about the Unabomber.
• One nightstand with Nick Robinson.
• The best of the Booker List 2026

REVIEW The Killer and Frank Lloyd Wright by Casey Sherman

 

I saw this book and was intrigued - the famous architect and a killer?  This was a true crime book that I could get behind. However, I was kind of disappointed because the killer part of Wright's life was only a little slice of the book - instead of taking a deep dive into it, it was a small part of the book.  The book, however, was still completely fascinating.

The book starts with biographical history - Sherman writes about Wright's childhood  and the time that he spent on a family farm in Wisconsin (which was had a large impact on him - he hated it and ran away!). During his college years, he realizes that he infinitely preferred the urbanity of Chicago and knew that he wanted to be an architect. While in Chicago, he is able to charm himself into the orbits of wealthy, influential people and also marry a woman that was significantly younger then him - Kitty was, if I remember correctly, 17 at the time of her marriage to Wright. Kitty and Frank have four children in short order and she is responsible for raising them, while Wright earns money (except that he spends more than he makes). Ultimately, Frank meets Mamah Cheney - who, even though she is married to another man and has children of her own with him - is Frank's soul mate and they end up carrying on a not very well concealed affair. During a trip to Europe, the tabloid press picks up the story since Frank is quite famous at this time, and Kitty, who refuses to consent to a divorce, uses the press to her favor. 

Upon the couple's return to the States, Frank and Mamah go to Wisconsin to live at Taliesin in Wisconsin, where the couple's severely mentally ill cook, Carlton, kills a number of people at the ranch (including Mamah and her children) and burns it down.   This is the crux of the book,

I enjoyed learning about Frank Lloyd Wright even though I had initially picked up the book expecting a true crime read.  His architecture changed the landscape of American homes and landscape, so it was good to learn more about him.  However, I felt like the title was a bit misleading as that part of the book was only a small slice of things.  Sherman clearly researched the book thoroughly and the book itself doesn't get bogged down in dry prose.  

Definitely pick it up - worth the read. 

Links I love

 

I have had a very tough week.  I have been diagnosed with breast cancer.  We are still in the staging phase although the testing that I have had shows some positive signs.  It is very slow growing and signs point to it being responsive to hormone suppression therapy. I learned on Friday that I'm a clinical stage 1, which is the best place that I can be with this diagnosis.  Of course, it could change once pathology has the chance to do their thing after surgery.  It has been quite a ride so far.   I found the concerning part myself during a self exam. Please, please, please do your self-exams and encourage the women in your life to do theirs because it literally could have just saved my life.

I'm thinking of starting a blog about my journey. I'm also creating a cancer fighting playlist.  If you have any suggestions, please let me know. Cancer has chosen the wrong girl!

• Literature program gets funding!
• 60 years later, Star Trek lives long and prospers.
• How literature has wrestled with 9/11.
• There is a new Carrie adaptation coming up.
• My mind has been on fighting lately so here are some books about global protest movements.
• Best non fiction books of the century so far.
• I'm looking forward to this.
• Pulitzer prize winning biographies and autobiographies.
• NPR has some suggestions for fall tv viewing.
• I didn't even know they were together.
• Oprah's book club turns 30,
• Some movies coming out this fall.
• The most anticipated crime and thriller releases coming out in the fall.
• Celine Dion is back in action.
• The Legend of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

I am currently reading Sisters of the Midnight Sun and listening to Wayward Girls,

REVIEW The Sisters by Jonas Hassen Khemiri

 

This book is certainly long but it didn't feel long to read at all.  It is an epic novel about three enigmatic sisters and a young man's relationship relative to them. It is specifically about the Mikkola sisters - Ina, Evelyn and Anastasia - and a young man named Jonas (the author perhaps) who has lived his life being completely obsessed and enthralled by them, living in their orbit but hoping eventually to live in their world. It spans decades of time - it starts at one year and then the time covered goes down. It also spans a multitude of places - Sweden, Tunisia and New York to name a few. 

I absolutely loved the characters and couldn't get enough of them. They were so real and the narrator (Jonas) was subtly placed as the observer.  It simply added to the story in a way that was not heavy handed and was absolutely subtle. What I additionally enjoyed was how it absolutely captured the messiness of marriage. One of the sisters visiting their mother as an adult was absolutely haunting and stays with me even now. 

Definitely worth the commitment!

Links I love

 

This has been quite a week here. My son started his first day of classes at college this week and my daughter is doing driver's ed! I owe you at least two reviews - they should be out next week.

• If you like memoirs, here are some to try.'
• Scots, historical fiction and more.
• The books that shaped you in high school.
• 14 new books that will help you ease your way into fall.
• Your guide to Dolly Parton's crime movies.
• What is true crime literature?
• 28 pictures of people posing at the WTC prior to 9/11.
• The significance of dogs in literature.
• The trailer for East of Eden is here.
• Gothic Horror set across the Globe.
• Gloria Steinem has passed away. Later in life, she found herself free from gender constraints.
• What the heck?
• The benefit of reading over coffee can sharpen your focus all day.
• Where to start if you are interested in reading books by Emily St. John Mandel.

I hope everyone has a good week.

Links I Love

 

This was a big week in our house. School started, my son moved into college and my daughter started driver's education!  CRAZY I tell you. In memory of Tim Cruise, I rewatched Clue - which I LOVED as a child.  

• Five page turning crime books involving nature.
• What can the ghost of Sylvia Plath teach us about grief?
• The Kirkus short list prize finalists are out.
• The book club picks this month.
• Some fantasy/sci fi mystery books.
• 5 mysteries that blend cozy, horror and romance.
• We lost Tim Curry too. An Ode to Tim Curry's Pennywise..
• 6 common pets in medieval times. 
• The most popular album in the year you graduated from high school.
• Some books that explore women's horror fiction.
• 7 great horror novels set in the American South.
• How Dolly was mourned. 
• 15 books that the folks at Electric Literature loved from this summer,
• I would also break into fisticuffs over Anne PAtchett
• 15 novels featuring dogs.
• Finalists from the 2026 Kirkus award have been announced. 
• Check out these supplements if you're like me and over 40 trying to build muscle. 

Have a great week!

Rest in peace, Dolly.

 

Dolly Parton, a national treasure, has passed away at the age of 80. The world has lost a phenomenal force - I admired her for her brains, class, talent, and her fight to increase literacy among children.  

Dolly, thank you for all that you have done for us and for trying to make this world a better, kinder place.  I hope that  you find peace in heaven.  Godspeed.

REVIEW: Whistler by Ann Patchett

 Ann Patchett is quickly becoming a favorite author of mine. I loved The Dutch House and Whistler is also a new favorite of mine.  In the nature of full disclosure, I love literary fiction about families and this is most assuredly what this novel is.  

This novel focuses on the relationship between Daphne Fuller and Eddie Triplett, who are a daughter and stepfather with a love that transcends trauma, a divorce and a weird twist. They reunite after a span of 45 years at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in what is one of the most serendipitous moments that I can remember. The precipitating event was a car accident on a snowy road that left both Eddie and Daphne trapped inside and a divorce very shortly thereafter which Daphne believes is her fault (I mean, Eddie crashed the car with her inside and they could have died, so it's a reasonable assumption). We learn about Eddie and Daphne during dialogue between the characters that contain vague references and flashbacks to the actual accident.  I LOVED this - it was perfect in keeping me interested and wanting to know more, the pacing was on point and, as usual, Patchett's writing is just lovely.

I felt like the characters were very real and relatable characters.  They were well developed and I found myself often nodding along with them and their statements. The whole book also felt just very...KIND and it shown in how the characters interacted with each other. I loved the themes of love within families and how that can look differently to different people within different relationships or even within the same relationship.  It is also about second chances.

I cherished this lovely book and I hope that you will too.