Sunny's bookshelf
Sunny's bookshelf photo by Judy Solomon

Online book reviews since 2011, the very best in reviewing – connecting good readers with equally good writers

Fiction

Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghoses
Fiction
Ann Ronald

Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts

Kate Racculia’s Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts has morphed the genre of classic gothic to “Gothic Romp.” Ever since I finished reading Kate Racculia’s novel, Tuesday Mooney

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Oh Willianm
Fiction
Ann Ronald

Oh William!

Oh William! – Strout’s Lucy Barton is back in a stand-alone novel of depth and texture, drawing the reader into a compelling story of past

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The Decent Inn of Death
British Authors
Ann Ronald

The Decent Inn of Death

The Decent Inn of Death – Rennie Airth’s sixth in the detective John Madden series and as baffling as ever, with a near-oxymoronic title. Have

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Authors of color
Ann Ronald

Washington Black

Washington Black – Esi Edugyan’s tale of a Barbados youth taken by an inventor/scientist to be his slave, only to find that the boy will

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The Weight of Snow
Fiction
Ann Ronald

The Weight of Snow

The Weight of Snow – Christian Guay-Poliquin’s novel: an existential story whose antihero protagonist is, as this reviewer puts it, “a man in a hell

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The Exiles
Fiction
Ann Ronald

The Exiles

The Exiles – The incarceration of women from 19th century Australia to 21st century California. Christina Baker Kline’s story proves that the more the world

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The Opposite of Fate
Family relationships
Ann Ronald

The Opposite of Fate

The Opposite of Fate – Rape, a resulting pregnancy, and a 16-year coma. Alison McGhee stretches the reader’s emotional imagination in profound ways. Alison McGhee’s

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When the Stars Go Dark
Crime
Ann Ronald

When the Stars Go Dark

When The Stars Go Dark: superb writing with fascinating characters is enough to make a reluctant reader recommend this novel. As a matter of personal

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The Word is Murder
British Authors
Ann Ronald

The Word is Murder

The Word is Murder – the author as a character? Horowitz muses about murder mystery writing and more. When it comes to writing murder mysteries,

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Rodham
Fiction
Ann Ronald

Rodham

Rodham – Historical fiction, a reimagining of Hillary Clinton’s life with and without Bill. Longtime readers of “Bookin’ with Sunny” know my fondness for historical

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The Phantom Tollbooth
Children’s early and middle readers
Sunny Solomon

The Phantom Tollbooth

The Phantom Tollbooth – You are never too old to read and love Norton Juster’s 1961 novel marketed for children. How is it possible to

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The Beekeeper of Aleppo
British Authors
Sunny Solomon

The Beekeeper of Aleppo

The Beekeeper of Aleppo gives voice to asylum seekers with compassion and complexity. People whose troubles we only thought we knew. Christy Lefteri’s novel The

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Spy of the first person
Fiction
Sunny Solomon

Spy of the First Person

Spy of the First Person – Novella? – Memoir? – Narrative prose poem? Sam Shepard’s last work seems to be all three. Maybe a review

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