My Pantry Just recently, I’ve discovered a new genre, or at least a genre new to me. I call it the “narrative cookbook:” a book
The Paying Guests Sarah Waters’ NeoGothic ingenuity astonishes me. With every novel she writes, she tweaks my inner Charlotte Bronte, my inner Emily Bronte, my
Nein, A Manifesto Home alone, reading Eric Jarosinski’s Nein. A Manifesto, and I’m laughing so hard that tears are running down my cheeks! I don’t
Alibi Creek Bev Magennis’s knack for characterization makes the men and women of Alibi Creek sound like real denizens of the American West. She sets
Behave Creative inspirations bubble from diverse places, but recently I’ve discovered a new authorial font. Many writers seem to be imagining stories of women whose
What She Left These characters are not likeable at all!!! Not a single man or woman in T. R. Richmond’s novel, What She Left, is
My Kitchen Year: 136 Recipes That Saved My Life. Reichl’s gift, mouthwatering recipes evoking memories of our own successful and not-so-successful kitchen hours. Comfort food!
Painted Horses So many thematic threads appear in Malcolm Brooks’ novel, Painted Horses, so many ideas for mulling and musing. The romance of antiquity and
The Rise of the Red Queen Normally I avoid reviewing books written by friends, so I didn’t write a “Bookin’ for Sunny” piece about Bourne
Murder on the Last Frontier Murder on the Last Frontier is Cathy Pegau delectable new murder mystery series featuring, Charlotte Brody, an intrepid 1920s protagonist who has
Queen’s Gambit: A Novel of Katherine Parr Successful historical novels draw the reader into a bygone milieu, bringing historic characters to life while describing colorful
The Expatriates I would love to overhear a book club conversation about Janice Y. K. Lee’s novel, The Expatriates. Let me picture the composition of
The Secret Chord Normally I don’t read fact checks or other reviews before I write my own assessment of a new book. But this time,
The Hours Count Samuel Taylor Coleridge once decreed the necessity of a “willing suspension of disbelief” when reading fantastical literature, especially poetry like his own.
My Life on the Road Several times in her most recent memoir, My Life on the Road, Gloria Steinem admits her affinity for cultures that
The Daughters of Mars Recognizing the significance of the hundredth anniversary of World War I, many novelists are turning their imaginations toward the so-called “great
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