I devoured this book—all I wanted to do is sneak away and read another chapter. Sometimes I don‘t like the current-day story as much as the historical part in this type of historical fiction, but it totally worked in this book. I LOVED it!

It‘s hard when the protagonist of your story is unlikeable—but it appears that Lydia was in fact a pretty awful person and to write this story, this retelling of Branwell Brontë‘s affair with his employer‘s wife, that had to come out. I found the details in the story fascinating even if the novel felt a little slow at times. If you‘re interested in the Brontës, I recommend this.

This book brings up so many interesting topics within the story of the friendship between a woman and her nanny. Most interesting to me are the ideas of thinking you‘re doing something to help people while making their lives more difficult—and making assumptions about people without really knowing the facts. Why is it we‘re so afraid to ask the hard questions that make things easier in any relationship?
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What a delightful little story about an English char woman who decides she will do whatever it takes to earn herself a Dior dress—and all the lives she changes in the midst of it. Sometimes I want a story that leaves me in happy tears and this was it! Lovely illustrated vintage edition!!!

Such a beautiful, atmospheric book. I love the world Morgenstern created and enjoyed the book—however, sometimes as I was reading along, I would find myself completely lost. Perhaps that‘s how the characters felt too. I think people who loved The Night Circus will probably love this too.

Perfect collection of spooky short stories for October. Some were very odd, some were touching, some scary, just a beautiful collection!

This fun mid-grade book was exactly what I needed to read right now. It‘s sort of a mix between Harry Potter and Narnia and even a little Something Wicked This Way Comes. My 12-year-old daughter is already reading it too and really liking it!

Well, this was lots of fun for October—Agatha does have a way of surprising me! Not sure how to discuss this for book club besides just having a Halloween party!

I‘ve heard a lot of people saying they didn‘t like The Testaments or that it wasn‘t needed. I personally really liked finding out what happened to Offred and her daughter. With Atwood‘s beautiful prose, The Testaments is one of my favorite books I‘ve read in several months!

This is an emotionally difficult read, but I did like the angle she took—that she was turning the person who sexually assaulted her into a human. She made a point of saying it‘s easy to hate someone who hurt you, especially when they‘re not sorry or if they‘re successful—but in this case, he was alone and depressed and she found herself thanking him and building him up. It‘s an interesting angle to take. But there are triggers in this book.

I learned a ton about Cuba and the Cuban missile crisis—Historically, it fascinated me, but the characters were just ok. I didn‘t feel much emotional connection with any of them. Strong ending though.

This book was deliciously fun to read! So fast-paced and wonderfully scandalous. No wonder they turned it into a series (which I watched on the way home from my trip). I couldn‘t get the actor‘s faces out of my head as I read though.

I wanted to read this book set in Australia because I was there. This is a memoir of a man who lived a tough life, starting work when he was 9. While I did sympathize with him, this book seemed held at a distance for me. I didn‘t connect emotionally at all. This is often my problem with non-fiction. It did give a glimpse of the landscape of Australia though.

This book is slow and a little confusing at first, but if you stick with it, it‘s worth it. It‘s the story of 5 brothers and they seem out of control and alone (which they were) but by the end, I was completely invested in their happiness.

I really liked this book—strong female protagonist, a love story, a little mystery to solve, and a happy ending. Also, it was a fast read, perfect for summer!

At the sentence level, it‘s average—but once King gets the story going, it‘s so intense! Pet Sematary will not disappoint if you‘re looking for something to keep you reading far into the night—and then it will keep you up freaked out about it when you finish. Yeah, it‘s pretty good!

A college story about a girl (Franny) who‘s trying to figure out her place in the world and her relationship with the people around her; her brother Zooey is her ultimate lifeline and helps her out of a mental breakdown. It‘s mostly dialogue and a lot of smoking—but I think this is an important piece of literature.

(I didn‘t like the way Zooey treated his mother though. That bugged me.)

What a delightful little book—part garden book, part memoir. Honestly, it had me laughing and learning about plants all at the same time. It also motivated me to get out there and do more gardening of my own. I‘ve never read a gardening book—sounds boring to me—but this definitely wasn‘t!

Such an interesting premise for a book—A slave woman (who looks completely white) has a baby at the same time as her mistress (who dies) and then switches them because nobody can tell a difference between the two. It‘s a mystery, entirely readable, and an interesting study in race at that time in Missouri. I loved Roxy‘s character and Pudd‘nhead. Very good!

Definitely not Forman‘s strongest book, but I am glad I stuck with it—the beginning gives us a fairly unlikeable character Maribeth, who almost dies and then does some out of character things that makes me honestly despise her for a while. However, about 2/3 in, it all starts to come together and by the end, I was rooting for her and even cried a bit.

I read a prose translation of the Canterbury Tales (my book was titled The Story of the Canterbury Pilgrims) and it was very readable. This may have been the first stories within a story book (but maybe not) and featured stories the characters on their pilgrimage told to pass the time as they traveled on horses. My favorite was probably Patient Griselda or The Knight‘s Tale. I compared my version to the Middle English and can see value in both.

Another strong installment of Cusk's unusual style of writing where she observes life from being told stories, rather than being the protagonist of the story. I may not have loved this as much as the first book but it's still a very good book and I'll definitely be reading the next book right away.

This story about how a girl narrowly avoids death so many times is not a light one; however, it's an important book about an immigrant from Italy, about strong women, and how they try to fight to protect themselves and each other.

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This was the perfect book to start summer off! Cute storyline, engrossing, fun characters--I seriously couldn't put it down!

Some of the essays really spoke to me, some were funny—all around, this was a fun book to read. I think this will appeal more to people who are mothers

A woman inherits an old house in a small country village (from her Cousin she only met once as a child) and decides to leave her life in London to settle there. I loved the idea that the house was a character and that she grew to love her cousin from sharing it with her—and the other things she left there, like the tiny things. Some of the side stories in the village became a little lengthy for me, but overall, I really liked this one!

The Darling Buds of May is an outrageous, over-the-top comedy about a family who is trying to avoid paying taxes and confusing the tax guy by not letting him leave and feeding him and trying to push their daughter on him. Some parts were admittedly funny, while sometimes I felt like it was just too much. I could see how this book could rub some people the wrong way. ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 💫

Graphic memoir is quickly becoming a new favorite genre of mine. This books reads quickly, it‘s funny and is so important on so many levels. It‘s a strange world we live in and trying to make sense of it is still difficult for adults, not to mention kids (the questions her son asks is part of the brilliance of this book). All I can say is—read this book!

Mostly I loved this book and the story definitely kept my interest, but sometimes Kya spouting off poetry randomly bugged me: I mean, I love poetry, but that whole part of the story didn‘t really make sense until the very ending. It does read like a YA love story and I‘m not sure which genre this fits into, but I still really liked it! Can‘t wait for the movie!

The format in interview style was a surprise to me but it worked—and made for really quick pacing. I think all the hype about this book was worth it. I loved it—especially the ending!

This book is brilliantly structured and very well written. It revolves around normal everyday people who have a history with the love of trees and affect each other whether they know it or not. Pretty much, it‘s a a lesson on loving the Earth done in the least preachy way. So many memorable things that I continue to think about after I finished. Highly recommended!

I haven‘t read a book that felt so vivid and showed a true depiction of humanity in a long time. Outline was simple and beautifully written and is a new favorite! Someone had recommended it to me when I asked whether you‘d read a book that didn‘t contain a relationship—not love but any kind of relationship—but I disagree: This book was full of people telling their stories in an attempt at being understood by each other and themselves. Beautiful!

Okay, this second book in the Corfu trilogy may have even been better than the first. I love these stories about animals and this hilarious family all living on the island of Corfu. I‘ll definitely be reading the third book as soon as I can get my hands on a copy! So delightful!

This book reads slowly, but I was fascinated by the butterfly migration and global warming aspects of the novel. From a science standpoint, it captured me. While I didn‘t dislike Dellarobia as a character, I felt she was young and obviously immature and sadly (as she‘s explaining to her son at the end) she has a hard time seeing the big picture. I hoped she could find a way to balance her newfound love of science and try to love her husband.

I so enjoyed reading Flush—it‘s very readable (unlike some of her more stream-of-consciousness fiction). I liked also getting the beauty of Woolf‘s descriptions along with the biographical information about Elizabeth Barrett‘s and Robert Browning‘s courtship and early marriage. Plus, through a dog‘s unique perspective!

This book has such an interesting concept—two bibliophiles create a bookshop in Paris that only includes “good novels.” There‘s a secret committee of writers who are behind the lists of books included that are eventually targeted and even hurt. The story focuses on trying to find out who is behind these attacks. An interesting concept but I felt the ending was a little weak. Great book for bibliophiles!

I brought Corelli‘s Mandolin along with me to Greece because I love reading books “on sight”—they make me feel like the setting is coming alive. And I pressed wildflowers from the island of Mykonos into it as I took it along with me everywhere. The story is beautiful, funny and heartbreaking—and while the ending was romantic, it was a little frustrating too. Still, i cried through the last third of it which means it got me!

This is the memoir of Diana Athill who worked in publishing in London her whole life. She tells how she got into the publishing house, what things she had to do and how she was paid. The second half of the book was about her dealings with several big-name authors. It was interesting, but I didn‘t love it. I never felt completely absorbed in the book.

Goudge is quickly becoming one of my favorite writers! Her stories are sweet and heartfelt and I love to see the growth happening in the characters, secondary and main. One of my favorite things about this book was the way the Dean opening his eyes to those around him mirrored his understanding of the inner workings of the clocks Mr Peabody worked on. It was such a beautiful metaphor for the entire book. At the end, I teared up, again. Lovely!

I like to read books set in places I‘m going before I travel there. This Rough Magic was recommended to me because it had so many parallels to Shakespeare‘s The Tempest and is set on a Greek island, Corfu which I didn‘t realize people speculate that‘s where The Tempest was set! The actual mystery storyline wasn‘t nearly as magical to me as the setting and the characters and all the Shakespeare talk!

I‘ve been slowly working through A.E. Housman‘s poetry collection, A Shropshire Lad, and am finishing it up this morning, which is kind of perfect since it‘s World Poetry Day! I loved A Shropshire Lad—it‘s written simply but with an underlying darkness of death and the beauty of a boy‘s memories of home.

What a beautiful book! It started off with two storylines seemingly in two very different places—a concert pianist in Russia and a 20-something girl mechanic in California. As the stories progress, they come closer and closer and you can see the similar thread in their stories, their shared love (almost dependence) on a particular piano. When the stories converge, it feels right—especially how it ends. A lovely book!

Epic, beautifully written and brilliant—however, it was a little too political for me in parts (and some parts were just brutal to read—violence, rape, etc) so while I very much enjoyed this story—and wasn‘t bothered at all by the magical realism parts—it won‘t get 5 stars from me.

This was an honest look into the life of a woman who suffers from insecurities while in college, then into a relationship, into marriage and ultimately into her family. Clearly Casale knows how to write. Some chapters were extraordinarily brilliant, and then sometimes I was thinking how I didn‘t like the main character. It felt a little disjointed at times but overall ended very beautifully.

There‘s something about Kate Morton‘s novels that speak to me! The houses that take on a life of their own, the mysteries and the natural elements. This book is no exception. It‘s another great story. However, there are a ton of side storylines that can get a little confusing because of the amount of characters, so don‘t expect an easy read. But this ended perfectly and her endings always remind me why I love Morton‘s stories so much!

This story is shockingly true and so heartbreaking. A born-free black man is drugged and sold into slavery in New Orleans and he details the horrible situation he endured while trying to get back to his family in New York in this book. Such an important story!

I loved the three short novels found in Pale Horse, Pale Rider. All three of them packed a punch and were very different, but so well-written. I would recommend Porter‘s stories to almost everyone.

We get a little more of the Sylvia Plath we love in this story—and it won‘t disappoint! It‘s dark and ominous and knowing what we do about Plath, you‘ll feel like you got a little more of her soul. I devoured it this morning! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I haven‘t read a book that took over my life so much for a long time. Once I started reading, I couldn‘t stop. It was heartbreaking to see the way Tara was raised, how manipulation was so much of her early childhood and even more heartbreaking when she started seeing what was real but couldn‘t quite break off from that horrible family situation. Sad and profound and I‘ll be thinking about this book for a while. 😢

I think maybe it‘s been too long since I‘ve read a romantic comedy. This felt so light that I kept wondering when we were going to get to real life problems. 🤔 Maybe I should read more of these lighter books so it won‘t feel like such a jump in the future. Some of the dialogue felt a little too perfect—and perhaps Carlos was just a little too perfect 🤔