I finished The Leavers by Lisa Ko before our long weekend away in the North Carolina mountains—which is why you didn’t see a Bookshelf post last week. It’s a story about the separation of a mother Polly/Peilan and her son Daniel/Deming. Deming’s an interesting character. He never gets over the separation because he doesn’t know why …
I didn’t make as much time as I would have liked for books this week, so I’m still reading these three: The Leavers by Lisa Ko A Life of Spice: Stories of Food, Culture and Life by Monica Bhide Men We Reaped: A Memoir by Jesmyn Ward Next week, I’ll let you know what I …
Happy St. Patrick’s Day. If you’d like to get into the Irish spirit, check out the post I published earlier this week, On My Irish Bookshelf. It includes a list of recommended ebooks by Irish authors—historical fiction, fiction, non-fiction and cookbooks. If you haven’t read Kindred by Octavia Butler, do it. This is one of …
Since St. Patrick’s Day (and weekend) is only a few days away—let’s get into the Irish spirit. I’ve got lamb and salmon on my shopping list, brown soda bread on my mind, Guinness in the refrigerator and a bottle of Bailey’s waiting for the right moment. My Irish spirit is strong since I’m three-quarters Irish, …
Good morning, fellow readers! I didn’t get as much book reading done this week, not sure why, so I’m still making my way through Kindred by Octavia Butler and Iran Awakening: A Memoir of Revolution and Hope by Shirin Ebadi. I’m enjoying both of them, although I can only read Kindred during the day because I …
I started The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne last Saturday afternoon and finished it on Tuesday night—nearly 600 pages! It was that good. Depressing yet comical, deeply drawn protagonist alongside barely sketched caricatures—I want Maude Avery to have her own afternoon talk show!—an endearing journey through 70 years of a gay Irish man’s life …
Last night I finished reading Ursula Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness. I rarely read fiction set in other worlds, but all the articles about Le Guin prompted me to dip into her writing. She certainly created a fascinating (and chilly) world and narrative, although I wasn’t that into the interspersing chapters. I will …
Today, let’s remember (and learn more about) our first president, George Washington. He was a leader, not a politician—maybe the only president who truly was a leader, sad to say. Ok, Lincoln had his moments too, I’ll give you that, but Washington was in a class all his own. I found some deals on ebooks …
Grabbing the Gusto 