When I was about 14 or so, my family was in Wisconsin visiting relatives. We decided to go see Taliesin, but when we got there and my parents found out that tickets were like $50 a person, or maybe they were sold out or something, we had to find something else to do last minute. We ended up at the House on the Rock. Now, if you’ve never been to the House on the Rock, I can’t do it justice with sheer words. I simply […]
I am an incurable, and nothing else behaves like me
This book was just a lot of fun. 44 Scotland Street is a serial novel that was originally published in an Edinburgh newspaper. It takes place in Edinburgh, focusing mainly on the inhabitants of the titular apartment building. Among other characters, there’s Pat, a college-aged woman taking her “second gap year,” Bertie, a high-achieving 6-year-old with a helicopter mother, Domenica, the resident wise Mrs. Madrigal-type, and Bruce, who is honestly a completely fascinating character. In fact, while Pat is nominally the main character, and Bertie […]
Into the Ragged Meadow of My Soul
A Louise Penny mystery is a strange thing, where the mystery itself usually takes a backseat to other plotlines and character development. The murders are clean, not gory, and the characters are well-rounded people with rich inner lives and motivations that make sense. It’s so refreshing. The Cruelest Month, the third in the Inspector Armand Gamache series, takes place in the small town of Three Pines, same as the first two books do. Inspector Gamache and his homicide team are called in after town residents […]
I Wanted You to Love Me Like You Used to Do
I first read Eleanor and Park a few years ago. A friend had asked me to join her at a reading by Rainbow Rowell, so I read this in preparation. Eleanor and Park is the perfect introduction to Rowell, and just a wonderful book in general. Probably most of you know the story by now. Two teenagers–Eleanor, a misfit with a terrible home life, and Park, an average Joe who feels alienated from his family and classmates, meet, connect, and eventually fall in love. Teen […]