I’d heard that The Hate U Give (2017) by Angie Thomas was really good. I’d also heard something about a bestseller controversy that I paid just enough attention to to remind me that I should read this novel. When I finally picked it up, I wasn’t disappointed. Starr Carter is sixteen years old. She is black and lives in a poor, segregated neighborhood that is challenged by drugs and gangs. Her parents don’t want to leave the neighborhood, but they want the best for their kids. So […]
Jane Steele – a superhero of the 1800’s
After seeing Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye on Cannonball and on NPR’s Best Books of 2016, I was intrigued. I’ve read Jane Eyre, and liked it–even though it was as long time ago. But a retelling of Jane Eyre, with Jane as a serial killer? I just couldn’t guess how that would work. But it also got consistently good reviews, which was more than enough for me. I was most curious how Faye would make Jane Steele a sympathetic character as a “cold-blooded killer.” Jane Steele kills her cousin when she […]
Alone in a crowd
I first saw The Lonely City by Olivia Laing on NPR’s Best Books of 2016 List. I picked it up because I was interested in the concept of loneliness, and I wondered what Laing had to say about it. I am an introvert. I enjoy, and often need, time to be alone to recharge. My job is often very people intensive, which can be fun, but also exhausting. So I find that when I’m not working, I enjoy my alone time. But I’ve also felt that lately, I’ve […]
Sweet, farcical romance
Crosstalk by Connie Willis is one of the many books I’ve found from NPR’s list of Best Books from 2016. I’ve also read To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis, but Crosstalk had some mixed reviews and I wasn’t too excited about reading it. I was afraid I was going to get stuck in an uninteresting slog of a book. Fortunately, I was very wrong. This turned out to be quite a fun and romantic page turner. I had a hard time putting it down while on vacation. Although […]