Have you ever had a friend who seemed effortlessly brilliant, talented and successful in every endeavor, an attention magnet who intimidates just about everyone? I had a friend like this a number of years ago, and perhaps that’s why I loved this book so much and look forward to the next two volumes. Set in a small town outside Naples in the 1950s, My Brilliant Friend is narrated by Elena Greco, friend to the fearless Lila Cerullo. The story begins in current time, with Lila’s […]
Melt Your Face Off Awesomeness
This is the lackluster review that occurs after someone’s computer crashes mere seconds before her hand hovers over the mouse and thinks, “I should save this…” but I didn’t…so here you go! I had to take a small break from reading recently because my husband said, “It feels like you’re taunting me with how much you’ve been reading” as he continued to dig ditches in the yard, weed gardens, build a new stand for my mailbox, clean the basement etc. So…I thought it only fair […]
Manic Street Dream Girls
I read this at the request of a friend, who had really enjoyed it and wanted me to read it as well. Thanks to Malin (thanks Malin!) I was able to get hold of a copy and read it in an evening. My cheesecake -loving friend really enjoyed it; my own feelings were slightly more mixed. Paper Towns is a book in three parts, but defining them involves spoiling the story, so I’m going to stick to being vague. All three parts have a […]
Historical footnote brought vividly to life by a master of non-fiction writing
Erik Larson (Devil in the White City and Thunderstruck to name a few) writes non-fiction that reads like a novel, enthralling the reader and keeping them up page-turning with the same intensity as a beach read thriller. Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania is no exception. History tells us on May 7 1915 a German submarine attacked and sank the British cruise liner, RMS Lusitania, on a voyage from New York City to Liverpool with several hundred American citizens on board. This act […]