I love Nadiya Hussain. If you are a fan of The Great British Bake Off, you probably love her too. Nadiya was the winner in 2015, and she is, by all accounts the most popular winner in the history of the show. Charming, warm, funny, self-deprecating and gifted with a marvelously expressive face, she made all of us fall in love with her. Since winning TGBBO, Nadiya has published a cookbook (which I received as a surprise present last week from a lovely friend who […]
My life was an absolute bastard with a chip on his shoulder.
Who recommended this to me? How did this end up on my to-be-read list? Whoever you are, thanks, my friend! It was an absolutely fantastic interlude after the deep, dark despair inspired by the “Peculiar Children” series. Honestly, this is the kind of story-telling I think people are talking about when they talk about Rainbow Rowell (note: I have only read one Rowell book, and it was totally fine). The prose is very sharp and full of whimsy. It’s clever, but lands on the right […]
People really are like houses with vast rooms and tiny windows
This book is a goddamned delight, and everyone should read it. The end. No, just kidding. But I am really glad I picked it up (on the recommendation of basically the entire CBR community, amirite?), even though lately I’ve been trying hard to balance my male protagonists and authors with the underrepresented lady brains that are at large and largely ignored (axe grinding alert!). I’m glad I picked it up because it’s incredibly sensitive, and thoughtful, and nuanced. It’s also a little bit self-conscious and […]
Cannonball: “What are our stories if not the mirrors we hold up to our fears?”
Many, many years ago, I read Wally Lamb’s first book She’s Come Undone. I can honestly say that the only thing I remember about that book is that the main character’s mother is killed when a tractor trailer crashes in to her tollbooth. Consequently, I think about that every time I drive through a toll booth. Anyway, when I read it, I happened to live with two other girls, one of whom had had the pleasure of knowing Wally Lamb as a teacher in her […]