My Plain Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, & Jodi Meadows
I completely ADORED My Lady Jane a few years ago. It was so refreshing and funny and unique, with such a great audio narrator. I had high hopes for this next book in the series and HALLELUJAH it delivered. It's not quite as shockingly quirky as My Lady Jane (nobody's fiance regularly turns into a … [Read more]
The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye
I liked this one well enough, but I can't say it wasn't a little bit of a disappointment after liking Faye's other books so much. The pacing was very uneven here and I wonder if cutting some of the material (the book is about 400 pages) would have helped. There's a great book in here somewhere, … [Read more]
Jane Doe: A Novel by Victoria Helen Stone
I follow a lot of authors on twitter. Every once in a while a bunch of writers will start talking about one book. A couple of months ago, that book was Jane Doe. Authors, all women but from several genres, were reveling in Jane's darkness and her passion for revenge. Jane has diagnosed herself as … [Read more]
Universal Harvester by John Darnielle
This novel sneaks up on you. You're lulled into comfort with descriptions of old video rental places, suburban living rooms, and the polite peace of the Midwest before being startled awake by sudden glances of violence and fear. These shocks originate from movies. Movies within movies. Were they … [Read more]
Salt Fat Acid Heat by Samin Nosrat, Wendy McNaughton
The lovely and amazing narfna was my CBR10 Book Exchange gifter last year. She shopped from my wish list and bought Salt Fat Acid Heat. I love cooking and cookbooks. I have worked as a chef professionally, but all my training has been at home and ad hoc in bakeries and small food shops. Samin … [Read more]
Transcription by Kate Atkinson
What began as a slow and cold (le Carré-esque) waiting game grew into a white hot flash of deceit, anxiety, and dangerous thrills. I cannot claim to know the full horrors and trials of World War II- nor can I draw a true comparison between that dark time and the present, but the world of this book … [Read more]
Franklin and Fred by Fred Franklin
The Quick Brown Cow by Dr. Seuss
But I lay perfectly still, and resolved not to say a word till spoken to. Holding a light in one hand, and that identical New Zealand head in the other, the stranger entered the room, and without looking towards the bed, placed his candle a good way off from me on the floor in one corner, and then … [Read more]
Though I don't write reviews for CBR, I'm definitely still reading—this year I've put a double Cannonball on my Goodreads "Read" shelf! And so, on this Giving Tuesday, I'm donating 50¢ per book I've read in 2022 to Cannonball Read! Who's with me? How many books have you read (and/or reviewed!) … [Read more]
The Quick Brown Cow by Dr. Seuss
this is a test to see if my badge increments. Five or six hours of pleasant railway travel, up the course of one river valley after another,—the Merrimac, the Pemigewasset, the Baker, the Connecticut, and finally the Ammonoosuc,—not to forget the best hour of all, on the shores of Lake … [Read more]
I don't know about you, but I definitely need a diversion at the moment, so let's do as we always do—turn to books. Specifically, the beach read. You know the ones, the rereads or new reads that don't require much effort to pay attention to, the ones that you can pick up and put down as you nap (or … [Read more]
