The Lie Detector.

Book Review for “Only May” by Carol Lovekin. Summary: "Listen. The bee walks across my finger, slow as anything and I can see through the gauzy wing, to the detail of my skin. 'You aren’t looking in the right place.' If you look her in the eye and tell a lie, May Harper will see … Continue reading The Lie Detector. →

Oh, Benny!

Book Review for “The Book of Form and Emptiness” by Ruth Ozeki. Summary: "After the tragic death of his beloved musician father, fourteen-year-old Benny Oh begins to hear voices. The voices belong to the things in his house--a sneaker, a broken Christmas ornament, a piece of wilted lettuce. Although Benny doesn't understand what these things … Continue reading Oh, Benny! →

TCL’s #NovNov 1 – Purring Predilections.

Book Review for “The Writer's Cats” by Muriel Barbery, Translated by Alison Anderson, Illustrated by Maria Guitart. Summary: "Muriel Barbery, via her feline friends and co-conspirators, takes readers into her atelier, offering them a behind-the-scenes peek into her process and problems, joys and disappointments. The tale is told from the perspective of one of the … Continue reading TCL’s #NovNov 1 – Purring Predilections. →

TCL’s #DNF Friday #7 – Unlucky Number Seven.

Why I can't write a Book Review for “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” by J. K. Rowling. Summary: "It's no longer safe for Harry at Hogwarts, so he and his best friends, Ron and Hermione, are on the run. Professor Dumbledore has given them clues about what they need to do to defeat the … Continue reading TCL’s #DNF Friday #7 – Unlucky Number Seven. →

Everything and Nothing.

Book Review for “Cloud Cuckoo Land” by Anthony Doerr. Summary: "Thirteen-year-old Anna, an orphan, lives inside the formidable walls of Constantinople in a house of women who make their living embroidering the robes of priests. Restless, insatiably curious, Anna learns to read, and in this ancient city, famous for its libraries, she finds a book, … Continue reading Everything and Nothing. →

Tasty Toppings.

Book Review for “Gentleman's Relish: Stories” by Patrick Gale. Summary: "A son wreaks revenge through the power of cookery, a lonely wife finds short-lived solace in angling lessons from a prisoner, and an obedience lesson with a puppy leads to the discovery of a murder... From the delightfully chilling to the humorous and heart-warming, this … Continue reading Tasty Toppings. →

TCL’s #6Degrees of Separation for March 6, 2021.

From “Phosphorescence” by Julia Baird to “The Beginner's Goodbye” by Anne Tyler! This is a monthly link-up hosted by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best. Each month a book is chosen as a starting point and linked to six other books to form a chain. A book doesn’t need to be connected to … Continue reading TCL’s #6Degrees of Separation for March 6, 2021. →

“… the Next Best Thing”?

Book Review for “The Charmed Wife” by Olga Grushin. Summary: “Cinderella married the man of her dreams--the perfect ending she deserved after diligently following all the fairy-tale rules. Yet now, two children and thirteen and a half years later, things have gone badly wrong and her life is far from perfect. One night, fed up, … Continue reading “… the Next Best Thing”? →

#NovellaNovember – Torday’s Fantastical Tale – #ShortStorySunday

Book Review for “Theo: A Novella” by Paul Torday. Summary: “John Elliott is the recently appointed vicar of St Joseph's - a dilapidated church with a congregation of sixteen and a leaky roof. Having entered the Church more by default than through any great calling, he struggles to inject some life into his ailing parish. … Continue reading #NovellaNovember – Torday’s Fantastical Tale – #ShortStorySunday →

Restoring Lost Loves.

Book Review for “The Ghost of Madison Avenue” by Nancy Bilyeau. Helen O’Neill, the only daughter of the Connelly family, has been a widow for some time, and now she lives with her older brothers. Thankfully, Helen isn’t a financial drain on her family because she has a profitable gift – she’s a master of … Continue reading Restoring Lost Loves. →