Category: collection

New Stories about Old People.

Book Review for “Old Babes in the Wood” Stories by Margaret Atwood. Summary: "The two intrepid sisters of the title story grapple with loss and memory on a perfect summer evening; "Impatient Griselda" explores alienation and miscommunication with a fresh twist on a folkloric classic; and "My Evil Mother" touches on the fantastical, examining a … Continue reading New Stories about Old People. →

TCL’s #6Degrees of Separation for March 4, 2023.

From “Passages” by Gail Sheehy to “Women on the Front Lines” by Debbie Zimelman. This is a monthly link-up hosted by KateW 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 … Continue reading TCL’s #6Degrees of Separation for March 4, 2023. →

#ShortStorySunday – Sleights of Words.

Book Review for “Good Bones” by Margaret Atwood. Summary: "In Good Bones, first published in 1992, Margaret Atwood has fashioned an enthralling collection of parable, monologue, mini-romance and mini-biography, speculative fiction, prose lyric, outrageous recipe and reconfigured fairy tale, demonstrating yet again the play of an unerring wit overseen by a panoramic intelligence. Good Bones … Continue reading #ShortStorySunday – Sleights of Words. →

#ShortStorySunday – Zadie, Zadie, Writer Lady!

Book Review for “Grand Union: Stories” by Zadie Smith. Summary: "Zadie Smith has established herself as one of the most iconic, critically-respected, and popular writers of her generation. In her first short story collection, she combines her power of observation and inimitable voice to mine the fraught and complex experience of life in the modern … Continue reading #ShortStorySunday – Zadie, Zadie, Writer Lady! →

#ShortStorySunday – Look Them in the Eye.

Book Review for “Four Minutes” by Nataliya Deleva (translated by Izidora Angel). Summary: “Giving voice to people living on the periphery in post-communist Bulgaria, Four Minutes centers around Leah, an orphan who suffered daily horrors growing up, and now struggles to integrate into society as a gay woman. She confronts her trauma by trying to … Continue reading #ShortStorySunday – Look Them in the Eye. →

#ShortStorySunday – Rough Rides.

Book Review for “Short Dog: Cab Driver Stories from the L.A. Streets” by Dan Fante. According to the blurbs about this book: “Dan Fante lived the stories he wrote. His voice has the immediacy of a stranger of the next barstool, of a friend who lives on the edge. As he writes in Short Dog … Continue reading #ShortStorySunday – Rough Rides. →

TCL’s #6Degrees of Separation for May 1, 2021.

From “Beezus and Ramona” by Beverly Cleary to “Fall of Poppies” by various authors. 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 … Continue reading TCL’s #6Degrees of Separation for May 1, 2021. →

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. →

Intimate Essays.

Book Review for “Conversations with My Body: Essays on My Life as a Jewish Woman” by Elana Sztokman. Summary: “Elana Sztokman arrived in Israel in 1993 as a young religious mother wearing a long skirt and a hat covering her hair. Today, nearly 30 years later, after spending years fighting for women’s rights in Orthodoxy, … Continue reading Intimate Essays. →

Salty Slices – #ShortStorySunday

Book Review for “Olive Kitteridge” by Elizabeth Strout. Summary: “Olive Kitteridge might be described by some as a battle axe or as brilliantly pushy, by others as the kindest person they had ever met. Olive herself has always been certain that she is 100% correct about everything - although, lately, her certitude has been shaken. … Continue reading Salty Slices – #ShortStorySunday →