Archive | October, 2020

Last Books of Summer

15 Oct

Well, friends, I meant to post some of these in August and then some others at the beginning of September. Better late than never!

My favorites of these are definitely The Vanishing Half and Nickel Boys. Nickel boys came out a year or two ago and if you missed it you should look into getting it. These two both have gotten so much buzz I don’t feel the need to sum them up. The second is pretty dark, deals with abuse and some other not pleasant things so be warned! Worth it! but heavy.

Second-tier favorites are Northernmost, Friends and Strangers and If I Had Your Face. They’re totally different and pretty similar all at once. Each takes place in a different time and place (late 1800s Norway, modern day upstate NY, Seoul), but each is a slow character novel driven by relationships (martial, professional, friendship). I love books like this, but sometimes find myself noticing that the plot is fairly……..slow.

I also read a series of thriller-type books this fall, trying to combat the slump I’ve been slipping into. Invisible Girl, Sometimes I Lie, Sisters and Luster all fall into this category. Lisa Jewell’s Invisible Girl is probably my favorite of the bunch – she has this amazing ability to take ordinary every day life and turn it into a real nail-biter.

Hopefully I’ll have a new batch to post soon! And in a more timely manner!

Another Fave of 2020

6 Oct

why birds

I’m writing this in April, quarantined in my home in the middle of the Corona shut down. So hopeful that when this comes out in October these days will be far behind us. I loved this novel and you might too. It’s the story of an opera singer in her early 30s whose voice “breaks” embarrassingly during a performance. She is sent home to recover and finds herself wandering into a sort of depression. Her husband, Ash, is constantly traveling or attending to his mother who lives nearby. One day she comes home to find her semi-estranged brother-in-law Tariq moving into the downstairs/basement with his giant parrot. Turns out he needs to stay with them while he undergoes chemo for stomach cancer. On top of this twist, she’s been asked to coach a ragtag team of competitive whistlers to fulfill her contract with the opera company. Sounds like the makings of a great novel, doesn’t it? Yes, it does. Loved this, loved it. Everything I like in a novel. 5 stars