Review of The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan Haidt
I had unreasonable hopes for gaining compassionate understanding of disparate political views through reading Haidt's book. I was...
Feb 13
Review of The Road to Dalton (Dalton, Maine #1) by Shannon Bowring
This slim, debut novel about a small-town community in northern Maine introduces various faulted, interconnected characters making their...
Feb 12
Review of What In the World?! A Southern Woman's Guide to Laughing at Life's Unexpected Curveballs and Beautiful Blessings by Leanne Morgan
Comedian Leanne Morgan's memoir traces her path from an attention-seeking, beloved young girl to a young adult facing missteps and...
Feb 11
Three Books I'm Reading Now, 2/10/25 Edition
The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading Black Woods, Blue Sky , literary fiction about a single mother and mysterious man in the Alaskan...
Feb 10
Six of My Favorite Contemporary Fiction Reads of the Year
Six Great Bossy Contemporary Fiction Reads I loved a range of great books last year, and these were six of my favorite contemporary...
Feb 7
Review of The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
This middle-grade writing collaboration inserts a clever young protagonist into the behind-the-scenes World War II British codebreaking...
Feb 6
Review of Isola by Allegra Goodman
Isola , based upon the story of a real-life sixteenth-century woman, shifts between details of a life of moneyed ease and an abandonment...
Feb 5
Review of There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak
There Are Rivers in the Sky weaves together three stories set in three timelines, featuring disparate characters, to explore...
Feb 4
Three Books I'm Reading Now, 2/3/25 Edition
The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading a historical fiction story set just before the Civil War, about a young enslaved woman haunted by...
Feb 3
January Wrap-Up: My Favorite Reads of the Month
My very favorite Bossy January reads! This month my favorite reads consisted of multiple fantasy reads, aka escapes from reality--one...
Jan 31
Review of All the Water in the World by Eiren Caffall
Nonie is the young protagonist of this stark climate-change dystopian future, in which her small community fights to survive and to...
Jan 30
Review of Spellslinger (Spellslinger #1) by Sebastian de Castell
Kellen begins as a principled, headstrong young man lacking in the magic crucial for power, familial stability and social standing in his...
Jan 29
Three Books I'm Reading Now, 1/27/25 Edition
The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading the story of an heiress turned abandoned orphan, based on a real-life sixteenth-century heroine,...
Jan 27
Six of My Favorite Fantasy Reads of the Year
Six Great Bossy Fantasy Reads I read some entertaining, imaginative, sometimes funny, fantastic fantasy in the past year--enough to make...
Jan 24
Review of Fallen Land by Taylor Brown
The debut novel from one of my favorite authors tracks a horse thief and an orphan who bond and find love amid the turmoil and...
Jan 23
Review of Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller
Lula Dean focuses on the incredible power of books and truth-telling as characters discover their bravest selves and confront difficult...
Jan 22
Review of My Oxford Year by Julia Whelan
My Oxford Year takes a light, romantic tone and within it, explores weighty issues like serious illness, loss, grief, vulnerability, and...
Jan 21
Three Books I'm Reading Now, 1/20/25 Edition
The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading a Maine-set small-town story, Shannon Bowring's debut novel The Road to Dalton ; I'm reading the...
Jan 20
Six of My Favorite Rom-Com Reads of the Year
My Favorite Rom-Com Reads This is my first of two favorites lists of rom-coms and romantic reads. I was just talking to my friend Martha...
Jan 17
Review of Death at the Sign of the Rook (Jackson Brodie #6) by Kate Atkinson
Atkinson's cozy, Agatha Christie-style novel features former lawman Jackson Brodie, a mystery within a mystery, a real-life killer who...
Jan 16