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Feb 13
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...
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Feb 12
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...
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Jan 22
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...
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Jan 7
Review of Hum by Helen Phillips
The dystopian future of Hum is haunting in its familiar elements, its plausible, terrible climate-change effects, the extreme reliance on...
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Dec 10, 2024
Review of Our Evenings by Alan Hollinghurst
Our Evenings explores a young, often cruel, existence at a British boys' boarding school; later fits and starts of exploring sexuality...
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Dec 5, 2024
Review of All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me by Patrick Bringley
Met Museum guard Bringley reflects on the decade he spent guarding priceless works of art, encountering a fascinating range of...
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Dec 4, 2024
Review of We'll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida
Ishida's offbeat, heartwarming story of unconventional "medicine" in the form of cats explores interconnectedness and new perspectives,...
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Nov 26, 2024
Review of Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors
Blue Sisters explores three surviving sisters' messy paths into and out of grief after the loss of their fourth sister Nicky. They make...
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Nov 21, 2024
Review of Pines (Wayward Pines #1) by Blake Crouch
In the first book of Blake Crouch's haunting mystery trilogy, secret agent Ethan Burke tries to grasp the shifts in time, widespread...
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Nov 13, 2024
Review of Light to the Hills by Bonnie Blaylock
Blaylock's story centers around a packhorse librarian in 1930s Appalachian Kentucky and adds layers like a complicated past, second...
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Nov 12, 2024
Review of How to Read a Book by Monica Wood
This novel about the power of books takes a tough situation that ends in a death and allows for a fresh start--which might push the...
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Nov 7, 2024
Review of To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers
This slim book tells the story of a small crew of astronauts in the twenty-second century who are searching for alien life--and who must...
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Oct 23, 2024
Review of The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun
The reality-show setting and LGBTQIA+ representation in Ever After flips the traditional fairy tale in satisfying, heartwarming ways in...
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Oct 22, 2024
Review of What I Ate in One Year (and Related Thoughts) by Stanley Tucci
The gems of What I Ate in One Year are, as promised in the title, the food-related moments Stanley Tucci delves into over the course of...
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Oct 17, 2024
Review of Hell for Hire (Tear Down Heaven #1) by Rachel Aaron
I felt like the story started off slowly, but once the world was built and the background established, I was hooked on the interpersonal...
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Oct 8, 2024
Review of The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl
The Paris Novel is the first novel by food writer, memoir author, food critic, and James Beard award-winner Ruth Reichl. It's a...
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Oct 1, 2024
Review of Bright I Burn by Molly Aitken
Aitken's story of a strong, crafty, fearless woman in 1200s Ireland is based upon the real figure of Alice Kyteler, whose power and...
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Sep 5, 2024
Review of Burn by Peter Heller
I love Peter Heller's books, and Burn offers a wonderfully complicated friendship, meaningful connections to nature, momentous secrets,...
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Aug 15, 2024
Review of Bear by Julia Phillips
The author of Disappearing Earth offers a story of bleak prospects, poverty and illness, a sister bond with fault lines ready to crack...
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Aug 14, 2024
Review of Ready or Not by Cara Bastone
Ready or Not is a light take on unplanned pregnancy. It felt so easy for Eve to plan to enter into single parenthood despite the many...