Ducks, Newburyport is a masterpiece. I finished it three days ago and I can’t stop thinking about it. I don’t even know how to describe it. It is the running monologue inside the head of an unnamed Ohio mother of four (transplanted from New England), and it is a single sentence that goes on for … Continue reading Gobsmacked
Given the lockdown and the increased amount of time we all spent at home in 2020, I would have expected my reading to soar. I feel like I read a lot, and I did!, but I didn’t really read that much more than I did in 2019. I read 60 books in 2019 and 65 … Continue reading Reading in 2020
When I got my first e-reader several years ago, I knew Project Gutenberg existed. I knew that if an author had died over 100 years ago, their works were in the public domain, and that Project Gutenberg made thousands of books available for free. But I didn’t really get it. I did most of my … Continue reading Project Gutenberg: a library of free classics at my fingertips
My favorite book is one that sucks me in, that absorbs me, that carries me into its world. My favorite book is one where I adore the characters and want to spend time with them, where I love the setting and the power of place. My favorite book is one that makes me laugh, that … Continue reading My favorite book
My lunchtime reading this week has been excellent. Monday I devoured Little Fires Everywhere. SO GOOD. Today, I’m revisiting The Weird Sisters, the book my blog’s name came from, and a book I reread every few years because it’s just so fun. The problem with lunchtime reading, though, is that it makes it hard to … Continue reading Lunchtime reading
I recently read Helen Oyeyemi’s novel Gingerbread, which was like reading a lucid dream. It’s the first book of hers I’ve read, and I’m still thinking about it. It is modern, smart, funny, and filled with enchantment mashups (think hidden land like the island in Lost mixed with gingerbread houses, but sophisticated). The book, as I … Continue reading From Helen Oyeyemi to the Brothers Grimm
