All of us have our dirty little secrets. For example, when I was a small child, I had parasitic worms. On more than one occasion. This grosses out many people (like my city-boy husband), but when you spend all day playing in the dirt and most of the … [Read more...]
Lyrical Reflections: The Perfect Space by the Avett Brothers
April 7, 2011 By 6 Comments
Inspired by Laurie's exploration of the connection between poems and musical lyrics at What She Read, and because it’s National Poetry Month, I decided to add a new feature. Do you ever have certain musical lyrics that get stuck in your head for … [Read more...]
Book Review: Mice by Gordon Reece
April 6, 2011 By 2 Comments
ARC coverThis is an ARC that comes out in August 2011 from Viking Press and was lucky enough to come along with me to the beach. I started this book the very last day and was hooked, which was good. The last day on Sanibel our flight left at 9:00 at … [Read more...]
Madison Monday: Spring has sprung
April 5, 2011 By 2 Comments
(Yes, I know it's Tuesday, but still getting back into the swing of things after 10 days on the beach) I’ve woken up the last few mornings since returning from the beach with itchy eyes...it must officially be spring in Madison. Early April in … [Read more...]
Sunday Salon: Back from the beach reviews
April 3, 2011 By 7 Comments
I returned from the beach late Thursday night to rather chilly temperatures in southern Indiana, but thankfully, no snow. And though it’s cold, spring has sprung nonetheless with many things in bloom and the beginning sprinkling of a very pale green … [Read more...]
Book Review: The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
April 2, 2011 By 4 Comments
The Lacuna is another book that won a spot in my suitcase headed for the beach the past two weeks. How can you go wrong with Barbara Kingsolver, and The Lacuna did not disappoint. I felt like this book is probably the most literary of Kingsolver’s … [Read more...]
Book Review: The Sea, the Sea by Iris Murdoch
March 31, 2011 By 2 Comments
Last night I dreamt that the ocean swelled up out of its ranks and came pouring into an apartment which through some inexplicable dream twist, my mother was renting in Philadelphia. It filled the city streets below and swept away cars like in the … [Read more...]
The lighted window and the art of the book review
March 29, 2011 By 4 Comments
Several months into blogging about books, I woke up this morning thinking about the nature of a book review. What should a book review do? What should a book review be? The first book reviews most of us write are in elementary school, and were … [Read more...]
Sunday Salon: Gone shellin’
March 20, 2011 By 11 Comments
Happy, happy Sunday and first day of spring to everyone! After about 2 straight weeks of snot, sneezing, sore throat, achiness and generally crappy health, and a winter characterized by brief periods of health bookended by various bouts with disease, … [Read more...]
Book Review: Q & A, or the Indian Novel Lite
March 18, 2011 By 3 Comments
Okay, so saying Q & A is “lite” is relative. It’s 318 pages, and that might not be light for a lot of folks. But my frame of reference is A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth (1488 pages), A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry (624 pages) and Sacred Games by … [Read more...]
