NOTE: I listened to an audio version of this novel that I received via Netgalley. It does not look like this is available for the public. Big Girl is the story of Malaya, daughter of Nayala and Percy (Pro or Prah) initially at age 8 -168 pounds - living in a Brownstone in Harlem and … Continue reading Big Girl -Mecca Jamilah Sullivan
Author: Emily Leader
I have been an avid reader since Dick and Jane met Sally. At age 7, I read my parents' first edition of "To Kill a Mockingbird." I am a retired lawyer and so read almost only fiction for pleasure. I'm adding in nonfiction these days, largely on social justice matters but also history, biography, and weird topics that catch my imagination. I used to read only serially, one book at a time. Presently, I read paperbacks, hardcovers, listen to audible, listen to CDs and read online through Net Galley. Covid-19 has caused me to read a lot so I have re-upped my Goodreads challenge for 2021 and am starting to review at least my favorite finds annd, perhaps, some stinkers.
Happy-Go-Lucky -David Sedaris
Those of us who read "A Carnival of Snackery: Diaries 2003-2020" by David Sedaris will recognize that many of the polished stories in "Happy-Go-Lucky" seem familiar. I was never bored by Happy Go Lucky and I didn't get angry at David Seders, which I did in "A Carnival of Snackery." (It took a lot for … Continue reading Happy-Go-Lucky -David Sedaris
The Foundling – Ann Leary
The Foundling a thoughtful and original piece of historical fiction, expands on a snippet of information from Ann Leary's family about a time in the late 1920s when my home state, Pennsylvania, supported Laurelton Village for Feeble Minded women of Childbearing Age." Her grandmother worked there for awhile, right when a US Census placed her … Continue reading The Foundling – Ann Leary
Lessons in Chemistry – Bonnie Garmus
There are lots of unconventional, true to themselves people in this world and you may never want to get to know them. If nothing else, Elizabeth Zott should convince you it's a worthwhile venture to try. In 1959, as she is completing her Masters degree and planning on pursuing her doctorate, Elizabeth runs afoul of … Continue reading Lessons in Chemistry – Bonnie Garmus
The Sweetness of Water – Nathan Harris (audible version)
This (just) post-civil war novel brings together George Walker, an aging gentleman who lives in two-story "cabin" outside of Old Ox, Georgia, and brothers Prentiss and Landry - formerly enslaved by George's neighbor, Ted Morton, now camping on George's land. George is wealthy by local standards as he inherited a lot of land. He's a … Continue reading The Sweetness of Water – Nathan Harris (audible version)
The Decadents -MC Schmidt
How to start? The Decadents is a bizarrely engaging book about ambition, what success looks like when you're the owner of seventeen "Fry Boy" franchises -- which is a lot in the mind of Phil Ochs, but not so much in the eyes of the local Chamber of Commerce that gives a prize he dearly … Continue reading The Decadents -MC Schmidt
An Island – Karen Jennings
Samuel is the lighthouse keeper on an island that is part of an unnamed African country. He has taken this desolate, hostile to human life place and created a home, where the invasive weeds are kept down, one cracked plate is enough, the red chicken requires protection from all the bully chickens anAnd a supply … Continue reading An Island – Karen Jennings
Time Shelter – Georgi Gospodinov
Meme after meme after meme- often referring back to my own baby boomer childhood - suggest that everything was perfect in the past, with well-behaved children who played outdoors and housewives and dinner together and church. You know what I mean. These memes don't mention Joseph McCarthy, the Korean or Vietnam wars, Jim Crow, the … Continue reading Time Shelter – Georgi Gospodinov
Overboard – Sara Paretsky
Overboard meets the high standards Sara Paretsky has set for this always engaging, well-plotted series with great characters… including as a character the windy city. This is the first time I read a V.I. Warshawski novel via audible and I definitely had some "driveway" moments where I sat to listen to the next ten, no-- … Continue reading Overboard – Sara Paretsky
You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey – Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar (Audible)
This is a series of anecdotes all horrifying, in fact, but written by a comedian and gifted writer and performed by both sisters, mostly Amber Ruffin. Most of the stories expose isolated incidents of or long periods of racism experienced within neighborhoods, rural/suburban communities, public school classrooms and church youth groups experienced by one person, … Continue reading You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey – Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar (Audible)
They Called me Bookworm 