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.

The Sisters Sweet – Elizabeth Weiss

This captivating story unfolds as an oral history of a family, a mother, Maude Foster Szasz from Ohio, father, Lenny Szasz, a Jew from Eastern Europe and their twin daughters Harriet and Josephine. The story hopscotches from as early as 1889 to the mid-1930s, but not in a linear fashion. Nor is it confusing. The … Continue reading The Sisters Sweet – Elizabeth Weiss →

The Lincoln Highway – Amor Towles (Audible)

Yes, it took me a month to listen to all 16.5 hours of this beautifully produced and cast audiobook, because I limited my listening to long car trips. For once, flying through this engaging, mesmerizing story was not as good as putting it aside for a bit here and there and chewing over what I … Continue reading The Lincoln Highway – Amor Towles (Audible) →

Bryant & May: London Bridge is Falling Down – Christopher Fowler

The Peculiar Crimes Unit is finally biting the dust for real. We know it's true, because the Met has taken all government property from the ramshackle building on Caledonian Road and plans to make some money in the process, since the neighborhood is gentrifying fast. How will Arthur Bryant --keeper of arcane facts of London … Continue reading Bryant & May: London Bridge is Falling Down – Christopher Fowler →

19 Yellow Moon Road – Fern Michaels

19 Yellow Moon Road is a Sisterhood Novel about twin brothers born to great wealth, Noah with a greater need for that lifestyle to go on and Liam who is more interested in the human condition. Eventually they establish a spiritual retreat, The Haven, with Noah handling the business side and Liam the teaching/spiritual side. … Continue reading 19 Yellow Moon Road – Fern Michaels →

Bad Fat Black Girl: Notes from a Trap Feminist – Sesali Bowen

First, this is an amazing book that becomes very, very readable after the introduction. Many terms and concepts not familiar to those of us with different backgrounds are beautifully defined, which is one of my favorite parts of the book. In fairness, if you know what trap music is, which I did not, the introduction … Continue reading Bad Fat Black Girl: Notes from a Trap Feminist – Sesali Bowen →

John Brown’s Women – Susan Higginbotham

I definitely recommend this engaging and historically fair fictionalized story centered on the abolitionist John Brown's second wife, his daughters and daughters-in-law. Although we learn about the various Brown children in general, Higginbotham focuses on Mary, on John Junior's wife Wealthy Hotchkiss Brown, and on the strong-minded Annie Brown. The facts of John Browns life … Continue reading John Brown’s Women – Susan Higginbotham →