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) →

The Surgeon’s Daughter – Audrey Blake

The Surgeon's Daughter is set in the mid-1840s in London, England and Bologna, Italy. Eleanore "Nora" Beady was a small child when renowned English surgeon Horace Croft attended her family for a serious illness. Her parents and siblings died and he took Nora to his home so she could recover. She never left. Dr. Croft … Continue reading The Surgeon’s Daughter – Audrey Blake →

Spare Parts – Paul Craddock

Spare Parts is a very readable history of the evolution of transplants of human body parts, from skin grafts through heart/lung and covering many centuries. Craddock gives us the science involved in an accessible manner. The entire book is my favorite kind of history, full of social, political and cultural context. From earliest times, we … Continue reading Spare Parts – Paul Craddock →