Yellowface, by R. F. Kuang
Yellowface is a book about book publishing that should probably be put under the category of “what NOT to read” when you’re about to take your own tiny words written on a leaf and toss it into the hurricane that is AMAZON. Not only is Kuang such a powerhouse of a writer that she intimidates […]
The Cemetery of Untold Stories, by Julia Alvarez
I’ll always remember The Cemetery of Untold Stories as the book I was reading when my uncle died. I’m not done reading the book yet, as he just passed two days ago, but my mind is filled with so many ideas about where this book crosses with his death, I decided to take the book’s […]
Ordinary Bear, by C.B. Bernard
I was driving somewhere about three years ago (it was Target, who am I kidding, it’s always Target) when traffic came to a sudden stop. Something was blocking the road about fifty feet ahead of me, causing cars to make a wide arc into oncoming traffic, which had also stopped. When it was my time […]
The Berry Pickers, by Amanda Peters
I’m not sure if everyone has a moment in their childhood that defines who they grow to be, but I have no doubt many of us do. For me, it was a certain night during the summer of 1980 that forever lowered my tolerance for conflict and created in me the kind of peace-making personality […]
Take My Hand, by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
You ever get that feeling you completely missed the point of a book? I feel this way about Take My Hand, which is something I entirely blame myself for. Perkins-Valdez wrote a beautiful novel about race and sexism and poverty in America. And Civil, her protagonist, is a wonderfully complex character with strength and power, […]
Small Animals Caught in Traps, by C.B. Bernard
If you feel like spiraling down a dark hole of despair and depression, while watching nearly every major character die—even those that came before the story started and even those that aren’t even human—do I have the book for you! But perhaps I lead you astray by saying “depression.” Small Animals Caught in Traps is […]
The World According to Garp by John Irving
What to Read When…you’re doing some hard hospital time. We all know that there are different kinds of “hospital time.” Time spent waiting in the emergency room with a colicky child, or waiting for a new member of the family to emerge, sipping bad coffee as a grandparent is rolled into a machine, or pacing […]
The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, by James McBride
You don’t often think that reading a book is like eating your vegetables, but in the case of James McBride’s Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, that’s exactly what it felt like. Reading it now, just after the holidays, and after having spent the last few weeks eating leftover lasagna, turkey, and a sundry of pies […]
Miss Benson’s Beetle, by Rachel Joyce
What to read when… …you need to feel there are still adventures to be had in this world. I promise you that Miss Benson’s Beetle will make you want to quit your job, sell all your belongings, and hop a freight for the other side of the world. The only issue there is that I […]
Lady Tan’s Circle of Women, by Lisa See
I hope I’m not alone in this. Women mostly don’t talk about it. I know I haven’t. But I believe that if you’ve had a miscarriage, or had trouble getting pregnant, or if you’ve given birth to a special needs child, then inevitably we all ask the same question. It’s the one we’re never supposed […]