How to Read a Book, by Monica Wood
Think a moment on the absolutely worst thing you’ve ever done in your life. And I don’t mean that time you rushed by an old woman who’d dropped her purse on the floor, lip balms and prescription bottles rolling everywhere (I was in a hurry, but I still have guilt). No, I mean THAT thing. […]
She and Her Cat, by Makoto Shinkai and Naruki Nagakawa
If you have a cat, you must read this book. If you don’t have a cat and don’t WANT to suddenly have a cat, definitely DON’T read this book. If you hate cats, you won’t read this book anyway, so I suppose you’re safe there. She and Her Cat hooked me from page one with […]
The Story of Arthur Truluv, by Elizabeth Berg
If you’ve been teaching the apartheid in South Africa, the genocide in Rwanda, and the human rights violations of the chocolate industry in western Africa, then you absolutely should be reading The Story of Arthur Truluv at the end of your day. But even if this hasn’t been your week, Berg’s novel is something everyone […]
Morning in this Broken World, by Katrina Kittle
Usually, when I get toward the end of a book I really like, I don’t want it to end. You know that feeling, as the pages in your right hand start to thin and you have the urge to slow down and savor every paragraph. Not so for Morning in this Broken World. I thoroughly […]
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 […]
The Midnight Library, by Matt Haig
I dropped out of school in 9th grade, was married at 17, and had two children by 21, so um, yes, I’ve been in Nora’s shoes and wondering what my life might look like if I’d made different choices. Sadly, we meet Nora at the lowest point in her life—possibly the end of her life […]
West with Giraffes, by Lynda Rutledge
If your summer plans don’t include a road trip with giraffes while being chased by a murderous traveling circus and falling in love with the wrong person, what are you even doing? This book does an amazing job of pulling the reader out of our humdrum lives (or in Woody’s case, pulling him from a […]
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
What to Read When…you just need to breathe a bit. I’d just finished Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad which left me feeling…shaken (so much so that I still don’t know what to say about it; look for that blog post a little later). I needed a book I could relax into. Not something “light,” but […]
The 100-Year-Old-Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared, by Jonas Jonasson
If you’ve been feeling old lately, that all the magic is gone from this world, and that life has no more beautiful surprises left for you…this is the book you need to read. This story is a delight from the very first scene when Allan (the 100-Year-Old-Man) does what all of us fantasize about doing […]
One Last Thing Before I Go, by Jonathan Tropper
I’m obviously interested in characters at the lowest point of their lives, making the worst choice of their lives, but how could one possibly make that funny? Incredibly, Tropper knows how, and his One Last Thing Before I Go was the most fun I’ve had with a story in a long time. Silver’s life is […]