I don’t even know where to begin in describing and reviewing All the Light We Cannot See (2014) by Anthony Doerr. It is a sweeping and gorgeous novel about Germany and France during World War II. In some ways, it is "just" another one of those novels capitalizing on the horror and tragedy of our... Continue Reading →
My daughter and I have read a lot of books together lately. You’ve probably noticed, given my reviews of From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, Island of the Blue Dolphins, and The Egypt Game. When my dad saw that we were reading Island of the Blue Dolphins, he told us how... Continue Reading →
I’m taking a cynical approach with this month’s Literary Wives book pick, My Father’s Wives (2015) by Mike Greenberg. It seems to me that the book taught that wives are expendable and that wives are always there for children, even when those children aren’t their own. I’ll explain in more detail later, but first, let... Continue Reading →
Weeks ago, I wrote about my experience in visiting famed author of the Little House books Laura Ingalls Wilder’s house in Mansfield, Missouri. I had read her newly released autobiography before taking this trip, and all of this information made me want to read her daughter’s writing. Rose Wilder Lane was an established and successful... Continue Reading →
I loved this book! I absolutely loved it. Yes, it was a collection of essays about author Mary McCarthy’s childhood that at times were written intellectually, but it had the charm and flourish of her creative voice. After each chapter, she included a commentary chapter, explaining how much of the essay was true and how... Continue Reading →
A year or so ago, my awesome sister Afton gave my oldest daughter some books for her birthday. One of them was a copy of The Egypt Game (1967) by Zilpha Keatley Snyder. As Olivia opened this present, all of us watching oohed and ahhed about the book, remembering how much we had enjoyed it... Continue Reading →
I have lately noticed more lines around my eyes and wrinkles in my forehead, and this semester, not one of my students ventured to ask me how old I was, like they used to. When I taught English 1010 students several years ago in my late twenties, they inevitably would wonder if I was old... Continue Reading →
I’ve just read Island of the Blue Dolphins (1960) by Scott O’Dell for the first time. What a delightful, wonderful book. I’m somewhat disappointed that I didn’t have the experience of reading it as a child, but I got to read it with my daughter, and it was fun. She started reading it on her... Continue Reading →
In Mette Ivie Harrison’s The Bishop’s Wife (2014), Linda Wallheim is the wife in question. She’s the wife of a Mormon (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or LDS) bishop, and works to help him in his unpaid work as clergy for their church. She often calms down members of their ward (parish)... Continue Reading →
A good friend recommended Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects (2006), especially since she knew that we had both read Gone Girl and had both gone to see the movie version the weekend it came out. She recommended Sharp Objects to me because it was so disturbing that she really wanted to talk about it with somebody.... Continue Reading →
The Bookshelf of Emily J. 