Welcome!
I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t reading at least one book. I devour them, make time for them, hunt for bargains, and love to talk with other readers like you.
When I was trying to sum up my favorite 2016 reads, I realized I read mostly in three categories: books I learn from, books I use to relax, and books that are about resisting patriarchy, racism, and the status quo. So, that’s how I’m organizing my blog posts here. (I hope you’ll check out my favorite 2017 and 2018 reads also.)
I’m also the author of the Amazon best-selling Kick Pain in the Kitchen, about how to find holistic pain relief.
Find me at Goodreads and on the Litsy app as BarbaraTheBibliophage!
Book Review: Miracle Creek by Angie Kim
In Miracle Creek, author Angie Kim creates a whodunit with a side helping of the difficult realities of achieving the American Dream. Kim blends tragedy, kids with chronic illness, moms who will do anything to help them, teenage angst, and cultural pride. It’s a...
Book Review: In Pieces by Sally Field
I am so impressed by Sally Field. In Pieces is a poignant, charming, and absorbing tale. And she lived it all. Although she never glosses over the difficult parts of her life, she intersperses them with her triumphs. Through it all, we learn just how hard a Hollywood...
Book Review: Material Value by Julia Goldstein, Ph.D
Julia Goldstein is a Ph.D. materials engineer. And her passion is exactly in line with the subtitle of her book: More Sustainable, Less Wasteful Manufacturing of Everything from Cell Phones to Cleaning Products. Goldstein takes readers through a journey that is part...
Book Review: From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death by Caitlin Doughty
If I’m going to read about death, let it be a book by Caitlin Doughty. And in this book, Doughty travels the world, investigating various death-related practices. She makes the topic fun, which obviously sounds different from how we typically perceive death. What I...
Book Review: Know My Name by Chanel Miller
Chanel Miller went to a fraternity house party one evening, and woke up in the hospital the following morning. What happened in between is just one reason why she’s written a memoir. During the party, Miller got quite drunk and passed out. Her sister and friend...
Book Review: The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson
Maggie Nelson and Harry Dodge have a non traditional family, while doing common things like struggling to get pregnant and raising two children together. In her memoir, The Argonauts, Nelson explores the unique aspects of their lives. At the same time, she discusses...
Book Review: The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
Marion Zimmer Bradley creates King Arthur’s story from a female-centric viewpoint in The Mists of Avalon. Instead of focusing on the men—Arthur, Lancelet, the various Knights—she uses the perspectives of the women in their lives. Her main characters are Arthur’s wife...
Book Review: Flash Count Diary by Darcey Steinke
In Flash Count Diary, Darcey Steinke presents her perspective on various aspects of menopause. It’s one woman’s experience, and thus, a memoir. And yet, it’s so much more. There’s science, social commentary, and some thoughts on medical methods. But if you’re looking...
Book Review: Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips
In Disappearing Earth, author Julia Phillips transports the missing girl trope to a unique location. On the Kamchatka Peninsula in Eastern Russia, life is hard. It combines both modern conveniences like cell phones, and long-established behaviors like misogyny. So...
Book Review: The Angel and the Assassin by Donna Jackson Nakazawa
Donna Jackson Nakazawa is a favorite nonfiction author of mine. Her book, The Autoimmune Epidemic was one of the first books I read after being diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis 10 years ago. And I’ve devoured every one she’s written since. The Angel and the...
Book Review: The Solstice Bride by Jacqueline Simonds (The Heirs of Camelot #2)
The Solstice Bride, the second in the Heirs to Camelot series from Jacqueline Simonds, picks up twenty years after the end of The Midsummer Wife. Twenty years! Imagine my disappointment when she didn’t immediately jump in and explain her cliffhanger. But in the end I...
Book Review: Good Boy: My Life in Seven Dogs by Jennifer Finney Boylan
Good Boy, the latest memoir from Jennifer Finney Boylan, makes me want to go adopt a dog. And it also makes me glad I don’t have one. She tells a plethora of funny and poignant stories about dog ownership. Alternately, she tells about dogs who despise their owners and...
Book Review: Over-Diagnosed by H. Gilbert Welch, M.D.
Over-Diagnosed: Making People Sick in the Pursuit of Health is a physician researchers' perspective on the state of medical practice in the United States. It was published in 2011, so some of the information is dated. But the fundamental questions raised by H. Gilbert...
Graphic Novel Review: My Favorite Thing is Monsters by Emil Ferris
Emil Ferris shows off her storytelling and artistic talent in My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, Volume 1. In her graphic novel, she creates the art journal and diary of Karen Reyes. Karen is a 1960s Chicago pre-teen, balancing the difficulties of her own adolescence with...
Book Review: The Midsummer Wife by Jacqueline Simonds (The Heirs of Camelot #1)
Jacqueline Simonds offers an urban fantasy with a side helping of Arthurian legend in The Midsummer Wife. It’s a tantalizing reading combination, especially in a time when we know our leaders by their tweets rather than by their ancestry. Set in the near future, the...
Book Review: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
Eleanor Oliphant is the oddest of odd ducks, created by Gail Honeyman in her 2017 debut novel, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. Thanks to my IRL book group for suggesting it, as I probably wouldn’t have read it without them. Eleanor has a way with words. In fact,...
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I will definitely recommend Kick Pain in the Kitchen to my patients: Those who are looking to avoid pharmaceutical treatment and those who want to combine western medicine with alternative therapies.
Jane A. Swartz
ARNP, MSN, Rheumatology Nurse Practitioner
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