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, 2018, and 2019 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: Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
Bernardine Evaristo writes a prose poetic novel, honoring a wide-ranging group of black British women in her 2019 book Girl, Woman, Other. The women represent many walks of life, various generations, and diverse personalities. They connect with each other, but the...
Book Review: Women Talking by Miriam Toews
In Women Talking by Miriam Toews, a group of women sort life out after experiencing terrible assaults. What makes this unique is that the women are all conservative Mennonites living in the isolated, fictional colony called Molotschna. But this isn’t strictly a work...
Book Review: Inheritance by Dani Shapiro
Dani Shapiro tells the true story of her DNA test journey in Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love. On a lark, she does a DNA test and unexpectedly discovers that her dad isn’t her biological father. She then allows her readers to be a fly on the...
Book Review: The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon
(The Bone Season #1)
Samantha Shannon creates an alternate London in the not-too-distant future in her debut fantasy novel, The Bone Season. In this London, the ruling organization is called Scion, in fact London itself is referred to as SciLo. And there are many types of clairvoyant...
Book Review: The Edge of Nowhere by C.H. Armstrong
Author C.H. Armstrong writes a compelling deep dive into Oklahoma’s Dust Bowl years in the early twentieth century. In The Edge of Nowhere, her main character is Victoria Hastings. And, my goodness, she does not lead an easy life. The book is a letter from Victoria to...
Book Review: Doing Harm by Maya Dusenberry
Maya Dusenberry compiles and analyzes a boat load of important information in Doing Harm: The Truth About How Bad Medicine and Lazy Science Leave Women Dismissed, Misdiagnosed, and Sick. Now you know her theme—the way women suffer because of misogyny and prejudicial...
My Favorite Books of 2019
I am incredibly late at posting my 2019 favorites. January 2020 was such a great reading month for me that I got sidetracked! 2019 was a diverse year, without any specific focus. But I also read a lot of 5-star reads—13! That’s about 10% of my total reads and does...
Book Review: Drive Your Plow over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk
Olga Tokarczuk is a celebrated Polish writer and Man Booker International Prize winner. No wonder my IRL book group decided to read her work in January. And what a wintery, chilling book this is. Titled “Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead,” it references works...
Book Review: Knots and Crosses by Ian Rankin (Inspector Rebus #1)
Reading Knots and Crosses from Ian Rankin is a trip into the underbelly of Edinburgh, Scotland. Inspector John Rebus is a troubled man, assigned to the team investigating a series of abductions. Not just any abductions, though. Someone is taking young girls, about the...
Book Review: Yes We (Still) Can by Dan Pfeiffer
Dan Pfeiffer is coming soon to a bookstore near me, promoting his new book, Un-Trumping America: A Plan to Make America a Democracy Again. Since I’m attending that event, I decided it was high time I read his first book. And I think I’ll be glad I read them closer...
Book Review: Wild by Cheryl Strayed
Cheryl Strayed writes about her life-changing solo backpacking journey in Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail. It’s not a new book. In fact, it’s been on my digital shelves since 2014. So, I figured, it’s about time I give it a try. Strayed’s story has...
Book Review: Strangers in Their Own Land by Arlie Russell Hochschild
Arlie Russell Hochschild opens the doors of my liberal bubble and bursts its walls in Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right. She’s a professor of sociology at University of California in Berkeley, and this does have an instructional...
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...
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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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