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 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: The Senator’s Children by Nicholas Montemarano
I almost stopped reading The Senator’s Children before author Nick Montemarano hit his stride. I’m glad that I didn’t stop. In fairness, I would have stopped because of my emotions, not his skill at writing. In short, the Christie family begins the novel looking like...
Book Review: Forever … by Judy Blume
The plot of Forever ... from Judy Blume is simple ... it’s 18-year olds in love and lust circa 1978. Blume also uses way too many ellipses in her writing, so forgive the nod to my reading group’s frustration with this quirk. When my Litsy friends suggested a reread of...
Book Review: Soulless by Gail Carriger (Parasol Protectorate, Book 1)
Gail Carriger introduces Alexia Tarrabotti in Soulless, the first of the Parasol Protectorate series. I love a promising new to me series, don’t you? Soulless is set in a steampunk version of Victorian England reimagined with dirigibles, vampires, and werewolves. The...
Book Review: Women & Power: A Manifesto by Mary Beard
I started Women & Power: A Manifesto from Mary Beard at breakfast. By dinner, I had finished this short and insightful read. Beard is a classics professor at University of Cambridge. She has a uniquely English perspective, but uses examples from throughout the world....
Book Review: Text Me When You Get Home: The Evolution and Triumph of Modern Female Friendship by Kayleen Schaefer
Kayleen Schaefer explores twenty-first century female friendships with gusto in Text Me When You Get Home. Like a great coffee date with your bestie, it’s the perfect blend of research, analysis, and real-life stories. By the end I was eyeing up that woman in the next...
Book Review: Playing with Fire: The 1968 Election and the Transformation of American Politics by Lawrence O’Donnell
I’ve never read a more intense political history book than Playing with Fire by Lawrence O’Donnell. The subtitle tells it all, and yet doesn’t touch the events’ complexity: The 1968 Election and the Transformation of American Politics. Considering it was the bizarre...
Book Review: Carnegie’s Maid by Marie Benedict
As the great-granddaughter of Welsh immigrants to the Pittsburgh area, I enjoyed Carnegie's Maid by Marie Benedict, about a young Irish immigrant working for a highly successful Pittsburgh family of Scottish immigrants. Benedict’s heroine, Clara Kelly, is a strong...
Book Review: Dune by Frank Herbert
Frank Herbert’s Dune is a classic epic fantasy that my darling husband calls one of his favorites. Never mind that he was a teenager when he read it. So when I saw a clean copy on the shelf of a used bookstore, I grabbed it up. I like epic fantasy, so why not? Then I...
Book Review: This Messy Magnificent Life: A Field Guide by Geneen Roth
Reflecting back over This Messy Magnificent Life: A Field Guide by Geneen Roth, I think the audiobook didn’t work for me. But, in truth, I won’t be likely to pick up the print copy now that I’ve listened to the audio. I might look for some book tour interviews by...
Book Review: The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
Just as my local weather became springlike, I dove back into winter with The Snow Child from Eowyn Ivey. Actually, the chilly images are so strong I felt transported. I’d highly recommend reading it during the hottest part of summer, just for the sense of cold and...
Book Review: Promise Me, Dad by Joe Biden
Before my ebook hit 25%, Joe Biden’s family stories in Promise Me, Dad had me crying. There’s plenty of other content in this heartfelt memoir, but the focus is on Beau Biden’s fight with cancer. Beau is Joe Biden’s oldest son, technically Joe III. His life story is...
Book Review: Backbone: Living with Chronic Pain Without Turning into One by Karen Duffy
Karen Duffy’s second book, Backbone: Living with Chronic Pain Without Turning into One, is meant to be a funny and motivational read. Duffy has certainly lived through more days of illness and pain than not. And she has some celebrity cred which adds a bit to the...
Book Review: The Power by Naomi Alderman
I wanted to love Naomi Alderman’s The Power so much. Heck, it was one of President Obama’s 2017 favorites. I suggested it to my new (and offline!) book group, which I should have known was the kiss of death. In truth, The Power could have been so much more. Instead,...
Book Review: Beyond the Messy Truth: How We Came Part, How We Come Together by Van Jones
On Election Night 2016, Van Jones said something on CNN that I’ll never forget—it was a Messy Truth. This book expands on those thoughts about Republicans, Democrats, red states, blue states, and whether we’ll ever learn how to be purple. Jones shares his personal...
Book Review: Affinity by Sarah Waters
Sarah Waters’ historical novel, Affinity, is about two women imprisoned in very different circumstances. Selina Dawes is in a literal prison, put there because of her own actions. (Of course, it’s never quite that simple.) On the other hand, Margaret Prior is...
Book Review: The Enchanted by Rene Denfeld
Rene Denfeld brings her personal experience to the writing of her first novel, The Enchanted. Although I didn’t know this while I read the book, Denfeld’s “Letter to the Reader” tells of her unique connection to prison culture. She works as a death penalty...
Recently added to TBR
Data from Goodreads
Purchase My Book
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
Recent Comments