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: From the Corner of the Oval by Beck Dorey-Stein
Beck Dorey-Stein is a charming and funny young woman, as is her book, From the Corner of the Oval. The day after I finished her book, I met Beck at the Harrisburg Book Festival. She joined former speechwriter and fellow author David Litt on the stage, while they...
Book Review: Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women’s Anger by Rebecca Traister
Let me tell you how I started reading Good and Mad from Rebecca Traister. I was watching Dr. Christine Blasey Ford testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee. I was also on Twitter, because I wanted to experience this momentous hearing with other people, even...
I Feel Bad About Abandoning a Classic
I just abandoned a classic book. I listened for 10 of its 19 hours, and it wasn’t growing on me. In truth, part of this was the narrator. She voiced the main character with a breathy voice I found annoying. But it’s much more than that. Why do we expect a book written...
Book Review: The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn
A.J. Finn introduces us to Dr. Anna Fox, child psychologist and agoraphobe, in her debut novel, The Woman in the Window. As my friend said upon seeing the cover, it’s a mashup of The Girl on the Train and classic movie Rear Window. Finn dives deep into the...
Book Review: The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith (Cormoran Strike #2)
Robert Galbraith skewers an author who skewers the people in his life—and gets killed for it—in this C.B. Strike mystery. Of course, Galbraith is actually J.K. Rowling under a pseudonym. And she’s published many books and sold zillions of copies. There’s some irony in...
Book Review: Ticker: The Quest to Create an Artificial Heart by Mimi Swartz
Mimi Swartz tells the story of a group of cardiac surgeons all vying for the title of creator. Not with a capital C, but creator of the first functional artificial heart. And by group, I don’t mean to imply they worked together. Some did, and some didn’t. Competition...
Book Review: Out by Natsuo Kirino
Out is a gruesome, feminist Japanese thriller written by Natsuo Kirino. What a choice during a week when my circle of friends is all talking about women who experience sexual assault! It’s also a great representation of the genre from one of Japan’s pre-eminent female...
Book Review: Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement by John Lewis
John Lewis creates an incredibly compelling historical memoir in Walking with the Wind. It’s one man’s experience, but it also chronicles the experience of a whole community. While it was written in 1996, so many parts ring true for today’s turbulent world. If you...
Book Review: Everything You Love Will Burn: Inside the Rebirth of White Nationalism in America by Vegas Tenold
Everything You Love Will Burn: Inside the Rebirth of White Nationalism in America by Norwegian journalist Vegas Tenold is not light reading. It’s a book that I started while also knowing it would be upsetting. But I can’t walk away from these topics, or allow myself...
Book Review: The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith (Cormoran Strike #1)
Robert Galbraith creates a cracking good mystery in The Cuckoo’s Calling. Just in case you didn’t already know, Galbraith is the pseudonym for J.K. Rowling, of Harry Potter fame. However, this is only my second Rowling book. I’m not a Potter fan. This series, though?...
The Book Tour Stops Here:
The Druid of Death: A Sherlock Holmes Adventure by Richard T. Ryan
Richard T. Ryan creates a top-notch Sherlock Holmes story in The Druid of Death. He layers the familiar characters of Holmes, Watson, Lestrade, and Mrs. Hudson against historic sites and Druidic lore. And of course, there’s a murder or three to solve! Since Ryan has a...
Book Review: The Book of the Unwinding by J.D. Horn
(New Orleans Witches #2)
The Book of the Unwinding is a chronicle of several families in present-day New Orleans. It’s also the second book in J.D. Horn’s Witches of New Orleans series. It’s creepy and chilling, which is just right as I head into the Halloween reading season. The Marin Family...
Book Review: Sourdough by Robin Sloan
Robin Sloan creates a story of the intersection of capitalism, science, and magic in Sourdough. And there’s a little romance too. But certainly not in a traditional sense. Lois is a computer programmer. When she decides to leave her comfortable Midwest life for a...
Book Review: W is for Wasted by Sue Grafton
It’s ironic to feel that my time was wasted with a book called W is for Wasted. And it breaks my heart. Sue Grafton published her first book in the Alphabet Series in 1982. I found them, and their main character Kinsey Millhone, in about 1990. Luckily, I gobbled up...
Book Review: Ophelia Immune by Beth Mattson
Beth Mattson introduces us to Ophelia Immune in her sometimes shocking but always innovative debut novel. Ophelia and her Family survived the Zombie apocalypse. As the novel opens, they are Drivers. Which is the alternative to being Hikers, and means they are living...
I Refuse to Pick My Favorite Book
Next week PBS’ Great American Read series kicks back into gear. Along with the show, PBS has been running a poll. They want people to vote for their favorite book. The May kickoff show was interesting, and I’m happy as hell to hear people talking about books. (Hint:...
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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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