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The Red Lotus: A Prescient Mystery for 2020 from Chris Bohjalian (Book Review)

by Barbara the Bibliophage | Dec 29, 2020 | RELAX: Mystery-Thriller

The Red Lotus is another strong entry in the mystery / thriller genre from Chris Bohjalian. And this time, he chose an oddly prescient topic for a 2020 release. The story centers around Alexis Remnick, a New York City ER doctor. She’s on a bicycling trip to Vietnam...

C.J. Sansom: Dissolution—A Chilly Tudor Era Mystery (Book Review)

by Barbara the Bibliophage | Dec 26, 2020 | RELAX: Historical Fiction, RELAX: Mystery-Thriller

C.J. Sansom creates an unlikely hero in his character Matthew Shardlake. In Dissolution, the time is Tudor England, and Shardlake is a lawyer working in the service of Thomas Cromwell. He’s just two degrees from King Henry VIII. But he’s still just a lowly guy charged...

Taffy Brodesser-Akner Explores NYC Life in Fleishman Is in Trouble (Book Review)

by Barbara the Bibliophage | Nov 29, 2020 | RELAX: Other Relaxation

Taffy Brodesser-Akner shines a light into the darkness of dysfunctional marriage and divorce in Fleishman Is in Trouble. Set in the world of Manhattan’s social climbing thirtysomethings, we meet Toby Fleishman first. He’s experiencing the unstable world of newly...

The Lottery and Other Stories: Classic Horror from Shirley Jackson (Book Review)

by Barbara the Bibliophage | Oct 19, 2020 | RELAX: Mystery-Thriller

The Lottery and Other Stories proves that Shirley Jackson was a master storyteller. Everyone knows this, so I’m not saying anything new. I’m behind on reading Jackson’s work, having only read We Have Always Lived in a Castle previously. But I figured October was a...

Quackery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything by Lydia Kang, MD and Nate Pedersen (Book Review)

by Barbara the Bibliophage | Oct 10, 2020 | LEARN: Chronic Illness

Quackery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything by Lydia Kang and Nate Pedersen is two parts gasping at astounding purported medical cures. It’s also one part rubbernecker can’t look away no matter how yucky the example might be. I thoroughly enjoyed...

Following Trump in 2016: Unbelievable by Katy Tur (Book Review)

by Barbara the Bibliophage | Sep 3, 2020 | RESIST: Politics

What does it say about my reading habits that when I needed something easy, I picked up the 2017 book Unbelievable: My Front Row Seat to the Craziest Campaign in American History by Katy Tur? And that subtitle? It’s not holding up over time, if the state of the 2020...

Life on Other Planets? The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin Book Review (Remembrance of Earth’s Past #1)

by Barbara the Bibliophage | Aug 23, 2020 | RELAX: Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi

The Three-Body Problem is science fiction based in China and written by Chinese author Liu Cixin.  Despite being set in a completely different culture, the science focus offers plenty of commonalities. Plus, of course, the fascination with life on other planets. That...

Coming Soon from Jodi Picoult: The Book of Two Ways (Book Review)

by Barbara the Bibliophage | Aug 11, 2020 | RELAX: Other Relaxation

Jodi Picoult combines Egyptology and the work of a death doula in her new book, The Book of Two Ways. She even throws in a side helping of quantum physics and multiverses. The story is emotional, wise, and engaging but also sometimes a bit dry and hard to follow. Main...

Alma Katsu Dives into Chilling Waters with The Deep (Book Review)

by Barbara the Bibliophage | Aug 2, 2020 | RELAX: Historical Fiction

The Deep from author Alma Katsu is the perfect example of a genre I like to call Historical Fiction with a Twist. To qualify, that twist needs an element of fantasy or supernatural. In this case, Katsu imagines the lives of Titanic passengers and crew. With the hint...

Book Review: Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

by Barbara the Bibliophage | Jun 21, 2020 | RELAX: Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi

Justina Ireland combines zombies with post-Civil War era uncertainties in her alternate history romp, Dread Nation. So now you know, I’ve read two zombie books by Black authors in as many months. Thankfully, this one is more action-packed and features a high-energy,...

Book Review: Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho (Sorcerer Royal #1)

by Barbara the Bibliophage | Jun 10, 2020 | RELAX: Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi, RELAX: Historical Fiction

The publisher summary of Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho focuses on Zacharias Wythe, who is England’s young Sorcerer Royal of the Unnatural Philosophers. But for me, this imaginative fantasy is as much about the female lead Prunella, as it is about Zacharias. And Cho...

Book Review: The Book of Soul by Mark Nepo

by Barbara the Bibliophage | May 30, 2020 | LEARN: Everything Else

Mark Nepo is the only author with a spiritual bent that I consistently read. And his May 2020 book, The Book of Soul: 52 Paths to Living What Matters is no exception. It’s a peaceful, warm, and caring respite from a world on fire. Nepo talks about topics such as how...

Book Review: Murder as a Fine Art by David Morrell

by Barbara the Bibliophage | May 2, 2020 | RELAX: Historical Fiction, RELAX: Mystery-Thriller

Author David Morrell skillfully blends history and mystery in his 2013 novel, Murder as a Fine Art. Morrell uses real-life historical figures and inserts them into likely situations. Plus, he bases events on the history surrounding their lives. In addition, he...

Book Review: The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair by Joël Dicker

by Barbara the Bibliophage | Apr 26, 2020 | RELAX: Mystery-Thriller

Marcus Goldman and Harry Quebert are New York-based writers in this mystery from Swiss-born Joël Dicker. But none of the action takes place in Manhattan. Instead it is set at Harry’s New Hampshire home, in the small town of Somerset. Goldman is a former student of...

Book Review: The Road to Unfreedom by Timothy Snyder

by Barbara the Bibliophage | Mar 4, 2020 | RESIST: Politics

I discovered Timothy Snyder, professor and author, in the spring of 2017. When my heart sank deeper, and my protesting voice felt hoarse, I dove into political books looking for answers. Snyder delivered. I reread that small book, On Tyranny, earlier this year. Even...

Book Review: Hollywood Park by Mikel Jollett

by Barbara the Bibliophage | Feb 26, 2020 | RELAX: Memoir

Musician Mikel Jollett didn’t have an easy childhood. In his upcoming memoir, titled Hollywood Park, he tells his story. It’s a moving exposition of many topics, from cults to chronic depression, addiction, and the power of family to both hurt and heal. Jollett’s...
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