fiction

Top Ten NBCC Picks I Want to Read

February 12, 2013

The National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) recently announced its 2012 finalists for outstanding books. While there are a handful of titles I’ve been planning to read, there are also several books I’d never even heard of–which is surprisingly common with the NBCC annual picks. Here are the titles I’m most looking forward to reading: 10. The Distance Between Us by Reyna Grande When Reyna Grande’s father leaves his wife and three children behind in a village in Mexico to make the dangerous […]

“S.E.C.R.E.T.” by L. Marie Adeline

February 8, 2013

It’s been a long time since Cassie Robichaud has felt desired. She was estranged from her alcoholic husband when he crashed his car and died five years ago, and they never really had a healthy relationship in the first place. Since then, her romantic life has sputtered and died.

“Butterfly’s Child” by Angela Davis-Gardner

January 17, 2013

Angela ­Davis-Gardner’s novel, Butterfly’s Child, begins where Puccini’s opera, “Madame Butterfly,” leaves off. Frank Pinkerton, a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy, has returned to Japan with Kate, his new wife. Cio-Cio-san (Butterfly), his mistress, sees her chance at simultaneous revenge and redemption. She commits suicide, and Benji’s world changes in a moment.

Eight Memoirs I’m Reading This Semester

January 8, 2013

This semester, I’m taking a class called Readings in Essay and Memoir, so I thought I’d dedicate a post to some of the texts we’ll cover. You’ve probably noticed that memoir is one of my favorite genres. In fact, I’d like to write a memoir, and the second-best way to become a better writer is to read. (The first-best is to actually write.) None of these are new releases, but they represent different styles of memoir and essay writing and I know […]

“More Like Her” by Liza Palmer

January 3, 2013

Frances Reid, a speech pathologist who guides readers through the world of Markham, a private school, is riddled with insecurity after breaking up with fellow teacher Ryan. But after acknowledging her much-maligned flaws, Frances is ready to lose herself in the bustle of a new semester: new students, new challenges, and a new headmistress.

Top Ten Books I Resolve to Read in 2013

January 1, 2013

There were dozens of fantastic new releases in 2012, but I fell far behind in reading them. Now, it’s time to catch up–as always, my New Year’s resolution for 2013 is to read more. (Do you expect anything less from me?) Here are the top ten books I vow to read before this year’s end.

“Losing Clementine” by Ashley Ream

June 29, 2012

Clementine has made up her mind: In 30 days, she’s going to end it. Kick the bucket. Buy the farm. Push up daisies. That gives her an entire month to put her life in order. Because she’s resolved not to leave a mess… not like her mother did.

Monday Mailbox: BEA Loot

June 25, 2012

Two things: I swear that I know the real title of Jenny Lawson’s memoir, despite what I say in the video; and I think my hair is preparing an uprising against me. Let’s Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir) by Jenny Lawson Matched by Ally Condie The Vicious Deep by Zoraida Cordova SprinkleBakes: Dessert Recipes to Inspire Your Inner Artist by Heather Baird Then Came You by Jennifer Weiner I receive a very small commission when you purchase the book […]

Monday Mailbox: Jon Krakauer, Gretchen Rubin, and More!

June 18, 2012

Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer Jesus Land: A Memoir by Julia Scheeres Random Family: Love, Drugs, Trouble, and Coming of Age in the Bronx by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun by Gretchen Rubin Property by Valerie Martin I receive a […]

“The Lantern” by Deborah Lawrenson

March 2, 2012

Eve, a young translator only a few years out of college, already feels trapped in the turn her life had taken. Everything changes when she meets Dom. She leaves her life in England behind as they set out on an extended, dream-like vacation that includes buying an estate in Provence.

“Faith” by Jennifer Haigh

January 30, 2012

Late in life—long after their tumultuous childhoods—Art Breen and Sheila McGann became friends. As half-siblings, they were separated by more than a decade, and their different paths in life sometimes seemed like an unbridgeable gulf.

National Book Critics Circle Awards

January 29, 2012

I don’t usually pay a great deal of attention to awards, but there are a few that usually fall in line with my tastes; the Orange Prize is one, and the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) awards are another. When an award is successful, it serves as an introduction to a previously unknown but soon-to-be-beloved author. I end up reading not only her award-winning title, but also her backlist. The shortlist of books published in 2011 was released recently, and more than […]

In My Mailbox: Sebastian Junger, Dave Eggers, Ann Patchett, and More!

January 27, 2012

Books in This Episode War by Sebastian Junger (Jack’s review) What Is the What by Dave Eggers Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell Bel Canto by Ann Patchett In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson The Mirage by Matt Ruff I Don’t Know How She Does It: The Life of Kate Reddy, Working Mother by Allison Pearson An Unfinished Score by Elise Blackwell […]

“Before They Are Hanged” by Joe Abercrombie

January 12, 2012

Before They Are Hanged, the second book in Joe Abercrombie’s First Law Trilogy, takes off right where The Blade Itself left off. Glokta, the crippled torturer with a sense of humor as sharp as his tools, has been promoted within the Inquisition. His new post in the besieged city of Dagoska brings him dangerously close to his old friends, the Gurkish—the enemies to the South who introduced Glokta to the torturing biz years before.