I've been wanting to reread an old John Irving book for quite a while now. He was a very early favorite of mine, but it's been quite a while since he wrote something I liked.…
Category: Does It Hold Up?
The week in review
I am kind of checked out this week, but I did get to combine two of my very favorite things, reading and the beach. There was also soft serve involved. Pretty excellent combo. I'm not…
I’m not a kid, I happen to be 18
Were Judy Blume books essential reading for you when you were young? She certainly was for me and all my friends, but all these years later, I'm still never sure quite how universal the Judy…
There’s no book like Was
"Dorothy," said Aunty Em. "Please come back. You were the light of my life. You were what kept me going all those years." These lines, said by the "real" Aunty Em to depressed adolescent Dorothy…
Yep, still there
Jenny opened a plastic compact, looked into it, and then snapped it shut, as if merely making certain that she was still there. That little bit from Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant has stuck with…
Jake Jackson? He doesn’t even know you exist.
"There are those nights when you're pushing thirty and life seems over. When you feel like you'll never tie up any ends and no one will ever kiss your lips again." I felt this way…
You don’t get it when there’s nothing to get
I was 21 when I first read Nude Men, and it became an instant favorite. I was curious and mildly apprehensive about revisiting it. For one thing, I've never liked a single thing Amanda Filipacchi…
Berthe Erica Crow!
"The sun sets in the west (just about everyone knows that) but Sunset Towers faced east. Strange!" These opening lines of The Westing Game still pop into my head anytime I need to remember which…
It may not be great but read it anyway
Oh how I wish I could go back in time right now and make my 14 year old self write a book report on The Handmaid's Tale. I remember that I got it as a…
Unforgettable
I go through two or three books a week, so I don't always remember everything I read, even if I enjoyed it in the moment. One book I will never forget is Jill McCorkle's first…