*** BOOK: The Art of Eating AUTHOR: M.F.K. Fisher YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 1954 REVIEW:  *** I recently read M.F.K Fisher’s As They Were, a collection of essays written between 1935 and 1982, which at least purports to be an informal autobiography.  It’s not: it’s a collection of disparate pieces, some excellent, some less so, and … Continue reading On Our Bookshelves: The Art of Eating →

Lives in Writing is a rather good compendium of essays about authors and their work, written by David Lodge, a fine writer himself, with illuminating insight on biographies, autobiographies, biographical fiction, memoirs, correspondence, and diaries.

The Jane Austen Book Club isn’t a reimagining of one of Jane Austen’s novels.

*** NOVEL: The Franchise Affair AUTHOR: Josephine Tey YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 1949 REVIEW:  *** The Franchise Affair is beautifully written, a mystery well-told.  It’s considered a classic in the genre, one of the Crime Writers’ Association’s Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time and one of the Mystery Writers of America’s Top 100 Mystery Novels … Continue reading On Our Bookshelves: The Franchise Affair →

*** NOVEL: Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors AUTHOR: Sonali Dev YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 2019 REVIEW:  *** Pride and Prejudice gets an Indian-American California makeover here, with a gender-swapped version of the classic story.  It’s an easy, breezy read, and rather silly and predictable, but there are times (like these) that readers want the comfort of … Continue reading On Our Bookshelves: Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors →

Brandon Stanton’s gift to the world is a collection of stories and connections, those gifts from the universe amplified and shared. 

It’s been a long wait for Susanna Clarke’s second novel, 16 years.

No Time to Spare is a collection of essays, originally blog posts, collecting some of the best of Ursula Le Guin’s online pieces towards the end of her life. 

I can’t exactly recommend The Thursday Murder Club. Well, maybe I can.  I enjoyed reading it, having been very much in the mood for something comforting and undemanding. 

*** NOVEL: Bellewether AUTHOR: Susanna Kearsley YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 2018 REVIEW:  *** I’m not sure whether it was the elementary curriculum itself or whether I just wasn’t paying close attention.  But in my memory at least, the American history I was taught growing up was sorely lacking and quite sporadic.  We started with Columbus: 1492, … Continue reading On Our Bookshelves: Bellewether →