*** NOVEL: Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine AUTHOR: Gail Honeyman YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 2017 REVIEW: *** Eleanor Oliphant is not fine, not fine at all.  Gail Honeyman is a good writer, though, and she’s created a rather remarkable character here in her debut novel.  I am somewhat mystified by the reception this book has received–my … Continue reading On Our Bookshelves – Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine →

*** NOVEL: Momo AUTHOR: Michael Ende YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 1973 REVIEW: *** Back in 2018, I asked the musician Steve Sandberg for some book recommendations, and he mentioned a book for children called Momo, which I wasn’t familiar with.  (He also recommended Lizard Music, which is excellent–I’d just about forgotten about its existence, and was happy … Continue reading On Our Bookshelves – Momo →

I was introduced to Miguel Flores-Vianna and his lovely photography book, A Wandering Eye, last year, thanks to Rhonda Eleish and Edie Van Breems.

*** NOVEL: A Thousand Acres AUTHOR: Jane Smiley YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 1991 REVIEW: *** I really like when contemporary authors take on the classics.  It doesn’t always work, of course, but there are a lot of tales worth retelling, and it’s worth looking at them from different angles.  Here, Jane Smiley brings the King Lear story … Continue reading On Our Bookshelves — A Thousand Acres →

*** NOVEL: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane AUTHOR: Kate DiCamillo YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 2006 REVIEW: *** More coronavirus reading!  My younger daughter’s entire elementary school was in the midst of reading The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane together when the schools were abruptly shut down.  Fortunately, we had the book at home, and so … Continue reading On Our Bookshelves – The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane →

A poem by Erik La Prade

I thought I’d give Patricia Wentworth a try.

Hello potential desert island getaway package buyers, this is your Nook Representative, Guy here to take you on a tour of what your island getaway could look like.

*** NOVEL: Touch Not the Cat AUTHOR: Mary Stewart YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 1976 REVIEW: *** This book is totally bonkers, but in the best possible way.  Oh, to be a heroine in a Mary Stewart novel! Young, attractive, bright, well-educated, independent,  possessed of a true moral compass, and with romance and adventure right around the … Continue reading On Our Bookshelves – Touch Not the Cat →

*** BOOK: Still the Promised Land AUTHOR: Natwar Gandhi YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 2019 REVIEW: *** Still the Promised Land is a memoir, the true and deeply personal story of Natwar Gandhi’s journey from an impoverished village in rural India to a governmental career in Washington, D.C.  Especially in these times of anti-immigrant sentiment, it’s a … Continue reading On Our Bookshelves – Still the Promised Land →