What do you see when you look at this picture? Do you visualize a beautiful character even if you can’t see her face? Perhaps you assume that the blonde woman is attractive, and indeed, the author bases a big part of the story on the character’s physical appearance – that while her face draws attention,…
Tag: Netgalley
Netgalley Purge 2: The Unhappiness of Being A Single Man | Book Review
One of the perks of being a book blogger, is the opportunity to pre-read books that are about to be published. Netgalley is one of the sites where people like me can become overly ambitious and request more books than they can read. Last year, I downloaded about 15 electronic books from Netgalley that I…
Netgalley Purge 1: Me, My Hair and I | Book Review
I have about 15 electronic books that I downloaded from Netgalley that I planned to read and review and haven’t gotten to yet. However, I need to wipe the slate clean before I will allow myself to request anything new so I’ll be reading some of these galleys in the next few days. Some of the…
The White Book by Han Kang | Book Review
The White Book is the most recent English release from Korean writer Han Kang and her translator, Deborah Smith. Together, these two women have brought us The Vegetarian which won the Man Booker International Prize in 2016, and Human Acts in 2017, both of which wrapped political and social consciousness into very imaginative and expressive…
How To Love A Jamaican
A few months ago, Netgalley gave me the opportunity to read an Advance Reader Copy (ARC) for a new book. I was entranced by the title: How To Love A Jamaican, and the fact that while it was a short story collection, it had a very catchy title and a gorgeous cover. But I was…
Girl In Snow
Sixteen-year-old Lucinda Hayes is found dead in the snow in front of the neighborhood elementary school one morning. While the police investigate the usual suspects – the neighborhood ex-con, her stalker and her recent ex-boyfriend – anyone could be responsible, which is why it’s important that the story is told from alternating perspectives. There’s the…
Rubbing Stones
Somewhere in the US, a teenaged boy gets enticed into trouble by his girlfriend and winds up in jail, almost hurting his younger brother in the process. Their mother, Jane, who is a psychiatry professor and married to a politician, books an African trip that will take them rafting and on to a clinic –…
MEXICO
Hear the word MEXICO and some sensation reaches your brain. You might get an image of a mariachi band member wearing a sombrero and a smile, the twanging from the guitar slung across the front of his elaborately decorated costume, perhaps? Maybe the taste of tacos or freshly made guacamole and tortilla chips pricks your tastebuds, the smell of…
All The Good Parts
All The Good Parts: a novel or just another case of art imitating life? Summary Leona is approaching 40 and figuring out whether she wants to have a baby in her fast-closing window is giving her something new to obsess about. Meanwhile, she lives in her sister’s house, babysits her nieces and nephews and develops…
The 3-Step Process to Moving From Negative to Positive
Have you ever found yourself saying, ‘I wish I could stop thinking… Something’? You know what I mean. You have a thought, a reaction to a situation, a reflex that you wish you didn’t have. It’s more like a habit – this tendency to think negatively. And you wish you could stop. You wish you…
Does Makeup Make You Pretty?
What Pretty Girls Are Made Of, the short novel by Lindsay Jill Roth, reads like the make-up industry’s version of The Devil Wears Prada. Plot: Alison hasn’t been successful as an actress and is ready for a new, better-paying, secure job. She took a make-up class in school so when she reads that Sally Steele Cosmetics is hiring…
The Truth Behind The Clutter
Let It Go was the chorus line for one of last year’s most popular songs but it’s also the message in most books about organizing and decluttering a space. Behind The Clutter shares a different perspective – if the stuff you have doesn’t make you happy, get rid of it. It doesn’t matter how much you paid…
