Pachinko (Book Review)
This multigenerational saga is about a Korean family that expatriated to Japan, taking place throughout the 20th century. It highlights the harsh prejudice against Korean immigrants in Japan…
Book Reviews
The Painter’s Daughter (Book Review)
This entertaining novel would make a perfect beach read. I’m glad to have started my summer off with it!
Hillbilly Elegy (Book Review)
David Brooks of the New York Times calls this book “essential reading for this moment in history.” I agree, and surprise myself by giving this book that I dragged my feet so long about reading– five stars.
Little Princes (Book Review)
It is always good to read about good prevailing over evil, as well as the resiliency of children even in the worse circumstances.
Sweet Life in Paris (Book Review with Hot Chocolate Recipe)
Never having been to Paris, no other book I’ve ever read has made me feel more like I have.
The Summer Before the War (book review)
It is a bittersweet–but more sweet than bitter– tale about (mostly) likable characters and the difficult times they find themselves in.
Cloud Atlas (Book Review)
Wow. I give this stunning, thought provoking book, a rousing five stars. This is a most brilliant book, far different than anything else I have ever read. It is an ingenious interplay of subplots…
News of the World (Book Review)
This short, sweet book is full of gun-slinging action, overcoming, and warmth. It is perfect to read after a something longer or more demanding.
The Robe (Book Review)
I can’t say enough good things about this book, and I give it an enthusiastic five stars. I think everyone should read this Christian classic.
Simplicity by Richard Rohr (book review with quotes)
Both my husband and I enjoyed this book by Richard Rohr, who is a Franciscan Priest much appreciated by contemporary protestants of all stripes. He is calling Christianity to re-examine business-as-usual which I think is a terribly good idea.
The Invention of Nature (Book Review)
This biography of Alexander Von Humboldt is brilliantly researched, pragmatically told, and wildly relevant. I give it five stars.
Vanessa and Her Sister (Book Review)
This book is about the “Bloomsbury Group,” which I didn’t know much about before, even though I had heard of most of the characters involved, and just didn’t know that they were connected.
Sunday Sketching (Book Review)
This is an absolutely wonderful book. It is part memoir, part a book about design and creativity, part humor and pure brilliance. I give it 5 stars.
When the Emperor Was Divine (Book Review)
This books does not take long to read, but it is deeply affecting. I give it five stars.
Book Review: My Grandmother Told Me To Tell You She’s Sorry
This book is as different and wonderful as the exceptional almost-eight-year-old-girl and her chaotic, cantankerous, superhero of a grandmother are.
Book Review: Interrupted
This fresh book is thankfully neither self-satisfied nor the last word, but the beginning of a discussion on what it means to really follow Jesus, instead of the stale culture of most of modern Christianity.
Book Review: Jade Dragon Mountain
I really liked this mystery set in 18th century China. It was fresh and well written, and it tied up every loose end without feeling contrived.