Books Distilled » Archive
Book Review: The Stuff That Never Happened
The Story The Stuff That Never Happened, by Maddie Dawson, is narrated by Annabelle McKay. Mother of two kids that have recently flown the coop–Nicky’s a freshman in college and Sophie, newly married and expecting, lives in New York City–she settles back into married life with her husband, Grant, in their ancient New Hampshire farmhouse. The only problem is that Grant, a community college professor and labor historian writing his first book, is hardly ever home. When … Read entire article »
Filed under: Contemporary Literature
Book Review: The Widower’s Tale
Okay, folks, I have to do something I rarely do: post a negative review. I can’t help it. I did my best with this book, I really did. It had its merits, which I will list. But oh, did it have its detriments. I don’t know why I keep reading books by Julia Glass. I’ve read Three Junes (her first novel, for which she won a National Book Award) and The Whole World Over. Her books … Read entire article »
Filed under: Contemporary Literature
Author Interview: AJ O’Connell
If you missed it on Monday, check out my review of my friend AJ’s new book on Kindle, Beware the Hawk. Without further adieu, the lady herself! How did you come up with the idea for this piece? Beware the Hawk is more than a decade old, or at least the idea that sparked the novella is more than a decade old. I dreamed up the idea while I was riding the bus back and forth from … Read entire article »
Filed under: Uncategorized
Book Review: Beware the Hawk
Happy Monday, friends! I am super psyched to introduce this review to you! It is the first of what I hope will many reviews of books published by my colleagues in the Fairfield MFA program. Get It on Kindle AJ O’Connell graduated from our program last summer and has recently had her novelette (what a great word!), Beware the Hawk, published on Amazon. (It’s about 40 pages long.) It’s available for Kindles only–just another reason to get one, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Contemporary Literature
Book Review: The Monsters of Templeton
Lauren Groff’s debut novel, The Monsters of Templeton, is a hilarious amalgam of historical fiction, ghost story, ancestral search, and girl-comes-home-in-disgrace. Interested? On the morning Willie Upton returns home to Templeton, New York–based on Groff’s hometown of Cooperstown, home of the baseball hall of fame–the sea monster that has lived in Lake Glimmerglass for decades floats to the surface, dead. Willie has fled Alaska, where she was on an archaeology dig as part of her nearly finished PhD program, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Contemporary Literature
About Me
Ever stand in the bookstore or library, gazing around blankly, overwhelmed by choices, jealous of the other purposeful browsers? This blog is for you.
I read. A lot.
Recent Comments