Faith, by Jennifer Haigh

“Most of you have heard, by now, what happened to my brother, or a version of it: the alarming events of that spring and summer, the single, vile accusation, still unproven, that made a ruin of his life.” Jennifer Haigh is an author who deserves more attention than she gets. I can say this with …

Zorrie, by Laird Hunt

Last year a friend and I were talking about Olive Kitteridge. “I don’t get it,” she said to me. “The writing is beautiful, but what’s the point? It’s just moments in her life. She doesn’t even really change.” Now, while Olive Kitteridge is one of my favorite books, I can also see my friend’s point. …

Passing, by Nella Larsen

"And mingled with her disbelief and resentment was another feeling, a question. Why hadn’t she spoken that day? Why, in the face of Bellew’s ignorant hate and aversion, had she concealed her own origin? Why had she allowed him to make his assertions and express his misconceptions undisputed? Why, simply because of Clare Kendry, who …

My year in reading: 2022

Happy New Year! I’m a little late to the party but thought I’d share a bit about my reading year in 2022. In general, the year was a strange one. I know most of you can relate to that. From a reading perspective, it was unusual. My reading simply felt all over the place. I …

So what happened with my 20 Books of Summer?

Well. That was a bust. I’m talking, obviously, about 20 Books of Summer. I had the best intentions–truly, I did. And I did read 14 books. It’s just that most of them were not on the stack I had intended to read.  (Yes. I’m aware today is the first of November.)  What happened? Kinda the …

20 Books of Summer: Piranesi

I read Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell over a decade ago, before I kept any regular record on Goodreads. I picked it up for a reading challenge–the prompt was a book longer than one you’d usually read–and also because I had been intrigued by the reviews. Magic and fantasy are not typically my thing, but …

20–okay, 10–books of summer

For book lovers, at least for those of us who follow book blogs, 20 Books of Summer, hosted by Cathy at 746 Books, heralds the start of summer. The last time I tried to participate was in 2019. Things...didn't go well. And then there were two summers that went--wait, where did they go? I've been …

2021: My Reading Year

Well, I think it's safe to say this year has been kind of strange for all of us. Here in the Netherlands, we were in full lockdown for the first half of the year, and now we're back here again until mid-January. I won't even begin to pretend that the pandemic hasn't affected my reading, …

Writers & Lovers

Writers & Lovers by Lily King"I can’t find one moment, one sentence, that’s any good. Even the scenes I’ve clung to when all else seems lost—those first pages I wrote in Pennsylvania and the chapter I wrote in Albuquerque that poured out of me like a visitation—have dimmed. It all looks like a long stream …

Freestyle Friday: In with the old, out with the new…

Okay, everyone. Get ready for a ramble! I’ve been trying to gather my thoughts on both the past reading year and the reading year ahead for several months. I had a pretty decent year in reading for 2019, clocking in at 51 books, and for the first time ever, I completed the 20/15/10 Books of …