When I bought my house twenty years ago, one of the things I loved most was the little perennial garden that ran along the driveway from the front steps to the side. It had been professionally designed and planted and the owners left me the garden schematic beautifully plotted out on parchment-thin paper, shaded with soft …
The Invoice Jonas Karlsson Hogarth How do you measure happiness? By the number of friends you have? Or the prestige of your job? Maybe you’re happy if others think highly of you or praise you. Maybe happiness is related to the neighborhood you can afford or the make and model of your car. Smart people …
A picture is worth a thousand words–and I freely admit choosing my books (at least in part) by their covers. Some publishers’ services like NetGalley even ask members to give book covers a thumbs up … or down. I’m drawn to book covers that don’t illustrate the book’s plot, but rather paint an impressionistic portrait …
Miss Jane Brad Watson W.W. Norton & Company Like so many women in the piney woods of Mississippi, Mrs.Chisolm had lost more babies than she had children. So when she found herself pregnant again–at thirty-nine, no less–she pretended she was not. Better to think it a false pregnancy than one she would lose yet again. …
The Trouble With Goats and Sheep (NetGalley) Joanna Cannon Scribner Mrs. Creasy has gone missing and the entire estate is abuzz. Especially the residents of the Avenue. Mrs. Creasy was friend (confidant, even) to all–and knew the secrets that lived behind closed doors. She knew the secrets of number 8 and number 12 and even …
Consequence Eric Fair Henry Holt I first heard writer Eric Fair on NPR’s Fresh Air recounting his time in Iraq as a private contractor providing security at Abu Ghraib and later for the NSA in Bagdad. As an intelligence analyst his job was often to interrogate detainees and it’s clear from his experiences the cliches …
True confession: I’m a woman of a certain age and I don’t color my hair. For a few years back in my 40s, I did highlights, mainly because I felt so pampered at the salon. But I don’t do the all-over douse-it-out bit that so many women do when they see those kinky, silver strands …
Vinegar Girl (NetGalley) Anne Tyler Hogarth/Crown Publishing I’m not one for modern novels that piggy back on a great work of literature. Chances are I’ve already read the classic, so the broad strokes of the contemporary retelling seem forced. And I tend to nitpick, as well: “Well, that didn’t happen in The Great Classic” or “Famous …
I wrote about Not the Average Mama last month–Jessica’s blog is a must read, whether you’re a step or not. This week, Not the Average Mama is participating in a book tag via A Kinder Way. and I thought I’d join the fun. Consider yourself tagged and share the love! What are you reading now? I’m …
Lily and the Octopus (NetGalley) Steven Rowley Simon & Schuster I! LOVE! DOGS! I! WANT! TO! READ! I thought when I saw the cover of Lily and the Octopus with its cute little dachshund. The blurb said it was magic, that reading it would be an unforgettable ride, and compared the novel to The Life of Pi,. Was I in …
This is my symphony 