The most amazing recent events in my bookish life are as follows:
I attended the Festival of Faith & Writing at Calvin University, where I heard great lectures on books and writing and other fascinating things writers write about, connected with old friends and met so many wonderful new people, many of whom I already ‘knew’ from online writers’ groups and social media. I felt solidly among ‘my people’ and it was an exhilarating and exhausting week.
I also met Anthony Doerr, author of Cloud Cuckoo Land and All the Light We Cannot See, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and one of my all-time favorite novels. You can read more about our delightful interaction on Instagram or Facebook.
Now, in honor of World Book Day (today, April 23), here are my March & April reviews:
NONFICTION
Scatterbrain: How the Mind’s Mistakes Make Humans Creative, Innovative and Successful by Henning Beck
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Sometimes too science-y, & even then fascinating to watch how my own brain wanders. And also, so funny! This neuroscientist-author has an incredible wit. I listened to the audiobook, so now I’ll get my hands on the physical book to take notes…
Keep Moving: Notes on Loss, Creativity, and Change by Maggie Smith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
An extended poem-in-prose where every line is relatable & quotable. Maggie Smith is a gift to humanity.
FICTION
The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Krueger’s writing is simply gorgeous, a slow burn of nuanced description & character development, intrigue, loving tenderness, & passionate destruction.
“On quiet nights when the moon is full or nearly so and the surface of the Alabaster is mirror-still and glows pure white in the dark bottomland, to stand on a hillside and look down at this river is to fall in love.” (prologue)
The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I love the magical books & doors to other times/places tropes & this one delivers. It also offers some solid life advice on managing grief & stepping boldly into your life’s adventures. I enjoyed the story & it added some goodness to my life.
Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Sittenfeld can tell a fun story that still means something. Don’t sell yourself short, just be yourself. Don’t be starstruck, just let people be who they are.
“Aren’t we all just looking for someone to talk about everything with? Someone worth the effort of telling our stories and opinions to, whose stories and opinions we actually want to hear?”
Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book is entirely different from Homegoing, Gyasi’s first (& arguably better) book. This one is easier to read in many ways, & it still considers some of the same themes while zeroing in on family & the necessary distinctions between science & religion.
“We try to squeeze a little more life out of our lives. It’s natural to want to do that. But to be alive in the world, every day, as we are given more and more and more, as the nature of ‘what we can handle’ changes and our methods for how we handle it change, too, that’s something of a miracle.”
Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book is – & more importantly – isn’t as described. It’s so much more! I could have done with a little less repetition, but overall, it’s an engaging & fast-paced novel with so much to offer. And I just discovered that there’s another book in the series that follows a younger character.
The Eyes and the Impossible by Dave Eggers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I found this book delightful. It sure sounds like it’s set in Golden Gate Park & I could see all the beautiful locations as they were described, except one of the characters says they’re on an island…?
“We need to start now,” she said. I loved her for that. Sometimes in this life so much depends on one friend simply saying, Yes, we must do this.“
“Or Yes, I see it that way, too.
“Or It is high time we do something great and grand.“
The Honeymoon Crashers by Christina Lauren
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Christina Lauren has their formula down pat. Doesn’t matter that it’s predictable, just that it delivers on the lighthearted romantic comedy…and it does!
View all my reviews
