Cuisine. Culture. Commentary.
BJ Novak is goofy. Each of the short stories in this book elicits a chuckle. “How does he come up with this stuff?!” is something I bemused after almost every story. Novak chooses a different, random situation for each story. There’s the one about a woman on a date with a warlord, the roast of Nelsen…
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After reading The Secret Place, I was down to read another Tana French thriller. I really enjoyed it but was frustrated by the number of loose ends left at the end. Detectives Ryan and Maddox are summoned to work on the case of a young girl who was murdered in the woods of a Dublin…
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I can not handle how talented Marina Keegan is. At age 22 she is an INCREDIBLE writer. That’s why it is devastating to learn that at age 22, just five days after graduating magna cum laude from Yale, Keegan died in a car crash. It’s so cheesy to call someone a bright star, but that’s…
Read MoreLindsay Hunter’s debut novel is a look at the tragic trajectory of trailer trash. (Apologies for that serious alliteration.) Perry and Baby Girl are best friends, not because they like each other all that much, but because they offer a distraction. They’re not staying up all night giggling on the phone about boys and other…
Read MoreIt is difficult to read Andie Mitchell’s account of how her weight creeped close to 300 pounds by age 20. She describes eating bowl after bowl of cereal after school and cupcake after cupcake before the birthday party even starts. You want to just scream “STOP! You’re doing this to yourself!” But addiction does not…
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Clay is a nerd with lots of nerd friends. But even nerds need jobs so when he loses his in the recession, he takes the first thing he can get. That’s how Clay finds himself working the night shift (10 PM – 6 AM) at Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore. The store has only a few…
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A memoir of a love affair with France (and a man there) that INCLUDES recipes?! This book was quite literally made for me. Elizabeth Bard describes how she fell in love with Gwendal and his bohême lifestyle, all while discovering the beautiful outdoor markets and quaint bistros of Paris. As Bard acclimates to her new home…
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I had never heard of Tana French, but the author endorsements on the book itself were from some of my favorite crime/suspense authors so I gave it a shot. Aaaand now I want to read all her other novels. The action in “The Secret Place” takes place at an Irish boarding school, where detectives have…
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Two book reviews in a row?! Whaaaat. I’m feeling so erudite. Honestly, though, this book really made me think. It’s probably the most academic book I’ve read in a while and definitely the most feminist. I picked it up because I found the title funny and assumed it would be a humorous take on the…
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This book begins with a shooting that leaves one woman dead in a saloon on the outskirts of town and her friend left to figure out what happened. As we flashback to the weeks leading up to the shooting, we learn that an unbearable heat and a smallpox epidemic has been ravaging San Francisco in…
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Peaches to Apples 