Cuisine. Culture. Commentary.
I’m not into chick lit, so this was my version of a beach read, as it was interesting enough and a super quick read. This debut novel from Jean Kwok follows a young girl, Kimberly, and her mother after they immigrate from Hong Kong. While Kimberly is unbelievably smart, she must succeed while hiding the…
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Just finished a great book. If you want a quick read, be sure to pick up Little Bee by Chris Cleave. Note, I said quick read not beach read. Though you could read this on while laying out, don’t expect chick lit. It may move fast, but it’s not exactly light. The chapters alternate between the…
Read MoreI’d picked this book up and put it down at Barnes and Noble countless times, not sure if it would be for me. Finally I decided it was time. The stamp on the front denotes it was a big time award finalist, so I figured it had to be worth my time and I finally…
Read MoreI need to thank Allison for telling me to read Orange is the New Black, Piper Kerman’s memoir of spending just over a year in prison. Imagine the least prison likely person possible. You’re probably picturing me right now. Well that’s basically what it was like for Piper Kerman a blond WASP who ran with…
Read MorePat Conroy has wowed me once again with The Prince of Tides, his novel about a family’s tumultuous home life and their conflicting feelings toward each other. I love everything about Conroy’s writing style and how he makes me yearn for my own Lowcountry. The novel follows Tom Wingo as he relays the complex story…
Read MoreThe great thing about traveling is the amount of time I am able to donate to uninterrupted reading. Considering I sat on the tarmac for four hours before my plane took off for Indianapolis on Thursday, I had plenty of time to finish my latest book. The Nazi Officer’s Wife is Edith Hahn Beer’s memoir of…
Read MoreAnyone who has read or watched Chelsea Handler knows she is no girly girl, a fact prominently displayed through this collection of essays depicting all of her sexcapades. It’s rare (and great) to read this kind of bawdy humor coming from a woman. Each story was funnier than the last. I don’t want to give…
Read MoreThis novel was a quick but good read recommended by my Mommy (and Oprah). At the center is the ethical dilemma of whether or not a midwife is guilty of murdering a patient. Minus a point or two because while there was resolution to each character’s issues, many things were handled from a surface perspective…
Read MoreThe Lords of Discipline by Pat Conroy was an amazing novel. Conroy is a gifted writer and one of my favorite authors. His flowery writing style could make a dreadfully banal topic seem like the most beautiful things you have ever read. Combine that with the fact that his literary focus is the South, and…
Read MoreKathryn Stockett’s The Help was a wonderful quick read about Mississippi life (and Southern life in general) in 1962. At the crux of the story sit three women – two black, one white – who come together to blur the racial lines that defined their every action. Aside from the fact that I was delighted and…
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Peaches to Apples 