Gather 'round…
From my Goodreads review: Almost Everything: Notes on Hope by Anne LamottMy rating: 5 of 5 starsAh, Anne Lamott. I love her so. Almost Everything is classic Lamott, witty, comical, heart-wrenching, and honest to the point of breaking. Her very first words tell the whole story: "I am stockpiling antibiotics for the apocalypse, even as... Continue Reading →
Man, do I love a good book. I haven't been hitting the fiction very hard lately--I always wonder at the ebb and flow and general chaos of my reading tendencies--but I feel myself headed back down some excellent fiction roads. Thank God. Every now and again, fiction is the quickest way to my heart. I... Continue Reading →
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie My rating: 5 of 5 starsAccording to Goodreads, Agatha Christie is the best-selling author of all time. Yeah. I can believe that.This was my first exposure to The AC, and well, I wasn't disappointed. Riveting. Funnily enough, it reminds me of Ellen Raskin's The Westing Game, that... Continue Reading →
I love Annie Dillard. Non-Fiction, anyway. I can't speak to her fiction. But her NF is brilliant.It's interesting to me how I can forget things so easily. I was in the middle of An American Childhood when it had to go back to the library many months ago, and I never did get it back. Plum... Continue Reading →
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz My goodreads rating: 5 of 5 stars I've been on a serious non-fiction jag. Kind of a non-reading jag, really. Summer and all that, I suppose. Not sure how it throws me so far off kilter, but it does. Regardless, when fall... Continue Reading →
Accidental Saints found its way into my library hold shelf a while back. I didn't review it. Not because it wasn't good. Just because I didn't. I can do that sometimes... read a book and not even have the decency to write about it. Apologies. I loved it. Nadia Bolz-Weber is a foul-mouth overly-tatted rough-and-tumble... Continue Reading →
All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater My rating: 5 of 5 stars Can I give it six stars? Eight? I need more stars. A few weeks ago I was driving across the Colorado desert with my 18yo and she suddenly drops into a reminiscent haze in the midst of the red rocks and tumbleweed.... Continue Reading →
I have long been a devotee of J.I. Rodale’s Synonym Finder, the Colossus of the thesaurus world, a reference mutant juiced up on creative steroids. Rodale, known more for his organic living evangelism, was apparently also a lover of words and the palaces that are built on them, and for that we should all be... Continue Reading →
Winterdance Gary Paulsen My Goodreads rating: 5/5 Stars Oh, Gary Paulsen is a gem. I laughed so hard. It took me back a handful of years to the several times I read Paulsen's Harris and Me to my kiddos. Rip-snortin' funny. And wonderful. Paulsen regales with stories of his journey to and through the Iditarod, and doesn't... Continue Reading →
Small Victories: Spotting Improbable Moments of Grace by Anne Lamott My rating: 5 of 5 stars My first Anne Lamott. I know. But it is. I loved most of it. I love her brokenness shining forth unapologetically, unabashed vulnerability, and snarky humor. Thus, Anne Lamott is a hit. But I do have to say that... Continue Reading →
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer My rating: 5 of 5 stars So I was subjected to Artemis Fowl second hand, through closed bedroom doors and across tents with no doors whatsoever. I caught chunks and snippets here and there without really listening long before I finally decided to dive in for myself. My oldest (18)... Continue Reading →
Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman My rating: 5 of 5 stars Another homerun from Fredrik Backman. Wow. Britt-Marie Was Here follows Britt-Marie of My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry fame through the next stage of her life, and it does so with deep compassion and beauty. If you've read about Elsa... Continue Reading →
Tales From the Nexus 