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A Review of Anne Tyler’s The Beginner’s Goodbye (by Jill)
I am a huge fan of purchasing Anne Tyler’s books. I assume some day I’ll read more of them and be a huge fan of reading them, too, but this was the first one I have actually read. I … Continue reading
Posted in Anne Tyler, Fiction - literary, Reviews by Jill, Uncategorized
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Thoughts on Paulo Coehlo’s The Alchemist
It’s possible that I was the last English teacher on earth who hadn’t read The Alchemist. When did this book become so omnipresent on 9th grade reading lists? Many students list it as a favorite, and it’s not surprising that … Continue reading
A Review of Anthony Marra’s The Tsar of Love and Techno (by Jill)
My boss brought me this book to borrow a few months ago. I had to tell her that I had already bought it but hadn’t read it. This sort of thing annoys her—wasting paper and money (in that order) … Continue reading
A Review of Orson Scott Card’s Magic Street
Reading this book last week sounded like such a great idea at the time. I was away at a writing residency, living by myself in a tiny cottage on a hilltop (it was wonderful!!), and I was reading two very … Continue reading
A Review of Khaled Hosseini’s And The Mountains Echoed
When I ranted a few weeks ago against Gods without Men and against the use of multiple points of view in general, part of my touchiness had to do with the fact that at the time I was reading And the … Continue reading
A Review of Hari Kunzru’s Gods Without Men
This book begins with a short chapter entitled “In the time when animals were men.” This is the only chapter in the book that has a title. This chapter is clearly meant to allude to Native American mythology, but with … Continue reading
A Review of James Romm’s Dying Every Day: Seneca at the Court of Nero
Is it just me or is everyone talking about the Stoics lately? One of the adult students I tutor works them into conversation at least once per session, and somehow or other I am part of a Facebook group called … Continue reading
A Review of Dave Eggers’ A Hologram for the King
In this novel, protagonist Alan Clay is a salesman facing bankruptcy and ruin who travels to Saudi Arabia with the goal of selling a hologram (and the larger business package that goes with it) to King Abdullah. This novel is … Continue reading
A Review of J.D. Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis
On the one hand, reacting to the Trump victory by immediately reading a bunch of books about poor people is a condescending and despicable thing to do. I feel a little dirty about it, honestly. On the other hand, the … Continue reading
A Review of Laurie R. King’s The Beekeeper’s Apprentice; Or, On the Segregation of the Queen
This is the first installment in a series about a young woman who becomes Sherlock Holmes’ apprentice and, later, his lover and wife. The fact that Sherlock Holmes is a fictional character is pooh-poohed at the beginning of the novel, … Continue reading
Postcards From Purgatory 