The Giver of Stars: A Magnificent Blend of Informational and Entertaining

A historical fiction novel that portrays the power of books and is filled with an intellectually diverse cast of independent women? Yes please! The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes follows Alice and Margery, two women who belong to the Packhorse Librarians of Kentucky—an initiative between 1935-1943 that focused on delivering books to those in […]

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Book Review: Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter

Brief summary: Pretty Girls follow Claire and Lydia, two sisters who are still trying to heal after their older sister disappeared 20 years earlier. When Claire’s husband is killed, the two estranged sisters are brought back together as the world unravels around them and disastrous secrets come to light.  This book is disturbing. Truly. And […]

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Book Review: Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Ah, this is my Dostoevsky, the Dostoevsky I know and love after reading Crime and Punishment. I know that The Brothers Karamazov is largely considered to be Dostoevsky’s best work, but I can’t help but feel it is a departure from his other works. While some may deem that a good thing, I prefer Crime […]

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The Brothers Karamazov: Disappointing, yet still Fulfilling

More than half of the reviewers on Goodreads gave The Brothers Karamazov five stars, many lauding it as the best book ever written and marvelling at its perfection. In other words, this novel’s reputation is super impressive, but in the face of all that praise, I have to say I didn’t love it. I really […]

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Where the Crawdads Sing: A Beautifully Descriptive Novel with a Questionable Ending

Delia Owens’ 2018 debut novel boasted an astounding 110 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List, topping it for 30 of those weeks (non-consecutively). Comparatively, Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl saw at least 122 weeks on the list while E.L. James’ Fifty Shades of Grey topped at 81 weeks.  Where the Crawdads Sing runs the […]

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