I’ve finished reading Fredrik Backman’s trilogy, Bear Town, Us Against You, and The Winners. Backman is one of my favorite contemporary authors. Readers get to know his characters in their day to day routines: what they eat; if they walk, run, or drive; if they’re good at hockey or not. Backman breaks the rule about…
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On My Bookshelf: books about mothers, motherhood, and mothering
I’ve been thinking about books that explore the relationship between mother and child. Pictured are volumes pulled at random from my own bookcase. Once I started pulling, I realized I had more than I thought – many more that are not in the picture. The mother-child relationship keeps readers engaged…do we see ourselves in the…
April Reads
Because of travel, April was not as reading-strong as I would have liked. The Wilder Boys Saving Cody by Brandon Wallace is the third in this middle-grade series which is the genre I write in, and the protagonists are two brothers, which is another similarity to my own manuscript. Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote…
What I’m Reading: The Essay by Robin Yocum
Posted on Author Jill M SmithPosted in Care Givers, Teacher Inspiration, What I'm ReadingLeave a Reply
I love discovering an author whom I’ve never read – sometimes never heard of – through friends or other recommendations. When I read a book by such an author, I am apprehensive of what my reaction will be. Just because a friend or family member liked it, will I? Robin Yocum is an example of…
March Reads
The Paris Bookseller and Fried Green Tomatoes contain strong bonds between women who work together, live together, and even love together. In Remarkably Bright Creatures, the hero for me was the female protagonist, Tova, more so than the octopus, Marcellus, although I did enjoy seeing what he was up to. In her memoir, The Glass…
February Reads
I read three books – two fiction and one autobiography for February. All different from each other, but in each the mother and child relationship plays a key role. In Pachinko and Mom & Me & Mom (the autobiography of Maya Angelou) the mother-child relationship evolves over a lifetime. In Very Valentine, the grandmother-granddaughter relationship…
January Reads
My January Reads were 5 – 0. All winners. In adult fiction, Miss Benson’s Beetle and Lucky Stiff were laugh-out-loud entertaining while also grappling significant issues in the characters’ lives. Us Against You is the second in a trilogy about a hockey team from a hockey town, and I never thought I’d enjoy reading about…
Friday Fishtales
In this section of my blog, I will share pictures, memories, and messages that involve family, fishing, and fun, all of which are themes in my middle-grade novel. I plan to create a new post two Fridays per month, or more if I am so inspired. I hope you enjoy the posts, and please share…
It’s called fishing, not catching
I posed a question to one of the fishing groups I follow on Facebook about fishing with children, the stories adults tell them about ‘the one that got away,’ and the memories made. One gentleman shared a memory of fishing with his grandfather. With his permission, I’ve copied it here. Please go to the Care…
