My first novel of the New Year (it’s only the 21st, so still “new”) is Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I am a fan of Reid – Malibu Rising and Daisy Jones and the Six are my top favorites, plus Evelyn Hugo and Carrie Soto are right behind those. I liked Atmosphere, but admittedly not…
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A Classic [not] to Consider: Moby Dick by Herman Melville
Posted on Author Jill M SmithPosted in A Classic to Consider, Care Givers, On My Bookshelf, What I'm ReadingLeave a Reply
I wish I could say otherwise, but after spending months trying to get through Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, I can only say, unless you are determined to read it, choose something else. Each year I incorporate a few classics among my reading selections. I approach each as a work of art, rather than as a…
What I’m Reading: Perfect by Rachel Joyce
Rachel Joyce is a British writer of contemporary fiction. Her characters have such depth of feeling they seem real, as if they are in the room with you. The details she employs to show their moods and thoughts add to the story in a subtle yet impactful way. In Perfect, young Byron watches his beautiful…
What I’m Reading: Long Island by Colm Toibin
I’ve just finished reading Long Island by Colm Toibin, which is the sequel to Brooklyn. We meet Eilis Lacey in Brooklyn, when she is a young woman who leaves her home in Ireland for a chance at a new life in America, specifically in New York. She finds work, friends, love, and a new world…
What I’m Reading: Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall
Although published in 2014, I just finished reading Susan Crandall’s Whistling Past the Graveyard, and I loved it. It is one of the best books I’ve read in a while, comparable to Demon Copperhead and To Kill A Mockingbird, with a little of The Help thrown in as well. Starla is the nine-year-old protagonist and…
Reading for Reflection: Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Posted on Author Jill M SmithPosted in Care Givers, Reading for Reflection, What I'm Reading, Writing InspirationLeave a Reply
Who among us has gone to the ocean and found peace, energy, joy, and rest? Any of us lucky enough to visit the coast, any coast, I would wager. We go to the beach not necessarily looking for an answer, but we find answers none the less. What will we feel? What will we learn…
What I’m Reading: Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe by Heather Webber
The perfect book to kick off your summer reading list, Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe, by Heather Webber, is a Southern story full of charm, personality, and pie. I love a story set in the South, with family secrets, neighborhood gossip, and a dose of Southern hospitality, and this novel delivers on all fronts. Set…
What I’m Reading: Murder in Old Bombay by Nev March
I’ve recently finished reading Murder in Old Bombay by Nev March, who won an award for First Crime Novel from the Mystery Writers of America with this book. I discovered Nev March in a webinar that she gave about writing and publishing, and I’ve been a fan ever since. While I do not normally read…
What I’m Reading: The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
Fans of historical fiction will enjoy The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray. The authors give readers a close-up look at legendary American financier, J.P. Morgan, and the woman he hired to be his personal librarian, Belle Da Costa Greene, in the early 1900s. Unbeknownst to Morgan, Greene was a Black woman…
A Classic to Consider: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Posted on Author Jill M SmithPosted in A Classic to Consider, Care Givers, What I'm ReadingLeave a Reply
There is a level of comfort in reading the classics. When my life becomes stressful and overwhelming, I find that I seek the classics as I would seek the counsel of a good friend. My mother died one month ago, and during her last week of life, I read aloud to her from Jane Eyre,…