Hindsight is everything and Lawrence Wright knows it. Wright is the author of The Looming Tower, a methodical and sweeping history that's so engaging and interesting you feel guilty for enjoying it. He published it in 2006, won the Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction for it in 2007, and it was made into a mini-series … Continue reading The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the road to 9/11
Category: Award Winning
The Vanishing Half
Brit Bennett's book The Vanishing Half is an achievement. She created a story that draws you in and lingers long after you finish. To say it is multilayered and thought-provoking would be an understatement. If you were growing up Black in the American South in the '50s but could easily pass for White, would you … Continue reading The Vanishing Half
From Beale Street to Tulsa
I made myself a Black History Month reading list* but only read two books so far (and one was a children's book). Read on for my reviews of a 1974 James Baldwin classic and a new, award winning book on the Tulsa Race Massacre. If Beale Street Could Talk has a straight up '70s vibe … Continue reading From Beale Street to Tulsa
Deacon King Kong
James McBride is a national treasure. I savored his 2020 book Deacon King Kong over the last month or so, stretching out the pleasure by only reading it on my lunch breaks at work. So worth it. McBride isn't just a talented writer, he has a gift for bridging the humorous, the heartfelt, and the … Continue reading Deacon King Kong
Simply Spectacular
I think I just read my favorite book of the year. A Gentleman in Moscow deserves all the praise, acclaim and awards it has received and more. It's wonderful, playful, charming, delightful...an absolute savory treat of a novel. Written in 2016 by Amor Towles, virtually all of it takes place in the Metropol Hotel in … Continue reading Simply Spectacular
Two books plus one
I'm reading two books at once. This isn't my usual preference, but I have one at the office and the other at home and so far it's working out. I've been back at work full time for a few weeks and that means forced one hour lunch breaks again. I know the value of breaks … Continue reading Two books plus one
Two novels, two Pulitzers, too good to ignore
I finished reading Colson Whitehead's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Underground Railroad, a few days ago. While I've made some notes for a review, I need to sit with it some more. The novel is that good. Whitehead is that good. Certain books are so steeped in reality that I feel a little guilty enjoying them. … Continue reading Two novels, two Pulitzers, too good to ignore
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