By Bonnie McCune & Kathleen Duhamel ~ THE ALICE NETWORK (Kate Quinn) offers an adventure in the ever-popular historical period of the first half of the 20th century in Europe. While fiction, it’s firmly based in the true stories that illustrate the bravery, intelligence and drive of women who unexpectedly (to us) plunged into active […]

By Bonnie McCune & Kathleen Duhamel ~ Britt Marie Was Here, another winner from Fredrik Backman, follows an unexpected turn in life. Aging housewife Britt-Marie decides to flee when she discovers her husband’s cheating. She hasn’t worked for years, but thanks to Sweden’s social welfare system, she’s assigned a job for which she’s uniquely unqualified—run […]

Be thankful for different kinds of love. Book lovers, try this. Susan Orlean, a magical purveyor of insights into esoteric topics, writes an ovation for libraries in The Library Book.  A massive fire heavily damaged Los Angeles’ public library in 1987, and in seven hours, consumed 400,000 books and damaged 700,000 more. The perpetrator has […]

By Bonnie McCune & Kathleen Duhamel ~ Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows, Balli Kaur Jaswal. East meets West in this genre-smashing romance-thriller-cultural expose, with dollops of soft erotica. That’s India and Great Britain, not the US. Take a fascinating tour with first-generation Muslim Nikki, who’s thoroughly modern and distains the traditional arranged marriage as she carves a […]

By Kathleen Duhamel ~ Baby Teeth. Zoje Stage’s creepy domestic thriller explores the breakdown of an upscale dysfunctional family, driven by a disturbed child intent on murder. Parents Suzette and Alex are running out of options for seven-year-old Hanna, who rarely speaks and has been expelled from several schools for her disruptive and frightening behavior. […]

SPC Gabriel David Conde was killed in action in Afghanistan three years ago at the young age of 22, and now his father is sharing his son’s voice with the world to provide inspiration and insight into the life of an American hero taken too soon ~ DENVER. – When SCP Gabriel David Conde was less than a year […]

By Kathleen Duhamel and Bonne McCune ~ “They call us survivors…I don’t think I survived.” Set in the 1970s, Cree novelist Michelle Good’s engrossing Five Little Indians follows five indigenous youths taken from their parents as small children and placed in a church-run residential school in British Columbia. Once they are released (or escape from […]

By Bonnie McCune ~ The Underground Railroad (Colson Whitehead) Pursued by a merciless slave catcher, Cora is a young runaway in pre-Civil War Georgia who makes a perilous journey north toward freedom. The author seamlessly mixes historical fiction with a touch of magical realism to bring the Underground Railroad to life. In this story, he […]

By Kathleen Duhamel and Bonne McCune ~ Nothing to See Here (Kevin Wilson) is a falsehood. There IS something to see in the luxurious house where Lillian becomes a full-time caretaker for step-twins of old friend Madison, now married to a rich politician. One small flaw—the children spontaneously combust when upset. Page by page the reader is […]

“Dancing with Granddad – An Alzheimer’s Story for Children and Their Families”/ “Bailando con Abuelito – Un Cuento Sobre el Alzheimer para Niños y Sus Familias” Available in English and Spanish ~ NEW YORK (March 26, 2021)—  To help adults discuss Alzheimer’s disease with young children in an age-appropriate way, the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (AFA) has […]

Adulting (Liz Talley). Following several unsuccessful rehab stints for alcohol and drug abuse, former child actress Chase London’s career is in meltdown. After she violates her parole, she faces therapy or risk becoming uninsurable in Hollywood. Olivia Han, a therapist and life coach, is called in to get Chase clean and sober in a last-ditch […]

National Let’s Laugh Day, March 19. Sample these books for a chuckle. The Commitments (Roddy Doyle) follows talented, unemployed, working class Irish as they create a soul band to make a living. Friend/manager Jimmy Rabbit says, “The Irish are the blacks of Europe; Dubliners are the blacks of Ireland; the Northside Dubliners are the blacks […]

Crazy Rich Asians (Kevin Kwan) confirms a book is always better than its movie. Parading hilarious yet thoughtful observations and characters, the novel challenges stereotypes about the super-rich while following a young couple with their typical misunderstandings before the final, required, happy ending. Asian settings more desirable than film versions enhance every scene, and the […]

Colorado Women in World War II, Gail M. Beaton. While the war itself was no cause for celebration, it did bring massive changes to American society and a kick in the seat of the pants to the American labor force, with barriers slowly pried open by females. Colorado’s a good example of how women filled […]

Neglecting reading? Start small with a short story for Short Story Day, 12/21. The Collected Stories of Jean Stafford features the Pulitzer-Prize winner’s short works that appeared for decades in The New Yorker. Unabashedly “literary,” she spotlights the human experience in touching and enlightening looks at people in Europe, Boston, the West, and Manhattan. Called […]