I enjoy Anna Quindlen as an author and this book is one that struck me hard. In my real life I work as a hospice social worker and deal with some of the issues of illness, dying and caregiving on an (outside) daily basis. This is the story of Kate and Ellen Gulden. Kate is [...]
Archive > November 2009
Skylight Confessions by Alice Hoffman
Alice Hoffman is an author who I generally enjoy. Her story lines take me by surprise and are usually a little unexpected. Skylight Confessions did not disappoint in that it started in a very unique way. Arlyn is a seventeen-year old and is standing on the porch of her home on the day of her [...]
Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
This is a historical fiction novel that creates a story as background to the painting done by Johannes Vermeer, a Dutch painter in the 17th century. Tracy Chevalier creates a story and background for one of his most popular paintings, Girl With A Pearl Earring. In Tracy Chevalier’s story, Griet is a young girl of [...]
Say When by Elizabeth Berg
Say When is a story about a marriage breaking up, and the efforts made to repair it. Elizabeth Berg tells it from the husband, Griffin’s, perspective, which was something a little different that I enjoyed. Griffin and Ellen met in college and were married right after college. They had Zoe a few years later and [...]
As Nature Made Him: The Boy Who Was Raised As A Girl by John Colapinto
I was a psychology major in college who had often heard the nature vs. nurture debate. When I heard about As Nature Made Him I was very interested in this true life story. It is a heartbreaking life story of two identical twin boys who were taken to be circumcised when they were seven-months old. [...]
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
This is a book that I love. It was written in 1931 and won a Pulitzer Prize in 1932. The Good Earth is the story of Wang Lung and his wife O-Lan. The book starts with their wedding day and Pearl Buck describes the preparations Wang Lung makes such as washing his whole body and [...]
If You Really Loved Me by Ann Rule
This was an interesting True Crime story, a little different than the serial killer books that I’ve read by Ann Rule before. If You Really Loved Me is the story of a family. The family is a bit unconventional consisting of David Brown, his 23-year old wife Linda, Linda’s 17-year old sister Patti and David’s [...]