I had first read Snow Falling on Cedars over ten years ago. My memory was that the book was beautifully written to the point where you could clearly visualize the characters and the setting, more so than in most books. I just re-read it and still feel that it is a beautiful book. This story [...]
Author Archive > Sarah
Bee Season by Myla Goldberg
It is interesting to me how spelling bees suddenly became the focus of books and movies several years ago. I watched Spellbound and found the kids who compete in the national spelling bee fascinating…as well as their families. Bee Season came out a year or two before that movie (2000) and also centers around spelling [...]
The Drowning Tree by Carol Goodman
The Drowning Tree followed along similar paths as Carol Goodman’s other books. It is based at an all girls school, in this case Penrose College, and it leans heavily on mythology, literature and art. Carol Goodman uses a lot of references to mythology to move her story along. She writes mystery novels that are complex [...]
The Vision of Emma Blau by Ursula Hegi
Along the lines of dreams and visions, this book by Ursula Hegi follows the main character from Germany to the United States when he immigrates at age 13, alone, to follow his dreams. Stefan Blau yearns for America so much that he leaves his home and family and begins to scratch out a living. Initially [...]
Eureka!: The Surprising Stories Behind the Ideas That Shaped the World by Marlene Wagman-Geller
Eureka! is a compilation of 40 stories of different inventions (Nobel Peace Prize, Slinky, Curious George) that have become fantastically huge. Marlene Wagman-Geller starts by talking about how Eureka means “I have found it” and represents the moment when a light bulb goes off and idea is found. As this book is about aha moments [...]
The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
The past two months have been good reading months for me as a lot of the authors that I love have new(er) books out. It had been so long since Barbara Kingsolver’s last book that I had stopped looking for one. I was first introduced to her, as many were, through The Poisonwood Bible. While [...]
This Charming Man by Marian Keyes
I’m not usually a huge fan of “chick lit” authors, but Marian Keyes is one that I have always enjoyed. Her characters are lively and there is typically something going on in her books that is a little more serious. In some of her books there are women who are widowed, facing drug problems or [...]
How To Talk To A Widower by Jonathan Tropper
How to Talk to a Widower is both funny and heartbreaking. Doug Parker is 29-years-0ld and has been widowed for about a year after his 40-year-old wife, Haley, died in a plane crash. Doug is stuck in a place where his grief is still fresh with each day yet the world is expecting him to [...]
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson
I love Bill Bryson. And that’s really all there is to it. He could write about anything and I would think it was hilarious and enjoy it tremendously. The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid is the story of Bill Bryson’s life. It tells of his childhood in Iowa and how everything was generally [...]
Blessings by Anna Quindlen
Anna Quindlen is an author that I regularly enjoy. Blessings did not end up being one of my favorite books that she has written, but I still enjoyed it. This story is centered on Skip Cuddy, an ex-con who is working for Lydia Blessing on her estate and living about her garage in a little [...]
