★★★★☆ I was introduced Other Birds, Sarah Addison Allen’s quirky, magical realist novel, through my book club, which reads books by women authors and/or that feature strong female characters. I was thrilled to be introduced to a new author for me, especially one from my home state of North Carolina. Other Birds by Sarah Addison … Continue reading Other Birds by Sarah Allen
Category: Book Club Picks
The Girl with Seven Names by Hyeonseo Lee
★★★★☆ This memoir gives insight into what it was like to be a young woman born and raised in North Korea and the challenges she faced after impulsively crossing the border into China as a teenager.
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
★★☆☆☆ Every once in a while, you run across a book that has all of the makings of a great read, but in the end, it just doesn’t work for you. This was the case for me with Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo.
The Last Carolina Girl by Meagan Church
★★★☆☆ The Last Carolina Girl is Megan Church’s debut novel. Set in 1935, Leah Payne is living a happy, simple life in Holden Beach when tragedy strikes, making her an orphan. She is forced to leave the people and town that she loves to live with a foster family in Matthews, N.C.
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
★★★★☆ Barbara Kingsolver is one of my favorite authors. The Poisonwood Bible makes my list of top ten favorite books of all time, and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, and Flight Behavior both stand out among the hundreds of books I’ve read in my lifetime. I was thrilled when I heard she had a new book coming out.
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
★★★☆☆ In Madeline Miller’s retelling of the Iliad, we see the story of the great Greek warrior, Achilles through the eyes of his friend Patroclus. After being exiled from his homeland, a young Patroclus meets Achilles. We follow Patroclus and Achilles as they grow up, train together, and ultimately, join the quest to capture Troy in honor of the kidnapped Helen of Sparta.
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
★★★★★ Elizabeth Zott is a chemist in the early 1960s, a time when it was unheard of for a woman to be in a lab. She receives so little support from the all-male research team at Hastings Institute that she has to resort to stealing beakers to keep her research going. Calvin Evans, the Nobel prize-nominated scientist whose lab Elizabeth pilfers, ends up becoming her romantic partner.
The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont
4 stars The Christie Affair I picked up The Christie Affair because it is my book club’s pick this month. A historical fiction work, the novel imagines what happened during Agatha Christie’s brief, unexplained disappearance. Told from the point of view of Nan O’Dea, Archie Christie’s mistress, the story opens with a glimpse into O’Dea’s … Continue reading The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont
Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
★★★★☆ photo by Flash Mama Photography My book feeds have been filled with gushing comments and reviews about Taylor Jenkins Reid, so I was pretty jazzed when my book club picked Malibu Rising as our pick this month. Malibu Rising is my first TJR book. Set in Malibu in 1983, I thought the story was … Continue reading Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Verity by Colleen Hoover
4 out of 5 stars Verity was my book club’s most recent pick. All I can say is “Wow, wow, wow!” It pulled me in from the very first page and didn’t let go. The book opens with relatively unknown author Lowen Ashleigh witnessing a gruesome accident on her way to meet with a potential … Continue reading Verity by Colleen Hoover