Author: michardillo
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Book Review: The Lost Husband by Katherine Center
The Lost Husband (Ballantine Books, 2013) is my 4th book by Katherine Center, having read Hello, Stranger (5 stars) in 2023, The Rom-Commers (5 stars) in 2024, and The Love Haters (4 stars) in 2025. I’ve enjoyed all four books and I will continue to make my way through her back list. There’s a lot…
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Giggling My Way Out of Trouble
Have you ever unintentionally broken the law? A very long time ago in a small town very far away I was working as a paralegal in a small real estate company. Unfortunately the salary wasn’t quite enough to allow me to live on my own. So, in order to be able to rent an apartment…
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Is Chili a Soup?
My daughter has this question she poses to people: Is the hotdog a sandwich? The responses are varied and often strongly held opinions of the respondent. (FWIW, I believe the hotdog is a sandwich, as it’s something between two layers of bread.) So, is chili a soup? It’s eaten with a spoon from a bowl.…
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How We Met
See my latest published piece, a personal essay on how my husband and I met, in the February issue of Sasee magazine. https://sasee.com/essay/love-at-first-bite/
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Book Review: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
I am seriously late to this party as my first book for February is Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, published by Ballantine Books in May of 2021. I don’t know why it took me so long to read this stellar (lol) sci-fi novel except that I typically shy away from huge blockbuster hits that…
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My January 2026 Reads
What a spectacular reading month for me! FIVE five-star reads in one month for me! That’s a record for sure! These five five-star reads are all very different but all equally good! A brief breakdown in case you want to see if they may be of interest to you: FICTION NONFICTION Hope you find something…
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Book Review: Our Lady of Kibeho by Immaculee Ilibagiza
Our Lady of Kibeho: Mary Speaks to the World from the Heart of Africa by Immaculee Ilibagiza is an easy read, but it is not an easy story to read. It is told in first person by Immaculee in readily accessible language. Reading it is as though she is sitting beside you telling you her…
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So many books…so little time…
What books do you want to read? Help me pick out my next book to read! I’m on a roll. I just finished my 6th book of the year and I still have a few days of January left to cram in another one. Here’s the top ten—a small portion—of my TBR list. Take a…
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Book Review: Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
I’m not sure what inspired me to add Great Big Beautiful Life (Berkley Hardcover, April 2025, 432 pages) by Emily Henry to my holds shelf in Libby, but I did, and after waiting quite some time, I was finally able to download a copy to read on my Kindle, my now preferred format for reading—even…
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Book Review: The Croatian Island Library (Bookish Escapes #3) by Eva Glyn
As famously quoted in the movie Jerry Maguire, “You had me at …” In this case, “You had me at Croatian Island Library.” I haven’t been to Croatia but it is at the top of my travel bucket list! Add to that my love of being on the water and my love of libraries, and,…
Michelle Blanchard Ardillo 