Author: michardillo
-
Book Review: The Dig by John Preston (Other Press, 2007)
At some point during the pandemic, my husband and I watched the Netflix original film The Dig (Netflix, 2021) starring Ralph Fiennes and Carey Mulligan. We were both quite taken with it. I immediately googled it and found that it was based upon a work of historical fiction of the same name by John Preston.…
-
HSPT Prep Course
Do you have a rising 8th grader planning on applying for admission to an area Catholic high school? If so, the High School Placement Test is required at many of the DC area Catholic high schools. Three of the five sections of the test are language arts-based, which just happens to be my specialty! Sign…
-
Interview: Eman Quotah, author of Bride of the Sea
See my most recent published piece for Washington Independent Review of Books: http://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/features/an-interview-with-eman-quotah
-
Holding Hands for 32 Years
From almost the exact moment that we became a couple, my husband has held my hand. If we are sitting in different chairs on either side of a table watching tv at night, he will reach across the table and hold out his hand for me to grasp. When we are out together in the…
-
Book Review: The Bombay Prince by Sujata Massey (Soho Crime, June, 2021)
Author Sujata Massey brings us once again to 1920s colonial India with the third in a series featuring protagonist Perveen Mistry, the first female lawyer in Bombay, India. I discovered the series while recuperating from a broken ankle during the summer of 2019. As I was house-bound (relying on crutches and/or a knee scooter to…
-
Grammar for Grownups
Good writing is writing that is clear and concise. Not all verbs are interchangeable. Check out this graphic that shows some of the most commonly confused verbs and how to use them correctly. Need a grammar refresher course? Contact me for info on fun and helpful Zoom sessions to improve your writing!
-
Book Review: The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander and illustrated by Kadir Nelson
I’ve been a fan of Kwame Alexander since I read his Newbery Award winning novel The Crossover. “Fan” might be a bit of an understatement. I confess that I follow him on all his social media platforms, have a Google alert set up for news about him, follow him on Amazon and on Goodreads –…
-
Book Review: Twenty-one Truths About Love by Matthew Dicks
This book was just not for me. Some readers have noted that the format was not to their liking, but I didn’t mind the story unfolding in list format. I’ve read other books not told in traditional narrative prose, such as Bridget Jones’s Diary told in journal entries and Salmon Fishing in the Yemen told…
-
Book Review: Learning to Talk to Plants by Marta Orriols (Pushkin Press, June 2021)
From the publisher: “By turns devastating and darkly funny, Learning to Talk to Plants is a piercingly honest portrayal of grief – and of the many ways to lose someone.” The publisher’s quote above really says it all for this book, at least for me. I rated this book a 4/5, mostly because it was so painful…
Michelle Blanchard Ardillo 