Author: michardillo
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Book Review: Daughter of Egypt by Marie Benedict
Daughter of Egypt (St. Martin’s Press, March of 2026, 352 pages) by Marie Benedict is my 9th or 10th book by this former lawyer from Pittsburgh whose given name is Heather Terrell. Benedict takes a woman from history and brings her to life like no one else can. When I saw this work of historical…
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He’s not a Westie, but …
What is your favorite animal? I was a cat person my entire life, and had owned multiple Persian cats for decades, until a Catholic nun needed to rehome her beloved 4-year-old dog in 2011. Mutual friends—who knew how badly I had always wanted a Westie (to mark my mother’s Scottish heritage)—connected me with Sister Marie,…
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Book Review: Three Days of June by Anne Tyler
Last February, I remember reading NYT’s book critic Dwight Garner’s review of Three Days in June by Anne Tyler (Knopf, February 2025). I added it to my TBR in Goodreads as I was reading the review, and I finally got around to reading it on my Kindle two days ago. Garner said in his review,…
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Book Review: More Than Enough by Anna Quindlen
I had a solid reading month in December, with three great (4-stars each) books, and my reading year of 2025 was overall fabulous, with FIFTEEN 5-star books of fiction! so naturally, I wanted to start 2026 with a very successful read. I looked through my list of TBR books in NetGalley and decided on More…
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Sedentary Should Be Secondary!
What are your biggest challenges? Like quite a few people I suspect, I “follow” a lot of fitness routines on social media. Tai Chi. Chair Yoga. Asian Pilates. Japanese Walking. Chinese Baduanjin. Shaolin. Couch to Fitness. And then there are the fitness instructors/influencers. Justin Agustin. Grow Young Fitness with Deron Buboltz. Align with Wellness with…
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My December Reads
Solid month of reading with this triplet set of books! All four stars and really good!
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Scent
What makes you feel nostalgic? I wrote this essay a while back. It just happens to answer this prompt perfectly! Thanks to winter storm Jonas, a/k/a #Blizzard2016, I had an unexpected “winter break” from teaching, and I must say I have really enjoyed my #snowcation. Sandwiched nicely between my Christmas break and my Easter break,…
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My Top Ten of 2025 (and some honorable mentions)
Last year, I documented my favorite reads of the year in an essay, My Top Ten of 2024, and it was difficult narrowing my list of 60 books read down to 10 favorites. This year, I had an equally tough time because I had a great reading year with a total of 70 books, and…
Michelle Blanchard Ardillo 