Category: books
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Book Review: Enola Holmes and the Mark of the Mongoose by Nancy Springer
What a delightful caper! Nancy Springer did it again, but perhaps this time she has upped her game. I enjoyed this newest of the Enola Holmes series the most of all. Take note, “gentle reader,” as Nancy calls us, you will need a dictionary to get the most enjoyment out of this book, just like…
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Book Review: Left on Tenth by Delia Ephron
First let me say that this book is not for everyone. If you have had cancer or experienced cancer through a relative or close friend, this book may not be for you. If you are recently widowed, this book may not be for you. If you are squeamish about medical treatments or diagnostic tests, this…
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Book Review: Of Manners and Murder: A Dear Hermoine Mystery #1, by Anastasia Hastings
Perusing the NetGalley offerings, this book screamed, “Read me!” Set in Victorian England in 1885? A headstrong female protagonist solving a mystery? Yes, please. As I started reading the first in this new mystery series, I was immediately struck by how Violet reminded me of Eliza Scarlet from the compelling PBS Masterpiece series Miss Scarlet…
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Book Review: Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
There is a family of ten (10!!!) sisters who live in my neighborhood, a suburb of Washington, DC, and I am friends with almost all of them. I see some of them almost every weekend as they are all parishioners at my church. They have created something like 32 first cousins among their respective families.…
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Book Review: When the Moon Turns Blue by Pamela Terry
“You can take the girl out of the South, but you can’t take the South out of the girl.” The older I get, the more I identify with this old saying. I’m a Southern girl, born and raised in Louisiana, but have now lived in Maryland (NOT the South, no matter what you Yankees say…
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Book Review: Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
A few months ago I was reading through my April issue of Bon Appetit magazine when I stumbled upon a personal essay called “It Was Quite Possibly the Worst First Date Ever. Then I Ordered the Scallops.” It was one of the funniest things I had read in quite a while. I read it aloud…
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Book Review: Fauci, Expect the Unexpected, Ten Lessons on Truth, Service, and the Way Forward
After seeing Dr. Fauci on televised news conferences for months on end and hearing his name bantered about by both supporters and detractors, when I saw this book on the new release shelf at my library I picked it up to hear from Dr. Fauci himself. First of all, this book is not exactly written…
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Book Review: The Essential Instant Pot Cookbook by Coco Morante
At what point when reading a cookbook do you make the decision to just go ahead and purchase a copy for yourself? Wait, you don’t read cookbooks? I do. I check out bags of them from the library and read them cover to cover like my favorite mysteries or biographies. Sometimes I jot down a…
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Book Review: Jazz Age Cocktails by Cecelia Tichi
Don’t be confused by the title of this book. Yes, it is about cocktails popular during the Jazz Age, but this is not just a book of cocktail recipes. It is a history book, a book of US social history during the time of Prohibition, with recipes for the cocktails of the day sprinkled throughout.…
Michelle Blanchard Ardillo 