Category: Essay
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Book Review: Sandwich by Catherine Newman
Have you ever read a book where you loved it with all your heart but you didn’t love the protagonist who is also the narrator telling her own story in first person? In this instance there is no escape from this person that you aren’t really fond of. This is the case of the novel…
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Book Review: The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl
While considerable thought goes into packing clothing for an overseas vacation, especially when visiting multiple countries with differing climates, I give equally as much thought into what I will read on the trip. My Kindle is always fully loaded and downloaded and ready to go. For my recent trip to Ireland and France, I had…
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Book Review: Booked for Murder by P. J. Nelson
Writing under the pseudonym P. J. Nelson, the author of Booked for Murder (An Old Juniper Bookstore Mystery) said in his bio that he had done a great many things, most of which appear to involve acting and theatre, but, he has never ever run a bookstore. This was a little nagging thought I had…
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Book Review: The Gardener‘s Plot: A Mystery by Deborah J. Benoit
First of all, when I read the author’s bio for this book, I was 100% IN and immediately requested an ARC of this new mystery from Macmillan Publishers via NetGalley. This is Deborah Benoit’s debut novel and The Gardener’s Plot won the First Crime Novel Competition sponsored by Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America. Prior to…
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Book Review: House Swap by Olivia Beirne
After reading two heavy hitters, Elizabeth Strout’s Tell Me Everything and Ann Napolitano’s Within Arms Reach, both of which I absolutely loved, I needed something lighthearted and fun. This book had popped up recently on my Amazon Kindle Daily Deals, so I added it to my bulging TBR list on my Kindle. I zipped through…
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Book Review: Within Arm’s Reach by Ann Napolitano
In January this year Madison Dettlinger at Penguin Random House offered me an ARC of the reissued first novel of Ann Napolitano, Within Arm’s Reach. I was teaching and mentoring a new teacher at the time, and subsequently, my reading life was derailed. With apologies for the lateness of this review, thank you to Madison…
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You Say Tomato, I Say Creole
When my mother deemed me old enough to cross Highway 23 South alone, she would give me a $5 bill and tell me to walk to Mrs. Benandi’s house and buy a box of Creole tomatoes. I would walk there, buy the box of tomatoes, and start my walk back home. The tomatoes on the…
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Book Review: Finlay Donovan is Killing It by Elle Cosimano
Cozy murder mysteries are my favorite genre, yet somehow I missed the buzz on Finlay Donovan is Killing It when it came out in 2021. So, late to the party, I finally checked out the ebook from Libby. Well! I flew through this book in four days–even though I didn’t read for two days in-between…
Michelle Blanchard Ardillo 