Tag: Ann Napolitano
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Book Review: This is Not About Us by Allegra Goodman
This is Not About Us by Allegra Goodman (Random House, February 10, 2026) is described as “a kaleidoscopic portrait of a modern American family,” but in some ways, I feel like parts of this story could have been set way back in time. Yes, this story does involve a divorced couple co-parenting their two daughters,…
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Book Review: Every Tom, Dick & Harry by Elinor Lipman
I just finished my 64th book of the year, Every Tom, Dick & Harry (Harper, February 2025) by Elinor Lipman. First let me say right off the bat: I LOVED THIS BOOK. Elinor Lipman is one of my top favorite authors, and she sits amid some pretty prestigious company, with Elizabeth Strout, AJ Pearce, Ann…
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My September Reads
Another busy month, heavy on writing and light on reading. We have also been streaming more than usual which I may have to cut back on, but there’s a lot of good content across the streaming platforms! I have a wonderful stack of books on deck for October, starting with Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid,…
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Book Review: The Homemade God by Rachel Joyce
The Homemade God by Rachel Joyce was recently published on July 8, 2025 by The Dial Press, an imprint of Random House. I was offered this ARC by the publisher because of my interest in and book reviews of several other books published by Random House, such as Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano, one of…
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Book Review: The White Octopus Hotel by Alexandra Bell
NetGalley is a digital platform that provides book people with FREE advance reading copies (ARCs) of books yet to be released in exchange for a review written and posted on their site, on Goodreads, on Amazon, on your own social media. Sometimes you are offered a book, but more often you request a book that…
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Book Review: The Mysterious Bakery on Rue de Paris by Evie Woods (a/k/a Evie Gaughan)
The Mysterious Bakery on Rue de Paris is my second book by Evie Woods, although I am a bit confused whether #2 is the chicken or the egg. I loved her first (?) book, The Lost Bookshop. It was the perfect blend of a dual timeline, half contemporary and half historical, with a dash of…
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My Top Ten of 2024
With only two days of 2024 left, I think my reading stats are pretty set in stone, unless I finish off one more book before the ball drops on New Year’s Eve so I can end on an even number. I had a good reading year but my total number of books is a bit…
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Book Review: Like Mother, Like Mother by Susan Rieger
Everyone knows the saying, “Like mother, like daughter,” or “Like father, like son.” We all inherit certain traits and characteristics from our parents and pass on some of them to our own children. In my case, though, it is more like, “Like father, like daughter.” My father was a first-class storyteller. Sometimes they started out…
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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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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.…
Michelle Blanchard Ardillo 