Tag: reading
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My Reads from August, 2026
I ended the month of August with the first two books of the Emma Lion series. It seems that everyone everywhere is talking about this series, and I’ve been told that they get better as they go. I have to agree with that. Book 1 was good, but book 2 was so much better. (Spoiler…
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NetGalley: Mission Accomplished
Finally, after much hard work (if you can call reading great books hard work), I am proud to display my latest badge granted to me by NetGalley! This badge is granted to NetGalley members who provide feedback for 80% (or more) of their approved titles. It is also the magic threshold one must cross to…
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Book Review: The Survivors Guild by Gabriella Saab
The Survivors Guild (yes, that is how it is titled, no apostrophe) by Gabriella Saab is another story based loosely upon the sinking of the Titanic. This book however is less about the Titanic, less about those lost to the sea, and less about the unsinkability of that majestic ship. It is about the survivors,…
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Book Review: We Don’t Talk About That by Amanda Schoepp
We Don’t Talk About That is a soon to be published work of nonfiction written by Amanda Schoepp. It is part memoir, part biography, part diary, part psychological study, and part true crime story. It is about a very dark moment in 1963 in the DesHotel family of Louisiana, and that darkness dripped down and…
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Book Review: The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies by Kate Westbury
A lot of the recently published novels that I am reading, whether it is historical fiction, cozy mystery, or contemporary fiction, don’t seem to be particularly well-written. The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies (The Oxford Guide #1) by Kate Westbury is a paradox for me. It is well-written, but the plot and character connection…
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Booker Prize News!
Delighted to see one of my most favorite authors nominated – again – for the Booker Prize! See my review of this amazing book at https://michelleardillo.com/2026/04/06/book-review-the-things-we-never-say-by-elizabeth-strout/ Read the books longlisted for the Booker here https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/prize-years/2026
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Continental Breakfast for Two, si’l vous plait…
If you could have dinner with any fictional character, who would it be? “Only in England is the coffee so atrocious. On the Continent they understand how important it is for the digestion that it should be properly made.” The Big Four, Hercule Poirot on English coffee Before I retired from teaching middle school English,…
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Book Review-Polska: New Polish Cooking by Zuza Zak
As I’ve noted in other book reviews and essays you may have read, I am very active in my church community. We have a new pastor, a priest from Poland, and I wanted to prepare a few dishes from his homeland. I checked out this cookbook, Polska: New Polish Cooking by Zuza Zak, from my…
Michelle Blanchard Ardillo 