Tag: writer

• Book Review: Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks

  For my second book of the new year I chose the beautiful yet painful Memorial Days: A Memoir by Geraldine Brooks, a book that details the death of her husband, the “love of her life,” in May of 2019. I remember reading about when Tony Horowitz died suddenly after collapsing on a sidewalk in Chevy…

  michardillo

  January 7, 2026

  books

  Australia, author, book-review, books, Chevy Chase, Delia Ephron, Flinders Island, Geraldine Brooks, grief, Horse, Left on Tenth, literature, Martha’s Vineyard, memoir, Memorial Days, mourning, nonfiction, novel, pain, Politics and Prose, Pulitzer Prize, reading, sorrow, Spying on the South, Tasmania, Tony Horwitz, writer, writing

• Book Review: All My Bones by P. J. Nelson

  This is my second book by P. J. Nelson, also the second in the Old Juniper Bookshop mystery series. The first one, Booked for Murder (Minotaur Books, December 2024, 325 pages), was an enjoyable read, although I noted in my review a few things that I found odd, namely that it is a book about…

  michardillo

  January 2, 2026

  books

  All My Bones, author, book-review, book-reviews, Booked for Murder, books, bookshop, bookstore, cozy mystery, Fever Devilin series, fiction, Flap Tucker series, food, Kindle, literature, Minotaur Books, mystery, NetGalley, north Georgia, novel, Old Juniper Bookshop, P J Nelson, Phillip DePoy, reading, Safe in Their Graves, small town, writer

• 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…

  michardillo

  December 30, 2025

  books

  A Happy Catastrophe, Atmosphere, book-review, books, Dear Miss Lake, Every Tom Dick and Harry, fiction, literature, Murder on the Marlow Belle, My Friends, novel, reading, The Christie Affair, The Correspondent, The Homemade God, The Impossible Fortune, The Mysterious Bakery on Rue de Paris, The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer, The Wedding People, The White Octopus Hotel, This is Not About Us, Through an Open Window, top ten, Virginia Evans, writer, writing

• 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…

  michardillo

  November 21, 2025

  books

  Agatha Christie, AJ Pearce, Ann Napolitano, book-review, books, Elinor Lipman, Elizabeth Strout, estate sale, Every Tom Dick & Harry, fiction, Harper, literature, My Latest Grievance, nonfiction, novel, reading, The Pursuit of Alice Thrift, The View From Penthouse B, writer, writing

• Book Review: The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

  At the start of each new year, I look back over the books I read the previous year and some years, I make a top ten list, not necessarily ranking them but always coming up with my favorite book of the year. Oh, boy, I will be having lots of trouble in January due to…

  michardillo

  November 4, 2025

  books

  84 Charing Cross Road, Andrew Carnegie Medal, book-review, books, Bridget Jones Diary, Catherine Called Birdy, Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, debut novel, Elizabeth Strout, epistolary style, fiction, Goodreads, Karen Cushman, literature, Love and Saffron, novel, Olive Again, Olive Kitteridge, reading, teaching, The Correspondent, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, The Martian, Today Will Be Different, Virginia Evans, Where’d You Go Bernadette, writer, writing

• Book Review: The Accidental Rewrite by Milly Johnson

  First of all, since this was an offering on NetGalley I assumed this was a brand new, yet to be published book, perhaps by a debut author. Silly me, wrong on all accounts. The Accidental Rewrite was first published in February of 2024 in the UK under the title The Happiest Ever After. And, Milly…

  michardillo

  September 12, 2025

  books

  ARC, author, BBC, book-review, book-reviews, books, Britain, British, cat, debut novel, England, fiction, Fredrik Backman, Goodreads, Harper Muse, literature, Milly Johnson, My Friends, NetGalley, novel, PBS, publishing, reading, The Accidental Rewrite, The Daily Trumpet, The Happiest Ever After, UK, writer, writing, Yorkshire Cat Rescue

• Book Review—Pope Leo XIV: Inside the Conclave and the Dawn of a New Papacy by Christopher White

  As an American and a Catholic, did I ever, in my wildest dreams, imagine an American pope? Absolutely not. But, on Thursday, May 8, 2025, that is exactly what happened. My husband and I were both home (freshly retired) and were having lunch at our kitchen counter. After we finished eating, my husband was cleaning…

  michardillo

  September 5, 2025

  books

  book-review, books, Catholic, Catholic Church, Catholic school, Christopher White, Conclave, Confirmation, Councils, Italy, Jesuits, Kindle, Loyola Press, Mass, NetGalley, Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis, Pope John Paul II, Pope John XXIII, Pope Leo XIV, social media, Society of Jesus, St. Monica, Synod, Vatican, Vatican II, writer, writing

• Teachers: Those Who Can’t Teach? Not On Your Life!

  What profession do you admire most and why? Full disclosure, I am a teacher. I taught full time from 2007 to 2020, middle school English and literature. Then covid hit and I sat out (per doctor’s orders) the 2020-2021 school year since I wasn’t old enough for the vaccine yet. A shift in administration created…

  michardillo

  August 11, 2025

  Essay

  Catholic school, certification, dailyprompt, dailyprompt-2027, education, English, essays, grad school, language arts, library, literature, middle school, reading, retirement, secondary education, teacher, teaching, writer, writing

• Book Review: Sugar and Spite, An Agatha Raisin Mystery by M.C. Beaton with R. W. Green

  Mystery is by far my favorite genre, and within that genre I tend to gravitate toward cozy mysteries. Add to that a Scottish author and, well, I’m all in. Everyone has a guilty pleasure when it comes to their reading life, and for me, the Agatha Raisin mystery series falls squarely in that court. With…

  michardillo

  August 1, 2025

  books

  Agatha Raisin, ARC, book-review, books, British, cozy mystery, death, England, fiction, food, Hamish MacBeth, M. C. Beaton, Macmillan Publishers, mystery, NetGalley, novel, R. W. Green, Ray Bradbury, reading, Sugar and Spite, The Homemade God, The Quiche of Death, The White Octopus Hotel, writer, writing

• 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…

  michardillo

  July 21, 2025

  books

  Ann Napolitano, ARC, art, Artist, book-review, books, debut novel, family, fiction, hello-beautiful, Italy, Kindle, Lake Orta, literature, London, Maggie O’Farrell, mystery, NetGalley, novel, painting, Rachel Joyce, Random House, reading, The Homemade God, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, writer, writing