Some unsolicited thoughts and opinions from a mother and daughter who love reading and talking about books!

Categories

All by Lillian King

DEMON COPPERHEAD

Jan 26

Jan 26 DEMON COPPERHEAD

It’s always thrilling when I hear that Barbara Kingsolver has written a new book. She has authored some of the best books I’ve read over the past several years: The Poisonwood Bible; Unsheltered; Flight Behavior; and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle to name a few. In Demon Copperhead, Kingsolver reimagines Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield and sets her story in modern-day Appalachia. Her protagonist, like Dickens’, is left to navigate a society where children are powerless, unseen and must fight for survival.

Jan 26

Jan 26 HESTER

Fiction, Historical Fiction

Recommended by the owner of my favorite independent bookstore in Kennebunkport, Maine (Fine Print Books), I wasn’t sure what to expect from Hester. I knew it was set in Salem, Massachusetts and had something to do with witches and Nathaniel Hawthorne and The Scarlet Letter. But that’s about it. So, I was thrilled to discover that this is an absolute jewel of a novel!

Jan 19

Jan 19 JUST KIDS

Non-fiction, Memoirs/Biographies

Just Kids was a surprise hit for me since I didn't really know that much about Patti Smith. Smith's autobiography focuses mainly on her relationship with Robert Maplethorpe, about whom I also knew very little.

I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS

Jan 19

Jan 19 I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS

Historical Fiction, Memoirs/Biographies, Classics

File this under classics I thought I had read and realized after one chapter that I had not. A gorgeous book about a girl coming of age in a time and place when being young, Black and female made survival alone a major achievement.

THE WARRIOR QUEENS

Jan 19

Jan 19 THE WARRIOR QUEENS

Frazer creates masterful, sweeping surveys of women in history and Warrior Queens is no exception. She starts with Queen Boudicea from 1st century Britain and builds her case from there all the way through to Indira Gandhi and Margaret Thatcher.

Jan 19

Jan 19 HELLO, MOLLY!

Memoirs/Biographies, Non-fiction

In this memoir we have another very funny television personality as the author. Shannon had some very difficult moments in her life, which made this book a much tougher read than I anticipated.

HOW TO BE PERFECT

Jan 19

Jan 19 HOW TO BE PERFECT

Written by the creator of NBC’s The Good Place, this book is both very funny, and taught me the history of moral philosophy. More than that, it gave me a framework of how to approach everyday and extraordinary decisions from a moral point of view.

WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE

Nov 17

Nov 17 WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE

Canadian Authors, Memoirs/Biographies, Non-fiction

Samra Habib is an Ahmadi Muslim who spent her early childhood in Pakistan before fleeing persecution with her family and settling in Toronto. As a young teen in Canada, Habib faces huge challenges from bullying to being the sole translator for her parents as they navigate a whole new bureaucracy.

Nov 17

Nov 17 YEAR OF YES

Memoirs/Biographies, Non-fiction

For those who don’t know, Shonda Rhimes is the creator and head writer of several of the most popular TV shows of the last 15 years: Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, Scandal and How To Get Away With Murder. In addition, her production company Shondaland produces many other shows, including the smash hit Bridgerton. On top of that, she’s a Dartmouth grad, and for all of these reasons, I love her.

NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT THIS

Nov 17

Nov 17 NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT THIS

Fiction, Prize Winners & Finalists

I picked up No One Is Talking About This because it was shortlisted for the Booker Prize this year – a sure sign of a great book. Patricia Lockwood, who recently turned 40, won the Dylan Thomas Prize in 2022, given to young writers for literary excellence. She has previously published two volumes of poetry and a memoir. No One Is Talking About This is her first novel.

Nov 17

Nov 17 GREY BEES

Grey Bees is a novel that I would likely never have found without a recommendation from one of my favorite people: Diana Harding. Although it is written by an internationally known Ukrainian author and translated by an award-winning translator, Ukrainian fiction has not until now been on my reading radar. I’m thrilled to be able to alert all of you to this quiet, heartfelt, gorgeous book.

LESSONS FROM THE EDGE

Oct 28

Oct 28 LESSONS FROM THE EDGE

Memoirs/Biographies, Non-fiction

Lessons From the Edge provides another perfect example of why I love being in a book club. I would never have read this book on my own. But because it was a selection for my Boston Bates Alumnae Book Club, I read it and found it fascinating.

Oct 28

Oct 28 THE MOTHERS

Previously mentioned as a must-read by my mom in her review of Bennett’s The Vanishing Half (read review here), I am here to chime in with an enthusiastic full review of this engrossing and heart-wrenching book. Set in southern California, Bennett uses the older women of a local church, “the mothers,” as a kind of Greek chorus to narrate throughout the story and tease out the secrets that are slowly revealed.

LUCY BY THE SEA

Oct 28

Oct 28 LUCY BY THE SEA

Elizabeth Strout’s gorgeous new novel Lucy by the Sea brings back her iconic characters Lucy Barton and her ex-husband William who we first met in My Name Is Lucy Barton and then saw again in Oh, William! (read review here) Lucy and William have been amicably divorced for a while and as Lucy by the Sea begins, William, who is a biologist, convinces Lucy to leave her New York City apartment and join him at a rented Victorian house in a small town in Maine

Sep 15

Sep 15 HARLEM SHUFFLE

Fiction, Historical Fiction

If there was any doubt that Colson Whitehead is one of the greatest US writers living today, Harlem Shuffle should erase it. One of few authors to have won two Pulitzer Prizes (Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys), Whitehead once again has published a superb novel.

Sep 15

Sep 15 BOOTH

Fiction, Historical Fiction

Fowler’s previous book We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves was one of the best books I have ever read. When I saw that she’d written a new book, I couldn’t wait to read it. Very different from her previous book, Booth is equally stunning.

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