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Book Review: Thirty-Two Going on Spinster
Thirty-Two Going on Spinster by Becky Monson Genre: comedy, romance, contemporary Publisher: CreateSpace Date: December 2012 Julia Dorning is pretty convinced she’s a spinster. And if she’s not, she’s going to be. At the ripe old age of thirty-two, she’s not married and she lives with her parents. Even though that’s not technically in the dictionary definition, it still sounds pretty close to it. Oh and she has a cat, too. So that’s just another check mark in that ‘spinster’ column, right? But how do you shift gears in your life at this point? Can you even do that? Julia’s been living rent free for years so she has a…
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Audiobook Review: Big Little Lies
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty Genre: mystery, suspense, thriller Audiobook (courtesy of https://www.estories.com/) Anyone who has been to public school knows that it can be hard. Really hard. Any mom who has dropped off their kid for the first day of Kindergarten or at a new school knows that it’s heartbreaking, scary, and nerve wracking to watch your kid disappear into a building where you aren’t sure if they are going to have friends or not. Ratchet that up a level when you realize that your school is situated in one of the most elite areas in the country. Now it’s not just who is in your class, but…
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Audiobook review: Cooking for Picasso
Cooking for Picasso by Camille Aubray Genre: contemporary, history, audiobook Publisher: Random House (AUDIOBOOK) Date: August 9, 2016 Pablo Picasso. The name conjures up images galore. Even those with virtually no knowledge of art know that he was a genius. He changed everything people ever imagined about art. We know the art, but how much do we know about the man? In 1936 Pablo Picasso was already a well-established master of his craft and well set in his ways. In his 50’s, he knew how good he was. He knew his reputation and what his paintings were worth, so his ego was already pretty well-established too. Seventeen year old Ondine is…
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Review: The Lost Girl of Astor Street
The Lost Girl of Astor Street by Stephanie Morrill Genre: historical, mystery, young adult, YA Publisher: Blink Date: February 7, 2017 Eighteen-year-old Piper Sail is well aware that she doesn’t necessarily fit in with the rest of the girls her age. She’s not interested in finding a husband and there’s little that interests her about homemaking. Though 1924 Chicago is the dawning of a new era, with new styles and more freedom for young women, there still aren’t a lot of options for a young woman her age. She’s quite content at this point to just spend time with her best friend Lydia and work towards graduation from school. Then…
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Review: I See You
I See You by Clare Mackintosh Genre: suspense, mystery, thriller, contemporary Publisher: Berkely Date: February 21, 2017 Like millions of people around the world, Zoe Walker rides mass transit to and from work every day. The reality is that nothing about her really stands out from the crowd. If you saw her on the train or even on the street, you probably wouldn’t even give her a second glance. So it’s pretty startling for her when she notices an advertisement in the newspaper that looks like her. It rattles her enough to study the ad (which appears to be for a dating type site called findtheone.com) and bring it to…
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My Thoughts on The Shack
Unless you have been under a rock, you’ve likely heard about the movie, The Shack. Open confession here: I haven’t read the book. That usually makes most people gasp and freak out when I say it. I read books professionally, so it’s just assumed that I read this one. When I was invited to this early screening (thank you KSLR, The Fish San Antonio and my friend Audra!) I was able to step in and watch without any preconceived notions. But I will admit here that I was freaked out a little. My newsfeed on Facebook these days doesn’t look too awfully different than it did during the election. Instead…