Reading, Writing, and Me

Confessions  by Catherine Airey Overview: The novel weaves through three generations of the same family. Two sisters, one of their daughters, and then her daughter come together in this lengthy, time jumping story. We begin with Cora in 2001 in the days leading up to 9/11 and the aftermath. Then, we're transported back to the 1970s to learn about sisters Máire and Róisín growing up in County Donegal, Máire's move to New York City and unraveling, Róisín's life having stayed behind, and, finally, we meet Cora again through the eyes of her own daughter, Lycra. There's a lot of story here as well as settings, times, and point of view characters, which present both opportunities and challenges for this ambitious debut novel. Overall: 4 Characters: 4  This book as a whole is difficult to review because it's incredibly long and segmented, and because of this, it both succeeds and fails in these categories at different times. The book starts off arresting because of the cha...

I spent a year wanting the Matcha Kindle but not being able to justify the cost or the added electronic waste in the world since I had a Kindle that worked perfectly fine. In January, I caved, and on the day I ordered the Kindle, my current Paperwhite stopped working. I guess it sensed my deep betrayal, but I was glad I wouldn't be out of a Kindle for long. I've been a devoted Kindle user since my mom put her old Kindle in my hand when I was in 3rd or 4th grade. She was tired of housing all my books. It was the perfect solution, and I've been a major Kindle user ever since. So, is the Matcha Kindle worth the hype? Are the new Kindles worth the purchase?  Why I Didn't Get the Paperwhite Again While my original Kindle had a physical keyboard, all of my other Kindles (this new one is number three) have been from the Paperwhite line. I was going to just order that model by default (the fancier ones are too expensive and honestly don't have much appeal to me in their add...

Liars  by Sarah Manguso Thank you to Hogarth for the advanced copy of the book for review purposes. My thoughts are all my own. Overview: Jane had ideas about her life. She was going to be a successful artist married to a successful artist. She would be a wife but subvert the subjugation that typically comes with the title. She would do the same as a mother. But, of course, she couldn't. Her husband's jealousy and prioritizing of his own needs drown out her career opportunities. She was left with all the household chores and admin tasks. She was a caregiver alone even when married. Becoming the perfect wife was unfulfilling and still not enough to have the marriage she envisioned. Charting her entire relationship, we see Jane experience life from children to health scares to the COVID pandemic.  Overall: 2.5 Characters: 2 Here's the thing, fiction and nonfiction are two different categories for a reason. Real life can make a fascinating story, but largely, it needs to be al...

Writers & Lovers  by Lily King Overview: Casey is back in Massachusetts after moving seventeen times. She did an MFA, moved to Spain for a while. But after her mother's death, she became even more adrift, settling back in Boston for lack of a better idea. Casey is a writer, but she's been working on her novel for six years. To make money, she's a waitress at Iris and walks her landlord's dog for money off the rent. While most of her writer friends have abandoned the quest, she still has one friend that hooks her into the Boston literary scene. Over the course of the novel, Casey thinks about past relationships, falls into new one, and works on her book. Overall: 4.5 Characters: 5  I love Casey. She's funny and sarcastic and cynical but ultimately the epitome of hope because she persists as a writer even when it's incredibly hard. All of the other characters that populate the book are fully realized and multi-dimensional. Unfolding the characters is the joy o...