In a small unaffected village outside of the city, the townsfolk of a close-knit community rarely leave and they even more rarely have any visitors. So when a young man named Adam arrives, the village is feverish in welcoming the newcomer. It's not long before the tranquility of the halcyon settlement is disturbed with off-kilter… Continue reading In a Small, Quiet Village by Ian Anthony Hollis
While I am an avid reader, there are those weeks when I need to multitask, and that's when I look to indie author audiobooks. It's always a win-win. Indie author audiobooks make folding laundry or changing a diaper much more enjoyable. I used my Audible credits and listened to these three authors who contacted me… Continue reading Indie Author Audiobooks to Have In Your Back Pocket
Home School Rules is a look at the world of lockdown through the eyes of a 10-year-old boy. If you ever wondered what we adults look like to kids when we’re stressed, caged and on an emotional rollercoaster, wonder no longer! And be prepared to laugh. Nothing is quite so funny as seeing ourselves in… Continue reading Home School Rules by Michael Honig
Reviewed by Desiree Willis Jakarta focuses on the life of an unnamed narrator in a dystopian society where the virus Z-bug has caused nearly the extinction of the human race. Where he resides, his partner Clara holds a strong connection to a glowing stone; which holds powers that allow for the narrator to view past… Continue reading Jarkata by Rodrigo Márquez Tizano
Reviewed by Kelsie Colclough The End We Start From is Megan Hunter’s ambitious debut novella. Exploring motherhood in a flooded Britain is a fascinating concept delivered in the novella in a shaky format. The End We Start From leaves you feeling that more than Britain has flooded and been swept away; character names are reduced… Continue reading The End We Start From by Megan Hunter
Reviewed by Karisma J. Tobin Samanta Schweblin’s Fever Dream tells the haunting story of a mother’s experience of an unfamiliar town. Vacationing with her young daughter, Nina, Amanda finds herself unsettled. It soon becomes clear that there is something strange about this place. It’s the worms. You have to be patient and wait. And… Continue reading Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin
Author's note: This book is meant for mature audiences When, in the spring of 1592, fictional eighteen-year-old Constance Shakespeare joins her brother, Will, in London, she is in for any number of surprises. Expecting opportunities not available under her father’s domination in Stratford, she finds life in London far more complicated and challenging, yet exhilarating,… Continue reading Shakespeare’s Younger Sister by Geoffrey Craig
Reviewed by Zhenbang Yu Offred is a victim of a regime that thrives on fear and lies. Since Offred has assumed the role of a handmaiden, she has experienced the horrors of witnessing their utmost cruelty the regime has imposed on her. This has led her to despise the regime for its oppressiveness towards women who… Continue reading The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Reviewed by Aaron Sommers "We pursue that which retreats from us," said the existentialist philosopher Martin Heidegger. The quote pertains to desires, happiness or knowledge--and it also describes the protagonist's journey in The Wanderers, a fast-paced, eminently readable debut novel by Sarah Barkoff. The novel kicks off in the unsettled world of a post-Hurricane Sandy… Continue reading The Wanderers By Sarah Barkoff
Reviewed by S.B. Julian I call them my Irises -- my copies of the novels of Iris Murdoch. They have played such an intimate role in my life that we can't but co-exist on a first-name basis. I found my first “Iris” at age eighteen while back-packing in Europe. Near my hostel in Germany was… Continue reading Iris Murdoch, on the Anniversary of Her Birth and Death
