Category: Uncategorized

9-5-23 – Just published:

The Raging Storm, by Ann Cleeves, a British mystery in the “Two Rivers” Series – please see “Fiction Reviews.”

8-23-23

Just published, in Non-Fiction, the life of the talented, devoted, and ignored wife of George Orwell

8-20-23 Little Monsters offers a slightly different perspective on aging:  that of a man turning 70, desperate to make a final discovery to cap his already successful career. Please see Reviews: Fiction.

New Fiction Reviews

8-6-23: In Crow Mary, by Kathleen Grissom, and A Council of Dolls, by Mona Susan Powers, Native American women’s lives in the late 19th century and the early to middle 20th century are tenderly described in their beauty and their suffering.

7-30-23

In “No Two Persons Read the Same Book,” Erica Bauermeister shows how the same story can impact a wide range of readers. Please see how she does this in the Fiction Reviews section.

In “Fellowship Point,” two old friends learn about each other and life as they plan the future of a beloved piece of family land.

Clytemnestra is a gripping story of a woman finding inner strength in a world that values physical strength, and that is ruled by men and war. Please see the review in the “Fiction” section.

6-18-23

Summer is here, and time for long books to read over relaxing days.  (Or to escape hectic ones!)  For this OWL , diving into historical novels tracing years in a family’s life is one of the best ways to do this.  So in the Fiction Review section I suggest two related series set from post-Revolutionary America through the 1880’s.  I hope you enjoy some or all of them.

6-2-23:  Medieval women in fact and fiction. 

The recently published non-fiction book, Femina, by Janina Ramirez, is a treasure chest combining old, revered documentation with new archeological techniques.  Covering the 7^th through 14^th century in England, Sweden, France, Hungary and Poland, women come to the forefront of history in new ways.  It’s reviewed in the Non-Fiction section.

As a companion read (or excellent on its own), Matrix: A Novel, by Lauren Groff, is a conjuring of the life, visions, and achievements of Marie de France, a real 12^th century writer and translator, whose works have survived though little is known of her life.  It’s included in the Fiction section.

Coming soon: An Historical Family Saga.

Happy reading,

Deborah

5-26-23 – An aimless grown grandson, a grandmother with stories and secrets, Southern California, and the Pandemic – mix them together, and enjoy Cathleen Schine’s new novel, Kunstlers in Paradise.