“The great American writer Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, ‘It is not the length of life, but the depth of life.’ You don’t need a long lifetime to make an impact on this world. You just need the will to do so.”―Nikki Erlick, The Measure. If you could discover the time of your death, would you? This is the question at the heart of Nikki Erlick’s debut novel, The Measure, and it left me conflicted. I was swept up in the lives of the eight ordinary people who were faced with this tough choice, and I couldn’t help but wonder what I would do in their shoes. It seems like any […]
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What the Fireflies Knew
“The house is silent and smells like a mix between the old people that kiss my cheeks at church, and the tiny storage unit where all our stuff lives now.”—Kai Harris, What the Fireflies Knew. After her father dies of an overdose and the debts incurred from his addiction cause the loss of the family home in Detroit, almost-eleven-year-old Kenyatta Bernice (KB) and her teenage sister, Nia, are dropped off by their overwhelmed mother to live with their estranged grandfather in Lansing. The kids don’t know where she’s gone or if she’ll ever come get them. Over that sweltering summer, KB’s entire world is upended. Even her sister, always her […]
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Aftermath
“His ways were mysterious and sometimes painful. They didn’t always make his children happy. But one thing was for sure. God used everything. He always had a purpose.” —Terri Blackstock, Aftermath. In Aftermath, author Terri Blackstock expertly weaves together the storylines of two disparate characters. The book begins with a bombing at a political rally in Atlanta that kills twenty people. Three best friends attend the rally to hear their favorite band play, but only one makes it out alive: Taylor Reid. A short time later, police pull over Army veteran Dustin Webb, who is a security expert. When they search his trunk, they find four boxes of explosives stolen […]
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Tears of Amber
“The most shocking fact about war is that its victims and its instruments are individual human beings, and that these individual beings are condemned by the monstrous conventions of politics to murder or be murdered in quarrels not their own.”—Aldous Huxley. Sofía Segovia, the bestselling author of The Murmur of Bees, has written another extraordinary historical novel, this time set in Eastern Europe during WWII. Tears of Amber is inspired by actual events—not only by official texts but also by the accounts of two children and their families who traveled enormous distances to survive one of the biggest exoduses in human history. The Nazi Party pushes eastward, reaching the […]
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My Favorite Reads of 2022
I read 106 books in 2022, so narrowing it down to my very favorites was a challenge. The list below comprises my crème de la crème in a great year of reading. You’ll find a variety of genres set in the United States, Mexico, Ghana, Ukraine, China, England, Poland, Austria, Germany, France, Czechoslovakia, and Vietnam. Most of these were 5-star reads for me, but one was a 4.5 rounded up to 5. I hope you find something you love! Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid “We live in a world where exceptional women have to sit around waiting for mediocre men.”—Taylor Jenkins Reid, Carrie Soto is Back. […]
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Great Books About Ireland
I’m 89.2% Scandinavian, but like many of you, I’m a little Irish on St. Patrick’s Day. I make my traditional Beer Braised Corned Beef with Potatoes and Carrots, and Irish Soda Bread. I love a good book about Ireland, too. If you enjoy reading about interesting cultures, maybe you’ll find something to tickle your fancy here. Nonfiction Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt. This evocative memoir documents an Irish family’s struggles during the Great Depression. [The best memoir I have ever read.] Are You Somebody? The Accidental Memoir of a Dublin Woman by Nuala O’Faolain. A woman steps out of the traditional shoes she was always told to fill. The Back of Beyond: […]
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Beer Braised Corned Beef with Potatoes and Carrots Recipe
Beer Braised Corned Beef with Yellow Potatoes and Carrots (Serves 6-8) 1 (3-pound) corned beef brisket with spice packet 3 large garlic cloves, smashed 2 large shallots, peeled and halved 1 (12-ounce) bottles of beer, darker is better 6-7 carrots, cut into 2-inches pieces 6 yellow or red potatoes, cut into 2-inch dice Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Trim excess fat off corned beef and put in a large Dutch oven. Add the garlic, shallots, spices, and beer. Cover and braise for 3 hours, turning the meat once. Add the carrots and potatoes and cook for an additional 2 hours. Slice and serve with vegetables. ** Corned […]
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Amy’s December 2022 Picks and Pans
One December not that long ago, I read some terrific books. They were different genres set in different places—Florida, England, Colorado, Maine, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Mexico, Connecticut, and Texas—but most had one thing in common: great writing. Enjoy my reviews; I hope you find something to add to your TBR list! Once Upon a Wardrobe Patti Callahan “No matter your age, may you never, ever grow too old for fairy tales.”—Pattie Callahan, Once Upon a Wardrobe. I couldn’t have loved this book more. It started and ended with a flourish in moving, heartwarming, and magical prose. I loved learning about Jack Lewis’s life (you probably know him as […]
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Once Upon a Wardrobe
“No matter your age, may you never, ever grow too old for fairy tales.” —Patti Callahan, Once Upon a Wardrobe. I couldn’t have loved this book more. It started and ended with a flourish in moving, heartwarming, and magical prose. I loved learning about Jack Lewis’s life (you probably know him as C. S. Lewis) and the imagined inspiration for his classic book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. This novel about faith and hope is utterly enchanting. 5 enthusiastic stars. Megs Devonshire is brilliant with numbers and equations, on a scholarship at Oxford, and dreams of unraveling the mysteries of physics. She prefers the dependability of facts—except […]
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Fellowship Point
Celebrated children’s book author, eighty-year-old spinster, Agnes Lee, has left an indelible mark on the literary world. But her goal to secure her legacy and protect the majestic coastline of Maine’s Fellowship Point really drives her. Now that the next generation is determined to sell the land to a developer, Agnes is adamant about protecting this bird sanctuary by creating a land trust, especially after her third breast cancer diagnosis. However, her path is fraught with obstacles, not the least of which is convincing shareholders to dissolve a generations-old partnership. And to make matters worse, one of those shareholders is her best friend, Polly Wister. Agnes and Polly are […]
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