ThistlefootGennaRose NethercottFiction, hardback “Yet suffering has a way of begging to be remembered. Sometimes, as a story. Sometimes, as a wraith.” Estranged siblings Bellatine and Isaac haven’t seen each other in years, and have only agreed to meet today to receive their shared inheritance. Inheriting a house isn’t that unusual; inheriting a sentient house that…
Tag: Fiction
Category: Review
What I read: August 2023
EnchiridionEpictetusNon-fiction, paperback “Some things are in our control and others not. Things in our control are opinion, pursuit, desire, aversion, and, in a word, whatever are our own actions. Things not in our control are body, property, reputation, command, and, in one word, whatever are not our own actions.” If Seneca’s writings (see below) are…
What I read: July 2023
The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and MurderDavid GrannNon-fiction, hardback, book club “We all impose some coherence—some meaning—on the chaotic events of our existence. We rummage through the raw images of our memories, selecting, burnishing, erasing. We emerge as the heroes of our stories, allowing us to live with what we have done—or haven’t…
What I read: June 2023
The Unexpected Mrs. PollifaxDorothy GilmanFiction, audiobook “It struck her as extremely characterless for any human being to sit around waiting for execution. It wasn’t that she had so much character, thought Mrs. Pollifax, but rather that always in her life she had found it difficult to submit. The list of her small rebellions was endless….
What I read: May 2023
A Gentleman in MoscowAmor TowlesFiction, paperback, book club “And when the Count’s parents succumbed to cholera within hours of each other in 1900, it was the Grand Duke who took the young Count aside and explained that he must be strong for his sister’s sake; that adversity presents itself in many forms; and that if…