Maya’s Notebook by Isabel Allende. I loved this book. I am behind on reading all of Allende’s work, but she is such an amazing writer. This story, the journal of a young woman from Berkeley who is exiled (in hiding) in Chile, weaves in and out of her memories of how she came to be […]

The Tuscan Child by Rhys Bowen. Bowen is a prolific writer of several mystery series I have enjoyed. This novel is a stand alone story and a good example of the skills of this author. Two timelines, one of Joanna Langley investigating her father’s early life and one of Hugo Langley, her father, a British […]

In the Midst of Winter by Isabel Allende. Always one of my favorite writers, Allende didn’t disappoint me this time around. The complex, tender, emotions between people of different backgrounds, she introduces us to Richard Bowmaster, a lonely Brooklyn professor, Evelyn Ortega, an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala and Lucia Maraz, a visiting academic from Chile. […]

The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben. Aha…a non-fiction, nearly textbook type read, but rather amazing. Sadly, I read this after the forest fires had devastated huge areas of California. And after a neighbor’s oak had broken and the other half was removed to safeguard the human lives underneath it. (Mine!) Yes, this author, […]

Ahh…the joys of reading never end. But my audio book will be out soon and I guess I have to build “listening” into my repertoire. The Girl You Left Behind by JoJo Moyes. I enjoyed her other books so decided to read some of her earlier work. This one starts off sort of “expected”…characters in […]

Murder in the Collective by Barbara Wilson. This seems like a fairly old book, but I bought it at a used book sale and the front pages are missing. I discovered that I’m the last person to read this copy, because as I read, more and more pages fell out. A strange murder mystery about […]

Wow…here we are at the end of 2018…amazing. I read a lot these past few months…some great books, some not so wonderful. Admittedly I read a lot in November because the fire danger was so outrageous in California I felt I needed to stay at home in case there was call fro quick evacuation. Kingdom […]

Idaho by Emily Ruskovich. Okay, I’m for sure writing down who recommends books to me because I really want to talk this one over with someone! What a complex, deep, amazingly emotional writer Ruskovich is. In fact, I want to meet HER and talk about this book. This story skips around in time, but the […]

Girl in Disguise by Greer Macallister. This novel is based on a true story of the first woman hired as a Pinkerton detective. In her notes, Macallister states that not much was known about Kate Warne, but she used what she could find to right a detective and love story. I liked this book, but […]

Perla by Carolina De Robertis. I was lucky enough to hear De Robertis speak at a workshop and her story and background intrigued me. I have since read two of her books. This story, that of young Perla Correa, took me to a world I had never heard of. Inspired by the actual disappearance of […]