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feature: Life Stories in Literature

2 Novels About Communities

This novel well deserves the recognition it received: ITW Thriller Award Nominee for Hardcover Novel (2021), Los Angeles Times Book Prize Nominee for Mystery/Thriller (2020), Edgar Award Nominee for Best Novel (2021). Set in Los Angeles, it tells the stories of women who represent the outcasts, the marginalized and the expendable members of society. West […]

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Audio or Print Book? Sometimes One, Sometimes the Other

No, I’m not going to rehash the issue of whether audiobooks “count.” As long as the audiobook you listen to is unabridged, it counts as having read the book, just as does reading an ebook. However, I recently listened to two audiobooks that reminded me that sometimes I prefer to listen and sometimes I prefer

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My Most Surprising Read of 2022

When I was going through all the “best books of 2022” prompts and lists, somewhere—and I can’t remember exactly where—I came across the question “What was your most surprising read of 2022?” Any other year that question probably wouldn’t have stuck with me because I read a lot of mysteries and thrillers and am therefore

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Reading Goals for 2023

Overall, I was pleased with the way my year of reading 2022 turned out. Therefore, in setting my reading goals for 2023, I’m going to follow the general outline of last year’s post: Like last year, I’m going to continue in 2023 to avoid focusing on mere productivity (such as number of books or pages read).

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My One-Month Anniversary on Mastodon

Related Post: Yesterday was my one-month anniversary on Mastodon. Because I had a terrible time crunch for most of November, I didn’t do as much exploring there as I had wanted to do. However, I’m starting to feel more at home there now. And I like it. Here are some reasons why: I’m beginning to

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I’m Joining the #TwitterMigration to #Mastodon

Background Last week you-know-what hit the fan over at Twitter when Elon Musk took over. A lot of folks, concerned over the return of hate speech and disinformation, talked about finding an alternative to Twitter. Also, Stephen King and Elon Must got into a well publicized dust-up over account verification and its related cost. I’m

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Discussion: “Gone Girl” 10 Years Later

Introductory Discussion June 2022 marked the tenth anniversary of Gillian Flynn’s mega blockbuster novel Gone Girl. This anniversary prompted many looks back at the novel’s significance; for example: “A master class in marital manipulation, the influence of the novel continues to cascade through the category; to this day, every other thriller is pitched as “Gone

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feature: Life Stories in Literature

A Dozen 21st Century Books I Think Will Become Classics

This was the Top Ten Tuesday topic for March 29, 2022, but it grew into such a big topic for me that I didn’t complete it on time. Today’s topic is Books with [___] On the Cover, but since I’m not much into covers I’m substituting this one instead. Introduction When I began to think

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What Makes a Good Twist Ending?

Introduction I still remember the experience of first seeing the movie Planet of the Apes (the original 1968 version starring Charlton Heston). As the movie ended, Taylor (the astronaut played by Heston) and Nova rode off on a horse in search of a new place to live. As they rode along the beach, the camera

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