Book Reviews
How to Have True Dialogue on the Internet
“Should Roe v. Wade be overturned?,” was the question asked by one of my friends on Facebook the other day. Normally, I would have scrolled on past, sure that if I were to weigh in, it would become a raging inferno of disagreement, insults, and hurt. The divisiveness of our country scares me, but for…
Read MoreThe Why’s and How’s of Dialogue in the Digital Age
Say you’re scrolling down your Twitter feed, and you come across someone spouting something particularly opinionated, rude, or derogatory. Just a quick scan of their post reveals that it’s about something you heartily disagree with, and/or is expressed in such a prejudicial way that you immediately scroll past it. You think, “Why should I engage…
Read MoreKiss of a Stranger
Bronchitis is not fun, people, but coming “back to life” afterwards is. I’m recovering from a bout of it. The week before, I nursed my kids through croup, pink eye, and a cold. From recent experience, therefore, I can tell you: coughing up a lung is not good, but regaining energy and rejoining civilization is…
Read MoreChildren of Blood and Bone
It’s been a tough few months, I tell you. Life has been very interesting, in some ways very good, and some quite bad. I’m finally getting over my insomnia, something I’ve struggled with for years (see this post about what it’s really like to live with it). I’m enjoying my job as a full-time book…
Read MoreAmerican Family, A Review and a Giveaway
Sometimes it’s hard to put a finger on why one likes or dislikes a book. Other times, it’s easy. For me, as a professional book editor, frequent book beta reader and reviewer, and writer, it’s easier than it might be for some. That doesn’t mean, however, that if I dislike a book, it’s for reasons…
Read MoreBook Review: The Atopia Chronicles by Matthew Mather
It’s been a busy week getting ready for Halloween, but also one in which I also received a lot of encouragement from my writer friends and reworked my synopsis for Forced. I’m excited to embark on the 7th draft of that manuscript, with a plot that is now more intricate and truer to my character’s natures.…
Read MoreTop Ten Books to Get Your Reluctant Reader for Christmas
When my kids—who are now 15 and 9—were younger, I read to them every night at bedtime. And they both used to be good readers. As they’ve gotten older, it’s become harder and harder to muster the energy to fight them to get off their screens for the time it takes to read to them,…
Read MoreWant a Book to Curl Up With on a Stormy Night? Read Twice Dead.
Life continues to be interesting. At times like these, I’m so grateful for the listening ears of family and friends, for my life, my kids, my health, the fact that I’m sleeping much better than I have in years, even the fact that I can’t keep a pair of sunglasses to save my life. It…
Read MoreAt Least It’s Not as Bad As…: 10 Books That Can Inspire Gratitude in Hard Times
Life has been tough for me lately! I can’t go into detail because my struggles involve someone I love whose struggles run deeper than mine and I don’t have his permission to share, but it’s made it a little hard to keep on schedule with posting. When times are tough, it helps—nay, is necessary—to be…
Read MoreYoung Elites by Marie Lu is a Gripping Read With a Disappointing Ending
I am such a begrudging fan of Marie Lu’s Young Elites. This book was so wonderful in so many ways, but the ending was SUCH a disappointment for me. Nevertheless, I’m in the minority, judging by the 4.1/5 average rating from 554 reviewers on Amazon, and the 3.92/5 average rating from almost 100,000 reviewers on Goodreads.…
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