I was tempted to make a list of my favorites among the 2019-published books I read this year. In the end I decided to focus on my favorite 2019 reads (first time reads; I didn’t include books I had read / reviewed in prior years) without regard to their year ... more >
The Royal Art of Poison: Filthy Palaces, Fatal Cosmetics, Deadly Medicine and Murder Most Foul by Eleanor Herman I’ve been on a pop history kick after the two Jennifer Wright books I recently read, so I picked up this book. It was only after I bought it that I realized ... more >
Dear Ms. Burns, Your novel, Milkman, recently won the Man Booker Prize. That and a rave review from Sunita convinced me to read it. Milkman has been called “experimental fiction” because it’s written in stream-of-consciousness narration conveyed through long sentences and paragraphs, because the narrative goes on long tangents, and ... more >