Today’s post brings us to a genre we haven’t visited since day E: memoir. And as this one focuses on a father’s relationship with his daughter, it is guaranteed to pull at your heartstrings. And since Dan Alatorre is the author of Savvy Stories, you’re also guaranteed at least a few laughs. Savvy Stories begins…
Did you know there are a lot of books that start with R? I had a hell of a time picking one for this letter because I could have easily written about six (they’re linked at the bottom of this post). In the end, I decided to post about one that has stuck with me…
Did you know there aren’t a lot of books that start with Q? Well, there aren’t. I went looking for one when I started this series, and when I found Quiet by Susan Cain, I thought to myself in true introvert fashion, “Self, we should read that book anyway.” So I picked it up. That…
Today’s Bookbag title brings us to a romantic comedy, a genre I don’t generally seek out in literature (and only occasionally in movies). But Poggibonsi by Dan Alatorre was such an entertaining read it was one of the first titles I listed when brainstorming Bookbag posts. Poggibonsi is the story of Mike, a venture capitalist…
Today’s Bookbag title, Only Wrong Once by Jenifer Ruff, is one from my genre happy place: suspense. And this story certainly delivers. Told from multiple points of view, this is a what-if story–what if a bioterrorist attacked the USA? Who would fill what roles in that scenario? Using the perspectives of an FBI counterterrorism agent,…
We’re officially halfway through the A-Z blog challenge, and today’s post is one of the few (maybe the only?) fantasy books in the Bookbag. Necromancer Awakening by Nat Russo stands out as a fantasy story because of one detail: the protagonist, Nicholas, is a modern-day Texan who was transported to the land of Erindor, which…
Today’s Bookbag title takes us into the world of historical/urban fantasy, one that is inhabited by vampires. (Don’t worry. They don’t sparkle.) Monsters & Angels by Anne Marie Andrus begins in 1935 and stars a young, virginal nurse named Sorcha. Following her mother’s death, she escapes to New Orleans for a job, and there, she…
Today’s Bookbag title is the first book in the Lunar Chronicles series: Cinder by Marissa Meyer. I know, I cheated a little. But C was taken so here we are. The premise of Cinder is brilliant in its simplicity: Take the Cinderella story, put it in futuristic Beijing, and make Cinderella a cyborg. And add…
Today’s Bookbag title, The King of Torts by John Grisham, is a nod to the dozen-or-so Grisham novels I’ve read, more often than not while on vacation. For years, I didn’t leave my house for an extended trip without a Grisham novel in my purse. I lost at least one on a plane and ruined…
Confession: I didn’t have a J book that immediately jumped out at me for the Bookbag. I was considering going with Jurassic Park, but the idea of reviewing a story that everyone knows (either via the book or movie) didn’t seem like that much fun. So I searched the library at the elementary school where…
Allison Maruska 