Book reviews
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Last year, biographies held my attention. I’m always eager to learn, but biographies are especially helpful when I find myself navigating the difficulties of life. Reading about other people’s lives and how they handled challenges and setbacks helps me feel less alone. This year was a tough one. The following books kept me company. Astrid
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The best books I read in 2022.
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We’re a month into 2021. I have a new reading goal set (the same as last year, because I didn’t meet it) and my stacks of books to read are starting to look dangerous thanks to the abundance of Little Free Libraries in my neighborhood. It takes some serious self-discipline to walk past one and
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As the year (and decade) draws to a close, I’m looking back with satisfaction at the books I’ve checked off my list or stumbled upon at the library or thrift store. I’m an incredibly picky reader, especially when it comes to fiction, and I’m selfish with my time. If a book isn’t interesting in the
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And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is a difficult book to describe in a nutshell. Beautifully written, but not fast-paced, it’s one you sink your teeth into and relish. Only nine chapters, but they’re long and told from different perspectives as you travel from Afghanistan to Paris
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All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr My rating: 5 of 5 stars “All the Light We Cannot See” is a rich, evocative novel set during World War II. The third person narrator primarily follows two characters: a blind French girl whose father is a locksmith at a museum in Paris, and an
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Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand My rating: 5 of 5 stars A lot of nonfiction books get so bogged down with detail that they have no narrative drive. Unbroken doesn’t have this problem. From the beginning, Hillenbrand’s writing sets the story in driven, organized motion, drawing
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In my last post, I had promised a book review for mid-January. That did not happen. Why? Because I’m too darn picky. I got 70 pages into one book before practically throwing it in the trash, and I was three-quarters through another when I decided it was too slow and I was sick of it.
Meredith Sell 