Category Archives: Year

Middlemarch, by George Eliot (audio)

Posted on August 13, 2015 by Thistle

I’m not even going to attempt to summarize Middlemarch. It’s a situational story about a small town in Britain, and the various things that happen to several key families. Actually, I’m not even sure I can really review this book. … Continue reading →

Posted in 2015, Adult, Prose | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Ten Things We Did, by Sarah Mlynowski

Posted on August 12, 2015 by Thistle

Full title: Ten Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn’t Have) Five years ago, I read Gimme a Call by Mlynowski. It was a cute, fun summer read, light and well-written, not at all shallow: a perfect comfort read for a … Continue reading →

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Her, by Harriet Lane

Posted on August 10, 2015 by Thistle

Nina is a successful painter, life neat and orderly. Emma has left her career to care for her children, and is caught up in the drudgery of that life. When the two meet, seemingly by chance, they take to each … Continue reading →

Posted in 2015, Adult, Prose | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Dodger, by Terry Pratchett (audio)

Posted on August 7, 2015 by Thistle

I don’t have much to say about this book. It’s historical fiction, pulling in all sorts of figures recognizable from both fiction and real life. Dodger – the narrator – encounters Charles Dickens, Sweeney Todd, Queen Victoria, and others I’m … Continue reading →

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Where They Found Her, by Kimberly McCreight

Posted on August 6, 2015 by Thistle

When Molly is assigned to investigate a murder for the local newspaper, she doesn’t expect the victim to be a newborn, embroiling her in memories of her miscarriage two years before and the depression that followed. I read Reconstructing Amelia … Continue reading →

Posted in 2015, Adult, Prose | Tagged , | 2 Comments

The Saffron Kitchen, by Yasmin Crowther (audio)

Posted on July 31, 2015 by Thistle

Maryam is an Iranian immigrant who has long lived in Britain with her British husband and a now-grown, pregnant daughter, Sara. When Maryam’s sister dies in Iran, her son comes to live with Maryam, dredging up a past that Maryam had long attempted to forget. … Continue reading →

Posted in 2015, Adult, Prose | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, by Marie Kondo

Posted on July 23, 2015 by Thistle

Subtitled: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing So…basically this is a kind of self-help course in decluttering and organizing, as the subtitle suggests. It’s been traveling around the blogosphere for a time now, and I first heard about it … Continue reading →

Posted in 2015, Adult, Prose, Wellness | Tagged , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Eleanor & Park, by Rainbow Rowell

Posted on July 16, 2015 by Thistle

Park is half-Korean and barely escapes bullying at school. Eleanor is the new girl, overweight and red-haired and oddly dressed, the target of bullying – and she sits next to Park on the school bus. The year is 1986. The … Continue reading →

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The Living, by Matt de la Peña (audio)

Posted on July 2, 2015 by Thistle

The summer before his senior year in high school, Shy gets a job as a crew member on a luxury cruise ship. All seems right with the world, until 1) his nephew contracts a deadly new disease making its way … Continue reading →

Posted in 2015, Prose, Young Adult | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Magonia, by Maria Dahvana Headley

Posted on June 25, 2015 by Thistle

Aza Ray is one of a kind. Literally. She’s the only person in the world with a disease so rare that it is named after her. She can barely breathe, drowning in air, and no one expects her to live … Continue reading →

Posted in 2015, Prose, Young Adult | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment