A few years ago, I fell in love with a book called Rules of Civility by Amor Towles. At the time, I was hesitant to pick it up for a number of reasons but it ended up on my list of favorites that year and I knew that I would read Towles' next book. It took a few years, but that book, A Gentleman in Moscow, is finally here. It's a long, serious, novel that demands you pay … [Read more...]
Every Woman Can Relate to 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl
When I was trying to decide what to read next, Andi over at Estella's Revenge recommended 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl by Mona Awad. It's been getting rave reviews, so while I wasn't quite sure what the book was about, I decided to give it ago. This was also because Awad is a PhD student at the University of Denver (DU), where I went to grad school.Told through a series … [Read more...]
Beautiful and Intricate, Why We Came to the City Shines
I picked up Kristopher Jansma's latest novel for two reasons: it's getting rave reviews from readers I trust and he's a #30Authors contributor. It's hard to say which convinced me to pick it up sooner rather than later but I'm so glad that I did. Why We Came to the City is a stunning novel about a tightly knit group of friends, their relationships with each other, and how … [Read more...]
Exploring the Power of Ideas in ‘Originals’
Note: Although this is non-fiction and there's no plot to spoil, I do discuss topics contained within the book.When I was in elementary school we were tasked with inventing something. This was before everyone had a computer and well before smartphones so I'm sure some of our inventions would seem benign now but I remember being very certain that my idea would take off … [Read more...]
My First King: The Long Walk
Imagine coming home from watching The Shining, turning on the light, looking down a long hallway, and finding two long-haired 5 year old girls in nightgowns standing side-by-side - staring at you. Terrifying, right? It is. I would know because this is exactly what happened to me when I was 17 and came home at around midnight after watching it at a friend's house. The girls, who … [Read more...]