Browsed by
Author: Kristen

Breaking away from Realistic Fiction: Investigating Fantasy Sub-Genres

Breaking away from Realistic Fiction: Investigating Fantasy Sub-Genres

Remember when you thought of books in two categories, fiction and non-fiction? That might be a stretch to think back to elementary school. There is a wonderful world of genres out there and then layers of sub-genres underneath the categories of fantasy, romance, science fiction, horror and western.  Sometimes these are influenced by content, sometimes they are influences by target audience and sometimes despite what genre the author intended, the book gets lumped or shelved in a completely different category…

Read More Read More

11/22/63 – 2018 Reading Challenge Suggestion

11/22/63 – 2018 Reading Challenge Suggestion

Sometimes it’s hard enough to pick a book to read that’s 350 pages.   Now double that!  That can be quite the commitment to take on for your leisure reading.  You might as well enjoy yourself while conquering the Big Bad category of the 2018 reading challenge. 11/22/63 by Stephen King is not the classic horror that King is know for.  11/22/63 is fiction, speculative fiction, true crime, historical fiction, science fiction/fantasy.  This one is a complex melting pot of genres. …

Read More Read More

Outlander – 2018 Reading Challenge Suggestion

Outlander – 2018 Reading Challenge Suggestion

If you’ve survived your 20s you might have had to choose between two people to date.  Imagine that scenario but escalated to choosing between two different time periods. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon would be an excellent choice for the following categories in the 2018 reading challenge:  The Big Bad as it comes in at 850 pages, Noteworthy and Acclaimed for being a RITA Award for best romance in 1991, Time Warp for historical fiction/science fiction/time travel, It’s All about the…

Read More Read More

Lesser known books

Lesser known books

I was recently reminded that the best-seller lists doesn’t necessarily correlate to best books.  Sometimes there are gems that don’t get press or hype and they are beautiful wonderful books worthy of praise.  If I could put a handful of books I read this year in your virtual to-be-read list this would be those.   The Atomic Weight of Love   This is a debut novel from Elizabeth J. Church.  This is a wonderful book that exudes the progress of feminism. …

Read More Read More

A Rainbow of Covers: 2018 Reading Challenge Suggestions for Favorite Colors

A Rainbow of Covers: 2018 Reading Challenge Suggestions for Favorite Colors

The favorite color category is the free space on the bingo board of the 2018 Reading Challenge.  With that said, I’m a sucker for a good book cover, despite the age old adage not to judge a book by its cover. Every time we scan our online or real-life bookshelves, for what to read next, we are influenced by the covers.   A book cover conveys an expectation of what kind of book you’ll find inside as well as tempting you to…

Read More Read More

The One-in-a-Million-Boy – 2018 Reading Challenge Suggestion

The One-in-a-Million-Boy – 2018 Reading Challenge Suggestion

The One-in-a-Million-Boy by Monica Wood is another book for the Octogenarian category in the 2018 Reading Challenge.  On the surface it’s a lovely story about a socially awkward boy who has a fascination with Guinness world records.  The boy, who remains nameless throughout the novel, is attempting to fulfill requirements to obtain another badge in Boy Scouts.  It is this project that pairs him with an elderly Lithuanian woman, Ona Vitkus.  During these visits to assist her with chores an…

Read More Read More

Holiday Gifting for your favorite Bookworm

Holiday Gifting for your favorite Bookworm

Sometimes buying books for a book lover is harder than it seems to be. You might not be sure if they have the book, if they’ve read the book – if the book is any good or if it will just flop onto the never-ending to-be-read pile. So instead of wondering if they prefer paperback, ebook or audio book – here are some thoughtful ideas with a bookish theme. Lapel Pins: Ever need a little something to dress up a…

Read More Read More

The Nightingale – 2018 Reading Challenge Suggestion

The Nightingale – 2018 Reading Challenge Suggestion

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah has received a lot of love since being published in 2015.  The literary awards received include: Audie Award for Fiction (2016) and Goodreads Choice Award for Historical Fiction (2015).  If you take a peak at either amazon.com or Goodreads, you’ll see an impressive 5 star rating with over 35K reviews.  This book falls into the following categories for the 2018 reading challenge: Noteworthy and Acclaimed, Time Warp, It’s All About the Destination. Hannah impresses with this piece of historical…

Read More Read More