nomadreader

I aim to read a lot of fiction by authors whose previous work I've enjoyed, by authors who are new-to-me, and by authors who are new. When I looked at this list, my ten favorite fiction reads in 2017, I'm happy to see that it reflects that aim. [Covers take you to Amazon] 10. Forever, Interrupted  and After I Do  by Taylor Jenkins Reid 2017 is the year I discovered Taylor Jenkins Reid. After reading her latest novel, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo  (see below), I wanted to go back and read her backlist in order. Forever, Interrupted  is her first novel. I picked it up only knowing she had written it, and I so appreciated that particular reading experience, I'm hesitant to say more (so if you're spoiler-averse to events that occur within the first ten pages, skip ahead.) Nine days into the marriage of Elsie and Ben, Ben is hit by a truck while riding his bike and dies. This premise sounds overly dramatic, but it's not. The rest of the novel unfolds over two ...

Welcome to Day Five of My Best of 2015 Reading Round up!  As always, my Best of the Year lists cover what I read in 2015, which includes books published in any year. Today, I'm sharing my favorite nonfiction. Yesterday, I shared my favorite nonfiction . Wednesday I shared  my favorite mysteries . Tuesday I shared  my favorite comics . Monday I shared  Hawthorne's favorite board books . (Want to look at past year's lists. They're all linked  here .) 13. Outline  by Rachel Cusk ( my review ) Outline  is billed as a novel of ten conversations. It begins with Faye, a recently divorced writer with two sons, on a flight from London to Athens, Greece, where she will teach writing.  Outline  is a beautiful, thoughtful, engaging novel. I love the idea of it, and I loved the time I spent with it.  12. Hausfrau  by Jill Alexander Essbaum ( my review ) Anna Benz is a bored American housewife who has been living in the suburbs o...

The backstory: Liars and Saints  was shortlisted for the 2005 Orange Prize . The basics: Liars and Saints  is the story of the Santerre family. Over four generations, the novel covers World War II to the present (when this book was published in 2003.) My thoughts: For years I've been saying I want to read all of the Baileys Prize longlists, but I don't actually do it, so I started a new project to at least make some progress to that lofty goal. (If I actually continue to make progress, I'll write a post about my plans.)  Liars and Saints  reaffirms why I have that goal. It's a book I had never heard of, by an author I somehow never heard of. Once I started reading it, I discovered she is someone so many of my bookish Twitter celebrity people adore. And with good reason. I'm such a fan, I checked out her other three adult books (one novel and two short story collections) from library when I finished the first chapter. (She also writes the Apothecary series for ...