nomadreader

narrated by Hillary Huber The backstory: I previously enjoyed Ann Hood's novel  The Obituary Writer  on audio . The basics: The Red Thread  is the story of a Providence, Rhode Island adoption agency specializing in the adoption of Chinese girls. Run by Maya, a divorced woman still dealing with guilt over her own daughter's death, the novel tells the stories of one co-hort of couples adopting Chinese daughters from the beginning of the process through the end. My thoughts: I feel like my review of The Red Thread  is really two reviews: what I thought about it while reading it and what I thought about it after I finished and really thought  about it. I tend to enjoy novels told from multiple perspectives, and The Red Thread  included many characters, all of whom wanted to adopt for somewhat different reasons. I appreciated the relative diversity of the couples, as it was easy to keep all of the characters straight. While I enjoyed some of their s...

After almost two years of living in Albany, my Midwestern self is finally realizing how many things are nearby. Yes, Boston and New York City are less than three hours away, but so are many other places. Faced with three days off in a row, I pulled out an old issue of Bon Appetit (my favorite food magazine) with a list of the ten best farm to table restaurants . I was hoping for one in New England to help me decide where to spend a few days. Thankfully, Bon Appetit told me about Gracie's in Providence, Rhode Island. I love a good road trip, and I love to explore the Northeast, so I set off with The Unnamed by Joshua Ferris on audio and avoided interstates. The drive took four hours instead of three, but I saw small towns along the way and had fun. I got a great deal on a hotel, and the view from my room was pretty spectacular. The food . Gracie's offers an a la carte menu, but the better deal is the three-course meal, which starts at $30. Unlike most prix fixe menus, ...