Tag Archive: novel


Review: Fear of Flying by Erica Jong

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August 7, 2025

Fear of FlyingFear of Flying by Erica Jong
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I read this as a newlywed. However, I don’t recall much of it. Maybe I read a bit and gave up? I felt that way as I read it this time, but I kept listening. Hope Davis (Narrator) gave the book more life than my eyes might have enjoyed. Still, it felt the author was full of woes that the rest of us didn’t have the choice to rise to.

This just didn’t bring the excitement it seemed to project. The erotica was not. Which is okay. It was considered progressive back in the day, but with shows like Game of Thrones and The Boys, it is naive.

Still, many of the issues presented for women remain, if not more repressed than in the 1970s. And the issues women, their mothers, and daughters face persist. So for these issues, it is worth the read.

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Review: I’ll Be Right Here: A Novel by Amy Bloom

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August 1, 2025

I'll Be Right Here: A NovelI’ll Be Right Here: A Novel by Amy Bloom
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I didn’t finish this book. I found it confusing and dry. I didn’t feel connected to the characters and especially when it started hopping in time.

Mozhan Navabi (Narrator), didn’t help make me feel I knew who’s point of view I was listening to.

I’m sorry. I really wanted to like this book. But don’t take my word for it. The comments show quite a few people loved it. I was glad I could pick this up on Libby.

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Review: The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

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July 28, 2025

The House of the SpiritsThe House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There is so much to this book, I am having a hard time pinning it all down. But I found a review on GoodReads that says it all. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show…

This is a book about three generations of a family in Chile. All the characters are well-developed and complex, with both strengths and flaws. Ultimately, there may be a cautionary note for all of us.

Ana Navarro recommended this book on The View during the “Ladies Got Lit” segment. It is worth jumping into.

As I was browsing through the reviews, I realized this is actually book three, so I put book one on hold, Daughter of Fortune. I may have to read this book again after a deep dive into the first two. It held up well as a stand-alone for me. The writing is great, with enough Spanish to make me pay attention. Javiera Gazitua (Narrator) and Senén Arancibia (Narrator) brought the book alive. I found this on Libby,

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Review: Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler

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March 31, 2025

Parable of the Talents (Earthseed, #2)Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love both Earthseed #1 and #2. Octavia E. Butler gives us all something to think about. It doesn’t matter if you believe the Earthseed theories. The story holds its own as people try to survive in a world unlike ours, enough to make it nearly unbelievable. And yet. Take a moment to think, what if? What would you do living from the survivor’s point of view?

I miss the narrators Patricia R. Floyd, Peter Jay Fernandez, and Sisi Aisha Johnson of both this book and the previous one. I highly recommend this Audiobook if you can find it.

What I like about this book and such stories as The Walking Dead (which this is NOTHING like) is the human factor and how people choose their leaders and beliefs and judge others from their own standards.

I may read these books again soon. I miss the story already. Don’t you hate it when a story affects you so deeply that you can’t breathe without it happening in your head?

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Review: Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons

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March 20, 2025

Cold Comfort FarmCold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Need a laugh? Here’s a fun book. I didn’t get it at first. When I realized it was supposed to be funny, I grinned for most of the book. It is British humor, my favorite.

I had been reading the Maisie Dobbs series, so I expected a serious mystery or something.

This review isn’t working. Here’s the blurb from GoodReads:
When sensible, sophisticated Flora Poste is orphaned at nineteen, she decides her only choice is to descend upon relatives in deepest Sussex.

At the aptly named Cold Comfort Farm, she meets the doomed Starkadders: cousin Judith, heaving with remorse for unspoken wickedness; Amos, preaching fire and damnation; their sons, lustful Seth and despairing Reuben; child of nature Elfine; and crazed old Aunt Ada Doom, who has kept to her bedroom for the last twenty years.

But Flora loves nothing better than to organize other people. Armed with common sense and a strong will, she resolves to take each of the family in hand. A hilarious and merciless parody of rural melodramas, Cold Comfort Farm (1932) is one of the best-loved comic novels of all time.

I hear there’s a movie. I’ll have to look that up. I picked this edition up from Libby. I think it might have been even better as an audiobook.

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Review: The Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante

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August 22, 2024

The Lying Life of AdultsThe Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Sometimes, I finish a Libby book with nothing to read next, and Libby suggested this. I thought, ‘Oooh, a little Italian to read. Not a lot, but it is situated in Italy, so the characters sometimes throw out a few words or cities that make me feel like I am traveling.

And to seal the deal, Marisa Tomei narrated. I felt I couldn’t go wrong.

I was wrong. I’ve been around Italian families and seen the passion of their discussions. Not arguments, disputes of passion. It was uncomfortable to be around, for me. I have never enjoyed conflict of any kind. And I have never seen a mind change during these extreme philosophical dilemmas.

Add in a preteen, and it blows up. Her hormones and anger set fire to the pages. Maybe when I was a raging teen, I would have liked it better. But this was too much. I saved it for my bedtime. Big mistake. I’d be angry with the kid, her parents, aunt, and friends as I drifted into slumberland unprepared.

Marisa Tomei put all the fire required for this reading into every beat of each sentence. For her part, I raised the rating from two to three stars.

Look, all the ratings go from five stars to zero. So, I think everyone comes into the book with their circumstances and upbringing, which can color how we perceive books and everything else in life. So give it a try and see if it’s for you.

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Review: Shōgun by James Clavell

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April 16, 2024

Shōgun (Asian Saga: Chronological Order, #1)Shōgun by James Clavell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this way back in the 80s. It was a big, thick paperback. I loved it. Then I watched the movie (or was it a series?) with Richard Chamberlain. Then I was blown away. I was already crazy about Mr. Chamberlain—so much so that, as an early teen, I’d sneak a mirror into the bookshelf in the hall at just the right angle so that even though it was past my bedtime, I could watch Dr. Kildare. I still think I got away with it.

What I loved about every iteration of Shōgun was the passion, history, culture, and language presented. Richard Chamberlain is going to be hard to beat in his portrayal of Anjin-san, especially in the scene where he is committing Seppuku. But in this Audible edition, I felt that passion through the reading by narrator Ralph Lister.

I have gotten used to Mr. Lister’s reading, but I think this book needs separate actors. I absolutely hate hearing a man do a female voice. It always sounds demeaning to women. And all the men sound similar to each other.

Still, since I am taking Japanese on Duolingo I feel I understand more than the last time I read the book. I’m looking forward to book II and the new streaming series.

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Review: There There by Tommy Orange

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December 22, 2022

There ThereThere There by Tommy Orange
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

These narrators made Tommy Orange’s story come to life: Darrell Dennis, Shaun Taylor-Corbett, Alma Ceurvo, and Kyla Garcia. I can’t imagine actually reading this story. At first, and for a long time, I couldn’t figure out if it were an anthology or all one story. I did feel it gave me a glimpse of Native American life nowadays. To say the least, it isn’t pleasant what these characters, and I would assume most American Indians might grapple with. We all are a product of our forebears, and our experiences bring us physically and emotionally. The more negative past makes the present more difficult to live with. Hence this story of several characters as they get ready to meet at the Pow Wow in Oakland.

I lowered my rating because I found it confusing to know who I was listening to. I think stopping the story to say Chapter so-in-so, then a character name helps the listener know more about what is happening to whom.

Still, if going into the story if you know what I mentioned above, it might be a better more cohesive story than how I perceived it. So I still highly recommend this book, especially the audiobook.

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Review: Ape House by Sara Gruen

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August 26, 2022

Ape HouseApe House by Sara Gruen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a fun book. I was able to pick it up on Libby as an audiobook. The story was great. Paul Boehmer (Narrator) was not the best. The only difference in characters was the Russian prostitute. The other women sounded foolish. All the men sounded the same. That caused me, the listener, to miss who was talking.

I enjoyed the bits about the monkeys and thinking about how much we could learn from other species if we could meet with some language. I thought the author showed the mentality of both humans and apes.

If you get the chance, I recommend this read. I think the psychology and philosophies brought up are interesting to ponder.

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Review: The Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs

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June 18, 2022

The Lost and Found BookshopThe Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book would have been a perfect read if I only had a beach. Even so, it felt like You’ve Got Mail in a way. But the list of books mentioned throughout the book to check out was longer. The book series that contained Ballet Shoes wasn’t even mentioned.

What I loved was the multiple generations not just mentioned but given problems seen from both sides of the issues. And the story goes back generations and includes historical events of their times that affected the outcomes of the current characters.

I love how often San Francisco played in the story. I felt I got to travel just the tiniest bit.

The writing was fun, and the narrator, Emily Rankin, was great.

This is a book that I recommend for fun and leisure. Go for it!!!

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