December 17, 2016
by Emily
Comments Off on Indie, Quirky, and Forgotten Books for the Reader on Your List Who Has Read Everything
I figure some of you may not want the most recent, expensive hardcover new releases for the readers on your holiday list. So here are some of my recommendations. I love books, and I read a lot of them. Far from … Continue reading
October 15, 2016
by Emily
1 Comment
In 1974, my friend and I experienced our first criminal sexual incident. We were 11, just beginning 6th grade. We lived in a nice neighborhood in Kalamazoo, Michigan: trees and lawns and sidewalks for bikes, driveways for hopscotch, backyards with swing sets … Continue reading
August 1, 2016
by Emily
Comments Off on Love and Jazz in the Time of War
Esi Edugyan’s prize-winning novel Half-Blood Blues (Thomas Allen, 2011) tells the story of struggling African-American jazz musicians in World War II Europe. Her narrator, Sid Griffiths, is the heartsick drummer, hoping in 1992 to redeem himself from the events from 1940. Called … Continue reading
June 23, 2016
by Emily
Comments Off on Iron Tenderness in The Samurai’s Garden
Gail Tsukiyama created a world I have since needed to visit in her novel The Samurai’s Garden . I end up there when trying to cope with the hard news of another shooting or kidnapping and seeking calm, peace or escape. I … Continue reading
April 23, 2013
by Emily
Comments Off on Another Reason I Wrote Holding True
The first time I thought of this novel I was crossing railroad tracks in my ’84 Plymouth Turismo, bumpy railroad tracks in the middle of Packard Street in Ann Arbor. That was 1986. I urgently needed to make sense of … Continue reading