I devoured this book in a couple of days: while it’s a coming of age story that’s more episodic than plot-driven, the writing was just so great and the characters so believable that I found it hard to put down, especially late at night when I fell into the “just one more chapter” trap. Imogene … Continue reading Some People’s Children, by Bridget Canning
This year, I read somewhere between 90-95 books, which is lower than previous years — and lower still when you realize that a sizeable chunk (maybe close to 20?) or those 90+ were rereads of old favourites. There were weeks during the height of the COVID lockdown here in March/April when I couldn’t wrap my … Continue reading Trudy’s Best Books of 2020
Looking back over this blog reminds me that there was a time in my life when I read a lot of Philip Yancey’s books — in fact, he was one of my most influential writers along my spiritual journey at one point in my life — but that most of that reading was before 2006 … Continue reading Where the Light Fell, by Philip Yancey
Years ago, when I was teaching at our Seventh-day Adventist school, I had a student who was not SDA, but belonged to an even more conservative Christian group, who was a huge fan of Elisabeth Elliot’s books. Until I met this girl, I’d never heard of Elisabeth Elliot, her husband Jim Elliot, or the ill-fated … Continue reading Five Wives, by Joan Thomas
Little Fires Everywhere is a book I heard recommended from all directions before I finally read it, and it did not disappoint. It’s a story about a neighbourhood, a family, and a woman, all which aspire to perfection, and another woman who moves into that neighbourhood and defies its expectations and norms. It’s a coming-of-age … Continue reading Little Fires Everywhere, by Celeste Ng
This is another of the memoirs that I picked up as a weekend break from the long historical tomes, and I devoured it in a matter of hours. Of course any story that explores the author’s religious and spiritual roots is almost guaranteed to be a hit with me, but Holy Ghost Girl is a particularly good … Continue reading Holy Ghost Girl, by Donna M. Johnson
Let’s just get this out of the way up front: if Jasper Fforde started publishing his grocery lists or his to-do lists, I would buy them and read them and enjoy them. He’s just that engaging and funny and creative as a writer, and after reading The Eyre Affair and all the rest of the … Continue reading Shades of Grey, by Jasper Fforde
I’ve heard so many raves about this book and its two sequels that I had to pick it up and give it a try. It’s a mystery, or perhaps the better term would be “crime novel,” set in modern-day Sweden (and translated from the original Swedish). Mikael Blomqvist, a discredited journalist who has spent his career … Continue reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Steig Larsson
Compulsive Overreader 