Never Anyone But You by Rupert Thomson ticked all my boxes when it comes to reading material. Historical fiction. Strong female characters. Set in France. WW1 to and beyond WW2. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started reading but the book just got better and better. I hated to finish. Never Anyone But You is based on the true story of two French…
Browsing Category Books
Thursday Musical Two-Fer: A book about Dolly Parton and a book by Jann Arden
Dolly Parton and Jann Arden are two women I would definitely love to have as girlfriends—BFFs. They’re smart, talented, generous, kind, and funny. I’ve just finished reading two books: She Come By It Natural about Dolly Parton written by Sarah Smarsh, and If I Knew Then by Jann Arden. She Come By It Natural by Sarah Smarsh is basically a fan letter from one country girl…
“Friends and Enemies” exposes how the other half lives, or Don’t cry for me, Barbara Amiel
You will need to allow plenty of time to read and absorb the contents of Barbara Amiel’s new memoir Friends and Enemies which was released earlier this month. Weighing in at a hefty 603 pages in the hardcover and 978 pages on my iPad mini, it requires a lot of time, and many glasses of wine or, in my case, cups of strong tea to get…
Carl Hiaasen’s Squeeze Me is a brilliantly satirical take on Palm Beach and the Presidential lifestyle
Trump lovers will hate Carl Hiaasen‘s new novel Squeeze Me and call it offensive to the President. Trump haters will laugh their asses off as they recognize the ridiculousness of it all. Hiaasen is the popular native Floridian and author of humorous crime fiction that usually features a cast of eccentric characters engaged in hapless crimes and other adventures for which Florida has become famous….
What this boomer learned from the September 2020 issue of Vogue magazine
The September issue of Vogue magazine is traditionally a really big deal. It’s so prized, so anticipated, so revered that in 2009 an entire documentary film was created specifically in its honour called, what else, The September Issue. And, for the past seven years that I’ve been blogging, I’ve penned an annual bitchy critique of Vogue’s September Issue. The 2020 edition arrived discreetly in my mailbox recently…
Take a trip to rural France without leaving home
With all the restrictions on travel these days, some of us may be feeling the pinch of not being able to take vacations we’d saved and planned for before COVID-19 hit. My friends Debbie and Terry had to cancel a gourmet cooking expedition to Tuscany. I had to cancel a writing retreat in Paris. We can get a bit of relief watching Rick Steeves on…