This was one of those books that just appeared, unsolicited, in my mailbox. While I always give those surprise titles a glance, I usually don’t have time to read and review them in addition to the ones I’ve already committed to. Add to that my suspicion of modern novels and it’s strange that I even…
REVIEW: THE DOLL by Daphne du Maurier
The Lost Short Stories These tales written very early in her career (1926-1932), long before Rebecca. Some were published much later, some not at all. It’s fascinating to see the writer she would become taking shape in these early stories. Sometimes they style is slightly more simplistic as though they were first drafts or rough…
REVIEW: THE STARLITE DRIVE-IN by Marjorie Reynolds
Set in 1950s rural Indiana, this debut novel is told from the first-person by Callie Anne, primarily in flash back. Now an adult, she is drawn back to the summer she turned 11. Her memories are recalled in the mindset of a child who now has an adult perspective. Her father is the manager…
REVIEW: THE TINY BOOK OF TINY STORIES
Volume 1 by hitRECord & Joseph Gordon-Levitt This book is pure joy. Short, succinct thoughts and ideas with curious and thoughtful illustrations are compiled in this small tome. But don’t let the size deceive you; as William Blake wrote, “One thought fills immensity.” Some stories garner a chuckle. Some make you feel like you’ve been…
REVIEW: THE SCRAPBOOK OF FRANKIE PRATT by Caroline Preston
I adore this book. It’s a completely individual way to tell a story. It’s a novel masquerading as a scrapbook — or perhaps it’s the other way around. Author Caroline Preston says of taking on this project, “I spent an unhealthy portion of my childhood rooting around in the boiling-or-freezing attic of my parent’s house…