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2023 Book Review Adventure Book Reviews Fiction

The Dharma Bums

The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac Synopsis Two ebullient young men search for Truth the Zen way: from marathon wine-drinking bouts, poetry jam sessions, and “yabyum” in San Fransisco’s Bohemia, to solitude in the high Sierras and a vigil atop Desolation Peak in Washington State. Published just a year after On the Road put the […]

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2023 Book Review Book Reviews Fiction

Daisy Jones and the Six

Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid Synopsis Daisy is a girl coming of age in L.A. in the late sixties, sneaking into clubs on the Sunset Strip, sleeping with rock stars, and dreaming of singing at the Whisky a Go Go. The sex and drugs are thrilling, but it’s the rock ’n’ […]

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2023 Book Review Book Reviews Memoir

84, Charing Cross Road

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff Synopsis This charming classic, first published in 1970, brings together twenty years of correspondence between Helene Hanff, a freelance writer living in New York City, and a used-book dealer in London. Through the years, though never meeting and separated both geographically and culturally, they share a winsome, sentimental […]

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2023 Book Review Book Reviews Fiction

If We Were Villains

If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio Synopsis: On the day Oliver Marks is released from jail, the man who put him there is waiting at the door. Detective Colborne wants to know the truth, and after ten years, Oliver is finally ready to tell it. A decade ago: Oliver is one of seven young […]

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2022 Graphic Novel Review Fantasy Graphic Novel Review

Demon in the Wood

Demon in the Wood by Leigh Bardugo & Dani Pendergast Synopsis: Eryk and his mother, Lena, have spent their lives on the run. But they will never find a safe haven. They are not only Grisha – they are the deadliest and rarest of their kind. Feared by those who wish to destroy them and […]

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2022 Book Review Book Reviews Fantasy

Howl’s Moving Castle

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones Synopsis: Sophie has the great misfortune of being the eldest of three daughters, destined to fail miserably should she ever leave home to seek her fate. But when she unwittingly attracts the ire of the Witch of the Waste, Sophie finds herself under a horrid spell that transforms […]

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2022 Book Review Book Reviews Mystery

Truly Devious

Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson Synopsis: Ellingham Academy is a famous private school in Vermont for the brightest thinkers, inventors, and artists. It was founded by Albert Ellingham, an early twentieth century tycoon, who wanted to make a wonderful place full of riddles, twisting pathways, and gardens. “A place,” he said, “where learning is a […]

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2022 Book Review Book Reviews Horror

Frankenstein

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Synopsis: Stepping far afield from his medical studies, Victor Frankenstein brings to life a human form he has fashioned from scavenged body parts. Horrified by his achievement, he turns his back on his creation, only to learn the danger of such neglect.  Review: *Quick disclaimer: If you are a big fan […]

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2022 Graphic Novel Review Fantasy Graphic Novel Review

Fangs

Fangs by Sarah Anderson Synopsis: Elsie the vampire is three hundred years old, but in all that time, she has never met her match. This all changes one night in a bar when she meets Jimmy, a charming werewolf with a wry sense of humor and a fondness for running wild during the full moon. […]

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Book Reviews

The Hobbit

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien Synopsis: Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely traveling any farther than his pantry or cellar. But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard Gandalf and a company of dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk him away on an adventure. They have […]