I know I’ve mentioned before how once I fall for an author based on an amazing book or two that she has written, I can’t wait to read other titles by her.  Honestly, I often find these books to be fine, but not as powerful as the “breakthrough book,” or the one that propelled the author to fame. This is not the case with Maggie O’Farrell. 

Novels set in another time and place that are so realistically drawn as to cause me to have a visceral response are rare and wonderful.  For me, they make the storyline feel like an extension of the setting. Or is it the other way around?  Does the story feel compelling because the author portrays the setting with such authenticity?  Whatever the explanation, Pip Williams has mastered the balance of both factors in The Dictionary of Lost Words.

When my husband Dan gave me Super Sushi Ramen Express for Christmas, I looked at him and said, "Didn’t I buy you this book a long time ago?"  Neither of us really remembers but now that I've read it, I’m so glad he bought it (again?).

I am going to do my best to describe this book in a way that will make every one of you want to grab a copy because it is one of the most interesting pieces of nonfiction I have read in a very long time. But every time I try to describe this book, I find it extremely hard to do it justice. 

I firmly believe that Louise Erdrich should be on every reader’s “go to” reading list.  Just when I think she can’t possibly write a better book than her last, she does.  Not only does she always tell a compelling story filled with memorable characters, but she unfailingly writes masterful prose.

My most recent celebrity memoir on audiobook, Be Ready When The Luck Happens, was a delight from beginning to end. I’ve long known Ina Garten was charming from her TV shows and Instagram, and she brings that charm to bear on the telling of a surprising and compelling story.