Reviews and Comments

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sarah

wynkenhimself@bookwyrm.social

Joined 4 years, 11 months ago

dorking around with old books for work and reading new(ish) books for fun with strong opinions but an inconsistent rating system | you can find me most places as wynkenhimself including as @wynkenhimself@glammr.us | she/her

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started reading Marry Me by Midnight by Felicia Grossman (Once upon the East End, #1)

Felicia Grossman: Marry Me by Midnight (2023, Grand Central Publishing)

London, 1832: Isabelle Lira may be in distress, but she's no damsel. Since her father’s …

Not entirely sure it was wise to choose a romance that has a lot to do with the precariousness of being Jewish in 1832 London and the desperate hopes that they will finally be granted emancipation—lots of anxieties around today’s world pulling me out of a relaxing read, oops

reviewed A Glass of Blessings by Barbara Pym

Barbara Pym: A Glass of Blessings (1980)

Barbara Pym’s early novel takes us into 1950s England, as seen through the funny, engaging, …

Tender and funny

My chronological reading of Pym continues to pay off. I loved this one. Less mockery and cringe, more wistful and generous. Despite Wilmet being the center (or maybe because) it really feels like a study of men and the roles open for them.

commented on Go tell it on the mountain by James Baldwin

James Baldwin: Go tell it on the mountain (2013, Vintage International)

Baldwin's classic novel opened new possibilities in the American language and in the way Americans …

my library copy is back and I can finally finish this even though I'm pretty sure I don't remember enough to make sense of it, oops again

reviewed Day in the Life of Abed Salama by Nathan Thrall

Nathan Thrall: Day in the Life of Abed Salama (2023, Holt & Company, Henry)

Immersive and gripping, an intimate story of a deadly accident outside Jerusalem that unravels a …

hard and important

just one tragedy after another, and Thrall does an excellent job of exploring the many stories that he interweaves into Salama's search for his son, and connecting micro actions with the macro circumstances and decisions that created the conditions for this.

reviewed The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman (The Thursday Murder Club, #1)

Richard Osman: The Thursday Murder Club (Paperback, 2020, Penguin Books, Limited)

Welcome to... THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB

In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends …

everything I wanted

People kept telling me this series was great and I kept procrastinating, but I'm here to tell you that wow this book was everything I didn't know I needed. It's not only old-folks-solving-murders, it's old folks who are vibrant and believe in community who create lives for themselves that are so rich that they bring in others who also need them in their lives, and together they solve murders old and new. I don't know how to explain it, but it's wonderful.

reviewed Role Playing by Cathy Yardley

Cathy Yardley: Role Playing (EBook, 2023, Montlake)

Maggie is an unapologetically grumpy forty-eight-year-old hermit. But when her college-aged son makes her a …

Cute!

I maybe shouldn’t read books about moms facing empty nests because it’s too real, but I liked the rapport between the two leads and the happy ending of romance and peace with who you are

started reading Role Playing by Cathy Yardley

Cathy Yardley: Role Playing (EBook, 2023, Montlake)

Maggie is an unapologetically grumpy forty-eight-year-old hermit. But when her college-aged son makes her a …

and some fluff during breaks from the not-fluff; the scene setting of the 50-ish single mom adjusting to her only kid going off to college maybe is hitting a bit too real!