Category Archives: Book Reviews

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear

Posted on February 29, 2016 by jzbrence

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert (2015) Q. What is creativity? A. The relationship between a human being and the mysteries of inspiration. When people hear that I’m a blogger, they often ask how I come up … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged big magic, creative living beyond fear, creativity, dan wilson, eat pray love, elizabeth gilbert, ideas, inspiration, lin-manuel miranda, semisonic, sue monk kidd, the creative life, the secret life of bees | Leave a comment

Go Set a Watchman

Posted on October 11, 2015 by jzbrence

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee (2015) Rarely has a book been as highly anticipated as Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman. The discovery of a long-lost manuscript by the author of the beloved classic To Kill a Mockingbird … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged alabama, alexandra finch, atticus finch, babylon, civil rights movement, desegregation, go set a watchman, harper lee, harpercollins, isaiah, jack finch, jean louise finch, jim crow south, maycomb, new york, old testament, racism, scout finch, to kill a mockingbird | Leave a comment

Dads Who Go The Distance

Posted on June 21, 2015 by jzbrence

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce (2013) Us by David Nicholls (2014) Father’s Day is the perfect time to highlight two noteworthy books featuring particularly intrepid dads. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged albie petersen, british authors, connie petersen, dads, david fry, david nicholls, douglas petersen, england, europe, father's day, grand tour, maureen fry, queenie hennessy, rachel joyce, the unlikely pilgrimage of harold fry, us | Leave a comment

The Boys in the Boat

Posted on June 2, 2015 by jzbrence

The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown (2013) “Where is the spiritual value of rowing?…The losing of self entirely to the cooperative effort of the crew as a whole.” George Yeoman Pocock Once in a while, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged 1936 olympics, 1992 olympics, al ulbrickson, berlin, bobby moch, crew, daniel james brown, dream team, george pocock, great depression, hitler, joe rantz, nazi, racing shell, rowing, seattle, shorty hunt, the boys in the boat, tom bolles, u.s. men's olympic basketball team, university of washington, washington, washington huskies | Leave a comment

The Rosie Effect

Posted on March 19, 2015 by jzbrence

The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion (2014) If you enjoyed The Rosie Project as much as I did, you’ll be thrilled to know that Don Tillman and Rosie Jarman are back in Graeme Simsion’s second novel The Rosie Effect. Not … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged asperger's, asperger's syndrome, australia, don, don tillman, fatherhood, genetics, graeme simsion, new york, pregnancy, rain man, rosie, rosie jarman, sheldon cooper, the baby project, the big bang theory, the rosie effect, the rosie project, the wife project | Leave a comment

All the Light We Cannot See

Posted on February 6, 2015 by jzbrence

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (2014) Once upon a time, there was a French girl who was enthralled by the creatures that dwell in the sea. In a land far away lived a German boy who … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged all the light we cannot see, anthony doerr, blindness, daniel leblanc, etienne leblanc, france, frank volkheimer, germany, jutta pfennig, madame manec, marie-laure leblanc, national museum of natural history, radio waves, saint-malo, werner pfennig, world war II, zollverein | Leave a comment

Don’t Judge A Book By Its Genre

Posted on January 13, 2015 by jzbrence

One of my favorite blogs is The Book Jam. I always look forward to getting the latest book recommendations from Lisa Christie and Lisa Cadow, friends and avid readers in Norwich, Vermont. The Book Jam also features author interviews and … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Parenting | Tagged abnegation, abraham lincoln, beth reynolds, divergent, e. lockhart, eleanor & park, faction, fear landscape, gale, harry potter, harry truman, his excellency george washington, john adams, peeta, rainbow rowell, the book jam, the book thief, the fault in our stars, the hunger games, the sorcerer's stone, twilight, we were liars, ya fiction, ya literature, young adult fiction, young adult literature | 2 Comments

Everything I Never Told You

Posted on September 30, 2014 by jzbrence

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng (2014) In a world that’s full of talking, the things that go unsaid are often the most significant. They may be deeply-held feelings that are mutually understood and don’t need to be … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged celeste ng, chinese-american, drowning, everything i never told you, hannah lee, interracial marriage, james lee, lydia lee, marilyn lee, muriel barbery, nathan lee, the elegance of the hedgehog | 2 Comments

We Were Liars

Posted on August 17, 2014 by jzbrence

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart (2014) The bad news is that summer is coming to a close. The good news is that there’s still time to squeeze in one more terrific summer read. In fact, one quiet afternoon may … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged cadence, cadence sinclair eastman, e. lockhart, fairy tales, family, gat, island, johnny, martha's vineyard, migraines, mirren, summer, the liars, traumatic brain injury, trust fund, we were liars | Leave a comment

Long Man

Posted on July 23, 2014 by jzbrence

Long Man by Amy Greene (2014) It is the summer of 1936 and the town of Yuneetah, Tennessee is disappearing. The Tennessee Valley Authority has dammed the river known as Long Man, which runs through this valley, and the water … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged amos, amy greene, annie clyde dodson, beulah kesterson, dam, east tennessee, flooding, gracie dodson, great depression, hydroelectricity, james dodson, long man, river, silver ledford, tennessee, tennessee valley authority, the price of progress, tva, valley, yuneetah | Leave a comment

	Triscuit Moment 2.0… on The Triscuit Moment
	jzbrence on Welcome to the Dark (Leafy Gre…
	pwframpton on Welcome to the Dark (Leafy Gre…
	John Brence on Welcome to the Dark (Leafy Gre…
	Welcome to the Dark… on So Good, It’s Scary

Category Archives: Book Reviews

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear

Go Set a Watchman

Dads Who Go The Distance

The Boys in the Boat

The Rosie Effect

All the Light We Cannot See

Don’t Judge A Book By Its Genre

Everything I Never Told You

We Were Liars

Long Man

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Archives

Categories

Blogs I Follow

Meta

Follow Blog via Email