Holiday Book Review: Winter Street

Despite listening to her podcast (Books, Beach and Beyond) occasionally and hearing about her for years, I hadn’t read Elin (pronounced like Ellen) Hilderbrand (notice the r in the middle) before. So since Winter Street came up on a lot of best-of Christmas reading lists—and people love her—I bought a copy and settled in with…

Best Books Lists: Independence Day

I consider the Fourth of July as a second-tier holiday, as far as the depth and breadth of the festivities go for me. For the past few years I have been in Syracuse, NY with my husband’s sisters and parents and their families, donning starred and striped socks and painting the bursted-bomb air with sparklers,…

What to Read in November

Thanksgiving is the one holiday that has an absence of canon to support it, which I have often thought is a bummer. For the past couple-few years, I have been on a search to find and read and watch what is available. It isn’t much. Nevertheless, here are my Thanksgiving season and fall recommendations. Christmas…