My Recent Reads and Various Wanderings

Category: Reading (Page 1 of 9)

A Review of Abraham Verghese’s Cutting for Stone

I have maintained a longtime appreciation for historical fiction novels, particularly those which capture characters’ evolving lives against the backdrop of historically significant events. While my mom recommended this coming-of-age story to me a long time ago (exclaiming in the middle of a thrift store that she had to buy me my own copy), it took me a couple of years to begin working my way through all 657 pages of it.… Continue reading

A Review of Ruth Ware’s One by One

Picture yourself as a member of a thriving tech startup, venturing to the French Alps for a luxury winter getaway in a posh chateau with your Type-A colleagues. Upon your arrival, tensions emerge, arguments erupt, and the fate of the company hinges on the decision-making power of a few self-serving members of the group.… Continue reading

A Review of Bonnie Garmus’s Lessons in Chemistry

Elizabeth Zott is a chemist whose mind is too vast and too brilliant to fit the constraints of the society she is born into. It’s the 1950s, and instead of rising deservedly to the upper echelons of the scientific community she has fought so hard to enter, she finds herself the subject of her male colleagues’ ire, disdain, and unchecked desire.… Continue reading

Sisterhood, Secrets, and Scandal: A Review of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility

In Jane Austen’s first published novel, two sisters with very different temperaments experience similar situations: powerful romances followed by devastating heartbreak. The reserved Elinor, whose sense bars her from outwardly expressing her desires, and the passionate Marianne, whose sensibility drives her to wear her heart on the sleeve of her gown, respond to challenges and navigate the nuances of relationships quite dissimilarly, prompting a fascinating exploration of the ways in which a person’s personality shapes their success and social outcomes.… Continue reading

A Review of Elyssa Friedland’s Last Summer at the Golden Hotel

Sometimes, books are best selected through random discovery rather than careful consideration. I’ve found this to be especially true during the summer season, as some of my favorite lighthearted beach reads have been picked up in random nooks or crannies. I stumbled upon Last Summer at the Golden Hotel on a coffee table at a friend’s grandmother’s house in Mashpee, MA…and after thumbing my way through a few pages with waves lapping onshore in front of me, I was invested enough to ask my generous hosts to take the book home and finish it.… Continue reading

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